| June 13, 2003 #304 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) STUDY: TEEN ANTI-DRUG ADS MAKE AN IMPACT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- If kids watch them often enough, ads warning about the
dangers of smoking pot or taking Ecstacy can persuade them to stay
away from drugs, according to a study released by an advocacy group
Thursday. A survey of teens conducted for the Partnership for a Drug
Free America found kids who see or hear anti-drug ads at least once
a day are less likely to do drugs than youngsters who don't see or
hear ads frequently. Teens who got a daily dose of the anti-drug
message were nearly 40 percent less likely to try methamphetamine
and about 30 percent less likely to use Ecstacy, the study found.
When asked about marijuana, kids who said they saw the ads regularly
were nearly 15 percent less likely to smoke pot. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) ANTIDRUG FLIGHTS TO RESUME IN PERU (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Supporting Effort By Training The Pilots | ||||||||||||||||||
AGUAYTIA, Peru -- Alarmed by evidence that drug trafficking is on
the rise in Peru, the Bush administration expects controversial
anti-narcotics air-interdiction flights to resume in the Andean
nation by the end of this year. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We are seeing a large increase in the number of people clearing out
old coca fields and getting back into it," said a senior U.S.
official in Peru who is familiar with anti-narcotics efforts there.
His agency doesn't permit him to be named. | ||||||||||||||||||
The official and other experts attribute the resurgence of coca, the
raw material for cocaine, mainly to intense pressure on coca growers
in neighboring Colombia, where Washington has spent nearly $2
billion in recent years. Other factors include lapses in enforcement
in Peru and the failure of U.S.-promoted alternative crops such as
coffee and hearts of palm to be as profitable as coca for Peruvian
farmers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S.-backed air surveillance and interdiction of traffickers ended
abruptly in Peru and Colombia on April 20, 2001, when the Peruvian
air force and a CIA contractor downed a floatplane and killed
Veronica Bowers, 35, a missionary from Muskegon, and her infant
daughter. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) TEEN HAS DRUG SENTENCE CUT FROM 26 YEARS TO ONE YEAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Lawrence County teenager who sold about $350 worth of marijuana to
an undercover police officer will serve only one year of a 26-year
prison sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||
Circuit Judge Philip Reich ruled Wednesday that Webster Alexander,
19, must serve an additional year on probation in addition to 300
hours of community service. The remaining 24 years of the sentence
were suspended. | ||||||||||||||||||
"There may be those that think you're not worth fooling with, and
you should be sent to prison, but I'm not of that opinion,
presently," Reich told Alexander. "I'm going to give you an
opportunity to show you mean what you say." | ||||||||||||||||||
Alexander will spend a month in jail before he's allowed into a work
release program, and he already has a job offer as a roofer,
according to his attorney, John Edmond Mays. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Word of the harsh sentence spread quickly. Since his arrest,
Alexander has been besieged with interview requests, and national
drug-legalization activists have tried to use him for their cause.
But he's done only a few interviews, including one in this week's
Rolling Stone magazine. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) POT GURU PREDICTS THE CURE FOR REEFER MADNESS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The experience of Ed Rosenthal of Oakland accelerates the day when
heavy dilemmas in our legal system might just force a fresh look at
our marijuana laws. Presumably that will have to happen when state
legislators, members of Congress and presidents are in recess,
because the great enemy of sensible reform has been, of course,
politicians high from righteousness. | ||||||||||||||||||
What happened to Rosenthal was that he was convicted of marijuana
cultivation and conspiracy, and a conceivable sentence of l00 years
in prison and a fine of $4.5 million. The defense attorney had been
forbidden by presiding federal District Judge Charles Breyer to
advise the jury of the perspectives of the defense. The city of
Oakland, instructed by a statewide proposition in l996, had enacted
an ordinance authorizing the growth of marijuana for medical use.
The judge took the position that local laws do not override federal
laws; therefore the verdict could not be influenced by the
contradiction, and the jurors shouldn't be sidetracked by hearing
about it. | ||||||||||||||||||
The reasoning was identical to that of Judge George King in the case
of computer guru and poet Peter McWilliams. Judge King did not
permit McWilliams to base his defense on the California initiative.
McWilliams died from AIDS while awaiting sentencing, unrelieved by
the marijuana that critically lessened his nausea. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug policy reform advocates are fortunate to have independent
journalists working on the Internet, since some stories just don't
get covered by the mainstream press. Despite assurances to the
contrary from supporters, the mutated RAVE Act has already had a
chilling effect on free speech rights in the United States. Phil
Smith of DRCNet nailed down the story last week, but if you rely on
traditional news outlets for your information, you probably wouldn't
have heard the story. And while some major media covered the
attempted power grab by the ONDCP in recent reauthorization
hearings, Dan Forbes offered sharp independent analysis of the
outcomes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ohio newspapers did manage to report how the U.S. Supreme Court
refused to hear an appeal from the city of Cincinnati regarding its
"drug exclusion zones." The zones permanently bar drug convicts from
certain areas in the city. City officials appear undeterred saying
they plan to reword the law to make it more palatable to judges. And
in Massachusetts, officials from the public transportation system
are defending decisions to spend money fighting against potential
advertisers, including marijuana reform advocates, even as revenues
for the system continue to decline. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) DEA USES RAVE ACT THREATS TO BLOCK MONTANA NORML/SSDP BENEFIT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An agent of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) used
threats of RAVE Act prosecutions to intimidate the owners of a
Billings, Montana, venue into a canceling a combined benefit for the
Montana chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (http://www.norml.org) and Students for Sensible Drug
Policy (http://www.ssdp.org) last week. | ||||||||||||||||||
The RAVE Act, now known officially as the Illicit Drug | ||||||||||||||||||
While the Billings event was advertised as a benefit concert for two
local groups interested in drug law reform - not as a drug-taking
orgy - it still attracted the attention of the DEA. On May 30, the
day the event was set to take place, a Billings-based DEA agent
showed up at the Eagle Lodge, which had booked the concert. Waving a
copy of the RAVE Act in one hand, the agent warned that the lodge
could face a fine of $250,000 if someone smoked a joint during the
benefit, according to Eagle Lodge manager Kelly, who asked that her
last name not be used. | ||||||||||||||||||
"He freaked me out," Kelly told DRCNet. "He didn't tell us we
couldn't have the event, but he showed me the law and told us what
could happen if we did. I talked to our trustees, they talked to our
lawyers, and our lawyers said not to risk it, so we canceled," she
said. "I felt bad. I knew the guys in the bands." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) DRUG CZAR STYMIED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Although not quite a bloodied-nose defeat for House Republican drug
warriors, the Drug Czar reauthorization bill that was voted out of
the Committee on Government Reform recently was certainly, as one
congressional staffer put it, "a strategic retreat." By denying
Republicans bipartisan cover for the Office of National Drug Control
Policy's (ONDCP) controversial media campaign, committee Democrats
killed several onerous provisions of the pending bill. | ||||||||||||||||||
Originally, H.R. 2086 had covertly extended ONDCP's authority to use up to $1.02 billion in anti-drug advertising to counter state ballot initiatives -- or even candidates -- the White House opposed. | ||||||||||||||||||
ONDCP would not have been required to identify itself as the sponsor
of the ads. Plus the federal government could have withdrawn some
funding from police departments in states that permit the use of
medical marijuana, using the money to prosecute patients and those
who supply them instead. | ||||||||||||||||||
It was a classic lunge for power grounded in deliberately obscure
language. Once these provisions surfaced, drug reformers and voters
cranked up the pressure, and prominent editorial pages ridiculed
such taxpayer-funded overt electioneering. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ironically, the overreach actually paved the way for some bona fide
reform. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) CITY LOSES EXCLUSION ZONE FIGHT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A plan to kick convicted drug dealers out of Cincinnati | ||||||||||||||||||
Undeterred, city officials are now pushing local judges to enforce
the exclusion zones in a different way - by making it a condition of
probation. | ||||||||||||||||||
"My sense of it was this case was dead for some time. The problem was that it was a blanket policy," Councilman David Pepper said. "But we can use probation as a tool to accomplish the same thing." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DEFENSE OF MBTA'S AD POLICY IS COSTLY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In one of the tightest fiscal times in recent transit history, the MBTA has spent at least $820,000 over the last three years on legal fees to revamp and defend its advertising policy, according to authority officials, and that total is expected to rise past the $1 million mark as at least two of the advertising cases are appealed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Another lawsuit, brought by the advocacy group Climate Change,
concerned a series of ads promoting the reform of marijuana laws.
"We're very pleased that the court has validated the MBTA's
position, which is basically that people -- especially kids -- are a
captive audience on our system, and advertisers should not be
allowed . . . to encourage illegal behavior or degrade groups or
individuals," the agency's general manager, Michael H. Mulhern, said
of the two cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
The money that went into defending the T's ad policy was money well
spent, Mulhern said, adding that the figure was less than 1 percent
of the $86 million the T receives for subway and bus ads as part of
a five-year contract. The costs come as the T faces tough fiscal
times, with fare revenue dropping every month for more than a year
and a fare increase scheduled for January. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Plant City, Fla., a corrupt cop said that his misdeeds were not only common in his drug unit, but approved by police department supervisors. While he will serve about 30 months, a drug dealer convicted of trying to sell a little more than a gram of cocaine will be headed to prison for life. The man had been convicted of drug crimes several times in the past,= but the life sentence came as a result of a new "3 strikes" law in South Carolina. | ||||||||||||||||||
We'll have to wait to see the racial implications of the new law in
South Carolina, but punishment related to drug crimes seems to have
in a definite racist tinge in other states. A report released in
Wisconsin last week indicated that blacks in the state are 53 times
more likely to go to prison for a drug offense than a white man. A
report out of Massachusetts found similar disparities in that
state's juvenile justice system. | ||||||||||||||||||
Big Brother is coming to Mooretown, La., and some residents are
welcoming him with open arms. New video surveillance cameras in some
public places will be on the lookout for illegal drug transactions
and other crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) WHILE PRISON CELL AWAITS, EX-OFFICER BLAMES BOSSES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert David Dixon says becoming a cop gave his life direction. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now, after pleading guilty to corruption charges, he's headed to federal prison for actions he says his superiors sanctioned. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
According to federal prosecutors and Dixon, the unit operated in a
``gray area'' of the law, using aggressive and often illegal tactics
to catch suspected drug dealers. | ||||||||||||||||||
They lied on police reports, fudged facts to support their arrests
and searched homes without valid warrants. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We talked about the gray area of the Constitution on a regular
basis,'' Dixon said. Sometimes, he said, "You had to finesse the
truth.'' | ||||||||||||||||||
"There's a fine line between being aggressive and stepping out over
the edge,'' he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dixon maintains the practices were sanctioned by superiors. "We didn't go to the restroom without a supervisor telling us,'' he said. "Your boss tells you to do something a certain way, you may thumb your nose at him, but you won't be working'' there for long. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dixon's bosses did not return a message seeking comment. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) '3 STRIKES' SENTENCE FOR DRUG DEALER COUNTY'S 1ST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Charleston County Jury Made History Tuesday, And It Will Cost A
Convicted Drug Dealer The Rest Of His Life. | ||||||||||||||||||
The jury sentenced Derrin Dejuan C. Delesline, 27, of Mount Pleasant
to life in prison without the possibility of parole for trying to
sell 1.22 grams of crack cocaine within a half-mile of a school,
according to the Charleston County solicitor's office. | ||||||||||||||||||
The steep penalty was triggered by South Carolina's "three strikes"
law, and prosecutors said it's the first time someone has received
life without parole for a drug charge in the history of Charleston
County. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is a good day for the town of Mount Pleasant because we got
one of its worst criminals behind bars," said Frank Hunt, spokesman
for the 9th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. | ||||||||||||||||||
Delesline has several prior convictions dating to 1993 and ranging from charges of drug possession to assault and battery, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. Delesline has six drug convictions and four other pending drug charges, Hunt said. He has served a total of about three years behind bars, according to SLED. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) REPORT: STATE BLACKS ARE 53 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GO TO PRISON (Top)FOR DRUG OFFENSE | ||||||||||||||||||
MOUNT PLEASANT - The war on drugs is a war on people of color,
officials from the Drug Policy Alliance said Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Alliance's conference, held at the Racine Marriott Hotel, brought together leaders from communities most affected by drug law enforcement to understand the war's impact on communities of color. The organization is based in New York and works to reform drug laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We're going to look at the history of drug prohibition in the U.S.
How drug policy fits in with race and class, with addiction and
treatment, with crime and punishment and how the criminal justice
system deals addiction," said Deborah Small, director of public
policy and community outreach for the Alliance. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the United States black men are incarcerated for drug offenses at
13 times the rate of white men despite equal rates of drug use
across races, according to a report by the advocacy group Human
Rights Watch. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report found that in Wisconsin that blacks are 53 times more
likely to go to prison for a drug offense than a white man. The rate
is the second highest in the country and more than four times the
national average. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) RACISM'S ROLE IN THE STATE'S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OUR FUTURE lies in our children, we must all be concerned about a
recent ACLU report that illustrates how racism in the Massachusetts
juvenile justice system is failing the most vulnerable of our
society. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report notes, as the state has long acknowledged, that Massachusetts has a serious problem with over-representation of minority youth in its juvenile justice system. Simply put: Once arrested, African-American kids are imprisoned at far higher rates than white kids. Specifically, the report found that while black youth represent 23 percent of the Commonwealth's juvenile population and about a quarter of all youth arrested, they constitute 63 percent of all juveniles who are taken from their homes and locked | ||||||||||||||||||
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These numbers suggest that institutional racism has infected the
juvenile justice system. It is not a question of who gets arrested,
but of what happens after an arrest is made. | ||||||||||||||||||
"White kids have more self-reporting of drug abuse than kids of color," says Joshua Dohan, director of Youth Advocacy of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. "But when kids from wealthier (often white) neighborhoods get in trouble, generally the police officer who is involved and the probation department look at the kids and say, 'Well, this kid could go to college, could be a doctor or lawyer. We might mess that up if we pull him out of home or school and give him a record.' When kids of color are involved, we tend to see only the bad behavior and how we need to punish him." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) POLICE TO USE VIDEO CAMERA TO CRACK DOWN ON CRIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Jerry Bowman stands on the front porch of his business, Jerry's
Barber Shop on Murvon Avenue, where a new sign warning of video
surveillance, was put up. The signs and cameras are designed to
deter crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
Shreveport police laid the groundwork on Thursday to begin video
surveillance of area neighborhoods, a crime-fighting initiative that
will focus first on the Mooretown community and target street-corner
drug deals and residential break-ins. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's a law enforcement tactic that drew immediate opposition from
some Mooretown residents and members of the American Civil Liberties
Union, who contend it's an invasion of privacy and infringes on
people's rights. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The camera will first be used in City Councilman James Green's
district, which primarily includes the Mooretown and Sunset Acres
communities and has the second-highest number of drug arrests - 63 -
in the city so far this year. Cedar Grove had the highest number of
drug arrests with 86, and part of that community also is in Green's
council district. Green led the camera surveillance initiative with
vocal concerns that crime was rampant in his district. He said
Thursday that he's received numerous complaints, calls and letters
from constituents who are concerned about open drug deals, violence,
break-ins and sexual activity in the district. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The protests turned to celebrations last week when U.S. District
Judge Charles Breyer announced that he was handing ganga guru
Rosenthal a one-day, time served sentence for cannabis cultivation
and distribution. Rosenthal's attorney Dennis Riordan hopes that
this case may turn the tides in the federal war against state
medicinal cannabis programs. He plans on appealing the case in the
9th Circuit Court, and hopes to have his client's charges overturned
due to significant errors that he believes occurred in Rosenthal's
trial. The appeal could take 12-18 months. | ||||||||||||||||||
Wherever there is cannabis news, DrugSense will be there. Lately
that has meant much time spent in Canada. This week Ontario police
were told by Tom Kaye, President of the Ontario Association of
Police Chiefs, not to charge people found in possession of under 30
grams of cannabis as a result of a May 16th decision by Windsor
Judge Rogin. Our third story looks at the different interpretations
of this same court ruling, which has resulted in the police forces
of Ontario, Nova Scotia and PEI not arresting people for minor
possession, while charges continue to be handed down in British
Columbia and Sasketchewan. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our fourth story looks at the Toronto mayoral race, where all 5
candidates have admitted to smoking cannabis in their younger days.
It seems that this kind of admission has replaced vaguely worded
denials in what has become a new mark of "hipness" in Canadian
politics. This means that your faithful cannabis editor's political
career may have just gotten back on track! | ||||||||||||||||||
And our last story looks at the bust of Canada's first Dutch-style
caf=E9, the Melting Pot, located in Winlaw, B.C. Nikki McGinn became
the first person arrested in Canada for selling cannabis out of a
retail outlet. The 33 year old former New Zealander plans to
challenge the validity of Canada's drug laws in court. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) CANNABIS GROWER TO APPEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Time served - one day!" An illicit cheer echoed down the 19th-floor
corridor of the San Francisco federal building as the overflow crowd
got word that U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had gone easy on Ed
Rosenthal. Federal prosecutors had asked for a six-and-a-half-year
prison term. | ||||||||||||||||||
The light sentence meted out by Breyer on Wednesday, June 4,
represents a personal victory for the well-known Oakland cannabis
cultivator and his family and friends. A political victory could
follow if Rosenthal's felony conviction as a marijuana cultivator
and conspirator gets overturned. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rosenthal's attorney, Dennis Riordan, has already notified the 9th
U.S. District Court of Appeals that he will challenge the
conviction. Riordan, who specializes in reviewing trial records for
reversible errors, is convinced he found some significant ones in
the Rosenthal case. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) BACK OFF ON POT, ONTARIO COPS TOLD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Police in Ontario are being advised to no longer lay charges for simple possession of marijuana under 30 grams until the law is clarified by either the courts or the federal government. "We're asking the chiefs . . . to advise their officers to show discretion when they're dealing with these things," Tom Kaye, president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If it's under 30 grams, process them in accordance with your
department's policy procedure, lock the drugs in the vault, do up
all the paperwork that would be required and then wait until we see
what's going to happen from the appeals court." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) CANADIAN POT CHAOS SPREADING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With the Ontario marijuana ruling spreading to other provinces,
Canada's top cops are struggling over what to say to their officers
who nab pot smokers. "This is a very urgent situation in Canada,"
said Mike Boyd, of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
"The affect of this (ruling) is that at the moment cannabis appears
to be legal." | ||||||||||||||||||
Courts in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are beginning to adopt the Ontario Superior Court decision that overturned a youth's conviction for being caught with less than 30 grams of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But other provinces, namely British Columbia and Saskatchewan, have
so far decided not to adopt the Ontario ruling. As a result, Boyd
said, the CACP can't suggest Canadian chiefs tell their officers to
stop laying drug possession charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) THE DOPE ON THE TORONTO MAYOR'S RACE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Toronto's five major mayoral candidates have all toked -- but it was
so long ago, most can barely remember those days. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm pretty sure any self-respecting student of the '70s at some
point tried it," said former Liberal MP John Nunziata, 48. "This was
the Vietnam era. This was long-haired hippies. That was the
culture." | ||||||||||||||||||
But those in the '60s dabbled in it as well, including former mayor Barbara Hall, who said she was fond of going to clubs then. | ||||||||||||||||||
"As a curious member of my generation, I smoked marijuana on occasion," she said. "It's been a long time since I've smoked." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) NZ WOMAN CHALLENGES CANADIAN POT LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A New Zealand woman living in Canada is set to challenge Canadian drug laws after being arrested for selling marijuana in her cafe. | ||||||||||||||||||
Former Marlborough woman Nikki McGinn said she was the first person
in Canada to sell marijuana through a retail outlet. | ||||||||||||||||||
Her cafe, The Melting Pot, in the British Columbian town of Winlaw,
was raided by police last Friday and McGinn arrested and charged
with possession for the purpose of trafficking. As part of her
release conditions the cafe has been closed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
While making out the Taliban to be arch-purveyors of drugs, the U.S.
Government explained such trafficking financed terrorists. But this
week we learn that the US occupation of Afghanistan has ushered in a
new era of good times, for the heroin business, that is. Afghan
opium production has soared to pre-Taliban levels, and is financing
US-allied warlords. | ||||||||||||||||||
Competing with Afghanistan's heroin for the hearts, and minds (and
veins) of heroin addicts, are the growing poppy fields of Mexico and
Colombia. Our next story shows how that once again heroin production
is increasing sharply, driving down the street price of heroin to
new lows in hometown, USA. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada inches toward harm reduction in Vancouver as activists berate
the city government for the slow pace in establishing official
Swiss-style safe-injection centers. Activists are upset that
Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell has not yet opened the safe-injection
centers he had earlier promised to establish. | ||||||||||||||||||
In British Columbia, Canada, provincial Education Minister Christy Clark decreed drug and alcohol "education" will be required for Grade 10, and that students not passing the new government-designed course would be denied high school diplomas. The new program will be in addition to the ineffectual "DARE" program that (among other things) urges children to denounce their parents to police. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) U.S. TAKING HEAT FOR AN AFGHAN DRUG BOOM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Opium Trade Blossoms Again | ||||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration, already under fire for under-funding the
rebuilding of Afghanistan and permitting that country's warlords to
retain their power, is now facing charges that it is allowing Afghan
drug production to boom. | ||||||||||||||||||
The charges, initially raised by a handful of independent experts,
were aired at a Senate hearing in May. Critics say the | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Andrew McCoy, author of the just-published book "The Politics of
| ||||||||||||||||||
The figures are indeed staggering. The U.N. estimates that between 1994 and 2000, Afghanistan's gross income for opium production was about $150 million per year, or some $750 per family. In 2002, it jumped to $1.2 billion, or $6,500 per family. And income from trafficking is estimated to be as high as $1.4 billion in 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Ethan Nadelman, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a
private group that promotes alternative drug policies, said that
while he lamented the administration's cynicism, the policy might be
viewed as a refreshingly pragmatic, "strategic" stance on opium
production. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We know that when you push production down in one place, it will
pop up somewhere else," he said. "So where does opium production
have more strategic interest for the U.S.? Maybe they are better off
having it in Afghanistan." | ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) LATIN AMERICA SUPPLYING HEROIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Former Coca Growers Now Cultivate Poppies | ||||||||||||||||||
SAN ROQUE, Colombia -- Colombia and Mexico have become the dominant
suppliers of heroin to the United States, supplanting Asia, in a
trend that experts and the authorities fear could offset U.S.-backed
successes in a campaign against drugs that has focused mostly on
cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Here in the lush, nearly impassable mountains of Tolima province, rebels of Colombia's largest guerrilla group stand watch near muddy footpaths leading to opium farms that experts say help produce at least 80 percent of the heroin that reaches U.S. streets. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In Portland, Maine, a city of 64,000, the number of people who died from overdoses rose to 28 last year, most of them heroin users, police officials said in a telephone interview. In 2001, 16 died. | ||||||||||||||||||
The police in Portland say heroin has become readily available, with the price of single-dose bags as low as $15. They were once sold for at least $35, and sometimes up to $50 in the late 1990s. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) VANCOUVER TO TAKE NEW APPROACH WITH LEGAL INJECTION SITE FOR (Top)ADDICTS | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The cops are outside the door, but a junkie named
John is in no hurry to get his fix. | ||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs is not waged in here, after midnight in a health
clinic in the city's freewheeling downtown Eastside slum. John
patiently scours both arms for one last good vein as he cracks jokes
with a supervising nurse. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadians view drug addiction pragmatically, in part, because the
socialized medical system bears much of the cost, said Philip
Handrick, acting director of the Canadian Studies Centre at Michigan
State University in Lansing. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Canadians tend to be very deferential to authority, and if the
medical authorities say this is the way we should approach it, there
is a deference to that opinion," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
There is consensus -- from the Canadian Senate to the Vancouver police chief -- that arrests alone won't solve the problem. Instead, Canadians have looked to Europe for cures to social ills. Vancouver, in particular, latched onto a Swiss model called the "four pillars" that gives equal weight to safe injection sites and incarceration. | ||||||||||||||||||
In one study published in the British Medical Journal, Swiss heroin addicts reported working more and relying far less on income from criminal activity when prescribed heroin at government clinics. | ||||||||||||||||||
A group of current and former drug addicts campaigned for Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, and now are pressuring him to follow through on his pledge of an injection site. An astonishingly high 15 percent of the city's IV drug users have AIDS, compared with 1 percent in Pierce County, home to the U.S.'s first needle-exchange program. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This will go down in history as a time when we saw thousands and
thousands of people die" of HIV/AIDS and overdoses, said Anne
Livingston, project coordinator for the Vancouver Area Network of
Drug Users, which operates the site visited by John, who agreed to
be interviewed if his last name was withheld. The group is now
frustrated that Campbell has been slower than expected opening a
site, even as rates of HIV/AIDS and other diseases related to IV
drug use hover at epidemic levels. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The younger activists use the words like murder" to protest the
delay, Livingston said. "I want people to stop dying, not just to be
right." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) MANDATORY DRUG ED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug and alcohol education will be a mandatory part of the Grade 10 curriculum and students who fail to pass the course won't get their high school diplomas, says Education Minister Christy Clark. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"We're going to make alcohol and drug education a mandatory part of
the curriculum in Grade 10 for every child and if they don't pass
that course, which will be Planning 10, they won't graduate," Clark
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Clark said the purpose of the course is to ensure that every student
in British Columbia who graduates from high school will have "a core
understanding of the impact of substance abuse." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Clark said the new program is intended to complement existing drug
and alcohol education programs at schools, such as the DARE program
offered by police, and those schools are perfectly free to continue
with their initiatives. | ||||||||||||||||||
But she wants to make sure the message is "embedded in the
curriculum and that every child learns about it before they get into
a car and go to a grad party." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Memory Of Cheryl Miller | ||||||||||||||||||
"I am at a loss for words to express Cheryl's monumental inspiration
to myself as a Drug Policy Reform activist, as a cannabis patient,
as a person, and as a friend." -- Ashley Clements | ||||||||||||||||||
Sad Day in the Medical Marijuana Movement / Phil Smith, DRCNet | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
D.E.A. Suffers Setback With Breyer Ruling | ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Democrats on Weed | ||||||||||||||||||
By Steven Wishnia, published at http://www.alternet.orgAlterNet | ||||||||||||||||||
June 11, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
"The Bush junta's record on pot is abysmal. Some people hoped that
as a Republican recovering alcoholic and cokehead, George W. might
pull a "Nixon goes to China" on drug policy, but his performance in
office has been more like Nixon bombing hospitals in Vietnam. From
the crackdowns on medical marijuana and glass pipes to the threats
to Canada if it decriminalizes pot, he's made cultural war on
cannabis the center of his drug policy. So what are the | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Casualties Of The Marijuana War | ||||||||||||||||||
By Michael J. Gorman | ||||||||||||||||||
To the Editor: | ||||||||||||||||||
Re "The U.S. Bucks a Trend on Marijuana Laws," by Eric Schlosser
(Week in Review, June 1): | ||||||||||||||||||
The irrationality of the escalating "war on marijuana" is obvious
when one considers Attorney General John Ashcroft's demand for full
enforcement of the laws against medical marijuana in states where it
is legal. Our government's efforts to interfere with Canadian
attempts to decriminalize pot are no less outrageous. | ||||||||||||||||||
The "war on marijuana" is a multibillion-dollar operation that
defines cultural, class and political differences. It has a
disproportionate impact on poor, minority communities and undermines
the credibility of our criminal justice system. | ||||||||||||||||||
The people most interested in maintaining our current marijuana laws
(besides the attorney general and other hard-liners) are those who
reap huge profits selling it on the black market. | ||||||||||||||||||
Michael J. Gorman, | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE ------------------------------- (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Turning Away From The Corner | ||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||||
"We believe we have turned a corner, particularly with the coca crop, in Colombia." - Paul E. Simons, the U.S. State Department's top counternarcotics official, quoted by the Associated Press June 3, 2003 - see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n831/a13.html | ||||||||||||||||||
For at least 30 years, the United States has repeatedly turned
corners in the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
Back in 1973, it was President Richard Nixon who metaphorically
strolled down the street of drug policy before veering off at an
intersection. "We have turned a corner on drug addiction," said
Nixon. | ||||||||||||||||||
With all the 90-degree directional shifts announced since then, the
prohibitionists can't help but be a bit disoriented. Grab a compass
if you want to keep your own bearings. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 1999, it was former drug czar Barry McCaffrey, proclaiming that
adolescent drug use "has just turned the corner." | ||||||||||||||||||
Sounding even more sure that same year was President Bill Clinton's
Health Secretary, Donna Shalala: "Last year, I optimistically told
you that in the fight against illicit drug use, we may have finally
turned the corner. Well this year's survey definitely shows that
we've not only turned the corner,= we're heading for home plate."
The umpire, it seems, did not rule favorably. | ||||||||||||||||||
The previous President Bush said in 1990: "I can tell you that our
drug czar had a good report to the Nation the other day, showing
that we've turned the corner, that we're making progress in our war
against drugs." The drug czar at that time, William Bennett,
actually overshot the drug corner by a few steps and turned at a
casino entrance instead - strictly to savor the second-hand tobacco
smoke. | ||||||||||||||||||
These are but a few of the corners turned in the drug war through
the years. Simply do a Google search on "drug" and "turned the
corner" to find drug warriors famous and unknown rapturously
describing that quick pivoting sidestep leading to a drug-free
utopia. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the promised land remains distant. | ||||||||||||||||||
When I read corner quotes, I envision uptight, well-groomed narc
versions of R. Crumb's "Keep on Truckin'" cartoon character (
http://www.12move.de/home/crumb/char_truckin.htm ), always
stretching one optimistic foot toward the future, even if it's
locked in place, never really going anywhere. | ||||||||||||||||||
But worse than standing still, or simply walking around the block
and returning to the same place, each new corner of the drug war
takes society into increasingly hazardous realms. | ||||||||||||||||||
At least that's how I interpret it. | ||||||||||||||||||
The appeal of the corner metaphor lies in its vagueness. It doesn't
really mean anything. "Turned a corner" implies significant but
non-specific progress towards a goal even though the goal remains
unattainable. | ||||||||||||||||||
The phrase might be appropriate in some situations, but to repeat the same lame line over 30 years is an insult to the public, especially with the number of new drug crises appearing throughout those three decades. The overuse of "turned a corner" demonstrates the shallow historical knowledge of most anti-drug professionals. | ||||||||||||||||||
Or perhaps the prohibitionists are eager to turn new corners because
they don't want to face the disastrous truth about the drug war as
it stands right in front of them. If they could resist the urge to
turn and instead face the ugliness head on, they might realize it's
time to follow a straight path away from the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
Even one more turn around one more corner represents nothing but
another dangerous detour. | ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and the author of
"Maximizing Harm: Winners and Losers in the Drug War." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"I really believe this country is one day going to wake up and say that whole experiment on drug prohibition is a failure. I think we're just starting to break through on that." - U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). See http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n859/a07.html | ||||||||||||||||||
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