| Aug. 29, 2003 #315 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) CANADIAN GOVT BEGINS SELLING POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
From correspondents in Toronto | ||||||||||||||||||
ARI Dvorak scored 60 grams of pot and lit up, but - unlike in the past - the deal involved no back alley exchange or hiding from police. | ||||||||||||||||||
This time, the 62-year-old Dvorak went to a doctor to pick up his
supply, making him one of the first patients to receive | ||||||||||||||||||
"I just smoked some and it's doing the trick," the HIV-positive
Dvorak said. He is one of several hundred Canadians authorized to
use medical marijuana for pain, nausea and other symptoms of
catastrophic or chronic illness. | ||||||||||||||||||
The program announced last month by the federal health department
provides marijuana grown by the government in a former copper mine
turned underground greenhouse in northern Manitoba. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) ABSTINENCE IS FOR QUITTERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
But Germany's "Drug-Consumption Rooms" Keep Addicts Safe Until They're
Ready To Kick -- Or Not | ||||||||||||||||||
In 2000 the German Parliament signed into law an amendment to the
Narcotics Act legalizing "drug-consumption rooms," or Drogenkonsumräum
(DKRs). These facilities, operated by nonprofits, provide space where
hard users can take drugs in a safe environment under medical
supervision. In the years since the amendment, drug-related deaths in
Germany have decreased by 25 percent. Similar facilities have opened in
Vancouver, B.C., and Australia, where they're called "safe injection
rooms." But in Germany they are explicitly legal. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ralf Gerlach is the deputy director of the Institute for the Promotion
of Qualitative Drug Research (German acronym, INDRO). INDRO's
Drogenkonsumraum in Münster was the first to be established, in April
2001, after the initiative had been signed into law. An annual
statement of its work can be found on their site. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) DRUG USE SEEN ON RISE IN IRAQ (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Porous Borders, Lack Of Security Are Cited As Cause | ||||||||||||||||||
BAGHDAD -- Drug trafficking and drug abuse, crimes once punishable by
death or long imprisonment during the regime of Saddam Hussein, are
infiltrating postwar Iraq, where porous borders and a lack of security
make the crimes hard to control, according to Iraqi and foreign
officials. | ||||||||||||||||||
Senior officials from the United Nations drug-monitoring agency say
heroin and cannabis have been entering Iraq through the eastern border
with Iran. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gangsters are bringing in illegal drugs from Central Asia through the Kurdish area in the north, and drugs are also moving into Iraq through the southern port of Umm Qasr, said Bernard Frahi, chief of the operations branch of the UN's office of drugs and crime in Vienna. | ||||||||||||||||||
Brian Taylor, chief of the anti-trafficking section of the UN office, said most of the drugs were being routed through Iraq to Turkey and the Balkans and Western Europe. For the moment, Iraq is primarily a transit nation, but the availability of the drugs threatens to create drug-abuse problems in Iraq as well, said the two UN analysts, who briefed coalition officials about the problem this week. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) DATA NOT SHOWING 'ICE' EFFECT ON FETUSES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
There is no hard evidence so far that babies exposed to crystal methamphetamine during pregnancy will suffer permanent damage, according to a University of Hawaii medical school researcher. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Chris Derauf, who is conducting a study in Hawaii on drug-exposed
babies, said it may turn out that the effect of "ice" on the ability of
parents to raise a child may be as important as the impact of the drug
on a fetus during pregnancy. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Ultimately, we may find we have to look holistically on the issue,"
Derauf said. He said doctors and policy-makers will have to look not
only at prenatal care, but will also have to "pay a lot more attention
to what happens after birth." | ||||||||||||||||||
Derauf, who spoke yesterday at a hearing of the House-Senate Task Force
on Ice and Drug Abatement, said there is some evidence that babies
exposed to ice in the womb have more chance of being born slightly
prematurely and with a smaller birth weight, but reports of other
problems are just anecdotal so far. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
He emphasized that does not mean it is OK for mothers to use ice during
pregnancy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Tulia defendants can have been officially pardoned by the governor of Texas. Now the system itself will be put on trial as some of those pardoned defendants file a lawsuit in federal court. | ||||||||||||||||||
A little more coverage this week of the Victory Act, which ties
drugs to terror. The Washington Post examined a draft of the act and
its implications. The draft of the act suggests the Office of
Homeland Security will be given the authority to seize property in
"narco-terror" cases. That's a disturbing turn, and a story out of
Washington state shows the problems with current forfeiture laws as
an innocent grandmother fights for her car. And, do urine tests
drive crime? In Ohio, they might. Someone broke into a parole office
and made away with several urine samples that were to be used for
drug tests last week. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) PARDONS LET TEXAS PANHANDLE DRUG DEFENDANTS GET ON WITH THEIR (Top)LIVES | ||||||||||||||||||
TULIA, Texas (AP) - When Kizzie White applies for a job this week, the information on her application form will be different. | ||||||||||||||||||
The mother of two was one of 38 defendants convicted in a drug sting
on the word of an undercover agent who later was charged with
perjury. She and 34 other involved in the bust were granted pardons
Friday by Gov. Rick Perry. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We actually can put on our application 'never been convicted of a felony'" said White, 26. "I'm really free, and I thank God I am." | ||||||||||||||||||
Perry said he was influenced by questions about the testimony of Tom Coleman, the only undercover agent involved in the July 1999 busts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Coleman worked alone and used no audio or video surveillance to substantiate drug buys he said he made from 46 people from Tulia, a Texas Panhandle town of about 5,100 residents 70 miles north of Lubbock. No drugs or money were found during the arrests. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) FEDERAL LAWSUIT FILED OVER 1999 TULIA DRUG RAID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A massive, 40-page federal lawsuit has been filed in connection with
the infamous 1999 Tulia drug raid that ultimately backfired and
ended in pardons last week for most of the suspects. | ||||||||||||||||||
The suit seeks monetary damages for alleged civil rights violations
and was filed Friday in U.S. District Court Amarillo by Amarillo
attorney Jeff Blackburn on behalf of Tonya White and Zuri Bossett -
two of the 46 mostly black suspects arrested on the word of
undercover agent and reputed racist Tom Coleman, who has since been
indicted for perjury in the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
Defendants include Coleman, District Attorney Terry McEachern,
Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart and a total of 29 cities and
counties in the region, Swisher County among them. A number of law
enforcement officers, officials and drug taskforce agencies and
their boards of governors are also named as defendants. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to the complaint, plaintiffs White and Bossett were
arrested in a July 23, 1999, pre-dawn raid that ended with nearly 10
percent of Tulia's black population charged with selling powder
cocaine to Coleman during an 18-month period. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The only evidence linking the arrestees to the alleged drug
transactions was the false and perjurious testimony of defendant
Coleman - a white police officer whose statements were not
corroborated by any credible independent evidence," the suit
maintains. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) GOP BILL WOULD ADD ANTI-TERROR POWERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As Attorney General John D. Ashcroft begins a barnstorming tour of
the country to shore up support for existing anti-terrorism laws,
Senate Republicans are discussing legislation that would expand the
Justice Department's powers to investigate terrorists and drug
criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||
Recent drafts of the Victory Act, which carry the names of Sen.
Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and four other Senate Republicans, would
provide extra penalties for drug dealers alleged to be connected to
terrorist groups and would dramatically expand the government's
power to seize records and conduct wiretaps in connection with
"narcoterrorism" investigations. | ||||||||||||||||||
The proposal, which totals 56 pages in one July 30 version, also
targets alleged "interstate currency couriers" by making it a crime
to carry more than $10,000 cash in a vehicle in connection with
illegal activity. Prosecutors also would be able to freeze the
assets of defendants arrested on money-laundering charges for 30
days, regardless of whether the assets are connected to a crime,
according to the draft legislation. | ||||||||||||||||||
Justice Department officials stress that they have not been involved
in creating or revising the Victory Act proposal, but copies of the
bill that have circulated on Capitol Hill over the last two months
include many provisions sought by Justice prosecutors in the areas
of terrorism and drug crimes. Several of the measures are similar to
proposals made during the early debate over the USA Patriot Act, the
controversial anti-terrorism package approved in October 2001 that
Ashcroft is defending during his U.S. tour. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) SEIZED CAR DRIVES LEGAL DISPUTE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
When a judge told a police drug task force to return 80-year-old Lillian Dalton's Acura, she thought all she had to do was pick it | ||||||||||||||||||
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But before she could get her car, it took two rulings from a judge
and cost Skagit County $4,210 in fees because lawyers squabbled over
how the case should have been handled. | ||||||||||||||||||
They just might continue the argument, even though Dalton now has
her car. | ||||||||||||||||||
The case of how an elderly woman got her car back offers a glimpse
into the arcane world of law, where sometimes well-meaning people
can get caught up in a drawn-out dispute over seemingly minor issues
of procedure. | ||||||||||||||||||
In fact, the case had little to do with whether Dalton should get her car again. Instead, the argument was over how she should ask. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) THIEF MAKES OFF WITH LOTS OF URINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Athens City Police are investigating a daring urine heist that took
place sometime last Thursday night or Friday morning. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to an incident report, sometime between 9 p.m. Thursday
and 7 a.m. Friday, someone broke into the offices of the Ohio Adult
Parole Authority on East State Street by forcing the door open. An
office in the building was ransacked. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to Terry Minney, regional administrator for the parole agency, the intruder or intruders made off with 89 cups of urine. | ||||||||||||||||||
These were drug-testing samples from parolees and people on
probation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Frank Melton show rolled on in Missouri, as the state drug czar/media magnet showed up in the headlines again. In one incident, a local lawyer took out a restraining order against Melton, claiming that she is being harassed through Melton's threats to arrest an unnamed lawyer. Melton is also irritating newspapers in the state for his refusal to release information about certain drug arrestees. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadian police, apparently conscious of the job security offered by
prohibition, are using a new organization to speak out against
marijuana law reform. And a Georgia judge has banned a drug convict
from every county in the state except for one. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) RESTRAINING ORDER SOUGHT AGAINST MBN CHIEF (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
JACKSON (AP) - An attorney who claims she is being harassed by state
Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton for representing an
alleged gang member wants federal court protection from arrest,
court documents show. | ||||||||||||||||||
Melton has publicly said he planned to arrest a Jackson attorney in
connection with the recent drug-related gang arrests. On Monday, he
declined to say whether Cynthia Stewart was that lawyer or on what
charges the lawyer would be arrested. | ||||||||||||||||||
Stewart filed her motion last Thursday in U.S. District Judge
William Barbour's court. In the motion, Stewart says Melton is using
the threat of arrest to harass and intimidate her and interfere with
her representing Marcell Martin. | ||||||||||||||||||
Stewart "is facing irreparable harm from the threat of imminent
arrest, business interruptions and damages to her reputation and
good will," according to the motion. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) EDITORIAL: MELTON'S WAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton is conducting
a very high-profile series of narcotics raids in Jackson, which
everyone can cheer. The public likes to hear a law enforcement
official talk tough and take action. | ||||||||||||||||||
Unfortunately, every once in a while, Melton seems to decide to play
Lone Ranger when it comes to enforcing the law. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Supporters, and there are many, since he's an articulate spokesman
for being "tough on crime," say "It's just Frank being Frank." And
there is latitude in the law for discretion in making arrests or
deciding how to nab wrongdoers. | ||||||||||||||||||
But, sometimes, Melton's bending or otherwise making malleable the
laws he is supposed to be enforcing have ironclad boundaries not to
be broached without seriously jeopardizing the foundations of the
law. | ||||||||||||||||||
That's when Melton's cowboy ways must be reined in. | ||||||||||||||||||
So it is now with Melton's refusal to reveal who MBN is arresting.
Said Melton after a recent raid in Jackson: "As a matter of MBN
policy, I don't reveal the names of violators so that I can protect
the dignity of their children." | ||||||||||||||||||
On the surface, that sounds nice. But making arrests public has
nothing to do with dignity, which presumably has been damaged by
living in a drug manufacturing and selling environment, but with
informing the public. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) NEW NATIONAL POLICE GROUP TO FLEX POWER OVER DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A new national police organization that is meeting for the first
time this week wants to stop Ottawa from softening Canada's
marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
The new 54,000-member Canadian Professional Police Association plans
to use its increased clout to persuade federal politicians that
loosening the laws is the wrong tack to take in the battle for the
street, said president Tony Cannavino. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The marijuana issue is very important," the former head of the Quebec Provincial Police Officers Association said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) JUDGE BANISHES MAN FROM ALL BUT ONE COUNTY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CONYERS (AP) - A Rockdale County judge has ordered that a man
sentenced for selling cocaine be banished from most of the state for
life. Chief Superior Court Judge Sidney Nation sentenced Larry
Nathan Coleman to serve 10 years in prison and also ordered that he
can live only in Lowndes County as a free man, or else leave the
state. "As a practical matter, you come back in the state anytime
for the rest of your life and you go to jail," Nation told the
57-year-old defendant. "When you get out of prison, you leave the
state." Since 1877, The state constitution has prohibited banishing
criminals from the state. However, people can still be banished from
certain counties, so some judges banish defendants from 158 of the
159 counties to encourage convicts to leave Georgia. Coleman was
sentenced to serve the first 10 years of a 40-year sentence on two
separate counts of sale of cocaine and 10 years on a 30-year
sentence for possession of cocaine, with the sentences to run
concurrently. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
If you spot smoke mid-August in the Pacific Northwest it could mean one of two things; yet another forest fire, or it must be time for the biggest drug policy reform rally in the world, the Seattle Hempfest. I had the pleasure of once again attending this happy/hempy event this year, and I have to tell you that what it may lack in logic and organization, it more than makes up for in fun and freakiness. Our first story examines this year's event, which was blessed with good weather and a mostly pleasant and polite police presence. I ask you, can 175,000+ hempsters really be wrong? | ||||||||||||||||||
This week's second story takes us north to this summer's most
intriguing protest on wheels: the Marc Emery Summer of Legalization
Tour. The owner of Cannabis Culture Magazine and Marc Emery Direct
Seeds has been visiting Canada's major metropolitan centers and
lighting up in front of their police stations, leading to 6 arrests
so far. This effective, intelligent protest serves to illustrate a
much more serious message: Canada's cannabis laws are crumbling:
kudos to Marc for sticking his neck out to demonstrate this to all
Canadians. | ||||||||||||||||||
For those American reformers who still don't understand how
progressive changes in Canada might help end prohibition in the
U.S., please read on. Our third story is a Rolling Stone article
taking a peek across the border to see just what the hell is going
on up there in Canada. The article is by famed liar/fraud journalist
Stephen Glass; so check your facts, folks. Our fourth story compares
the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws with Canada's proposed | ||||||||||||||||||
And lastly the New Zealand Commissioner for Children, Roger McClay, has warned that an epidemic of schizophrenia might strike the his country if cannabis usage rates continue to climb, citing a controversial study from England which links psychiatric illness to marijuana use. If this we're true, than shouldn't we be sending an army of shrinks to Phish shows and midnight showings of "The Dark Side of Oz"? It does sort of explain California, though. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) SEATTLE HEMPFEST 2003 - RALLY CALLS FOR REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAW (Top)FOR 22ND STRAIGHT YEAR | ||||||||||||||||||
The 12th Annual Hempfest packed Myrtle Edwards Park with an estimated 175,000 people last weekend for what organizers and other sources say is the world's largest rally to reform marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
The festival is billed as a nonpartisan, political event, but a
smattering of impeach Bush signs dotted a landscape filled with food
and craft booths, music stages and huge, sun-baked crowds of people,
some of whom discreetly puffed away on grass. | ||||||||||||||||||
The festival's theme last year was Pot Pride, with everyday citizens
being encouraged to publicly admit they use marijuana. This year's
theme was using hemp as fuel, said Vivian McPeak, executive director
and founder of the Hempfest, which began in Volunteer Park as a
"smoke-out" in 1991. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) B.C. POT ADVOCATE TO LIGHT UP AT POLICE STATION TODAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's Prince of Pot says he dares Kingston Police officers to try
to seize his marijuana when he smokes weed outside police
headquarters this afternoon. | ||||||||||||||||||
Marc Emery, the president of the British Columbia Marijuana Party
and the country's most prominent pot activist, will light a joint or
smoke a bong - he hasn't decided which - at 4:20 p.m. to protest
Kingston Police's policy of taking marijuana from anyone caught with
less than 30 grams. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They have no right to do that. I don't know how they can get it out
of someone's fingers," Emery told The Whig from his home in downtown
Vancouver. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm looking forward to seeing them try that." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) CANADA'S POT REVOLUTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
North of the Border, Marijuana Policy Is Changing Radically. and The
White House Is Not Happy | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In the past few months, a storm of legal reforms in Canada has made
it likely that marijuana will be decriminalized before the year is
out. By then, Parliament is expected to have passed a bill that will
make the possession of small amounts of marijuana merely a
ticketable offense, much like speeding. Meanwhile, this past spring,
an Ontario court voided the country's possession law on technical
grounds, meaning that in the province at least, there is currently
no law against possessing small amounts of marijuana. And this fall,
the Canadian Supreme Court will determine whether the country's laws
prohibiting marijuana possession are unconstitutional and therefore
must be struck down altogether. | ||||||||||||||||||
Predictably, these reforms have the Bush administration steaming.
Asa Hutchinson, a senior official in the Department of Homeland
Security, warned Canadian journalists that their country would face
"consequences" it passed decriminalization. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) POT LAWS EASIER HERE? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada Is Lessening Its Penalties For Marijuana Possession. But In An Odd Twist, New York's Laws On The Drug Are Even Weaker. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's current penalties for marijuana possession are about to go
up in smoke. That's causing concern among law enforcement officials
- from Erie County Sheriff Patrick M. Gallivan to federal drug czar
John P. Walters - who don't like the implications of pot being
decriminalized north of the border. | ||||||||||||||||||
But here's something not widely known: New York State's laws on
marijuana are, in some ways, weaker than the ones Canada is poised
to adopt. | ||||||||||||||||||
In fact, New York decriminalized marijuana a quarter-century ago,
one of 12 states to do so. | ||||||||||||||||||
So what exactly is the difference between what Canada is proposing
to do and what New York already does? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) 'EPIDEMIC' WARNING ON CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Widespread use of cannabis among young people could result in an
epidemic of schizophrenia, says the Commissioner for Children, Roger
McClay. | ||||||||||||||||||
Information from Britain showed the drug affected the brain so seriously it was one of the leading causes of psychosis in that country, he told a school principals seminar in Piako last night. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A spate of prohibitionist government proclamations and scare stories
dominates this week's international drug news. The ever-authoritarian
Washington Times announced last week that in Colombia, increasing
visits by senior U.S. bureaucrats were "signaling support" for
Colombia's "war on drugs and terrorism". To whip up additional
"support" for the 2.5 billion dollar "Plan Colombia" bill
presented to U.S. taxpayers, bureaucrats from the Bush regime
promised ever more important US bureaucrats and political
appointees would come to Colombia to speak. Unfortunately, while
obediently hammering the supposed link between "drugs and
terrorism", the Washington Times left off mentioning drug prohibition,
which relegates the sale of some drugs to the black market in the
first place. | ||||||||||||||||||
Also in Colombia last week, President Alvaro Uribe gave permission to extradite former Colombian Senator Samuel Lopesierra to the US, to face drug charges. Lopesierra was senator of the Colombian state of La Guajira, and was accused by the U.S. DEA of heading a group that allegedly exported some 27 tons of cocaine into the US. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drawing attention to the official wars on "drugs" requires
constantly reminding the public of the deeds of the ever-vigilant
forces ceaselessly fighting evil substances. Last week the Iranian
government mouthpiece IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency), announced
police arrested 33 drug smugglers, seizing 1,737 kilograms of
"various illegal drugs" (cannabis and opiates) in "recent days."
Proudly reminding readers that Iran seizes "80 percent of the opium
and 90 percent of the morphine intercepted worldwide," IRNA revealed
that the Iranian budget to solve the illegal drug problem weighs in
at about 800 million Iranian dinars each year. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week a classic 'scary drugs' article from the BBC
headlined, "Drugs Halt Brain Connections." The "experts", say the
BBC in ominous tones, warn that "drugs" (well, maybe just certain
stimulants like amphetamines or cocaine) will "halt brain
connections" (well, perhaps in rats given huge doses). This classic
"latest research" trumpeted by the government-funded BBC was done by
"scientists" in Canada, and published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) MYERS VISIT STRESSES AID; RUMSFELD TO FOLLOW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia - The Bush administration is signaling support for
Colombia's war on drugs and terrorism with a series of top-level
visits, including a two-day stop by Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that ended yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Other officials, including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, are
expected in days ahead, sojourns that coincide with the third
anniversary of the U.S.-backed drug and antiterrorism program dubbed
"Plan Colombia." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In a press conference prior to his departure, Gen. Myers said the
United States would continue to be an integral part of the Colombian
struggle against the terrorist groups, funded largely by drug money,
that have ravaged this nation for nearly four decades. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Clearly, we've been full partners with the Colombian government going back a long way ... to their support in the war on terrorism and our continuing support down here to help Colombia rid this country of narco-terrorists, drugs and terrorism," Gen. Myers said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Colombia is the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid behind Israel and Egypt. But until last year, that support was restricted to helping Colombia battle illegal drugs, not its insurgencies. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet the two are intertwined in this country, and the U.S. Congress
recently lifted the constraint. | ||||||||||||||||||
Right now, U.S. Green Berets are helping train Colombian troops in how to prevent guerrillas from blowing up an important oil pipeline. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Next week, Mr. Rumsfeld will make his first trip to Colombia as
defense secretary. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel
Martinez will follow him. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The United States has invested about $2.5 billion in | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) COLOMBIA OKS EXTRADITION OF EX-SENATOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia -- President Alvaro Uribe authorized the extradition of a former Colombian senator to face drug trafficking charges in the United States, the president's office said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Samuel Lopesierra was captured in October with 14 other people
accused of sending tons of cocaine to the United States and having
ties to outlawed paramilitary groups. | ||||||||||||||||||
During a two-year investigation, authorities in Colombia and the
United States seized more than 27 tons of cocaine from the group,
which Lopesierra headed, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lopesierra, a former senator of the northern state of La Guajira,
was indicted in Washington. He will be sent to the United States
within a week, according to the U.S. Embassy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) 33 SMUGGLERS ARRESTED, 1.7 TONS OF DRUGS SEIZED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Tehran, Aug 24, IRNA -- Police forces arrested 33 smugglers and
seized 1,737 kgs of various illegal drugs from them in separate
operations conducted in different parts of the country in recent
days. | ||||||||||||||||||
The arrests were made in ten operations carried out by the Anti-drug
forces in Sistan and Baluchestan, Isfahan, Kerman and Khorassan
provinces. | ||||||||||||||||||
Iran sits on the crossroads of major drug trafficking routes and has been a major force in the global battle against illicit drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to official estimates, anti-drug campaign costs Iran about
dlrs 800 million annually. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is credited with 80 percent of the opium and 90 percent of the
morphine intercepted worldwide by the International Narcotics
Control Board. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) DRUGS 'HALT BRAIN CONNECTIONS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Taking amphetamines or cocaine could stop cells in key areas of the
brain linking up normally. | ||||||||||||||||||
This, warn experts, could explain why it is feared that long term
use of the drugs could affect memory or mood. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
However, experts have warned that results in rat brains may not
correspond exactly to human brains. | ||||||||||||||||||
Fierce controversy | ||||||||||||||||||
While there are concerns about the long-term effects of amphetamines and cocaine on the brain, it remains a controversial area. | ||||||||||||||||||
While some researchers point to studies which suggest mood problems
in some users, others maintain that firm evidence for a link has
still not emerged. | ||||||||||||||||||
The latest research was carried out by scientists from the
University of Lethbridge in Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
However, some of them had been repeatedly given either cocaine or
amphetamine a few months earlier. | ||||||||||||||||||
Animals not given the drugs showed an expected response to their
"exciting" new home - their brains showed signs of increased
connections between brain cells in the key areas. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, the rats who had been given either drug showed no sign of
these changes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Long-term | ||||||||||||||||||
The researchers said: "Perhaps the most important issue raised by
the current study concerns the long-term consequences of drug use
for behaviour and psychological function. | ||||||||||||||||||
"At least some of the cognitive or behavioural | ||||||||||||||||||
"We have no direct evidence this is the case, but there is
accumulating evidence that amphetamine and cocaine addicts have
numerous neuropsychological deficits." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. | ||||||||||||||||||
With his extensive experience in South and Central America, Sanho discussed the decades long "silent war" that kills thousands of innocents each year in the seemingly eternal war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Next Week - MATT ELROD AND PHILIPPE LUCAS OF DRUGSENSE | ||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 6:30 PM CDT. Live online at | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
US DRUG WARRIORS THREATEN CANADA - BY REQUEST? | ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CONSCIENCE WILL NOT PERMIT | ||||||||||||||||||
by David Borden | ||||||||||||||||||
David Borden, Executive Director of DRCNet, Refuses Jury Duty Summons | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
IN MEMORY OF GILBERT WILLIAM HAROLD PUDER | ||||||||||||||||||
July 11th, 1959 - November 12th, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||
Vancouver police officer Gil Puder devoted the last years of his life
to ending the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
ONE MONTH TO GO - CHERYL MILLER MEMORIAL PROJECT | ||||||||||||||||||
September 22 and 23, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
The Project's website has been extensively updated in the last week. Please visit it for more details - and tell your friends about it: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
SEATTLE HEMPFEST HIGHLIGHTS | ||||||||||||||||||
The Alabama Marijuana Party with Pot-TV | ||||||||||||||||||
Running Time: 27 min | ||||||||||||||||||
US Marijuana President Loretta Nall sent in these clips from the
2003 Seattle Hempfest. Featured Speakers Loreta Nall, Micki Norris,
Jack Herer and Kyle Kushman. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Let's Focus On Real Crime | ||||||||||||||||||
By Bryan Brickner | ||||||||||||||||||
Seeing is believing in the war on drugs, and now, thanks to the
cameras, it's even clearer. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Aug. 13 editorial [''Seeing is believing in crime-fighting cameras''] was accurate in the direction it took, but wrong in its conclusion. Fighting crime with cameras is here to stay, but it should be real crime and not a moral issue like drug use and abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 2001, for example, real criminals--those committing property and
violent crimes--were arrested only 23 percent of the time in
Illinois. That means while the police were arresting drug criminals,
which make up half of all arrests in Illinois, the real criminals
were never arrested 77 percent of the time. | ||||||||||||||||||
That is a criminally inclined system, where the real criminals are
never arrested three out of four times. | ||||||||||||||||||
As the Sun-Times reported, the new police surveillance camera at Augusta and Pulaski caught Marcus D. Jackson smoking dope. Upon a search, the police also found one pill of Ecstasy, a controlled substance. Jackson was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor, cannabis possession, and a felony controlled-substance violation. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jackson, whose picture was published in the Aug. 12 issue of the Sun-Times, is 22, a convicted felon on parole for drug dealing and possession of a stolen vehicle. He is yet another Illinois African-American male who is going to jail for a drug crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
We shouldn't be surprised. According to a 2000 Human Rights Watch
report, the Land of Lincoln leads the nation in racial disparity
when it comes to incarcerating drug offenders. Instead of all drug
offenders going to jail, in Illinois, race seems to determine who
serves time. For drug offenders, Illinois incarcerates 57 black
males for every one white male. | ||||||||||||||||||
It seems Jim Crow dies a hard death. The racial disparity points to
a real problem in fighting drugs through incarceration: The only
ones going to jail for drug offenses are black males. The
surveillance camera helped to catch another one. Seeing is
believing. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bryan Brickner, Chairman, Illinois NORML (National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
HELP UNSHACKLE MEDICAL MARIJUANA NOW | ||||||||||||||||||
One of the drug warriors' favorite arguments against state medical
marijuana laws and initiatives is that the medical use of marijuana
has not been approved by the FDA and that more scientific research
must be conducted. What they don't say is that marijuana is treated
differently than all other drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The federal government, through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), retains a monopoly on the supply of cannabis that can be used in FDA-approved research and has twice refused to supply it to privately-funded FDA-approved studies. Over two years ago the Medicinal Plant Program at The University of Massachusetts/Amherst applied for a license to produce cannabis for research purposes only to be confronted by a series of dilatory tactics by the DEA. | ||||||||||||||||||
The DEA has indicated that it probably won't approve the application
so we have to act now to stop the cycle keeping medical marijuana
from sick and dying patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
Fax Dr. Andrea Barthwell, Deputy Director for Demand Reduction,
Office of National Drug Control Policy, urging her to recommend that
the DEA approve the UMass license: | ||||||||||||||||||
Or send an email or letter to Dr. Barthwell through: | ||||||||||||||||||
But we suggest that you modify and personalize your message when
using either of the above links so that Dr. Barthwell knows that you
personally care about the issue. | ||||||||||||||||||
As a doctor and senior member of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, Barthwell holds authority over this issue. Through news
articles she has become a vocal part of the Drug Czar's campaign
against medical marijuana. Her most recent OPED explicitly says that
"If a substance has the proven capacity to serve a medical purpose,
then it will be accepted." Yet, Dr Barthwell, along with the Drug
Czar, continues to support the governmental stranglehold on
marijuana production hindering such research. See Dr Barthwell's
OPED, which was printed in a number of newspapers, here:
http://www.mapinc.org/author/Barthwell | ||||||||||||||||||
NIDA produces only low-potency material with stems included meaning that patients have to inhale more smoke to get any of the beneficial effects, decreasing the chance FDA will approve it. The UMass team wants to produce a small quantity of high-potency marijuana. As long as NIDA retains its monopoly on the supply of marijuana that can be used in research, no rational sponsor will invest money in the research required to get marijuana approved as a medicine. Your help is needed to break the government's monopoly on the supply of marijuana in order to unshackle medical marijuana research. | ||||||||||||||||||
More About This Issue: | ||||||||||||||||||
The non-medical use of marijuana was criminalized (taxed out of
legal existence) in the U.S. in 1937 but medical use was still
permitted until 1941, when marijuana was officially taken out of the
United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary. Since that time,
all legal production of marijuana for medical research has been
funded (monopolized) by the federal government. | ||||||||||||||||||
The federal government does not retain a monopoly on the production
of any other Schedule I drug, with multiple private producers having
DEA licenses to manufacture MDMA, psilocybin, etc., for sale for use
in federally-approved research. In fact, the laws regulating the
licensing of producers of Schedule I drugs specifically require
adequate competition, the opposite of a monopoly. Title 21 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1301.33(b), states: "In order
to provide adequate competition, the Administrator shall not be
required to limit the number of manufacturers in any basic class to
a number less that consistent with maintenance of effective controls
against diversion solely because a smaller number is capable of
producing an adequate and uninterrupted supply." | ||||||||||||||||||
At present, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) contracts to
Dr. ElSohly at the University of Mississippi to grow marijuana at an
outdoor, fenced facility with 24-hour armed guards. The product that
is grown is seeded, leafy, low-potency material with stems included.
The product is sent to Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina
for rolling into standardized cigarettes, usually with about 4% THC,
with the highest potency available (in small quantities) being 7%
THC. A medical marijuana potency study conducted by MAPS and CaNORML
showed that the most popular varieties of marijuana offered to
patients at Buyers' Clubs around the country were in the range of
12-15% THC, substantially reducing the amount of smoke or vapors (if
vaporizers are used) that patients need to inhale to obtain the
desired dose of cannabinoids. The low potency of NIDA's material has
been criticized by patients and researchers as being one reason why
NIDA's material is undesirable for a serious drug development
research program. | ||||||||||||||||||
Furthermore, NIDA has twice refused to provide marijuana to
FDA-approved medical marijuana research protocols, claiming it
didn't like the design of the studies. As long as NIDA retains its
monopoly on the supply of marijuana that can be used in research,
private sponsors of medical marijuana research: | ||||||||||||||||||
1) cannot select the exact strain of marijuana with the exact mix of
cannabinoid content that the sponsors consider most likely to be
safe and efficacious, | ||||||||||||||||||
2) cannot manufacture the drug they wish to research and thus are
not in control of either availability and cost, and | ||||||||||||||||||
3) cannot guarantee to supply the exact drug that was researched for possible prescription use since NIDA is legally authorized to grow marijuana for research but cannot supply it on a prescription basis. | ||||||||||||||||||
No rational sponsor will invest millions of dollars in medical
marijuana research while it remains dependent for its supply of
research material on NIDA, whose institutional mission is
diametrically opposed to exploring the beneficial uses of marijuana
and which cannot in any case legally provide marijuana for
prescription use. | ||||||||||||||||||
Prof. Craker originally submitted his application to DEA on June 25,
2001, with his facility to be funded by the Multidisciplinary
Association for Psychedelic Studies, a non-profit research and
educational organization working to develop marijuana into an
FDA-approved prescription medicine. For the first year, DEA claimed
to have "lost" the application and refused to accept the
resubmission of a photocopy because it didn't have an original
signature. | ||||||||||||||||||
Then, DEA returned the original application to Prof. Craker with a
DEA date stamp showing it had been received when it was sent and was
never lost! Prof. Craker resubmitted the original application and,
for the second year, DEA unsuccessfully tried to encourage Prof.
Craker and the UMass Amherst administrators to withdraw the
application. DEA also claimed that it was prohibited from licensing
the privately-funded UMass Amherst facility due to U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally, on June 25, 2003, DEA posted an announcement of Prof.
Craker's application in the Federal Register, even though it should
have posted it shortly after the license was submitted. Public
comments, limited to people who have applied for or possess a
similar license, must be submitted by Sept. 22,2003, with a decision
from DEA expected shortly thereafter. | ||||||||||||||||||
If DEA rejects the application, which is what it has indicated will probably take place, a lawsuit will be initiated and yet another DEA Administrative Law Judge hearing will result about the medical use of marijuana. Alternatively, if enough political pressure can be brought to bear on DEA and ONDCP, DEA will approve the license. Then, as Ex-DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson stated on November 28, 2001 "the question of whether marijuana has any legitimate medical purpose should [will] be determined by sound science and medicine." | ||||||||||||||||||
A history of the efforts of MAPS and Dr. Craker to obtain a DEA
license for the UMass Amherst production facility, with extensive
supporting documents, can be found at: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"John P. Walters is the United States Drug Czar, also known as the
Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
He is the government's minister of drug policy disinformation,
insuring that historical experience and scientific data do not
interfere with the propagation of government policies on select
drugs." - Pete Guither, "Who is the United States Drug Czar?" - see
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2003/08/27.html#a37 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||
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