| Sept. 5, 2003 #316 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) NEW U.S. SURVEY FINDS MILLIONS OF NEW DRUG ABUSERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A redesigned survey of who uses and
abuses drugs in the United States has found millions of "missed" users
and addicts, with an estimated 22 million Americans suffering from
alcohol or drug abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The study, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration on Friday, finds that 19.5 million Americans used
illicit drugs in 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last year's survey found that 15.9 million Americans used an illegal
drug in 2001 -- but SAMHSA stressed that the latest survey used new
methods and turned up many hidden drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The 2002 data are simply not comparable with data from previous
surveys," the report reads. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We know that for a number of years we've undercounted," John Walters,
director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy,
told a news conference. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new survey of more than 68,000 people was taken using stricter
questioning methods and included a $30 incentive payment, which SAMHSA
said resulted in more people agreeing to be surveyed while not
affecting the truth of their answers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The payment may have made it more likely that people "on the edge" -- younger people and potential drug users -- would agree to be interviewed in the first place, a spokesman for Walters' office said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) WISCONSIN PUBLIC SAFETY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gap In Meth Law Officially Closed
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Western Wisconsin law enforcement officials again have the courtroom
clout they say is needed to halt a steady increase in the production
and use of methamphetamine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Surrounded by sheriffs and district attorneys from western Wisconsin,
Gov. Jim Doyle on Wednesday signed a bill that again makes the
production or use of meth a felony. The legislation was co-authored by
state Rep. Kitty Rhoades of Hudson and state Sen. Sheila Harsdorf of
River Falls, both Republicans. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The governor had signed the bill earlier in Madison, but the ceremonial
signing at the St. Croix County Government Center was planned mostly to
thank local officials who lobbied for the change. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is a critical tool to fight this battle," Harsdorf said. "It's
not as big of an issue in most parts of the state, but here it is
critical."
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Enactment of the law marks a reversal of a 2001 law that made first-time possession of meth a misdemeanor. Possession remained a felony in Minnesota, creating two-fold problem in western Wisconsin: | ||||||||||||||||||||
The state's weaker laws encouraged meth producers to set up shop in
Wisconsin. And prosecuting suspects was harder because people charged
with misdemeanors couldn't be extradited. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Now we're on a level playing field, and they have the tools in place." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) GANGSTER IN BLUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Feds Say A Celebrated Atlanta Cop Doubled As A Gang Leader | ||||||||||||||||||||
David Freeman was a good cop and it showed, in praiseworthy letters
from bosses, merit awards for impressive police work and feats that
could be considered fodder for superhero-dom. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Freeman kept three children, all of whom had been shot in the face,
alive until the paramedics showed up. Freeman hunted and arrested
murder suspects before the bodies got cold -- and without a single clue
to work with. Freeman made more arrests in two weeks than most top cops
make in a month. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But David Freeman also was a bad cop -- a really bad cop -- if there's any truth to the accusations laid out in a 26-page federal indictment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Freeman and some residents of the northwest Atlanta neighborhood that
he policed are alleged to be the masterminds of the street gang "the
Diablos." The gang made every attempt to rule the local drug trade
using violent tactics including murder -- and committing the very types
of crimes Freeman the Cop was praised for solving. The fruits of the
Diablos' labor were in turn funneled into a Dirty South rap group by
the same name. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the stunning coexistence of accolades for an outstanding officer
and accusations of a hardcore gangsta might not be as startling as one
might think. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) CANADA'S POT REVOLUTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
North of the Border, Marijuana Policy Is Changing Radically. and The
White House Is Not Happy
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In November 2001, when Alain Berthiaume - Montreal's most prominent
marijuana activist - was arrested on drug charges, the best advice
might have been to plead guilty. Berthiaume, who owns a head shop, a
grow shop, a seed band and a pot-culture magazine, was caught
organizing his third annual Cannabis Cup - a public competition for
marijuana growers. Several months later, the police raided his home and
found 1,200 cannabis plants - what Berthiaume calls his "small
plantation"
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But Berthiaume thought he shouldn't have to go to prison. "I've been
smoking all my life," he says. "I no longer want to be treated as a
failure, a drug addict, a fucking thief."
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So when the prosecutor offered him a plea deal with only one year of
jail time, he refused it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And Berthiaume might just win. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alaska is starting to look a lot more like Canada, at least in terms
of marijuana policy. A state appellate court last week ruled that
Alaskans can legally possess small amounts of marijuana in their
homes. Like their counterparts in Canada, some Alaskan politicians
and law enforcement officials don't like it. A federal court in
California made a ruling much less worthy of celebration last week,
when it decided against ordering federal officials to stop raiding
medical marijuana clubs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Writer Jacob Sullum found another example of a former hardened drug warrior who's now having second thoughts about strict prohibition. Meanwhile in Baltimore, sloganeering doesn't appear to be helping the drug war; and in Michigan, a small group of activists gathered to mark the second anniversary of the killings at the Rainbow Farm. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) COURT: SOME MARIJUANA IN HOME IS LEGAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A state appellate court has affirmed the right of Alaskans to
possess a small amount of marijuana in their home in a ruling handed
down Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The state Court of Appeals, in a unanimous ruling, reversed a 2001
conviction of a North Pole man found with marijuana in his home, and
ordered a new trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The state will petition the Alaska Supreme Court for review, Attorney General Gregg Renkes said in a statement Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We are seeking further court review of the constitutional issues
raised by the court of appeals," Renkes said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In striking down the conviction of David S. Noy, the court called into question a 1990 voter initiative that criminalized possession of any amount of marijuana. The ruling drew an immediate reaction from Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski, who called it "regrettable." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) U.S. JUDGE WON'T HALT POT RAIDS OF CLUBS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A federal judge has dismissed an effort by the city and county of
Santa Cruz and a medical marijuana cooperative to get a court order
halting federal raids against California's pot clubs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose wrote he's "acutely mindful of
the suffering" patients have demonstrated, "and of the evidence that
medicinal marijuana has helped to alleviate that suffering. As it
commented at oral argument, the Court finds the declarations of the
Patient-Plaintiffs deeply moving."
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But while California voters have approved medical use of marijuana,
"the legislative and executive branches of the federal government
have a different view, and in a federal system that view is
controlling unless the federal government is acting in excess of its
constitutional powers."
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Such a showing hasn't been made, Fogel said in dismissing the case but leaving the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend and re-file it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) ALTERED MINDS: FORMER DRUG WARRIORS TURN AGAINST PROHIBITION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the 1980s, not many people could plausibly claim stronger
anti-drug credentials than Nancy Reagan. But Forest Tennant could.
"It's great for the Reagans to get up and say, 'Let's do something
about the drug problem,' but I don't know who's going to do it," he
told the Los Angeles Times in 1986. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Only true professional people like myself can do very much with the
drug problem."
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The remark was characteristically haughty, but Tennant had the
training, experience, and reputation to back it up. A physician and
researcher with a doctorate in public health, he operated a chain of
drug treatment clinics in California and was widely cited and
consulted as an expert on drug abuse and addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tennant has published hundreds of scientific articles, testified in
high-profile trials, and advised the NFL, NASCAR, the California
Highway Patrol, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. The Times described him as "riding at the
forefront of the current wave of anti-drug sentiment."
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So when the folks at the Hoover Institution who produce the PBS show
"Uncommon Knowledge" were looking for someone to debate drug policy
with me, Tennant must have seemed like a natural choice. Imagine
their surprise when he ended up agreeing that the war on drugs has
been a disastrous mistake. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) IN BALTIMORE, SLOGAN COLLIDES WITH REALITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BALTIMORE - Darrell Brooks stood at the front of a courtroom, tears
streaming down his cheeks, and choked out an apology. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He had killed seven people, five of them children, and now he said he
felt sorry. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I will never, ever, as long as there is breath in my lungs, ever
forgive myself," he said last Wednesday. "I knew those kids. I loved
them. I swear I didn't mean it, I swear."
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The lanky Mr. Brooks was off to prison for life for burning down a
house full of people last October, a crime that seared the heart of
this city and blasted a signal that things in Baltimore were still out
of control. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Brooks, a drug dealer, did not Believe. He had not gotten the
message, stamped all over the city, on garbage cans, squad cars,
T-shirts, skyscrapers, even thumping basketballs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Believe. One word, printed in black and white, as if things were
that clear. It began as a high-concept public relations campaign,
begun by the mayor, Martin O'Malley, to tackle Baltimore's most
infamous problem, drug crime. For years, the city had been at or
near the top of the list of per-capita misery statistics: most
murders, most addicts, most high school dropouts, most cases of
H.I.V. and syphilis.
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Believe was a way to address those ills, not through programs, but
through commercials, banners and bumper stickers. Few cities had
ever tried anything so abstract. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(9) FRIENDS REMEMBER RAINBOW FARM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cassopolis -- There's something to be said for having friends. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They're there to provide support when it's needed. They don't point
fingers and judge. And, as a group of friends of the late Grover
"Tom" Crosslin and Rolland "Rollie" Rohm proved Monday, they'll
stand on the sidewalk in a driving rain to make sure people don't
forget. | ||||||||||||||||||||
More than 20 supporters of the former owners of the Rainbow Farm
Campground braved the soggy afternoon to stand outside the Cass
County Courthouse, hoisting placards and waving tie-dyed flags in
observance of the second anniversary of a lethal standoff at the
Vandalia campground that left both Rohm, 28, and Crosslin, 46, dead
of police-inflicted gunshot wounds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
To people like Melody Karr of Mesick, Mich., the two died defending
something they believed in. And that, she said, is reason enough to
make sure their sacrifice is not forgotten. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We need to do this every year," she said, holding a yellow sign
that proclaimed Rohm and Crosslin "casualties" of a war on drugs.
"Tom and Rollie were good people -- not the animals the police made
them out to be."
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As outspoken activists for legalizing the currently illegal use of
marijuana, Crosslin and Rohm were known for the pro-legalization
festivals they held at the 37-acre campground, which was owned by
Crosslin. They attracted thousands of visitors, and often featured
bands, speakers and other attractions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Miami Herald took a closer look at what's happening in Florida
after drug rehab budgets were slashed there. Instead of saving more
overall, taxpayers are putting more money into prisons. Commentary
from another Sunshine State newspaper suggests that's exactly the
way the prison industrial complex wants it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Also in Florida, more members of the jury on a high-profile drug case were charged with taking bribes. The profiteering and corruption appears to continue heading north into Georgia. There a former police major and his wife are being charged with fraud and conspiracy after soliciting people who wanted to reclaim wrongly confiscated property. The couple allegedly told the victims that they couldn't go through the process by themselves, and in some instances the couple may have claimed the property of others. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) PRISONS TAKE AX TO REHAB PROGRAMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Even as Florida taxpayers spend more money than ever to lock up
convicts, the state is making dramatic cuts in its most successful
prison-rehabilitation programs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gone are dozens of teachers, chaplains and rehabilitation counselors.
To help save $20.8 million, the state slashed 339 positions. That means
GED classes are reduced to bare-bones levels. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Vocational classes, such as cabinet-making and computer repair, have
been largely eliminated. And even some of the state's largest
prisons, with more than 1,000 inmates, now have just one chaplain
and no support staff. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The prison system made the cuts because the overall state budget was
extremely lean. But the state came up with $65 million for 4,000 new
prison beds, which could ease crowding but further exacerbate the
dearth of rehabilitation personnel. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The man who ran the education programs for five years was so
outraged by these changes he quit last month. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bill Woolley said the department has abandoned its mission to repair
people and keep them from harming new victims. | ||||||||||||||||||||
''The new philosophy is that they are in the care, custody and
control business,'' said Woolley, in a phone interview from his
Tallahassee home. ``They're not in the business of necessarily
educating them and putting them in jobs.''
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The cuts come even as the department's own research showed inmates
with job training and high school equivalency degrees are less
likely to harm new victims and return to prison. Inmates who get
spiritual help create fewer security problems. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Critics such as Woolley contend that cutting these programs will
inevitably lead to larger demand for prison beds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AT WORK IN FLORIDA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite the state's budget crisis, the Florida Legislature
authorized $65 million on an emergency basis to build more prison
cells. The cited emergency was an unexpectedly sharp rise in the
number of new inmates. The politicians called this rise surprising
because crime rates in the state are at their lowest in almost three
decades. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There should have been no surprise. The spurt in new prison
admittees, as well as the Legislature's knee-jerk response to it,
are clear examples of the prison industrial complex at work. The
businesses and bureaucrats that profit from incarceration and the
politicians who profit from those businesses have combined to line
their pockets and feather their nests. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The primary reason for the recent spurt of new prisoners is
increased drug convictions. Beginning two years ago, the Legislature
started cutting drug treatment programs, both in prison and for
those on probation - a cost-saving device that removed about $14
million from the state budget. You don't have be a rocket scientist
to conclude that if the treatment programs had continued, many of
those now going (or returning) to prison would be doing something
different with their lives. | ||||||||||||||||||||
So we saved $14 million but it is now costing us $65 million. It
seems stupid - unless you're part of the prison industrial complex
and stand to profit from all that taxpayer money. Sixty-five million
dollars will go to businesses and bureaucrats who will take their
cut and then pass a lot of it back to the politicians in the form of
political contributions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) 2 MIAMI JURORS ACCUSED OF TAKING BRIBES IN COCAINE-COWBOY CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two jurors were charged Wednesday with selling their votes in a
high- profile federal drug trial in Miami -- bringing to three the
number of jurors accused of taking bribes for acquittals in an
infamous 1996 trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It is the only case in U.S. legal history in which so many members
of a single jury have been prosecuted for corruption, federal
authorities said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1996 acquittals of Salvador "Sal" Magluta, 48, and Augusto
"Willy" Falcon, 47, were one of the U.S. Justice Department's
biggest black eyes and led to the resignation of the top federal
prosecutor at the time. Soon there were charges the jury foreman had
been bribed, marking one of the darkest chapters in Miami's legal
history. Other jurors were suspected of taking bribes, but until
Wednesday, none had been charged. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(13) EX-ATLANTA POLICE MAJOR INDICTED MAIL FRAUD CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
ATLANTA - A retired police major and his wife pleaded not guilty Friday
to more than three dozen federal fraud and conspiracy charges accusing
them of using police information for a business that falsely claimed
cash seized by officers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former Atlanta Police Department Maj. John Woodard and his wife, Debra
Woodard, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Alan Baverman in
U.S. District Court Friday.
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[snip]
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John Woodard, 53, is accused of using his position to get the
information in police files and records. The information was given
to his wife's business. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Daniel Kane, the Woodards' attorney, said Friday that he thought
''the indictment is dismissable'' and that his clients were not
involved in any wrongdoing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
''Debra Woodard provided a service for people to obtain their
property,'' he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Debra Woodard's business, known as R.A.P. Limited, charged people a
fee to reclaim property from the Atlanta Police Department. The
federal grand jury indictment - unsealed Friday - says the company
falsely told the rightful owners of the money that they needed
R.A.P. as an intermediary to get their money back.
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At other times, according to the indictment, the couple used forged
documents and other tricks to get the seized cash for themselves.
The indictment says that, between 1992 and 1994, the Woodards and
others ''caused the Atlanta Police Department to issue checks ...
totaling $207,382 for the return of money that had been seized or
held as property.'' From 1995 to 1998, more than $55,000 of
unclaimed money was deposited in Debra Woodard's personal bank
account. In July, Debra Woodard also was indicted on six counts of
underreporting income on individual and corporate federal tax
returns. She pleaded not guilty to those charges, which previously
were under seal, on Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (14-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Much news on the medicinal cannabis front this week. Let's begin
with the exciting announcement that the Dutch government are now
making whole-plant cannabis available in pharmacies by prescription
from a physician. Over 1650 pharmacies will be licensed to supply 2
varieties of therapeutic cannabis - which is currently being
cultivated by 2 Dutch companies - to treat a number of serious
conditions such as HIV/AIDS and MS. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our second story takes us to Canada, where the federal government
has finally begun supplying cannabis to a handful (ie. 6) legal
users. Jari Dvorak, an Ontario AIDS sufferer and the first outspoken
recipient of this product has given it 5 out of 10 when compared to
the higher potency product available on the street or through
compassion clubs. The cannabis, which has been standardized to 10%
THC, costs $150cdn for 30 grams. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our third story examines the progress of clinical cannabis trials
currently underway in the U.K., including research on MS as well as
post-operative pain. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally, an interesting first look at an edited version of Dr. Ethan Russo's comprehensive policy paper on cannabis in pain treatment, which will be presented at the American Academy of Pain Management conference taking place in Denver later this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) DUTCH MAKE POT A PRESCRIPTION DRUG (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Netherlands this week will become the first country to make
cannabis available as a prescription drug, allowing pharmacies to
sell it to chronically ill patients, a top Dutch health official
said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Dutch government has given the country's 1,650 pharmacies the
green light to sell cannabis to people who have cancer, HIV,
multiple sclerosis and Tourette's syndrome in a ground-breaking
acceptance of the drug's medicinal use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It's a historic step. What is unique is that we are making it
available on a prescription-only basis through pharmacies," said
Willem Scholten, head of the office of medicinal cannabis at the
Dutch Health Ministry. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) CANADIAN FEDERAL POT GETS NOT-SO-HIGH MARKS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An HIV-infected man, who is among the first of about 500 Canadians legally approved for medicinal marijuana, took his first toke of government-grown weed after picking it up from his doctor yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I'd give it a five on a scale from one to 10," said Jari Dvorak,
who received a call Monday saying his two 30-gram bags of marijuana
had been couriered and were ready to smoke. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite the mediocre review, he said it was a significant day for
medicinal marijuana users nationwide. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It's a happy moment for a lot of sick people in Canada," he said.
"We should rejoice. This is the beginning of something Canada can be
proud of."
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[snip]
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(16) TESTING TIME FOR U.K. CANNABIS USERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Now post-surgery patients are to be part of a Medical Research
Centre study to test cannabis for pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The trials are being carried out at hospitals throughout the UK, including Princess Alexandra in Harlow, South Essex, and Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk, where researchers hope to measure the effects of cannabis plant extract against other pain-relieving drugs. [snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lawrence Wood, chief executive of the Colchester-based charity
Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre, was less reticent. He thinks the
study is long overdue. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Medical people have known for years that, when it comes to pain
relief, cannabis works," he declared. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"A lot of people out there who have multiple sclerosis (MS) find
cannabis is the only thing which really works for them - but it is
still illegal."
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[snip]
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(17) CANNABIS AND PAIN MANAGEMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The following article is an edited composite of a Policy Paper on
Cannabis in Pain Treatment presented to the American Academy of Pain
Management by Dr Ethan Russo, MD
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Effective treatment of acute, chronic and intractable pain is a
critically important public health concern in the world today.
Despite a vast array of analgesic medicines including
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For over a century, international commissions have studied the issue
of cannabis, and virtually uniformly recommended its
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[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Bolivian war on cocaine, dubbed a huge success by
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Wrapping up a visit to Afghanistan last week, the UN Drugs and Crime
boss Antonio Maria Costa ran up the flag of drug war surrender, as
opium harvests again soared to historic heights. Putting a happy
face on the glut of Afghan opium since the U.S. invasion of
Afghanistan in 2001, the UN drugs boss Costa predictably lauded
US-installed President Hamid Karzai. Costa denounced opium
production, said to finance "terrorism", and castigated the "drug
culture," which, explained Costa, is linked with "poverty and
insecurity." Costa failed to mention that US-allied Afghan warlords,
upon whom the US-led occupation of Afghanistan depends, are funded
by opium production. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Apparently not content with a bloodbath of some 2,500 slain drug
suspects so far just this year, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra instructed government to strip entire families of
citizenship, if one member of a family was found to be involved with
drug "trading". The measure would currently apply to naturalized
Thais, according to The Nation newspaper. Human rights campaigners
protested that such a move was unconstitutional, an argument
unlikely to sway the hard-core drug warriors that Thai politicians
wish to be seen as. "It sounds as if we're going back to the old
days when an offence by a single person could kill his or her entire
family," noted one Thai observer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally, it seems that the most popular "date-rape drug" is alcohol. Of 162 samples examined by government scientists in New Zealand, none showed any traces of "date-rape drugs" like GHB or ketamine. Of 44 samples tested by an Australian government agency, "none showed any trace of drugs that would suggest drink-spiking had happened," reported a New Zealand newspaper last week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) WAR ON DRUGS LEAVES POOR BOLIVIAN FARMERS HUNGRY, DESPERATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
IBUELO ALTO, Bolivia - One morning last April, Hilaria Perez Prado
began her day as always -- hoping soldiers wouldn't burst from the
jungle and tear her farm to pieces. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They did come, though. They trampled her fields. And then one shot
her in the chest as they left. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Perez, 41, is out of the hospital. But her lung is damaged and so is
her hope of eking out a living for her family farming deep in the
Chapare, a remote Bolivian region that is deep in America's war on
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Over the past seven years, Washington has spent $470 million on a
militarized campaign to deter Perez and other poor farmers from
growing coca. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Plan Dignity, as the campaign was dubbed, worked dramatically for
the first five years. Bolivian soldiers, most of them teenage
draftees from poor families, were given hoes and machetes and
ordered to uproot coca plants one by one. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They yanked out more than a billion plants. Bolivia went from
supplying half of the United States' cocaine demand -- the crop
brought an estimated $500 million into this country of eight million
people each year -- to supplying very little. American diplomats
called Plan Dignity their most successful anti-narcotics mission
ever in South America. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But oranges, bananas, manioc root and other crops urged on peasant
growers haven't proved profitable because few buyers come to these
isolated regions, and farmers have begun drifting back to growing
coca. Coca production in Bolivia is up 23 percent since 2001, the
White House Drug Policy Office says. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(19) TOUGH FIGHT SEEN AGAINST AFGHAN OPIUM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The country is fighting an uphill, "David and
Goliath" battle to control opium production, which is being used to
fund terrorism in some parts of the nation, the chief of the United
Nations antidrug agency said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, ended
a visit to the world's dominant supplier of opium and its heroin
derivative by saying the drug culture is inextricably linked with
poverty and insecurity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He praised the government of President Hamid Karzai for starting to
try to eradicate tens of thousands of acres of poppy fields, which
are often the only source of income for farmers, traffickers, and
warlords. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Costa said Karzai is about to sign the first antidrug law in
Afghanistan and has created a counternarcotics arm of the National
Security Council. But its annual budget is only $3 million, compared
with estimated revenues from opium production in Afghanistan last
year of $1.2 billion. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
He added poppy cultivation spread to new areas in the last year,
including Farah in the west, Ghor in the center, Faryab in the
northwest, and Samangan in the north. But production seemed to have
dropped in some of the five traditional opium-producing provinces:
Helmand, Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Uruzgan, and Kandahar. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The net result was an expected harvest in 2003 close to last year's
3,422 metric tons of opium. Output dropped to 185 metric tons in
2001 after the ousted Taliban regime banned production. A metric ton
equals about 2,200 pounds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Expectations for a not very different harvest in 2003 are, of
course, putting downward pressure on the
| ||||||||||||||||||||
price," he said. There are no reliable forecasts for
| ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) HUMAN RIGHTS: DRUG KIN TO LOSE CITIZENSHIP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Naturalised Thais found involved in illicit drug trading will have
their entire families stripped of their citizenship, according to an
initiative of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Government spokesman Sita Divari said Thaksin had at yesterday's
Cabinet meeting instructed the Interior Ministry to consider
revoking Thai nationality held by naturalised migrants and their
families if evidence suggested they were involved in drug
trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The measure, however, drew strong criticism from the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) and a senator. NHRC member Jaran Ditapichai
said the measure was against the Constitution, which prescribed
punishment of culprits, not their innocent family members.
"Citizenship revocation is applicable to convict only," he
explained. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
"It sounds as if we're going back to the old days when an offence by a single person could kill his or her entire family," Jaran said. He said he had supported the government's crackdown on drugs but it should be carried out while respecting citizens' rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(21) DATE RAPE: DRINK MORE COMMON THAN DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
While police are still warning of an increase in date rape,
scientists dealing with crime samples report high
| ||||||||||||||||||||
levels of alcohol in a large number of cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Environmental Science and Research forensic manager Wayne Chisnall said the institute had received 162 samples for analysis from police investigating sexual assault cases in the past two years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Of those, none had shown any trace of known date-rape drugs, such as gammahydroxybutyrate (known as GHB or Fantasy) and ketamine. Twelve samples had shown traces of sedatives but of those people, half admitted taking the drug themselves. Of the remaining six affected, two were men, which proved drink-spiking was not limited to women. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Chisnall said scientists dealing with the samples reported high
levels of alcohol were found in a large number of samples. Alcohol
was, by far, the biggest issue. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
While ESR scientists did not believe drink-spiking was entirely an
urban myth, it was not as common as people were led to believe. The
gut feeling among those who analysed samples was that if drinks were
spiked, they
| ||||||||||||||||||||
were probably spiked with more alcohol. | ||||||||||||||||||||
ESR is the sole agency used by police to analyse samples from people
claiming to be a victim of drink-spiking, or who may have blacked
out or had an unusual reaction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Research being conducted by the Western Australia Chemistry Centre,
a government agency, showed that out of 44 samples supplied by
police for testing over 18 months, none showed any trace of drugs
that would suggest drink-spiking had happened. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug Rape Trust chairwoman Jenny Fenton said the prevalence of
drink-spiking was not overstated. But people also had to be aware of
their tolerance of alcohol and its effects, which could be mistaken
for being drugged, she said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
VICTORY ACT 2 - POLICE STATE-BUGALOO
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Libertythink.com presents a more recent draft of the Victory Act | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.libertythink.com/2003_08_31_archives.html#106256646741360942 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Al Giordano, publisher of narconews.com
| ||||||||||||||||||||
We'll follow up on the decades old "silent war" in Central and S. America that claims thousands of peasant farmers lives each year. Sure to excite the listener when Al outlines the policies used by the US government to perpetuate this other "war of terror." | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE ETERNAL WARS - DISTINGUISHED DRUG POLICY PANEL ON KPFT RADIO
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday, Sept. 9 from 10 AM to Noon, CDT
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Drug and Terror wars are both designed to last forever. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Joining us to discuss the true medical properties of marijuana will
be Dr. Mitch Earleywine. To discuss the true harms of the hard drugs,
we’ll bring on Dr. David Duncan of Brown Univ. Helping to bridge the
gap between the war on drugs and the war on Terror will be author
Mike Gray. To point out the failings of the US drug war in
Colombia, Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies will join us.
To discuss his presentation to the Canadian Senate about the war on
drugs and the war on terror will be Canadian Barrister Eugene
Oscapella. | ||||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION WOULD SAVE MASSACHUSETTS $138 MILLION | ||||||||||||||||||||
9/5/03 10:00:00 AM
| ||||||||||||||||||||
GREENFIELD, Mass., Sept. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- As Massachusetts cities
and towns struggle to keep teachers in public schools and police
officers on the streets, a Boston University study shows $121 million
could be made available to local communities if the state stopped
arresting and prosecuting people for marijuana trafficking and use. The
study, commissioned by Change the Climate, a non-profit organization
that uses outdoor advertising to educate people about marijuana issues,
also shows that an additional $17 million could be raised if marijuana
sales were regulated and taxed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Change the Climate is a national organization of parents and business
people who believe that restrictive and counter-productive marijuana
laws endanger our children and squander our tax dollars. Change the
Climate has conducted advertising campaigns in Washington DC, California
and Nevada.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
More information on other advertising campaigns, including downloadable ads, is available at http://www.changetheclimate.org. Professor Miron's report is also available for download at http://www.changetheclimate.org | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE NATIONAL DANCE AND MUSIC RIGHTS ALLIANCE RALLY + MUSIC EVENT
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday September 6, 2003. 12pm-12am
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Washington, D.C.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The US Government has declared a War on Music. We are the target of
busts, arrests, harassment and intimidation, all with the ultimate goal
of destroying our culture and silencing the music we love. The recently
passed RAVE Act threatens to scare club owners and promoters into
shutting down events nationwide for fear of imprisonment of up to
20 years and/or fines of $500,000. Even harsher laws sit in Congress
right now. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This summer, join ROAR! for a demonstration against the assault on music
and a festival for our civil liberties. We will display the force and
unity of our culture through performances by international artists
and speakers from major industry groups and politically influential
organizations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE SUMMER OF LEGALIZATION SMOKE-OUT TOUR: WINDSOR, ONTARIO
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Marc Emery puffs down with a friendly crowd of pot puffing people from
Windsor, Ontario, the Province where there are no laws against the
possession of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Former DEA Agent Joins With Protest Groups
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Science Place, Fair Park, Saturday, September 13 and 20th,
11am to 3pm
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DALLAS, TEXAS - For the September 20th protest, a retired DEA agent has
joined local groups protesting the DEA-sponsored exhibit at The Science
Place in Fair Park. Celerino Castillo, III, is a decorated Vietnam vet
with a degree in criminal justice. Castillo served as a DEA undercover
agent form 1979 to 1992 working New York City, San Francisco, and
several assignments in Central and South American. Castillo is now an
activist on civil rights violations and will be speaking out against
the DEA exhibit at The Science Place, September 20. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug 'Epidemic' Merely Propaganda
| ||||||||||||||||||||
By Mett Ausley Jr. M.D
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Gazette's editorial on synthetic drugs (Drug Task Force Steps Up
Activity, Aug. 10) warns of a supposed "wildfire" of amphetamine and
ecstasy abuse approaching from the west without documenting or
explaining this peculiar geographic progression. Granted, drug use
varies with locale and demographics, but common sense dictates that
drugs follow the same routes and timetables as people, not the winds
or Earth's rotation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
I suspect these drugs have been here for some time; the imagery of
an impending "epidemic" is little more than the usual overheated
propaganda. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As for the conclusion that "the price of drug interdiction has gone
up," well certainly! When do bureaucrats admit they can get by on
less? Contrary to narcotics officials' alarmism, no clinical studies
on real patients indicate that synthetic drugs cause any form of
progressive dementia, much less threaten to create "a generation of
vegetables."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
As for mechanisms of brain damage, I'm familiar with concepts like
demyelination and hypoxia, but only a klutzy neurosurgeon "drills
holes in the brain." Excuse me if I find such reports unconvincing
and advise others to regard them with skepticism. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mett Ausley Jr., M.D. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Who Is To Blame For The Drug War?
| ||||||||||||||||||||
By James E. Gierach
| ||||||||||||||||||||
With twelve kids murdered in one Chicago weekend a decade ago, a
Chicago police officer succinctly explained that drugs are the
lifeblood of the street gangs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With fifteen kids murdered in Maywood, Illinois, so far this year,
Maywood Police Chief James Collier said, equally to the point,
"Drugs are the cornerstone of the crime." (Chicago Tribune, 9/2/03,
"Enough is enough, Maywood says.")
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite widespread public understanding that the illicit drug
business is so lucrative that an unending litany of anti-drug,
anti-gang and anti-violence initiatives have failed and will fail -
our elected leaders continue to tolerate it. They accept the drug
war and the death and destruction that accompany it, because they
fear a single word in support of drug legalization or drug
decriminalization can cost them their political offices and
political futures. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the killing in Maywood and America does not lie at the feet of elected political leaders alone (some, like the drug czar, are appointed). No, our media leaders share the blame. Not one leading American newspaper and not one television, cable, radio or media conglomerate has editorially called for an end to the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our religious leaders - the preachers holding press conferences
against guns, the preachers leading anti-violence vigils and marches
in the streets, and the preachers standing before the silent moral
majority in suburban pulpits - must share the blame for the carnage
on our blood-red, American drug-war streets. None are willing to
risk the parsonage, pulpit or pension for a prayer that sounds
"soft-on-drugs."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
And then, there are the direct beneficiaries of the drug war who
feast at the drug-war table: the prison contractors; the prison and
jail correctional officers; the municipalities who beg for a new
prison to replace a lost factory; the manufacturers of radar
balloons, go-fast boats, drug-spraying helicopters, eavesdropping
gadgetry, drug-testing kits, metal-detectors, drug-dog breeders, and
other assorted drug-war weaponry; and the recipients of anti-drug
revenues for the production and broadcast of anti-drug commercials
("this is your brain on drugs") and anti-drug programs (D.A.R.E. me
not, for example). They, too, must share the blame for the drug-war
slaughter of our children. As a friend and correctional officer
happily told me not long ago, "Drug war is job security." True
enough, but equally repulsive and even cannibalistic. | ||||||||||||||||||||
To the direct beneficiaries, the moral leaders, the media leaders,
the elected leaders - I say and remind them all: Kids are dying in
Maywood. Kids are dying in America. Whether shot and killed on the
drug-war playing field, in the drug-war stadium bleachers or
innocently outside the stadium on drug-war streets - the drug war is
killing them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
To the public, I implore you: Shed your complacency with drug-war
killing. Use your imagination and look into the eyes of the kids of
Maywood and of America. In the eye of each child, you can see the
eye and soul of your own child. Save them all. Elect leaders to your
state capital and our U.S. Congress who pledge to end the drug war.
And hold them to it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Power is not sufficient evidence of truth." - Samuel Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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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