| Oct. 31, 2003 #324 | ||||||||||||||||||
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This week's (November 7) DrugSense Weekly will not be published due to
the attendance of the Drug Policy Alliance’s 2003 Biennial event by
some of our staff members. We look forward to sharing our conference
experiences along with other news coverage in next week's (November 14)
issue. | ||||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) UN: AFGHAN OPIUM PRODUCTION SPREADING LIKE CANCER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Opium cultivation is spreading like a cancer in Afghanistan and risks transforming the world's leading supplier into a state of narco-terrorists and drug cartels, a U.N. survey said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Opium poppy cultivation is fanning out to areas it has never been
seen in before, the Vienna-based U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) said in its Afghanistan Opium survey for 2003 -- the first
conducted in cooperation with the national government. | ||||||||||||||||||
High prices for opium have lured poor farmers away from conventional
farming, spreading poppy cultivation to 28 of Afghanistan's 32
provinces from 18 provinces four years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Either major surgical drug-control measures are taken now or the
drug cancer in Afghanistan will keep spreading and metastasize into
corruption, violence and terrorism," said UNODC Executive Director
Antonio Maria Costa. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) POT PANEL INVITES AMERICAN DRUG CZAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA -- A parliamentary committee examining Canada's proposed law
to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana is
inviting one of the bill's chief critics -- U.S. drug czar John
Walters -- to testify at its hearings. | ||||||||||||||||||
The special, all-party committee has decided to invite Mr. Walters
and several other U.S. witnesses, committee chair Paddy Torsney said
yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The invitation comes after some debate among committee members over
whether Americans should be called to testify at the hearings, which
resume Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We are open to listening to anybody give good advice to us," Ms.
Torsney said. Canadian Alliance MP Randy White, the vice-chair of
the committee, welcomed the addition of Mr. Walters yesterday along
with other U.S. officials from the Drug Enforcement Agency and
border authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is an international issue," Mr. White said. "It's not just a
Canadian issue. It's not about Americans making our policy. It's
about the implications of the legislation." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) POLICE TO CONDUCT RANDOM ROADSIDE DRUG TESTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In an Australian first, the Victorian government today moved to give
police powers to conduct random roadside drug testing. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under legislation now before state parliament, from July next year
roadside drug screening will be used to detect drivers affected by
cannabis and speed with a saliva test. | ||||||||||||||||||
Transport Minister Peter Batchelor said drugs were involved in 27
per cent of road fatalities last year. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It clearly indicates that the taking of illicit drugs is a major
factor of similar proportions as the over-consumption of alcohol in
fatalities on our roads," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The police will be given this equipment as new tools in the road
safety campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It will be targeted to times and locations where it has been
established that there's excessive drug use." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) ANTIDRUG ADS TARGET HISPANICS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Message Emphasizes Parents Setting Rules For Their Teenagers | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Among eighth-graders, Hispanic students have the
highest rate of past-year drug use for most illegal drugs, including
marijuana, cocaine and heroin, according to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||
In fact, one in 10 Hispanic youths ages 12 to 17 reported using
illicit drugs in the past month. | ||||||||||||||||||
To address the problem among youths of the nation's fastest-growing
ethnic group, a new multimedia antidrug ad campaign will target the
Hispanic community, the U.S. surgeon general and leading Hispanic
organizations announced Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Residents of Miami, Houston and other cities with large Hispanic
populations will soon see "Padres: La Anti-Droga" posted next to the
popular "Parents: The AntiDrug" advertisements on billboards and
buses. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Reaching the Hispanic population isn't just about communicating in
Spanish," said Roy Bostock, chairman of the Partnership for a
Drug-Free America. "It's about connecting the culture with the
message." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In addition to the new ads, a Web site, www.LaAntiDroga.com , and a
toll-free number, 877-746-376427, also will be employed to
distribute bilingual books containing tips and resources for
Hispanic parents. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In the weeks after the Rush Limbaugh drug scandal story broke,
hundreds of pundits (including this commentator) wrote about it.
Now, finally, a few people with real world experience regarding pain
and painkillers are trying to make sense of the issue. Geov Parrish,
a writer with Seattle Weekly who has been using OxyContin for years,
tried to sort through the myths and the realities surrounding the
demonized drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the legal world, a U.S. Circuit Court last week decided that nervousness alone does not justify a car search. Another court is weighing an appeal from a man convicted of selling drug-free urine. | ||||||||||||||||||
And, the U.S. Coast Guard had another "great" year, if seizing
record amounts of illegal drugs qualifies as great. Not so great is
the reality that all the resources used for those drug busts had
virtually no impact on the black market supply. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) THE RUSH ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LET'S GET TO the heart of the matter: I did not, at any time, get a wheelbarrow full of little joy pills from my housekeeper. I don't even have a housekeeper. I do, however, have the pills. For the past nine years, I've been addicted to the same drug as Rush Limbaugh. | ||||||||||||||||||
OxyContin is a time-release capsule containing the active ingredient
oxycodone, which also goes into Percoset and Darvoset. The
time-release OxyContin version doesn't have a quick peak high. It
offers a steady level of pain relief over a long time, which makes
it ideal for chronic pain. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Limbaugh's case, he began taking the drug after spinal surgery.
At about the same time, nine years ago, that I started taking it,
while recuperating from a double organ transplant. That 10-hour
operation left me with chronic nerve pain that has never gotten much
worse or better since. We've tried a number of remedies, drug and
otherwise, to address the pain. Oxycodone in its various forms has
been the only thing that works. | ||||||||||||||||||
So I'm an addict, because I know that if I went too long without my
dosage, the withdrawal would make me really, really sick. It'd be
nasty. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) NERVOUSNESS ALONE CAN'T PROMPT SEARCH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Police officers do not have authority to search a vehicle they have
stopped for a traffic violation merely because the occupants are
nervous, according to a decision that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court
released Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
An Alabama state trooper stopped a car when he saw it veer over the
white fault line on an interstate and travel briefly on the
shoulder. He asked questions intended to determine whether the
driver was too sleepy to drive or intoxicated and then had the
driver, Jessie Perkins Jr., sit in the squad car while he prepared a
warning ticket. | ||||||||||||||||||
The officer later testified Perkins seemed extremely nervous,
breathed rapidly, was evasive and repeated all of the officer's
questions before answering them. His answers to questions regarding
his destination were somewhat inconsistent with those given by the
car's passenger. | ||||||||||||||||||
Suspicious, the officer asked Perkins and his passenger numerous
questions about whether they had drugs in the car. They denied
having drugs several times but, when the officer called for a canine
unit to sniff for drugs, Perkins revealed he had narcotics in the
car's console. Noting that innocent people are frequently nervous
when confronted by a law enforcement officer - a phenomenon Judge
Rosemary Barkett said is shared by lawyers presenting cases to
appellate judges - the court said more is necessary to change a
traffic stop into a drug search. | ||||||||||||||||||
The court also reiterated holdings on how long a traffic stop can
appropriately take. A 50-minute stop is generally acceptable, but a
90-minute stop is too long, the court said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) S.C. JUSTICES WEIGH APPEAL OF MAN WHO SOLD HIS URINE | ||||||||||||||||||
COLUMBIA--Kenneth Curtis wants the state Supreme Court to decide he
had no intent to help people defraud drug tests when he sold kits
containing his urine. | ||||||||||||||||||
The high court heard arguments Tuesday in Curtis' appeal of his six-month sentence and conviction for selling his urine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors say Curtis knew the law and broke it when he sold urine
and a kit containing a heat pack, tape and tubing so it appears a
user is giving his own sample during a drug test. | ||||||||||||||||||
Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Rapoport told the court that the law requires the prosecution to prove the intent of the seller, not the buyer. In Curtis' case, the urine was sold to an undercover agent for the State Law Enforcement Division. | ||||||||||||||||||
But, Curtis' attorney said, he never intended to help anyone commit
fraud. "Anytime someone said I want to buy one of your tests to
defraud a test for illegal drugs, he said, 'I'm not going to sell
it,' " said Curtis' lawyer, C. Rauch Wise. | ||||||||||||||||||
Curtis said there is no credible evidence that anyone bought his
product to defraud a test for illegal drug use. Curtis said he was
trying to help people protect their privacy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) COAST GUARD STEPS UP DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Aided by helicopters with high-tech weapons, three Portsmouth-based
Coast Guard cutters have gone on a drug-bust binge in the Caribbean
that has netted nearly $400 million worth of cocaine in the past
five weeks. | ||||||||||||||||||
The helicopters, carrying a crewmember who has a laser-sighted
.50-caliber rifle that can disable the engines of the high-speed | ||||||||||||||||||
"Before, when we've been flying over these guys, we just had to
wave, and they'd give us the finger and float away," said Lt. Shawn
Koch, one of the Coast Guard helicopter pilots. "Now we have a way
to stop them." | ||||||||||||||||||
In part because of the helicopters, the Coast Guard has had one of its best years yet in America's other war -- the war on drugs. In fiscal 2003, which ended Sept. 30, the Coast Guard seized 136,865 pounds of cocaine -- an increase of 17 percent over last year, and second only to the record haul of 138,393 pounds in 2001. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A fatal Ohio drug bust last year was based on a false tip. The
family of Clayton Helriggle, who was killed in the bust, is
understandably disappointed that no one will be held accountable for
the false tip or the death of Helriggle. That bust was carried out
by a task force composed of people who usually didn't perform drug
operations, and it looks like a Tennessee county is setting
themselves up for a similar tragedy. Anderson County is starting a
new SWAT team, not to deal with terrorists, but specifically for
raiding methamphetamine labs. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Alabama a police chief was arrested on drug charges. And defense
lawyers in the same state are trying to expose the ugly realities
behind a drug conviction, which they allege includes collusion
between a judge and prosecutors, as well as illegal tactics by
police. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) HELRIGGLES QUESTION CONVICT'S LIE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Sharon Helriggle will never stop asking herself, "What | ||||||||||||||||||
That's true of any parent who loses a child to violence. But for
Helriggle and her husband, Mike, the litany of "What ifs" only grows
longer with time. | ||||||||||||||||||
It grew longer still with the recent release of a Montgomery County
Sheriff's Office investigation into the shooting death of her
23-year-old son, Clayton Helriggle, in a 2002 raid on a Preble
County farmhouse. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report is an administrative review of the practices and training of the Preble County sheriff's now-disbanded regional SWAT team. There it is, in black and white, on page 21 of the 31-page report: | ||||||||||||||||||
Kevin Leitch - convicted felon, burglar and a key witness in the
case - told investigators he mistakenly told a Greene County grand
jury that Clayton Helriggle was the one selling drugs from the
house. The grand jury did not issue any indictments against the
officers or the farmhouse residents. | ||||||||||||||||||
"That part of the report upset us greatly," Mrs. Helriggle said. "I
don't know if it would have changed the outcome of the grand jury,
and we'll probably never know." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) SWAT TEAM GEARS UP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
About a dozen men began training Monday to become members of the newly-formed Anderson County Sheriff's Department special weapons and tactics team. The Sheriff's Department started training SWAT team members Monday and by Tuesday they were putting on gas masks and going into a training building getting a taste of tear gas. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Brown, the team's instructor, said the chemical weapons training is
not for terrorist-type chemical weapons or war-related weapons but
for riot agents, such as tear gas. | ||||||||||||||||||
Brown said currently the team has about a dozen deputies, who serve
in several different positions at the Sheriff's Department. He said
other members will be added later and of those, some will be trained
for special weapons and other tactics. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Sheriff's Department decided to start up a SWAT team in part because of the number of methamphetamine labs in Anderson County but also because the formation of the team was one of Sheriff Bill White's goals, as he had stated prior to being elected sheriff. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The team will be used for entry purposes at meth labs," Brown said.
"And, we need an emergency response team." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) POLICE CHIEF FACES CHARGE IN DRUG CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mosses Police Chief Henry Gordon was arrested Thursday and charged with drug possession, the Lowndes County town's mayor said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gordon, 42, was arrested about 11:30 a.m. by officials with the attorney general's office and the 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force in addition to U.S. law enforcement officers from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms, Lowndes County Sheriff Willie Vaughner said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"His arrest was enough to suspend him without pay pending the final
legal outcome of the situation," the mayor said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The fact that the police chief has been formally charged with
possession of a controlled substance -- crack cocaine -- is
sufficient to justify the immediate action of the mayor and City
Council," he added. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) THE ARREST OF RODNEY SIMMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Prosecutors say drug convict's claims about everything from judge's
conduct to legality of tracking device are unfounded | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal agents and prosecutors carelessly, if not deliberately,
withheld evidence in a cocaine case against a Florida man, lawyers
with the federal defender's office in Mobile have asserted in
seeking a new trial. | ||||||||||||||||||
Defense filings in U.S. District Court in Mobile claim that federal
agents illegally used information from a tracking device to catch
Rodney Simms, and that the law officer who said Simms confessed
might have made up his story. Simms' defense also has suggested that
a judge acted inappropriately when she met with prosecutors while
Simms' lawyers weren't present. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The rulings of the trial court, the actions of the government and
the subterfuge of the officers involved denied Simms a fair trial,"
his lawyers wrote in an 87-page filing submitted last month to the
11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. | ||||||||||||||||||
Government officials have acknowledged that some circumstances of the case are unusual. The voluminous documentation in the case, particularly transcripts, seem to support that assessment. | ||||||||||||||||||
But prosecutors, investigators and the judge strongly deny
intentional wrongdoing. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
This week we begin with a HUGE Forbes examination of the HUGE
Canadian cannabusiness industry (and don't miss the sidebars, which
are linked to the original article). We then move south to
California, with a story examining the repercussions of the federal
prosecution of Lynn and Judy Osburn and the continuing DEA
persecution of the legitimate users and distributors of therapeutic
cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our third story looks at new legislation proposed by the Christian Democrat ruling party that would limit the buying and selling of cannabis in coffeeshops to Dutch nationals. The conservative government hopes to stem the flow of "drug tourism" by passing new regulations requiring proof of Dutch citizenship in order to buy cannabis, but local city councils have expressed concerns that this would simply move drug distribution back into the streets. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our last two stories take us back to Canada once again, with a look
at Jim and Lynn Wood's Hemp NB Cafe, which is shaking up the
Maritimes with its new policy of distributing over-the-counter
cannabis to medical users; and yet another story about the poor
quality and potential danger of the government-grown supply of
therapeutic cannabis. Why is it that a couple of East Coast cafe
managers can do a better job of supplying therapeutic cannabis than
Health Canada's much-vaunted but completely ineffective program.
It's amazing how far courage and compassion will get you, unless
you're being prosecuted by the DEA, that is. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) CANADA'S CASH CROP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Small-time marijuana growing is already a big business in Canada. It is likely to get bigger, despite all the efforts of the antidrug crowd in Washington, D.C. On Oct. 14 the U.S. Supreme Court, by refusing to disturb an appeals court ruling, gave its stamp of approval to doctors who want to recommend weed to ease their patients' pain or nausea. In the U.S. nine states have enacted laws permitting marijuana use by people with cancer, AIDS and other wasting diseases. The Canadians are even more cannabis-tolerant; although they have not legalized the drug, they are loath to stomp out the growers. This illicit industry has emerged as Canada's most valuable agricultural product--bigger than wheat, cattle or timber. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadian dope, boosted by custom nutrients, high-intensity metal halide lights and 20 years of breeding, is five times as potent as what America smoked in the 1970s. With prices reaching $2,700 a pound wholesale, the trade takes in somewhere between $4 billion (in U.S. dollars) nationwide and $7 billion just in the province of British Columbia, depending on which side of the law you believe. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
No medical marijuana activist could have foreseen that Proposition 215 - - the 1996 ballot measure that gave California residents the right to grow and distribute marijuana for use with a doctor's prescription - would have led to this moment. Ventura County residents Lynn and Judy Osburn, a married couple who grew pot for AIDS and cancer patients at the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, stood before U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Howard A. Matz on October 7. Their faces were brave, but their voices were barely audible. As Judge Matz led them through a series of questions to determine whether they understood the consequences of their actions, the Osburns each pled guilty to federal felony drug charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In a long, withering exchange, the Osburns gave up their rights to
silence, to vote, to be licensed contractors, to even be teachers,
their activist spirits clearly balking with every response. They had
little choice. Under 9th Circuit evidentiary rulings, they were
almost guaranteed to be convicted and receive 10-year minimum
sentences for "Maintaining a Place for the Manufacture of
Marijuana." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) JOINT OPERATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A thick pall of sweet-smelling hashish has hung over the Netherlands
since the first "coffee shop" opened its doors in 1972. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
At its peak in 1997 the country's network of coffee shops ran to
almost 1,200 cafes where anyone over 18 could exercise their legal
right to buy up to five grams (a sixth of an ounce) of marijuana at
a time. But thirty years later, the novelty appears to have worn off
and the increasingly conservative Dutch authorities are drawing up
plans to turn back the clock. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
This week the Dutch public got a foretaste of exactly how the
government is planning to sweep aside decades of tolerance, when
justice minister Piet Hein Donner publicly outlined plans to allow
only Dutch citizens to visit coffee shops. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) SUFFER FROM ACHY JOINTS? COME TO THE SAINT JOHN CANNABIS CAFE (Top)AND LIGHT UP | ||||||||||||||||||
Like any small-business owner, Jim Wood has dreams of becoming a
big-time entrepreneur. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I can see us becoming a major tourist draw for Saint John," he said
in a recent interview. "We could fill every hotel in the city with
medicinal marijuana users." | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Wood, 34, and his wife, Lynn, 30, operate the Hemp NB Cannabis
Cafe on Canterbury Street. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We cater to everyone in the marijuana culture," Mr. Wood says. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If someone is smoking pot recreationally, that's fine with us. If someone needs medical marijuana, we can help there as well." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) TOXIC TOKE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A high court gavel may have ordered the feds to keep doling out weed
to the nation's sick last week, but it looks like the government's
perpetually problematic stash is in trouble again. Medicinal
marijuana advocates say that Ottawa's herb is laced with high levels
of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. | ||||||||||||||||||
That's yet another chapter in the tragicomedy of Canada's medical
pot saga, marked by years of judicial tug of war, flip-flopping
government support and notorious delays in the production of
certifiably weak greens. Most recently, Canadians for Safe Access
(CSA) decided to act on their mounting suspicion that growing
medicinal herbs in an abandoned zinc and copper mine shaft could
lead to contamination. The organization sent a sample of federal bud
(as well as organic herb for comparison) out to three labs for
independent testing. When results uncovered much higher levels of
toxic compounds like lead and arsenic in the government stash, the
advocacy group started sounding alarms. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In a surprising move, last week a Philippine city mayor condemned
the summary executions of alleged drug users. Mayor Joel Ray Lopez
of Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur noted that such extra-legal death squad
activity -- the killing of those merely suspected of drug use --
hurts government anti-drug efforts by spoiling public confidence.
Executions are continuing: over the last week, five more suspected
drug "pushers" were killed by death squads. One region has even
passed a resolution requesting that the Philippine National Police
(PNP) put an end to the executions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Washington fumed over Bolivia last week, pressing the new Bolivian leader to continue US-led coca eradication programs there. After earlier protests by coca farmers ousted the US-groomed president a few weeks ago, Carlos Mesa (the new Bolivian President) was given 90 days to appease the same Bolivian coca farmers. Bolivian coca | ||||||||||||||||||
growers want to double the acres devoted to coca, and to legalize
export of the leaf. | ||||||||||||||||||
In an unexpected turn-around, the government of the southeast asian
nation of Myanmar (Burma) denounced the US government for not
sufficiently fighting the war on drugs. Declaring that U.S.
sanctions hampered drug-fighting efforts in the region, military
spokesmen also decried a U.S. State Department report which asserted
Myanmar hadn't done enough in the struggle against drugs. Also cited
as irksome was an alleged refusal by the U.S. military to engage in
joint training with Myanmar. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, an item from Canada serves as a reminder of
the relentless vengefulness of marijuana laws as an American
52-year-old mother of two was arrested in Canada on a 31-year-old
marijuana charge. In 1972 (when Americans smuggled cannabis into
Canada, rather than from it), a then 22-year-old Ilene Schecter had
the bad luck to be caught taking pot into Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
After serving some 14 months of her seven-year sentence, Ilene decided to flee. Bad luck and Canadian computers caught up with poor Ilene last month when she tried to re-enter B.C. by car. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) VIGILANTES BUG ANTI-CRIME DRIVE IN DAVAO SUR TOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
STA. Cruz, Davao del Sur--The local government has condemned the summary executions of suspected drug users and purshers even as it described the murders as detrimental to the implementation of the government's campaign against illegal drugs in the province. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mayor Joel Ray Lopez said killings of drug suspects derail the
campaign against prohibited drugs in his municipality. He said if
these assassinations would go on, these might spoil the people's
confidence and eventually make them withdraw their commitment to
support the program. | ||||||||||||||||||
Armed men believed to be members of the dreaded ''death squad''
killed at least five suspected pushers over the weekend in Sta. Cruz
town. The latest reported victims | ||||||||||||||||||
were Leonard Ramos, Bertahim Samping, Alex Quirante, Raymund
Olivares and Leopoldo Albina. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Sangguniang Bayan has passed a resolution asking the Philippine
National Police (PNP) to put an end to summary executions and
conduct a thorough investigation into the series of killings in the
town. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Earlier, Rep. Douglas Cagas of the 1st District of the province
sounded alarm bells over the mysterious killings even as he urged
the police to do something. Otherwise, he said he would raise the
issue in the Lower House and ask the National Bureau of | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(19) BOLIVIAN GROWERS WANT TO REVERSE COCA-ERADICATION PROGRAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Washington Wants New Bolivian President Carlos Mesa to Push For
Continued Eradication of Coca Crops, but Traditional Growers Are
Demanding More Legal Acreage | ||||||||||||||||||
LA PAZ, Bolivia - Coca grower Jacobo Aliago gives Bolivia's new
president six months. Max. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The government gives us lots of problems, licenses, controls," he
said as he packed green leaves into a 50-pound bag. "They treat us
like narco-traffickers. What do we want from President [Carlos]
Mesa? We want our coca." | ||||||||||||||||||
Aliago and thousands of other coca growers joined miners, students,
teachers and peasants to topple Bolivia's former president this
month. And now, emboldened by their clout, the coca growers are
looking to roll back a government eradication program they claim was
dictated by Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But efforts to eradicate more coca bushes have run into stiff
opposition from growers who argue that they only sell leaves in the
local -- and legal -- market. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bolivia's indigenous majority has chewed coca leaves for centuries
as a cure for altitude sickness and a pick-me-up during a long day's
work. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Bolivia's increasingly powerful coca growers' lobby -- now the No. 2
party in Congress -- advocates doubling the allowed acreage and
legalizing leaf exports, particularly to northern Argentina, where
indigenous people also chew the leaves. | ||||||||||||||||||
The demands leave Mesa, Bolivia's vice president until weeks of
violent protests forced President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada to
resign on Oct. 17, seeking the difficult balance between a strong
domestic constituency and Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||
The consequences of failing to heed the coca growers could not be
clearer: the sort of strikes, street blockades and violent protests
that brought down Sanchez de Lozada's government. The growers and
the leftist coalition that forced his predecessor from power have
officially granted Mesa 90 days -- six months if early signs are
promising -- to meet their | ||||||||||||||||||
demands for change. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) MYANMAR SLAMS U.S. FOR REFUSING TO COOPERATE ON DRUGS WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
YANGON, Oct 29 -- Myanmar's military junta slammed the United States
Wednesday for failing to cooperate in its war against drugs and
warned tough new U.S. sanctions were obstructing efforts to fight
drugs production. | ||||||||||||||||||
The criticism followed the U.S. State Department's release Monday of its biannual report on Myanmar which said the Southeast Asian nation had made little headway in combatting illicit narcotics production. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The United States refuses to cooperate in Myanmar's war against
narcotics and does not even allow Myanmar | ||||||||||||||||||
to participate in training programs," the junta fumed in its latest
salvo in the verbal jousts between the countries. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"The State Department says that 'heroin produced from Burmese opium is of little importance in the U.S. heroin market,' which may explain why the United States is still on the sidelines," it said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"But we would remind the United States that it has a responsibility
as a member of the global community to help fight against the spread
of drugs, wherever they are," it added. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) U.S. WOMAN HELD IN B.C. ON 1972 DRUG CHARGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The long arm of the law reached back 31 years to nab a middle-aged American wanted on a Canadian marijuana charge from 1972. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ilene Schecter, a 52-year-old mother of two, was arrested last month
trying to enter B.C. at the Peace Arch crossing. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Schecter was 22 when she was arrested in 1972 at Toronto International Airport with a kilogram of pot. She received a mandatory minimum seven-year prison sentence for importing the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
After serving 14 months, Schecter was on a day pass in 1973 and
walked away. She's been on the lam ever since. | ||||||||||||||||||
She and her husband, a drug and alcohol counsellor, had no problems with the law until her past caught up with her on Sept. 18 as they drove to Vancouver from their home near Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Abbotsford lawyer Sarah Rauch, who is representing Schecter, said
Schecter is in jail "because she's been detained on a charge from
1972." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE CONFERENCE | ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Policy Alliance's 2003 Biennial event is the world's
principal gathering of people who believe the war on drugs is doing
more harm than good. | ||||||||||||||||||
November 5-8, 2003 Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel and Conference Center
Meadowlands, New Jersey | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MPS VOTE TO DOWNGRADE CANNABIS | ||||||||||||||||||
MPs have voted to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug, putting it in the same group as anti-depressants and steroids. | ||||||||||||||||||
The changes, which will come into effect in the new year, mean
penalties for possession of the drug will be lessened. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
David Borden, the Exec. Dir. of the Drug Reform Coordination
Network, http://www.drcnet.org/, was our guest on Cultural Baggage.
We discussed the interaction of the various drug reform | ||||||||||||||||||
Up Next | ||||||||||||||||||
11/04/03, Bruce Merkin, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project | ||||||||||||||||||
11/11/03, A report on the upcoming Drug Policy Alliance convention
in New Jersey. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LICIT AND ILLICIT DRUG USE IN AMSTERDAM, 1987 TO 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||
In October 2003, the Centre for Drug Research (CEDRO) of the
University of Amsterdam completed its most recent study of
development in drug use in Amsterdam. This report presents an
overview of the main results of five drug use prevalence surveys
amongst the population of Amsterdam aged 12 years and over,
conducted by CEDRO. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
INSITE - NORTH AMERICA'S FIRST LEGAL SUPERVISED INJECTION SITE (SIS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
INTERVIEW WITH NDP LEADER JACK LAYTON | ||||||||||||||||||
Marc Emery talks to Jack Layton, head of Canada's federal New
Democratic Party, to get his views on Canada's cannabis laws, and
Mr. Layton comes back with some astonishing answers. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
COPS SAY LEGALIZE DRUGS, ASK PETER CHRIST WHY | ||||||||||||||||||
Peter Christ of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Policy Debate Needs Higher Priority | ||||||||||||||||||
By Larry A. Stevens | ||||||||||||||||||
Dear Editor, | ||||||||||||||||||
Rush Limbaugh's tragic descent into drug addiction is no cause for
glee to this writer. It is cause for hope, however, that drug policy
debate will ascend to the top tier of national discussion where it
belongs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite all the recent criticism of Limbaugh for his hypocritical
anti-drug lecturing, it should be noted that in 15 years of daily
broadcasts Rush has only ever made a handful of statements regarding
drug policy. He could have banged the drug drum every day to the
thrill of his listeners, but he rarely even drummed his fingers on
the subject. | ||||||||||||||||||
Before his admission of drug addiction, it could have been assumed
that Rush's relative silence on drug policy was an acknowledgement
of the glaring contradiction between his small-government,
free-market rhetoric and the big-government, tax-and-spend drug war
he supported. This is the real hypocrisy that Rush and his
"dittoheads" must address. | ||||||||||||||||||
I sincerely hope Rush can avoid incarceration unless it turns out
that he actually wronged anybody but himself. Nobody deserves to be
put behind bars for what they put into their bodies. | ||||||||||||||||||
Larry A. Stevens, | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Why Dr. Hurwitz? | ||||||||||||||||||
By Dr. Joel Hochman | ||||||||||||||||||
I spoke with Dr. William Hurwitz today. He called me on my cell
phone. He is now out of jail after two weeks and is under "house
arrest". | ||||||||||||||||||
The National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain has already taken
a position on Dr. Hurwitz. The appropriate Executive Director's
message on the Foundation's web site (www.paincare.org) contains
those opinions. It is sufficient to say, by way of review, that Dr.
Hurwitz is a board certified physician and an attorney. He is highly
respected by his patients, his colleagues who know him, and by his
friends and family. To accuse him of being a king-pin drug dealer,
conspiring to distribute narcotics, is an historical obscenity. In
my personal view, his case will become the "Dreyfuss Affair" for
this century. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the next two weeks I will publish the files of those patients of his whom I have attended since he closed his practice. I believe that these records will speak for themselves. All are unarguably legitimate intractable pain patients. All have succeeded in recovering their lives through the use of opioid medications. With a few highly aberrant exceptions, all are, by all information and appearances, decent, deserving human beings. I have no reason to suspect them of diverting or abusing their medications. They are stable on their treatment regimen. They have achieved a pain level of from 3 to 5. This permits them to be reasonably functional. They have not suffered any adverse effects or complications from their treatment. They have consistently maintained their weekly record of treatment. They are in compliance with their treatment agreement. Their dose and schedule of medications is stable and effective. I will also compare their current regimen with that of Dr.Hurwitz, when the cases are posted (with the patient's permission.) | ||||||||||||||||||
Why then, is Dr. Hurwitz being prosecuted? | ||||||||||||||||||
1. To begin, we should consider the fact that John Ashcroft, | ||||||||||||||||||
I will not belabor the subject at this time. It is sufficient to say
that I can find no distinction between religious fanaticism of any
type. It matters not whether a fanatic wears a turban and never
shaves, or wears $2000 suits nd rides around in limousines. If
people harbor extreme religious beliefs, seek to impose those
beliefs on all others regardless of the human and social costs, and
are willing to employ any means to do so, they are all, equally,
fanatics. | ||||||||||||||||||
2. It is my conclusion that Dr. Hurwitz is being prosecuted because | ||||||||||||||||||
This belief is bizarre and indefensible. When any fanatic holding
such a position is subjected to pain, they will immediately
surrender their misguided belief and beg for help. Except for
masochists, whose psychoneurology is wired up so that pain is
experienced as pleasure, no human being can tolerate relentless and
uncontained pain. Relatedly, any physician who has ever advised a
patient to "learn to live with their pain"= is instantly revealed as
a fool and a charlatan. | ||||||||||||||||||
3. I have further concluded that the prosecution of Dr. Hurwitz is | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
He took it upon himself to become a pioneer in the treatment of
intractable pain. He further dared to succeed in defending this
treatment before the Virginia Board of Medicine, and to secure
favorable publicity and national support for pain treatment, when
opiophobia still prevailed widely. Lastly,= he pursued aggressive
treatment of pain with short-acting pain medicines. To succeed in
controlling his patients' pain he frequently had to employ
substantial doses of morphine, oxycodone and hydromorphone. Because
these drugs, all placed in Schedule II of the Controlled Substances
Act, are available only in small doses, he frequently had to order
them in large numbers. To order 2000 Percocet per month for a
patient, in a climate of opiophobia and clinical ignorance, was
audacious and challenging to law enforcement. To do this for 100
patients was intolerable to the fanatical.= It did not matter to
either that short-acting opioids cost pennies per pill, while
long-acting medications, such as OxyContin, Kadian, Avinza,
Duragesic and Actiq, cost many dollars for each dose. The sheer
number of pills prescribed by Dr. Hurwitz was sufficient evidence to
convict him in the minds of drug enforcement agents who had no
medical knowledge whatever.= Lastly, there was also the problem of
diversion. | ||||||||||||||||||
4. It is part of human nature to sometimes surrender to obsession | ||||||||||||||||||
Added to this quirk in human nature is the quirk of selfish
interest. It is very difficult for most individuals to admit that
they are motivated entirely out of selfishness. It is far easier for
them to rationalize that what they are doing is out of a desire for
the Public Good; this is precisely so for anti-drug "warriors". They
are promised a lifetime job, annual cost-of-living raises,
vacations, continuing education, health insurance and the privileges
of being "on the right side of the law". All they need to do to
secure these advantages is to pursue the =B3evil=B2 of drugs. It
should not surprise anyone that a half-million people have enlisted
to seek the "drug-free society", either knowing full well that this
is an absurd quest, or indulging in complete self-delusion. The
rewards are simply too great. The current banner under which these
legions march is the "evil" of drug diversion. | ||||||||||||||||||
Here again, vagueness serves a valuable purpose - the wider the
definition,= the greater the "evil". Virtually every household in
the nation has seen a spouse, relative or friend "divert" a
prescription medication to someone in acute need. However, the term
is also used to include the diversion of legitimate medication to
the black market for sale at great profit. The DEA now frequently
cites that "15% of all prescriptions are diverted". This is the
raison d'=EAtre for the latest focus of the "Drug War". Interdiction
of massive amounts of illicit drugs smuggled by international
narcotrafficantes is dangerous and fruitless, and serves only to get
agents tortured and killed (and to maintain the prices.) Pursuing
diversion is a comparatively safe and cozy activity. Few doctors
carry weapons and torture and murder agents. Few neighborhood pill
sellers are murderously "bad" people. Merely the threat of
imprisonment is sufficient for them to "roll over" on any doctor
they have ever seen, and to perjure themselves in any way the DEA
asks. Most of them conveniently adopt the propaganda that the doctor
was "really just a pusher" it immediately neutralizes their
immorality and betrayal of trust. | ||||||||||||||||||
Using the putative frequency of "diversion" as its justification, the DEA now is spending millions of dollars attempting to "root out the bad apples"= in medicine. They would have us uncritically accept their claim that 1 out of every 1500 doctors in 2002, 1 out of every 750 in 2003, and 1 out of every 375 in 2004, is a bad apple. Not only is this a ridiculous and unsupportable claim, but it flies in the face of the truth. Doctors who are willing to throw their career out the window for a few thousand dollars are so rare as to be statistically insignificant. I have personally reviewed the medical charts maintained by doctors who have been the object of such accusations. Not only was their treatment medically necessary and within the scope of legitimate medical practice, it was also effective in permitting the patients to maintain a reasonable quality of life. Further,= their compensation for this pain management was typically minimal, as most pain patients are permanently disabled, poor and/or on Medicaid. So, for $65 per patient, per month, the DEA would have the American public believe that hundreds of doctors, who have spent half their lives preparing for the practice of medicine, are really criminals conspiring to get illegal drugs out to an innocent and unsuspecting public. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the final analysis Dr. Hurwitz is being prosecuted to prove this
theory and to therefore justify the current chapter in the "War on
Drugs". In inciting and allowing this despicable campaign the
current Bush Administration is eating its own children. It is
recklessly and shamelessly pursuing its fanatical vision of a
drug-free society with contempt and indifference for millions of
innocent pain patients and thousands of brave,= dedicated and
principled physicians. And it is doing this by a traitorous betrayal
of their oaths of office, through the ruthless employment of lies
and fascist fanaticism, and through the use of cynical manipulation
of terrified addicts and low level drug dealers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Hurwitz, his patients, all pain patients, all physicians, and
the American People, deserve far better than this. In the coming
elections the political position of every candidate can be
fundamentally evaluated by their stand on these essential issues. If
they are not honest, brave and patriotic enough to stand up for what
is right and to cease this outrage, then they are not qualified to
serve in public office at all. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Hochman is the Executive Director of the National Foundation for
the Treatment of Pain. The Foundation's Web site, at | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"For as children tremble and fear everything in the blind darkness,
so we in the light sometimes fear what is no more to be feared than
the things children in the dark hold in terror and imagine will come
true." -- Titus Lucretius Carus [99-55 B.C.] | ||||||||||||||||||
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