| Dec. 12, 2003 #329 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) WAR ON DRUGS - THE VICTIMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Rights commission details five killings
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National Human Rights Commission member Vasant Phanich yesterday detailed at a press conference five killings the commission believes were carried out by police during this year's war on drugs. The commission says the five are among 26 it has investigated. | ||||||||||||||||||
CASE 1: KILLED IN COFFIN SHOP
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A man was shot point-blank in the head and arm at 6pm on February 11 at a coffin shop in Trang province's central market. Shot in front of many witnesses, two kilometres from home and just 300 metres from the police station, he died later at hospital. | ||||||||||||||||||
The killing was reported as being related to drug trafficking, but
the commission learned that no drugs were found on the man's body
or at the scene. | ||||||||||||||||||
Police detectives did not bother to check evidence or even collect
the spent cartridges, which were eventually picked up and turned in
to police by bystanders. | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite the number of eyewitnesses, the investigation has made
absolutely no progress. The commission said police had blacklisted
the victim and his family as drug traffickers and searched their
home six times before the shooting, but found no drugs or anything
illegal and did not have enough evidence to prosecute the man
on drug charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) POT SPARKS SHOWDOWN WITH FEDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Routt County Man Wants His Marijuana Back From DEA
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State and federal authorities are fighting over Don Nord and his three
marijuana plants. The case ultimately could ignite or extinguish a
smoldering conflict between state and federal laws that govern the use
of marijuana for medical reasons. | ||||||||||||||||||
Colorado says it's OK. The federal government says it's not. In
Colorado, neither federal nor state appellate courts have addressed the
issue. The three marijuana plants, meanwhile, are in a federal
laboratory in San Francisco and probably are dead. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The officers gave him a ticket, charging him with the misdemeanor of
possessing marijuana and the petty offense of possessing marijuana
paraphernalia. The ticket ordered Nord to appear in Routt County Court
on Nov. 4.
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But the government lost its copy of the ticket and failed to file it in
court by that date. Routt County Judge James Garrecht dismissed the
whole thing. | ||||||||||||||||||
The district attorney could have refiled the charges, but didn't.
Deputy DA Marc Guerette, who handled the case, could not be reached
Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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On Monday, Garrecht ordered the feds to give it back within 21 days. | ||||||||||||||||||
They don't want to. | ||||||||||||||||||
They've shipped Nord's marijuana to their lab in San Francisco, and
they won't give it back willingly, according to DEA spokesman Dan
Reuter. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is not in the habit of
returning illegal contraband," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) MARIJUANA POSSESSION CHARGES DROPPED FOR 4,000 CANADIANS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA - The Canadian government is making it a green Christmas for
4,000 people - it plans to stay thousands of charges of pot possession
as a result of legal battles over medicinal marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision will apply to every person in Canada charged with
possession of marijuana between July 31, 2001, and Oct. 7, 2003,
Justice Department spokeswoman Pascale Boulay said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Justice Department intends to cease prosecutions on the cases
because of a court ruling in 2000 that found medicinal-marijuana users
had the right to possess less than 30 grams of pot. | ||||||||||||||||||
The judge delayed that ruling's effect for one year in the hope the federal government would introduce a medicinal-marijuana law. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the government did not. Instead, the Cabinet issued regulations for access to medicinal marijuana one day before the yearlong grace period ended in 2001. The Ontario ruling created a legal loophole, effectively invalidating Canada's marijuana possession law as unconstitutional because it failed to provide an exemption for medical use. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We estimate there are about 4,000 pending files," Boulay said.
However, she said that criminal charges of marijuana possession will
still be prosecuted today as a result of the government's announcement
yesterday that it will not appeal the medicinal-marijuana case to the
Supreme Court. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) DUTCH 'CRACKDOWN' WILL LET DRUG SMUGGLERS GO FREE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
AMSTERDAM -- Cocaine smugglers arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport
with less than 3kg of drugs will not be prosecuted under new plans that
reliable sources claim comes directly from Dutch Justice Minister Piet
Hein Donner. | ||||||||||||||||||
When appointed last year the minister indicated the Netherlands was
going to end its "revolving door" policy of releasing passengers caught
with drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now, however, it is alleged that the minister has doubled the
previously-allowed limit. Anyone arrested with an amount of drugs under
that limit, will not be fined, summonsed or jailed, but they will be
required to surrender the drugs to authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Justice Ministry has confirmed that the smuggling of drugs weighing
under 1.5kg has gone unpunished for an extended period of time, an NOS
news report said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The policy is designed to relieve pressure on the judicial system caused by the rising number of drug-related arrests. The government set up several emergency jails across the country after alarm about the rising number of arrest was sparked at the start of 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||
But with intensive searches of passengers, hand luggage and cargo on
all risk flights -- via so-called 100 percent inspections -- the
Justice Ministry hopes to crackdown on drugs gangs that organise the
smuggling operations. | ||||||||||||||||||
It claims the gangs do not care about the smugglers, but only about the
drugs and that the prosecution of smugglers will not have a
preventative effect on the drugs trade. | ||||||||||||||||||
If passengers on risk flights are subject to thorough inspections, the
ministry is not concerned that the stream of drugs couriers carrying
less than 3kg of drugs will increase. | ||||||||||||||||||
[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) | ||||||||||||||||||
Medical marijuana patients hoping to escape persecution from the U.S. federal government may not be able to find official sanctuary in Canada. Officials there ruled against American medical marijuana refugee Steve Kubby's bid for asylum last week. While Kubby and his family plan to appeal the decision, since his life depends on it, the decision does not bode well for others in his situation. | ||||||||||||||||||
One might think Kubby's cause is one that Rush Limbaugh would like
to publicize, since he's seeing the dark side of American drug laws
now. Weeks after he left rehab and returned to his radio show, legal
investigations into Limbaugh's drug purchases are apparently
continuing. Strangely, Limbaugh seems to think he's the only one
who's being harassed, and that he's being singled out for political
reasons. If he understood half of what's happened to Kubby, he'd be
counting his blessings. | ||||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere in the news last week, Wisconsin passed a tough new
"drugged driving" law that does not measure impairment, but instead
looks for trace amounts of drugs. And court officials in one
Tennessee county apparently don't have to look hard for the evidence
of drugs. Some defendants are bringing the toxic chemicals from meth
labs to court with them by way of clothing, causing some lawyers to
become ill. Local hospital personnel are dealing with the same
situation, as drug prohibition continues to literally poison
society. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) MEDICAL POT REFUGEE LOSES DEPORTATION CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER - A self-described medical marijuana refugee has about two
weeks to appeal a ruling ordering he be deported back to the United
States. | ||||||||||||||||||
Steve Kubby came to B.C. two years ago, seeking to avoid a jail
sentence in California that he said will kill him. He is here with
his wife and two children. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kubby constantly smokes marijuana to control a rare form of adrenal
cancer. If he were incarcerated and deprived of the drug, he claims
he would die. | ||||||||||||||||||
An Immigration and Refugee Board decision released Monday rejected
that argument, saying it would not put his life at risk or subject
him to torture. | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision was not what Kubby was expecting. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The physician that they selected testified under oath that if I was denied cannabis for more than 48 hours I would suffer a heart attack or a stroke and I would probably lose my life," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) LIMBAUGH LAWYER BLAMES POLITICS IN PROBE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)-- Rush Limbaugh's attorney accused a
prosecutor Friday of having political motives for investigating
whether the conservative radio commentator bought painkillers
illegally. | ||||||||||||||||||
In search warrants released Thursday, investigators alleged that
Limbaugh engaged in illegal drug use and went "doctor shopping" for
prescription painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Investigators said they were looking for medical, insurance and
appointment records for Limbaugh as well as cash receipts and
prescription forms during raids of two doctor's offices Nov. 25. The
warrants say Limbaugh "alternated physicians to obtain overlapping
prescriptions" and failed to tell each doctor that he was seeing
others."
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Limbaugh denied any wrongdoing to listeners on his show Thursday.
Reading from a statement prepared by his attorney, Roy Black,
Limbaugh said medical records will clear him. | ||||||||||||||||||
"What these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain
and had legitimate reasons for taking pain medication," Limbaugh
read. "Unfortunately, because of Mr. Limbaugh's prominence and
well-known political opinions, he is being subjected to an invasion
of privacy no citizen of this republic should endure."
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[snip]
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(7) PENALTIES STRONGER FOR DRIVING ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MILWAUKEE (AP) Gov. Jim Doyle signed legislation Thursday
strengthening the state laws against driving or carrying a weapon
while under the influence of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The bill requires authorities to only prove that someone carrying a
gun or driving a car, all terrain vehicle, snowmobile or motorboat
had drugs in their systems to be prosecuted. Current law requires
authorities to prove the illegal drugs impaired them. | ||||||||||||||||||
The legislation was inspired by a 2001 incident in which a driver
high on cocaine ran a red light and crashed into a vehicle driven by
a Waukesha woman who was pregnant. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) METH SUSPECTS' LAWYERS SICKENED BY DRUG FUMES
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Others Complain Of Court's Air Quality; Tests Done
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CROSSVILLE, Tenn. - Two public defenders walked out of court last
week after one complained of feeling sick, and attorneys say part of
the blame lies in the fumes from several defendants charged with
making the homemade drug methamphetamine. | ||||||||||||||||||
''Thursday afternoon they did inform me that one of them - Ms. Lyons
- was feeling sick and that they were leaving,'' General Sessions
Judge Steven Douglas said. As a result, some cases on the docket for
that day had to be postponed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Public Defender David Brady said he had previously given two of his
assistants, Cindy Lyons and Joe Fendley, permission to leave court
if they felt such symptoms again, and instructions that they seek
medical treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
''I am treating it as a situation of employees having to work in a hazardous environment, and I'm taking it seriously,'' Brady said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The public defenders are not the only people complaining about the
air quality in the courtroom. Douglas' secretary and clerks in the
Cumberland County Circuit Court clerk's office have complained of a
variety of symptoms including headaches; burning eyes, nose, mouth
and skin; and nausea. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(9) METH POSES THREAT TO HOSPITALS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Health Workers Urged To Protect Themselves Against Toxic Fumes | ||||||||||||||||||
NASHVILLE - The Hippocratic Oath tells doctors: First, do no harm. | ||||||||||||||||||
But when dealing with methamphetamine users it must be amended to
read: First, protect yourself. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Barry S. Wagner, director of medical recruiting at Emergency
Coverage Corp. in Knoxville and a member of the Cumberland Medical
Center in Crossville, said health care professionals have been
sickened by the stench of a drug user's clothes and chemicals found
in bodily fluids. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We don't have all the answers because all the answers don't exist,"
he said Tuesday during a panel discussion at the three-day
Methamphetamine Response Conference. "If you treat this as a typical
diagnostic problem, you're going to come out on the short end of the
stick."
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Typically, emergency room personnel are taught the ABCs of
treatment: Airway, breathing, circulation. But when dealing with a
meth user, "D" for decontamination must come first. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The reverberations from a highly publicized school drug raid
continue to be felt in South Carolina last week. As investigations
continue, it appears police broke their own written policies during
the raid. Several students who experienced the drug raid first hand
are fighting back against the raid by filing lawsuits against
police. | ||||||||||||||||||
Outrage also appears to be fueling action in Dallas. According to an editorial in the Dallas Morning News, the city's fake drug scandal and the recent acquittal of the only police officer charged in the incidents have galvanized some citizens to seek justice. | ||||||||||||||||||
And in Oklahoma, which has the highest rate of female incarceration
in the nation, officials are realizing that it's more expensive to
incarcerate women than men, and that many of those women are behind
bars thanks to the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) RAID MIGHT HAVE BROKEN DRUG-DOG RULES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CHARLESTON (AP) - The Goose Creek Police Department appears not to
have followed its own rules on using drug dogs in its guns-drawn
raid at Stratford High School last month. | ||||||||||||||||||
A videotape the Police Department released shows a police dog
passing close by students who had been forced to kneel on the floor
during the Nov. 5 raid. It also captures an officer lecturing
students as that part of the raid ends. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If you're an innocent bystander to what has transpired here today,
you can thank those people that are bringing dope into this school.
Every time we think there's dope in this school, we're going to be
coming up here to deal with it, and this is one of the ways we can
deal with it," the unidentified officer says. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The department's procedure on "illegal narcotics detection" states,
"Only after the on-scene supervisor has cleared the area of all
personnel will the canine enter and conduct an illegal narcotics
detection."
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The tape shows Goose Creek police officer Jeff Parrish and Major, a
Czechoslovakian shepherd, entering the hallway. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) 17 STUDENTS FILE SUIT IN POLICE RAID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CHARLESTON - Seventeen Stratford High School students have filed a
lawsuit against the city of Goose Creek and the Berkeley County
School District, saying police and school officials terrorized them
in a drug raid last month. | ||||||||||||||||||
The defendants named in the lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District
Court in Charleston, include Stratford High School Principal George
McCrackin; Berkeley County school Superintendent Chester Floyd;
Goose Creek Police Chief Harvey Becker; and Goose Creek police Lt.
Dave Aarons. | ||||||||||||||||||
The suit also names the city of Goose Creek, its Police Department
and the Berkeley County School District as defendants. | ||||||||||||||||||
The lawsuit stems from a Nov. 5 raid in which police swept through
Stratford High School looking for drugs, pointing guns at students
and ordering them to the floor. | ||||||||||||||||||
Solicitor Ralph Hoisington asked state Attorney General Henry
McMaster on Thursday to investigate whether any laws were broken in
the raid. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) THE GIANT AWAKENS: FAKE-DRUG CASE JOLTS DALLAS LATINOS
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Watch closely. We are witnessing history in the making. After all,
it's not every day that hundreds of Latinos march on Dallas City
Hall to make their voices heard. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet that is what happened Sunday when hundreds of protesters gathered to register outrage over the fake drug scandal and demand that the city punish those responsible, as well as put in place safeguards so that such abuse of power never occurs again. | ||||||||||||||||||
The March for Justice Rally was organized by the League of United
Latin American Citizens and two dozen other local organizations in
the Dallas metro area. It was in reaction to the recent "not guilty"
verdict in what has been the only criminal trial related to the
scandal. It also was in reaction to the fact that dozens of people
were illegally imprisoned in the scandal two years ago and that to
date not a single person has been held accountable. | ||||||||||||||||||
These injustices have stirred a community that has long been
considered dormant. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(13) WOMEN COST MORE THAN MEN IN LOCK-UP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OKLAHOMA CITY - Not only does Oklahoma lead the nation in the number
of women it sends to prison, but the cost of locking up those women
is 31 percent more than the average male prisoner, officials
reported Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
David Wright, a researcher with the Criminal Justice Resource
Center, said Tuesday that because of higher medical costs and the
additional social services required for female prisoners, Oklahoma
taxpayers spend an average of $5,637 more annually on women than
men. | ||||||||||||||||||
Testifying before the Special Task Force Women Incarcerated in
Oklahoma, Wright said the annual cost for incarcerating a female
inmate, including social services, is $23,684, compared to $18,047
for males. | ||||||||||||||||||
"DHS (Department of Human Services) reports that it spends at least
$10.1 million annually in state and federal tax dollars for foster
care, medical and other welfare needs of 1,816 children in Oklahoma
whose parents are incarcerated," Wright said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Although the ground may be covered in snow, things are truly heating
up in Canada in regards to medicinal cannabis. This week Health
Canada released its response to the Hitzig case, which found the
federal Marijuana Medical Access Regulations to be unconstitutional
earlier this year. Health Canada has confounded all by choosing not
to appeal the decision, and yet still opting out of most of the
changes ordered by the courts - in particular by refusing to lift
restrictions on third party cultivators - citing international
treaty obligations and a fear of re-distribution. This contempt of
court and of the suffering of Canadians is unfortunately becoming
the norm for Health Canada's ineffective program. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our second story examines the Krieger case in Alberta, in which
long-time med-pot activist and distributor Grant Krieger was facing
trafficking charges for distributing medicinal cannabis. Shades of
the Rosenthal trial emerged when 2 of the jurors asked to be
dismissed following 7 hours of deliberation, stating that they
simply couldn't turn in a guilty verdict in the matter. The judge
responded by forcing them back into deliberation, and ordering them
to return with a guilty verdict (!), which they finally did 2 hours
later. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our third story suggests that Canada my yet get a decrim bill in 2004, whether reformers want it or not. Word from incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin's office suggest that his administration may be inclined to revisit the now dead Cannabis Reform Bill (Bill C-38) in 2004. Our fourth article is an incredible must-read story of cannabis's medicinal properties by Licia Corbella of the Calgary Sun. She illustrates the importance of this medicine for a young lady named Reshma Maharaj Hawn, who's severe and frequent seizures were finally stemmed by the medicinal use of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally, a comprehensive article on Dr. Jeffrey Guy, Executive
Chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, who's whole-plant cannabis spray
Sativex should be available in British pharmacies by early 2004.
Stay out of the cold, all!
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(14) PATIENTS JEER FEDS' NEW POLICY ON POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Health Canada says it will provide medical marijuana to authorized patients on a long-term basis, but patients aren't cheering. | ||||||||||||||||||
Instead, they're upset that the government will continue to strictly
limit local growing operations, forcing many patients to obtain
government pot grown at a Flin Flon operation, which they consider
inferior and overpriced. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Alan Young, a veteran lawyer and cannabis crusader, said Health
Canada has ignored much of the Ontario court order and he will sue
for contempt of court. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The court removed four major restrictions to access... one
restriction being the ability of a producer to grow for a number of
patients," said Young. "It's crystal clear, there's no way to
circumvent this, they're simply ignoring the court ruling. I will
set the wheels in motion to take Health Canada to court for contempt
of court."
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[snip]
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(15) JUDGE'S CHARGE TO JURY SEEN AS CASE FOR APPEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A medicinal-marijuana activist with no defence for drug trafficking
may have grounds to appeal his conviction, legal experts said
yesterday, because an Alberta judge told the jury he was guilty and
ordered jurors to convict him. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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This week, Mr. Justice Paul Chrumka of Alberta Court of Queen's
Bench sentenced Grant Krieger to one day in jail (on paper, though
-- not behind bars) for drug trafficking. Mr. Krieger is a
49-year-old multiple-sclerosis sufferer who admitted in court that
he ran a marijuana-growing operation to provide pot for himself and
the infirm. | ||||||||||||||||||
Judge Chrumka told the jury that because Mr. Krieger admitted all elements of the offence i, guilt had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt and with no defence, members must enter a guilty verdict. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) POT FLASHBACK ON TAP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The federal government's controversial marijuana decriminalization
bill is coming back to the Commons in 2004 - and the U.S. ambassador
is already warning of reduced border access for Canadian trade and
travel. | ||||||||||||||||||
Brian Guest, a spokesman for Paul Martin's office, said yesterday
the prime minister-elect backs getting rid of criminal penalties for
possession of small amounts of weed, and plans to put the idea to a
free vote of MPs after Parliament resumes next month. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Paul Martin supports legislation that would remove the threat of a
lifetime criminal record for those caught in possession of small
amounts of marijuana," said Guest. "The bill will come forward in
the next session, and it will be voted on in accordance with the
principles of democratic reform."
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[snip]
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(17) 'MIRACLE' DRUG CHANGES LIVES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Curative properties of marijuana aired during testimony at Krieger
trial
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It seems that once a month at least, I meet or speak to someone
whose life has been remarkably improved -- if not transformed -- by
the medicinal properties of marijuana. Many of these people contact
me. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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On Wednesday, I met more than a dozen people whose lives have been improved by marijuana at the trafficking trial of Grant Krieger, Calgary's foremost medicinal marijuana minstrel and primary supplier and distributor of the healing herb for the sick and dying. | ||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps one of the best examples of marijuana's curative properties
I have ever met is Reshma Maharaj Hawn. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(18) VERY BRITISH APPROACH TO THE BUSINESS OF CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Business Profile: Geoffrey Guy believes his company is close to
success in creating a legal drug from an illegal one
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Geoffrey Guy has a conviction: possession of cannabis, with intent
to supply. Not a criminal conviction, of course, since Dr Guy is an
upstanding businessman and pillar of the community in Dorset. Just
an evangelical belief that cannabis has an array of medical benefits
and that his own painkiller, developed from the plant, will be
available on the National Health within months. | ||||||||||||||||||
He is the G in GW Pharmaceuticals, its founder, executive chairman,
and cheerleader-in-chief. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (19-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The king of Thailand was quite sure last week Thai police weren't to
blame for the deaths of some 2,500 people killed in Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra's war on drugs in the past year. "Most of the
dead were people who had killed one another, people who did the
trafficking, the production," proclaimed the Thai king. Still, to
settle the matter, the Thai government announced last week it would
set up a "police team" to investigate if the deaths were caused by
police. In order to thoroughly investigate the killings, the "police
team" will be given one whole week to look into the 2,500
death-squad killings of suspected drug offenders. Don't expect the
"police team" to conclude anything that differs much from the
official explanation. | ||||||||||||||||||
A study from Italy's National Center for Research publicized last
week claimed cocaine and MDMA ("Ecstasy") caused mutations in
animals. "Cocaine and ecstasy have proved to be more dangerous than
we had imagined," government scientists fretted. "This is very
worrying for the effects it could have on future generations," cried
the Italian government scientists. Wisely, the government-paid
scientists did not contrast the alleged mutation-causing effects of
cocaine and MDMA with other known mutation-causing substances such
as caffeine, red meat, alcohol, or peanut butter. | ||||||||||||||||||
Russian Deputy State Drug Controller Alexander Mikhailov last week
announced that U.S. soldiers are becoming addicted to drugs in
Afghanistan. The report, from the Pakistani Pak Tribune, alleged
U.S. forces experienced "several occurrences of drug addiction," but
that "the U.S. leadership is keeping it quiet." It was not known
whether Mikhailov was referring to the forced-drugging of U.S.
pilots with amphetamines, which was linked to previous friendly-fire
incidents in Afghanistan. | ||||||||||||||||||
US officials again threatened Canadians with reductions in border
access, should the Canadian people decide to lessen penalties for
marijuana use in any way. Not worried so much about Canadian lives
ruined by jail time meted out for involvement with marijuana, the US
ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci, instead emphasized Canadian
drug policy should be dictated by the need to manage the U.S.
domestic "perception" of the dangers of cannabis. "Our concern is
the perception of this is that this is a weakening of the law,"
admitted the Bush-appointee, because it may be "easier to get
marijuana in Canada."
| ||||||||||||||||||
In Jamaica, lawmakers last week were reluctant to implement the
results of the latest National Ganja Commission report, which
recommended that ganja (cannabis) be decriminalized for use by
adults, in private. Lawmakers, reported the Jamaica Gleaner
newspaper, were fearful of retaliation by the U.S. if ganja were
legalized. Citing numerous international prohibitionist treaties
Jamaica is a party to, Jamaican Solicitor General Michael Hylton
frightened lawmakers with scenarios of U.S. decertification, should
adults no longer be threatened with imprisonment for using cannabis.
The U.S. needs Jamaica to stay in line to shore up U.S. domestic
anti-marijuana public "perception". US Embassy in Jamaica: "the
perception, especially to our youth, that marijuana is not harmful,
which could lead to an increase in its use". | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(19) THAILAND TO INVESTIGATE DRUG-WAR KILLINGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BANGKOK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Thailand has set up a team to investigate the deaths of about 2,500 people killed during Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's war on drugs, after the king urged the government to verify the deaths, police said on Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
A police team would take a week to investigate the deaths, national police bureau spokesman Ponsapat Pongcharoen told reporters. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The team will take a week to study our database and come up with
categorised figures of how many people were killed in intra-gang
wars and how many were killed by the police," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thai and foreign rights groups have accused police of killing
suspected drug dealers during the 10-month campaign, a charge the
government denies. It says most of the deaths resulted from dealers
fighting each other. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking on the eve of his 76th birthday, King Bhumibol Adulyadej
said on Thursday Thaksin and his government had faced unfair
criticism over the deaths. | ||||||||||||||||||
The king rejected criticism of the role of the security forces
during the campaign and urged the authorities to verify the death
figures. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Most of the dead were people who had killed one another, people who
did the trafficking, the production," the king said. | ||||||||||||||||||
King Bhumibol had voiced concern over the growing drug problem last
year in his annual birthday speech. Thaksin, a former police
colonel, later promised a drug-free Thailand in time for his
birthday this year. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) COCAINE AND ECSTASY CAUSE DNA MUTATION, STUDY SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ROME (Reuters) - Cocaine and ecstasy not only cause addiction and
raise the risk of cancer but also provoke genetic mutations, Italian
scientists said Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Cocaine and ecstasy have proved to be more dangerous than we had
imagined," said Giorgio Bronzetti, chief scientist at the National
Center for Research's (CNR) biotechnology department. | ||||||||||||||||||
"These drugs, on top of their toxicological effects, attack DNA
provoking mutations and altering the hereditary material. This is
very worrying for the effects it could have on future generations,"
he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
The CNR report, which took more than three years to complete, said
animal tests had shown a direct relationship between ecstasy and
cocaine intake and the effects on DNA. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In other words, the longer the time frame of drug consumption, the
greater the damage to DNA," Bronzetti said. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) U.S. SOLDIERS BECOMING DRUG ADDICTS IN AFGHANISTAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MOSCOW, December 08 (Online): U.S. soldiers are developing a drug
addiction problem in Afghanistan, said Deputy State Drug Controller
Alexander Mikhailov. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said that there have already been several occurrences of drug
addiction among U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, but the U.S.
leadership is keeping it quiet. 'They don't have control of the
situation. This should be a good example for our troops in
Tajikistan,' said Mikhailov. | ||||||||||||||||||
The state drug controller's office and the Russian Orthodox Church
have decided to step up joint efforts against drug use, said
Mikhailov. At the present time more than 90% of narcotics in Russia
come from Afghanistan through Central Asia. Only 10% of narcotics
are produced in Russia. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) U.S. WARNS ON POT BILL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
EDMONTON -- The federal government's controversial marijuana
decriminalization bill is coming back to the Commons in 2004 -- and
the U.S. ambassador is already warning of reduced border access for
Canadian trade and travel. And while U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci
acknowledged yesterday Canada has the right to set its own drug
policy, he warned Ottawa could be setting the stage for a border
crackdown if the bill makes weed easier to get here. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Our concern is the perception of this is that this is a weakening
of the law ... that it will be easier to get marijuana in Canada,"
he said during an Edmonton stopover. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Our customs and immigration officers, they're law-enforcement
officers. If they think it's easier to get marijuana in Canada,
they're going to be on the lookout for it. | ||||||||||||||||||
"That's going to put pressure on the border at a time when we've
been trying to take pressure off it. We don't want to have a lot of
young people having their vehicles inspected when they're crossing
the border."
| ||||||||||||||||||
The bill's return might surprise a few of Paul Martin's longtime
supporters in caucus. Many backbenchers believed the prime minister
designate, anxious to avoid a confrontation with Washington, would
let the bill die a quiet death. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) 'DECRIMINALISATION OF GANJA COULD HURT JAMAICA' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Solicitor General Warns That Country Could Face Sanctions If Drug
Allowed For Personal Use
| ||||||||||||||||||
Solicitor General Michael Hylton yesterday warned parliamentarians
studying the ganja issue that Jamaica would breach international
obligations and face tough US sanctions, if the drug is
decriminalised. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hylton told a meeting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament
studying the National Ganja Commission report, that although
Parliament could pass amendments to remove the constitutional bar to
decriminalisation it would, in all likelihood, breach international
obligations in respect of drug control. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If recommendation one is implemented, and the Dangerous Drugs Act
is amended to decriminalise the private, personal use of marijuana
in small quantities, Jamaica would, in all likelihood, be in breach
of certain international obligations in respect of drug control," he
said. Recommendation one of the Ganja Commission's report asked
that, "the relevant laws be amended so that ganja can be
decriminalised for the private, personal use of small quantities by
adults."
| ||||||||||||||||||
The statement landed like a spanner in the works of the
parliamentarians who seemed on track to some sort of consensus on,
at least, decriminalisation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
The United States Government is opposed to the decriminalisation of
ganja. Embassy spokeswoman, Orna Bloom, has been quoted as saying
that it could create "the perception, especially to our youth, that
marijuana is not harmful, which could lead to an increase in its
use". | ||||||||||||||||||
Hylton, in explaining decertification in this context, said that the
United States Government policy under the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961, requires the president to take steps to decertify countries
categorised as major illicit drug producing and/or drug transit
countries. He noted that Jamaica was already listed among the major
Illicit drug producing and drug transit countries. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Thus, if Jamaica were to decriminalise marijuana for personal use,
there would be a distinct risk that the country would be subject to
the sanctions associated with decertification," he said,. The
sanctions, he added, would be significant. | ||||||||||||||||||
The solicitor general also told the committee that Jamaica is
currently a party to three international conventions concerning
illicit drugs:
| ||||||||||||||||||
* The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, as amended by its
1972 Protocol (the Single Narcotics Convention). Jamaica acceded to
that treaty on October 6, 1989 and today over 155 states are parties
thereto. | ||||||||||||||||||
* The Convention on Psychiatropic Substances, 1971. Jamaica acceded
to this treaty on October 6, 1989. Today, over 160 states are
parties thereto. | ||||||||||||||||||
* The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988. Jamaica acceded to this
treaty on December 29, 1995. Today more than 150 states are parties
thereto. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hylton said that all three conventions adopt a restrictive approach to marijuana use and, in the interest of brevity, illustrated how implementation of the Ganja Commission's first recommendation would cause Jamaica to be in breach of the Singles Narcotics Convention." | ||||||||||||||||||
He said that the convention, which lists ganja as a prohibitive
drug, seeks to expressly "limit exclusively to medical and
scientific purposes, the production, manufacture, export, import,
distribution of, trade in, use and possession of drugs". Language,
which he said, clearly indicated that ganja use was not encouraged
by the treaty. | ||||||||||||||||||
The convention, he added, states that subject to constitutional
limitations, each party must adopt measures to ensure that
cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation,
possession, offering for sale, distribution, purchase, sale,
delivery, transport, brokerage, dispatch, importation and
exportation of drugs is punishable when committed intentionally,
"and that serious offences shall be liable to adequate punishment,
particularly by imprisonment or other related penalties of
deprivation of liberty". | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Steve's Health Is Deteriorating
| ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
A Critique of the Kubby Refugee Ruling
| ||||||||||||||||||
What Is It About Dead That You Don’t Understand?
| ||||||||||||||||||
Analysis by Richard Cowan
| ||||||||||||||||||
On Monday we finally learned that the Refugee Protection Division
denied the Kubbys the protection of Canada.
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cultural Baggage Radio Show
| ||||||||||||||||||
Deborah Small of the Drug Policy Alliance discusses the Breaking the
Chains Conference.
| ||||||||||||||||||
MP3: http://www.cultural-baggage.com/Audio/FDBCB_120903.mp3
| ||||||||||||||||||
On Tuesday, Dec. 16 our guest will be Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell
who has implemented "The Four Pillars Drug Strategy" for reducing
drug-related harms. Join us online at 7:30 EDT, 6:30 CDT and 4:30 PDT
at http://www.kpft.org/
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
POT TV Live Interactive Christmas Party!
| ||||||||||||||||||
Friday, December 12th, 2003
| ||||||||||||||||||
7:00pm (PST), 10:00pm (EST) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Health Canada Contempt for Appeal Court Decision
| ||||||||||||||||||
December 8, 2003: This week, Health Canada confounded both the press and public by announcing it will not appeal the October 7th Ontario Appellate Court decision that found its Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) unconstitutional, while also stating it will not make all of the required court-ordered changes to the program. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
New Goose Creek Footage
| ||||||||||||||||||
New previously unreleased video footage police made of the Stratford
raid. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Stop Pointing Guns at Our Kids
| ||||||||||||||||||
by Marsha Rosenbaum, PhD
| ||||||||||||||||||
The use of weapons on the Stratford High School campus is testament
to the failure of our efforts to stop young people from using drugs,
and the frustration experienced by school officials. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Policy Alliance Web Chat
| ||||||||||||||||||
Listen to the the thoughts of the Drug Policy Alliance's Ethan
Nadelmann and retired ACLU director Ira Glasser expressed during
'Turning the Tide,' a live 45-minute Web chat, where questions
from the audience were addressed. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Drugs, Labor and Colonial Expansion
| ||||||||||||||||||
This book explores how Europeans introduced and used drugs in
colonial contexts for the exploitation and placation of
indigenous labor. Combining history and anthropology, it examines
the role of drugs in trade and labor during the age of western
colonial expansion.
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
No Laughing Matter
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Eric E. Sterling
| ||||||||||||||||||
Recently, the Boston Phoenix sent three writers to cover the New
England governors' drug summit at Faneuil Hall, organized by the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Their
stories were collectively headlined, Drugs: Why Can't Politicians
Face Facts?
| ||||||||||||||||||
I have participated in numerous such events. | ||||||||||||||||||
From 1979 to 1989, I was counsel to the U.S. House of
| ||||||||||||||||||
And the causes of our politicians' disconnect from the reality of drug use and the consequences of drug policy must be identified if we are to get beyond the policy failures in which we are mired. | ||||||||||||||||||
First, it does not seem that those politicians who do face facts are
made to suffer for it - at least by their constituencies. U.S.
Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), for example, is well known for
having sponsored medical-marijuana legislation, and has in no way
been punished by his constituents. Similarly, here in Maryland,
State Delegate Don Murphy (R), representing a conservative district,
sponsored our state medical-marijuana bill, but never faced
electoral jeopardy. | ||||||||||||||||||
In fact, a Republican state senator here, Tim Ferguson, was targeted
and defeated in the Republican primary for casting the decisive vote
against medical marijuana in committee. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Murphy's experience illustrates a very important factor. | ||||||||||||||||||
Once Murphy sponsored the bill, he became the butt of jokes among
his legislative colleagues: " What's that smell? " " Can you get me
something? " A politician who faces facts and questions current drug
policy risks becoming the object of constant ridicule. | ||||||||||||||||||
The news media - with a few notable exceptions - are equally to
blame. | ||||||||||||||||||
Pun-filled headlines, sly references to drug use, and sloppy
reporting are the rule when the subject is illegal drugs. In a
typical story about the introduction of a medical-marijuana bill,
the lead and succeeding paragraphs make jokes and cute observations
about the clothing, hairstyles, audience, music, etc. at a
pro-medical-marijuana event. | ||||||||||||||||||
These cheap attempts denigrate the seriousness of the legislation. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ultimately, politicians' unwillingness to face the facts about
illegal drugs stems from fear of losing legitimacy, not fear of
electoral defeat or challenge. Driving this fear is the seemingly
irresistible compulsion of the nation's editors and reporters to
turn to journalistic cliches about pot when writing about
drug-policy reform. | ||||||||||||||||||
If the nation thinks the problems of drug abuse are serious, then we
must stop sacrificing serious discussion of the alternatives for the
cheap laughs of old and not-very-funny pot jokes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Eric E. Sterling
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| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - NOVEMBER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Howard Wooldridge of Dallas, Texas, for his
five letters to the editor published during November. Howard has had
24 letters archived in the MAP system. A former police officer,
Howard is active with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition -
http://www.leap.cc/
| ||||||||||||||||||
He also recently finished riding his horse across the U.S. to
education the public about prohibition. You can read all of Howard's
excellent letters at
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. House of Reps. Approves Bill to Censor American Citizens | ||||||||||||||||||
By Drug Policy Alliance
| ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - December 9 - A little-known provision buried within the omnibus federal spending bill that the U.S. House of Representatives approved yesterday would take away federal grants from local and state transportation authorities that allow citizens to run advertising on buses, trains, or subways in support of reforming our nation's drug laws. If enacted, the provision could effectively silence community groups around the country that are using advertising to educate Americans about medical marijuana and other drug policy reforms. Meanwhile, this same bill gives the White House $145 million in taxpayer money to run anti-marijuana ads next year. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The government can't spend taxpayer money promoting one side of the
drug policy debate while prohibiting taxpayers from using their own
money to promote the other side," said Bill Piper, Associate
Director of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. "This is
censorship and not the democratic way."
| ||||||||||||||||||
The provision raises both constitutional and political concerns.
Courts have generally ruled that public transportation authorities
cannot legally discriminate against any political viewpoint. Thus,
local and state authorities could soon be put in an impossible
position: if they reject advertising in support of drug policy
reform they risk running afoul of the First Amendment; but if they
accept drug reform advertising they lose federal money. Civil
libertarians warn the provision also sets a dangerous precedent.
Special interest groups could lobby for federal bans on advertising
with pro-life or pro-gun messages, or in support of or against gay
marriage or abortion. | ||||||||||||||||||
The provisions in the omnibus spending bill are part of a growing controversy over the use of taxpayer money to influence state and federal drug policies: * Court records show that Members of Congress created the federal government's first anti-drug advertising campaign in 1998 as a way of using billions of taxpayer dollars to influence voters to reject state medical marijuana ballot measures.
* In 2000 it was discovered that the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy used financial incentives to get newspapers and
magazines to editorialize in favor of the drug war and get TV and
movie producers to change their scripts to reflect pro-drug war
views. * Current Drug Czar, John Walters, and his staff have used
taxpayer money to campaign against local and state ballot measures
and legislation they disapprove of. After Walters spent taxpayer
money to defeat a 2002 ballot measure in Nevada, the Nevada Attorney
General complained, "The excessive federal intervention that was
exhibited in this instance is particularly disturbing because it
sought to influence the outcome of a Nevada election." * Earlier
this year, Members of Congress tried to give the White House the
ability to spend over a billion dollars in taxpayer money on
negative attack ads against medical marijuana ballot measures and
Congressional candidates that support drug policy reform. Although a
public outcry stopped the legislation, existing federal law may
already allow the White House to use taxpayer money to influence
elections. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Policy Alliance is urging Congress to remove the anti-free speech provision from the omnibus spending bill, eliminate taxpayer-financed anti-drug advertising, and prohibit the drug czar from using federal money to campaign and lobby against reform. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The drug policy debate is the only one in which federal bureaucrats
are allowed to use taxpayer money to influence how taxpayers vote,"
said Piper. "This is a dangerous precedent. Congress needs to enact
a firm ban on using our money in this way, before this becomes the
rule instead of the exception."
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." -
John F. Kennedy
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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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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