| April 16, 2004 #346 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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NOTE TO READERS: Some DrugSense staff will be attending the NORML
conference in Washington, D.C. next week, so DrugSense Weekly will
not be distributed on April 23. We will resume our regular
publication schedule April 30. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(1) STATE WOULD KEEP LIST OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE USERS UNDER BILL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - State government would create a database of
everyone in Florida who gets a prescription of certain controlled
substances, under a measure approved by a House subcommittee
Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The measure, aimed at saving lives and fighting fraud and backed by
Gov. Jeb Bush, passed over the objections of a few who said it could
violate privacy issues. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Supporters say the sometimes deadly abuse of addictive prescription
drugs is fast becoming an epidemic, and they cite a desperate need to
slow the spiraling costs of government health care programs beset by
fraud. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prescription drug abuse now kills more people than murders in Florida,
said bill sponsor Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, and more people die
overdosing on legal drugs than heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is going to save lives," said Harrell. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some lawmakers opposed the (CS HB 397) because it may give government
another way to track what people do and that medications can be a very
private matter. Rep. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, likened it to Communist
practices in Cuba. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"My parents fled a Communist country because everything was being
centralized," Garcia said. "A centralized database, knowing what
they're taking, what they're not taking, is a little concerning to
me." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) INSOMNIA IN KIDS LINKED TO LATER DRUG USE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Young children with sleep problems are more likely to grow up into
teens who drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and use illegal drugs, a new
study has found. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers have already made the connection with sleep problems and
alcohol abuse in grownups, but this is the first study to draw the
link between children who have trouble sleeping and the later use of
alcohol and drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Maria Wong, a researcher in the psychiatry department at the
University of Michigan, looked at data from a study of 275 boys that
began 16 years ago. When the boys were aged three to five, their
mothers were asked if their child had had trouble sleeping in the past
six months, or if he seemed overtired. | ||||||||||||||||||||
When the boys were adolescents, aged 12 to 14, they answered questions
about how much they smoked, drank alcohol and used illegal drugs.
(They were guaranteed anonymity.) It turned out that the boys who had
had trouble sleeping as toddlers were twice as likely to smoke
cigarettes or marijuana, drink alcohol or use other drugs early in
their adolescence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Not all of the children with sleep problems do, but half do. So it is
a significant risk factor, and it is a robust risk factor," Dr. Wong
said in an interview. Her study is published in today's edition of the
journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) 11 KALISPELL TEENS CHARGED IN MARIJUANA STING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
KALISPELL - A police officer posing as a high school student wrapped
up more than two months in the classroom Tuesday with the arrest of 11
Kalispell teens on charges of drug dealing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There will probably be more arrests," said Frank Garner, chief of police in Kalispell. "We're also investigating reports that one parent might have been supplying some of the drugs to the kids." | ||||||||||||||||||||
All 11 were busted for selling marijuana to an undercover policeman
during the past couple months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Robinson, while taking a "fairly typical class schedule," established
a network of drug sources, buying marijuana on many occasions. Most of
the young sellers were unrelated, Garner said, and were not organized
into any sort of drug ring. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That is not uncommon in high schools, he said, adding that most teens buy drugs from peers, not from a shady stranger on a street corner. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While at the school, Robinson also set up purchases of the club drug ecstasy and methamphetamine, but those drug deals fell through. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"He tried," Garner said, "but we finally needed to cut it off. We
couldn't allow it to go on any longer. We didn't want the drug dealers
feeling safe dealing drugs in the school." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) GROUP FIGHTS TO ELIMINATE DRUG PROVISION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Students For Sensible Drug Policy Call Politicians | ||||||||||||||||||||
Members of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy inspired more than 80
students to make phone calls to state legislative offices Tuesday as
part of a national "phone slam" to repeal the Higher Education Act's
drug provision. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We wanted to raise awareness and have as many phone calls go in to the offices as possible," said Gabrielle Guzzardo, president of SSDP. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The group set up a booth in front of Zimmerman Library with cell
phones and written scripts. The members asked passers-by to make phone
calls to the offices of Sen. Pete Domenici, Sen. Jeff Bingaman and
Rep. Heather Wilson. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Guzzardo said more than 50 calls were made to Bingaman's office
Tuesday afternoon, and by the end of the day, his office confirmed the
senator would support the bill. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Guzzardo said she was happy about the progress made with Bingaman, but
was disappointed with Wilson's office, which hung up on students four
times Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Not content with inspecting the urine of employees, federal
officials appear poised to dip a metaphorical toe in a river of
other bodily fluids. Instead of just demanding employees' urine as
proof against presumed guiltiness, the feds will likely be able to
collect hair, sweat and saliva. The drug-testing industry is elated,
which is to be expected, since the industry pushed for the changes.
"This opensup a whole new arena for us," one drug testing company
executive told the Wall Street Journal. Fortunately, the WSJ also
interviewed critics who discussed the downside of workplace drug
testing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As the drug-testing industry prepares for its latest jackpot, could it be just a coincidence that a former Louisiana district attorney who pushed for hair-testing in local schools is being put on the drug-testing company's payroll? A Louisiana newspaper looked at that question, but the story raised another question: Is it also just coincidence that the former DA's nephew, who is also a Louisiana district attorney who pushed for hair-based drug testing in his local school district, has been touring the country for the Office of National Drug Control Policy talking about the great virtues of hair-testing in schools? For more on the nephew and work on behalf of the drug testing company, read the recent DrugSense Weekly report at http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2004/ds04.n342.html#sec5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, legislators in Utah discussed a law that would make
it a crime for expectant mothers to harm a fetus with controlled
substances; and North Carolina's leading high school basketball
player lost a college scholarship in the wake of an undercover drug
investigation at his school. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) U.S. CONSIDERS DRUG SCREENINGS THAT TEST SWEAT, SALIVA AND HAIR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Many workers may no longer need a cup to demonstrate to employers
that they aren't using illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, announced the proposal of a new rule that would allow
federal agencies to use sweat, saliva and hair in federal
drug-testing programs that now test only urine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The American Management Association found that 67% of big companies tested employees or job applicants for illegal substances in 2001, the last time it surveyed employers on the topic. Roughly 60% of companies tested new hires. Tests typically screen for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, heroin and other opiates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Many drug-testing companies are eager for the new business they
expect to get from the government as well as from corporations.
"This opens up a whole new arena for us," says Roger Dietch, chief
executive of Global Detection & Reporting Inc., New York. The
company tests for the presence of illegal drugs that are secreted by
the skin. As a sign of the wider trend in adopting new testing
methods, Mr. Dietch says the company will announce a deal to provide
testing for a national retailer this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Many employee and privacy-rights groups have expressed concern about
the proposed changes. "There's no benefit from this," says Lewis
Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, in
Princeton, N.J. Mr. Maltby says he receives complaints "every day"
from people who say they have failed a drug test but have never done
drugs. "It is just going to increase the number of people who are
going to lose their jobs who never did drugs," he says. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) DRUG-TESTING FIRM PUTS CONNICK ON PAYROLL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Advocacy Turns into Job for Former DA | ||||||||||||||||||||
For years before his retirement as Orleans Parish district attorney,
Harry Connick beat the drum for a Massachusetts company that uses
hair samples to test people for drug use. He spoke out publicly in
favor of testing students' hair and on occasion escorted its
officers to meetings with officials and opinion-shapers in the
media. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Civil rights concerns and other issues led Orleans Parish public
school officials to reject the testing regimen Connick advocated,
but his efforts on behalf of Psychemedics, as the company is known,
were not unavailing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In December, Connick was made a Psychemedics board member at an
annual stipend of $20,000. Last month the pot was sweetened further
when Psychemedics gave Connick stock options for 5,150 shares at
$11.67 each, available until 2014. The stock closed Thursday at
$12.30 on the American stock exchange. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We sought him out," said Raymond Kubacki, president and CEO of Psychemedics, which reported $16 million in revenues for 2003 by catering to some 2,600 mostly corporate clients, including General Motors and Toyota. "He does the right things for the right reasons, not because they're popular. We're honored to have him." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) PROPOSED LAW TARGETS PREGNANT DRUG USERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police reports indicate a pregnant Melissa Ann Rowland had opiates,
barbiturates and amphetamines in her blood when she visited Jordan
Valley Hospital in December. But Rowland was allowed to walk away
because abusing a fetus is not a crime in Utah. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At least not yet. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A proposed law being discussed by the Statewide Association of
Prosecutors targets drug-abusing pregnant women. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Harming a fetus by using controlled substances should be a crime,
according to Paul Boyden, executive director of the association, but
instead of sending pregnant women to jail, they need to be forced
into drug treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We are concerned about the child -- these kids born dependent to
drugs," said Boyden, who hopes to have a law before the state
Legislature next year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The idea of adding the fetus to the child endangerment statute
cropped up about two years ago in reaction to the number of pregnant
women seen around meth labs, but drug treatment providers opposed
the change, saying it would scare drug-dependent women from seeking
help for fear of being jailed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) CURRY STILL HOPES FOR D-I CAREER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
RALEIGH - JamesOn Curry, the high school basketball player whose
scholarship offer from North Carolina was withdrawn after he pleaded
guilty to drug charges, says he still wants to join a Division I
program. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I want to go where I'm wanted," said Curry, a former player at
Eastern Alamance High in Mebane. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He didn't identify a school, and Leon Curry said no schools have
contacted his son. | ||||||||||||||||||||
John Moon, Curry's coach at Eastern Alamance, said he had talked by
telephone Thursday to interested coaches. Moon declined to identify
those schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Curry, the state's all-time leading high school scorer, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of sale and delivery of marijuana to an undercover officer on the Eastern Alamance campus. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a rare acknowledgement of problems common in drug testing, some officials and newspapers in Alabama are calling for more safeguards against false positives for prison inmates. Also this week, various officials from various parts of the criminal justice system are accused of corruption that is at least partially drug-related. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) TESTING THE TEST | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prison drug screens need closer look | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prison Commissioner Donal Campbell is right to take complaints about
inmate drug screens seriously. It serves no good purpose to ignore
possible flaws in the tests or in the process for verifying them -
unless one thinks it is a swell idea to punish inmates for the sport
of it and to stick taxpayers with the bill. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prisoners who test positive for drugs can lose work-release jobs,
forfeit the good time they've earned, blow their chance for parole
or get sent to a more secure lockup. While it's fitting to punish
inmates who use drugs - they obviously need more attention from the
prison system - it is imperative the penalties are doled out based
on accurate information. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prison officials acknowledge there is a small chance for their drug
tests to have a false positive result, indicating an inmate has used
illicit substances when he has not. In some cases, cold medicines,
valid prescription drugs and other substances have been known to
trigger an incorrect reading. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In recent weeks, lawyers who represent Tutwiler inmates in a suit
against the Department of Corrections have raised the issue, calling
the current testing procedures unreliable. But the same concerns can
apply to other prisons as well, since the same procedures are being
used elsewhere. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Among the areas of concern: Should a positive drug test be sent to a private laboratory for confirmation? That's the protocol for prison system employees who test positive, but not for inmates. Should inmates be allowed to pay for a test outside the prison system? Parolees get that option, but not those still in prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) BOND REDUCED ON JUSTICE COURT JUDGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A $1 million cash bond on a Lawrence County Justice Court judge
accused of drug trafficking was reduced to $300,000 by Circuit Judge
Mike Smith Friday evening. | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, Justice Court Judge Post 1 Robert "Bobby" Fortenberry, 46,
of 60 Mary Lou Turner Road, New Hebron, remained in jail Saturday
following the bond reduction. He was arrested March 26 in Brookhaven
and charged with possession of 2.5 grams of methamphetamine with
intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute meth. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Smith also issued a gag order in the case. The order prevents
attorneys, prosecutors and law enforcement officers involved in the
case from speaking to the public or media. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) FORMER DA CHARGED WITH BRIBERY, TAX EVASION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former Winnebago County District Attorney Joe Paulus was charged
Tuesday with bribery and accepting nearly $50,000 in bribes from a
defense attorney and for failing to report the money on his federal
tax return. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Paulus, who served as the county's top prosecutor for more than 13
years, is accused of taking bribes in 22 cases, six of which were
criminal and 16 of which were drunken driving or traffic cases,
according to documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Green
Bay. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Paulus, who was a finalist for U.S. attorney and interviewed for the
job at the White House, solicited and accepted $48,050 in bribes
over two years - from June 1998 through June 2000, according to the
charges. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In each of the 22 cases, Paulus received half the defense attorney's
fee in exchange for "dismissing cases, reducing charges, returning
seized property and requesting lenient treatment" for a defendant in
a neighboring county, according to the documents. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The case in the neighboring county involved a defendant who had been
charged with felony possession of marijuana. Paulus lied to the
prosecutor there, asking him to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor
because the defendant was cooperating in a Winnebago County drug
investigation, the documents said. In return, Paulus received half
the defense attorney's $2,500 fee. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) TULIA TRIALS PROSECUTOR COULD BE DISBARRED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The State Bar of Texas has filed a disciplinary petition against the district attorney who prosecuted cases in the since-discredited Tulia drug busts, seeking sanctions that could include disbarment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Terry McEachern is accused in the petition filed Wednesday with the
Texas Supreme Court of not conveying information to defense
attorneys about his knowledge of the criminal history of Tom
Coleman, the lone undercover agent in the stings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He is also accused of failing to correct testimony by Coleman that
he knew was false. In five defendants' trials, Coleman said that he
had no criminal history and had never been arrested. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Coleman was arrested in August 1998 -- before any trials -- on
charges of theft and abuse of official capacity in Cochran County,
where he worked previously. He paid $7,000 in restitution for debts
incurred while working as an officer in Cochran County and for his
alleged theft of gasoline there. | ||||||||||||||||||||
McEachern's punishment could range from a public reprimand to loss
of his law license if the finding goes against him. He said Thursday
that he had not seen the lawsuit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A budget crisis in California is being cited for delays in the
issuance of state medicinal cannabis ID cards, which were supposed
to be available from the Department of Health as of January 1st of
this year. The cards would protect patients from arrest by
identifying the holders as legal medical users. And from Nevada this
week an article looking at the inner workings of the state med.
cannabis program, which currently allows around 350 medicinal users
to legally grow seven plants and to possess up to one ounce of dried
cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our third article this week is a look at the 33rd annual Ann Arbor
Hash Bash, which took place last Saturday in Michigan. The event
drew around 1500 people and was considered a success by organizers.
Some mixed news on the med-pot legal front this week, as Lynn and
Judy Osburn were convicted of growing cannabis for the now defunct
West Hollywood compassion club. Citing the rarely used "lesser harm
doctrine", U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz sentenced Judy to one
year's probation and her husband Lynn to one year in prison for a
firearms violation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And lastly this week, proof that bad laws can't take the fight out
of dedicated activists. Fresh out of a 3-day stay in a Saskatchewan
prison for the distribution of marijuana, Uber-activist Marc Emery
gave a speech at Dalhousie University touting the benefits of
cannabis, urging others to join him in a protest in honor of Wallace
Gouthro, a local "straight-A" high school student recently sentenced
to 90 days in prison (to be served over consecutive weekends) for
selling $5 bags of cannabis at a high school dance. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) MORE DELAY FOR MEDICAL POT ID CARDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Those who smoke pot to relieve suffering have been waiting since the
start of the year for identification cards a new state law says they
are entitled to. They will have to continue waiting. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although the law took effect Jan. 1, the state Department of Health
Services has yet to devise rules for the cards' issuance because of
a funding shortage brought on by the chronic California budget
crisis. A report being delivered to the Riverside County Board of
Supervisors today suggests that the county wait on the state for
guidelines before striking out on its own with a temporary medical
marijuana program. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MEDICAL MARIJUANA: WORKING TO SMOKE OUT ABUSERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Three years ago, Pierre Werner went to prison in New Jersey after being convicted of conspiring to distribute 170 pounds of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He moved to Southern Nevada and secured a registration card from the
state Department of Agriculture that legally permits him to grow as
many as seven marijuana plants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I'm bipolar," said Werner, a congenial man who admits he is stoned
most of the time. "I'm mental. I'm crazy. I have an illness, and
cannabis has always been my medicine." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Don Henderson, the state agriculture director, doesn't think so. His
agency, directed by the Legislature to run the medical marijuana
program, revoked Werner's license Feb. 25. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) HASH BASH '04 TURNOUT NOT AS HIGH AS EXPECTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The smell of incense wafted through the Diag Saturday as costumed
demonstrators, middle-aged activists and hacky-sack-playing students
gathered together amid the sound of bongo drums to participate in
Ann Arbor's 33rd Annual Hash Bash. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hash Bash organizer Adam Brook said he was pleased with the turnout,
which the University's Department of Public Safety estimated at
1,500. Brook had previously said he expected 50,000 people to
attend. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The event began at the Ann Arbor Federal Building at 11 a.m., when
demonstrators congregated and marched to the Diag for the "High
Noon" rally. Attendees later moved to Monroe Street for a block
party. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) USE OF RARE RULE IN POT CASE HELPS COUNTY PAIR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
'Lesser harm doctrine' is invoked as couple who grew marijuana get
reduced sentences. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Invoking a rarely used doctrine that says a defendant may commit a crime to avoid a perceived greater harm, a federal judge granted reduced sentences Tuesday to a Ventura County couple who grew marijuana for a now defunct West Hollywood cannabis club. | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz sentenced Judy Osburn, 50, to one year of probation for maintaining a place for the manufacture of marijuana. She could have received as much as 37 months in prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Osburn's husband, Lynn, 54, received a one-year prison sentence because it was found that he had kept weapons at their ranch, despite a previous conviction that barred him from possessing guns. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) END POT PERSECUTION, ACTIVIST SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Speaking in a hall thick with the scent of the illegal drug,
Canada's leading marijuana activist might be accused of preaching to
the converted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Marc Emery said his Monday-afternoon talk was meant to mobilize
members of a cultural group whose continued persecution he compared
to that of Jews, blacks and Chinese-Canadians. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Pot improves life in every single way," Mr. Emery, president of the
British Columbia Marijuana Party, publisher of Cannabis Culture
magazine and millionaire owner of a seed distribution company, told
an audience at Dalhousie University. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last week, we lamented the regular and predictable corruption of police enforcing drug prohibition when two investigators in the Mexican state of Morelos were caught protecting drug traffickers. This week the governor of Morelos fired an astounding 550 police -- all the state police in Morelos -- on charges they too protected narcotraffickers. The mass firing of so many drug-corrupted Mexican police at one time is indeed a dramatic flourish. But don't expect much to change. As long as drug prohibition continues, there will be the same corrupting pressures on the officers' replacements. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: the Saudi Arabians enjoy their
cannabis. Saudi "security" forces last week seized some 5,200 kilos
of hashish in the Riyadh region. Police estimate they can stop only
a small percentage of prohibited drugs, so large busts indicate a
large supply matched by a large demand. Ten people were arrested in
the scheme, believed to be the largest hashish seizure to date in
the oil-enriched gulf kingdom. Drug traffickers are regularly
executed in Saudi Arabia, a fundamentalist Islamic nation with close
ties to the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While big multinational companies like Coca-Cola can have U.S. and
UN drug laws written to their liking, smaller beverage companies are
banned from doing the same thing. Small Peruvian companies would
love to sell coca-based beverages to U.S. consumers, like Coca-Cola
does, but they are prohibited from doing so. Take the Peruvian
beverage called "Kdrink" which "contains a trace 0.6 milligrams" of
coca alkaloids per bottle. Not nearly enough to make you a crack
head, but too much to legally make it to coddled U.S. consumers.
Peruvian farmers are hoping "vague anti-coca rules" will be
"clarified" to allow greater legal use of coca. Currently, Peru
allows some 12,000 hectares of coca to be grown for legally approved
products. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And from Holland this week, the Dutch Cabinet announced that it would commission research looking into "whether skunk is as dangerous as hard drugs." Skunk is touted as a particularly potent variety of herbal cannabis. Dutch authorities are this year concerned with "skunk," and plan to pass laws to ban it, if research shows it is harmful. The Dutch government made no mention of hashish (concentrated cannabis resin), which has been used for millennia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(18) MEXICAN GOVERNOR FIRES ALL STATE'S POLICE OFFICERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Corruption Investigation | ||||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY --- The governor of the central Mexican state of Morelos
ordered the firing of all 552 state police officers Monday, several
days after top police commanders were arrested on charges they
provided protection for drug traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Sergio Estrada told a news conference that he would launch a
complete restructuring of the so-called investigative police so that
it has agents ``fully trained in criminal investigation . . .
respecting a code of ethics in strict compliance with the law and
human rights.'' | ||||||||||||||||||||
The record of each of the dismissed officers will be investigated,
said Estrada, who added that the new force would comprise officers
graduated from the state police academy who will be aided by federal
police forces. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new members of the force will be subjected to regular
lie-detector tests as well as psychological and drug and alcohol
testing, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) SAUDI ARABIA MAKES LARGEST EVER DRUG BUST OF FIVE TONS OF (Top)HASHISH | ||||||||||||||||||||
RIYADH - Saudi security forces made the kingdom's largest ever drug
bust, foiling a bid to smuggle in more than five tons of hashish, a
newspaper reported Tuesday, citing drug enforcement agency
officials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The Drug Combating Department in the Riyadh region, in cooperation
with the customs at the dry port in Riyadh, foiled an attempt to
smuggle 5,200 kilograms (11,464 pounds) of hashish into the
kingdom," on Monday, Arab News quoted the departments director as
saying. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Eight suspects, "seven from an east Asian country and one Arab,"
were arrested as they attempted to receive the cargo at a warehouse,
said Major General Othman al-Assaf. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Another three suspected of taking part in the operation were
arrested later, he added. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The drug consignment contained 5,291 kilograms of hashish, which is
the largest quantity of drugs ever seized in the history of the
kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the official said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saudi Arabia applies a strict form of sharia, or Islamic law, and
convicted drug traffickers can face beheading. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(20) PERUVIAN BEVERAGES GET A KICK OUT OF COCA LEAF (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LIMA (AP) - It looks and tastes pretty much like the many brands of
bottled iced tea that line American supermarket shelves - just don't
drink it before a drug test. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kdrink is one of two new bottled beverages to hit Peruvian stores
this year using a formula made from coca leaves, the base ingredient
in cocaine. Each bottle of Kdrink contains a trace 0.6 milligrams of
the outlawed stimulant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although that amount of natural, unprocessed cocaine carries less
kick than a cup of coffee, it is enough to create a legal headache
for exporters. With the notable exception of Coca-Cola, products
using coca leaves are banned in most countries beyond the Andes by
strict U.S. and UN import regulations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the two new Peruvian drinks - Kdrink iced tea and Vortex energy drink - hope to buck the system and find legal paths into foreign markets. The makers of Kdrink believe many countries will allow their drink if vague anti-coca rules are clarified, while the bottlers of Vortex are banking on a cocaine-free coca formula. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
In February, hundreds of Peruvian coca farmers from remote
mountainous jungle regions met in Lima. Among their demands, they
want the government to end eradication campaigns and develop new
markets for coca-based products. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thousands of years before the existence of processed cocaine, highland Indians chewed coca to ward off hunger and fatigue. Considered an integral part of Peruvian culture, coca is offered to Andean gods and sold in packaged tea bags in grocery stores. | ||||||||||||||||||||
To meet local demand, Peru permits the legal cultivation of about
12,000 hectares of coca bushes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Eduardo Mazzini, director of Kokka Royal Food & Drink, says the idea
for Kdrink arose two years ago. He says some Spanish friends were
visiting the former Inca capital of Cuzco and became enchanted with
the coca tea served to tourists as a remedy for altitude sickness.
They suggested bottling the tea. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Coca has been demonized for too long," says Vortex co-founder
Christian Chang, who extols the leaves' healthful attributes.
"Having said that, coca does have its problems." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The company is pursuing cocaine-free certification from the Peruvian
government before presenting Vortex to U.S. authorities for
approval, which would open energy drink markets worldwide, Chang
says. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(21) NETHERLANDS MOVES TO OUTLAW SUPERSTRONG 'SKUNK' CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE sale of certain types of cannabis could be banned in the
Netherlands amid concern that they have become so powerful they
could have the same addictive and psychological impact as hard
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Dutch Government said that it would ban the most powerful forms
of cannabis, such as "skunk", after research showed that they had
doubled in strength in the past few years and could now be
classified as a hard drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Levels of THC -- tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychologically active
ingredient -- in skunk have almost doubled from 9 per cent in 1999
to 15 per cent now, according to the Trimbos Institute, a drug
research institute that monitors cannabis sales for the Health
Ministry. The rise is due to new professional growing techniques.
The institute said: "It has almost doubled in strength but we don't
know what the effect on public health is." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Skunk has now become one of the most popular forms of cannabis on
sale in the Netherlands. Between 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent of the
Dutch population regularly use cannabis and there are between 30,000
and 80,000 cannabis addicts. However, it is not clear whether
stronger cannabis means that more people are likely to become
addicted or develop other psychological problems. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Dutch Cabinet agreed last week to commission research to
determine whether skunk is as dangerous as hard drugs, and this week
will lay legislation before parliament to ban its sale if it is
found to be harmful. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
PRINCE OF POT 10 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marc Emery is joined by companions from BC's Cannabis Culture David
Malmo-levine, Dana Larsen, Chris Bennett, Reverend Damuzzi, and
Marijuana Man to recount and reflect on the past 10 years in his
struggle for marijuana tolerance and legalization. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Internationally respected authority on cannabis, industrial hemp, medical marijuana, cultivation, yields and cannabis culture. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
SIX QUESTIONS - RICK DOBLIN, PH.D. TALKS TO THE ALLIANCE | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug Policy Alliance, "Six Questions: Rick Doblin, Ph.D. Talks to the
Alliance." Drug Policy Alliance. April 14, 2004. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rick Doblin is the founder (in 1986) and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
COAST TO COAST INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL RUPPERT | ||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher and editor of the From the Wilderness newsletter, Michael
Ruppert, talks about peak oil, alternate energy, the war on drugs,
insider trading, and 911. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.salvagingelectrons.com/drugradio/mojo-c2c-20040415-ruppert.ram | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
MPP'S ROB KAMPIA TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE | ||||||||||||||||||||
On April 2, 2004, MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia testified before
the the U.S. House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice,
Drug Policy, and Human Resources. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
BATTLE FOR CANADA, PART 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||
With Richard Cowan | ||||||||||||||||||||
BC Chamber of Commerce Calls for Tougher Sentences for Growers. Fails
Economics 101. But They Like Slot Machines! | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Best Damn Letter We Received All Week! | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Jim Miller | ||||||||||||||||||||
So, drug czar John Walters is back in Nevada again. Get used to it.
With petition signatures being gathered to get a marijuana
legalization initiative on November's ballot, you haven't seen the
last of him -- not by a long shot. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Office of National Drug Control Policy is by law not supposed to be involved in state initiatives. That doesn't matter. Czar Walters is going to be Nevada's best buddy until after November -- but he will of course be visiting to talk about the national problem of prescription drug abuse, not a state initiative. If a reporter should happen to ask about his opinion of the state initiative, his real plan will work and he can respond however he wants. How clever. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Czar Walters was in Nevada to tell everybody that prescription drug
abuse has hit an all-time high and is now second only to marijuana
in what he calls the national drug problem. There is a sad irony
here. Czar Walters is against the rights of seriously ill and dying
Americans to use marijuana medically, saying that there are safer
more reliable drugs available for them to use. Now, when they use
those allegedly safer drugs, they can apparently join the new
national prescription drug problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps medical marijuana patients have been telling the truth all along when they say marijuana is less dangerous than their legal prescriptions. Do you suppose that they are also telling the truth about marijuana relieving their pain better than the available addictive alternatives? If you ask John Walters, he will say no -- but he's not the one dying in pain. It's simply his job. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jim Miller, Co-Founder, Multiple Sclerosis Patients Union Toms
River, N.J. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Editor's note: Each issue, CityLife selects its favorite letter.
This week's winner is courtesy of Jim Miller. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
You Can't Trust the Drug 'Experts' | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Dan Gardner | ||||||||||||||||||||
Research on Illicit Substances Is As Biased As Its Funding Source | ||||||||||||||||||||
"One night's ecstasy use can cause brain damage," shouted a newspaper
headline in September 2002, after the journal Science published a
study that found a single dose of the drug ecstasy injected into
monkeys and baboons caused terrible brain damage. Two of the 10
primates in the study had even died. The media trumpeted the news
around the world and drug enforcement officials held it up as
definitive proof of the vileness of ecstasy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But a year later, an odd thing happened. The author of the study,
George Ricaurte, admitted his team had mistakenly injected the baboons
and monkeys with massive doses of methamphetamine, not ecstasy, and
Science formally retracted the article. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The retraction was scarcely reported and drug enforcement officials
said nothing about it. Obscure as this incident may sound, it
actually demonstrates something vitally important about research on
illicit drugs, something few laymen understand but is well known
among researchers and academics. It's a deeply politicized field,
says Peter Cohen, a professor at the Centre for Drug Research at the
University of Amsterdam. "There is no neutral science." | ||||||||||||||||||||
For critics such as Cohen, George Ricaurte illustrates the problems
in illicit drug research. Long before the Science study made him
notorious, Dr. Ricaurte was accused by some academics of producing
biased science designed to make drugs look as dangerous as possible.
The motive was funding. Scientific research and scientific careers
are built on funding and drug research is particularly expensive --
the flawed Science study cost $1.3 million U.S. alone. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Researchers need to get their money from somewhere," says Cohen,
but funding options are extremely limited. Pharmaceutical companies
aren't interested. And most governments aren't prepared to pay a
great deal of money for research on drugs they have already banned.
The one exception is the United States, which lavishes money on drug
research. As a result, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse
boasts that it "supports over 85 per cent of the world's research on
the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction." | ||||||||||||||||||||
But that money comes with ideological strings attached. The American government is dominated by a drug-war ideology in which drugs are not simply another health risk that can be rationally studied and regulated. Drugs are criminal, immoral, even evil. When most people think of alcohol, we draw a line between "use" and "abuse" -- consumption that does no harm versus consumption that does. But because the drug-war ideology sees drugs as inherently wicked, it erases the line between use and abuse of illicit drugs. Any use is abuse. Any use is destructive. And the job of science is to prove | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
In his now-retracted study, Dr. Ricaurte was trying to prove something
-- that even one dose of ecstasy causes brain damage --which neatly
fits drug-war ideology. Not surprisingly, NIDA covered the $1.3
million U.S. cost of the research. In fact, Dr. Ricaurte has been
given $10 million U.S. by NIDA over his career. In exchange, NIDA
consistently got what it wanted: Research that hyped the dangers of
ecstasy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But funding research is just one way American drug-war ideologues
control the scientific research on illicit drugs. Not funding
research can be just as effective when almost all the funding in the
world comes from the U.S. "If I would approach NIDA and say I want
to show that marijuana use is far less problematic than the use of
alcohol, I wouldn't be funded," says Cohen. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This control can skew research in subtle but powerful ways. Cohen mentions his own research into ordinary people whose moderate use of cocaine causes little or no physical or social harm. He had been able to fund this work with money from the Dutch government. "But in many other countries, my colleagues could not find such money. They could find money to do research on cocaine use, but only in people who are in (rehab) clinics or living on the streets." In any other field this "selection bias" would be unacceptable because it distorts the results. In illicit drug research, it's standard. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A final method of control is crude suppression. "It goes on all the
time," insists Cohen. "I was involved in the cocaine research of the
World Health Organization and I saw this happen." | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the early 1990s, the WHO asked a group of international
scientists, including Cohen, to produce what it billed as "the
largest global study on cocaine use ever undertaken." In 1995, the
study was done. It concluded that most users consume cocaine
occasionally, that occasional use usually does not lead to
compulsive use, and that occasional use does little or no harm to
users. It was a flat contradiction of the drug-war ideology, so the
U.S. threatened to pull its funding if the report was released. The
WHO buckled. The report was buried. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Journalists are starting to catch on to the fact that they cannot
always trust what officials say about drugs, Cohen feels, but few
know how "poisoned the production of knowledge about drugs is." As a
result, misinformation abounds and "drug policy is not yet a topic
that society can deal with in a rational manner." | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I'd never again advise a school system to do it. It became a
political thing. There was supposed to be confidentiality with the
testing, but there wasn't." - Former high school football coach Gary
Dongilli, who once advocated drug testing in schools until he saw how
the program was actually implemented. For more details see
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n542/a03.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
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