| June 11, 2004 #353 | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) IT'S OK TO SMOKE DOPE, ENGLAND FANS TOLD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Portuguese police officers will turn a blind eye to England supporters
who openly smoke cannabis during Euro 2004, having decided that a
stoned crowd is easier to control than a drunk one. | ||||||||||||||||
Lisbon police confirmed yesterday that England fans will not be
arrested for puffing on joints on the streets of the Portuguese
capital, following a recommendation from the Dutch authorities
responsible for policing the English during Euro 2000. | ||||||||||||||||
Four years ago England's match in Eindhoven, ironically against
Portugal, passed off peacefully as many supporters took advantage of
the Netherlands' liberal drugs laws. By contrast the game against
Germany in the Belgian town of Charleroi was marred by violence, much
of it fuelled by alcohol. | ||||||||||||||||
Portugal has similarly relaxed legislation to the Dutch and the
authorities hope it will help them police the 50,000 supporters
expected to arrive in the country in the next few days. | ||||||||||||||||
Possession of small amounts of cannabis is not illegal in Portugal but, technically, consumption is. However, having liaised with the Dutch, police will not act except in extreme circumstances. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) HEMP GROUP WANTS AIR FORCE OK FOR LOTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE -- A trade organization is asking the Air Force
to clarify that its ban on marijuana use doesn't apply to personal
care products that contain hemp seed oil. | ||||||||||||||||
The California-based Hemp Industries Association and the Indoor
Tanning Association have sent Air Force Secretary James Roche a letter
this week criticizing a recent article in the Cannon Air Force Base
newspaper -- Mach Meter. | ||||||||||||||||
The article warned airmen not to use products containing hemp seed
oil, hemp oil or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol -- known as THC --
marijuana's main active chemical. | ||||||||||||||||
The article said using such products created the "statistically small"
chance of flunking a drug test and could attract attention from the
base's drug-sniffing dogs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
A spokesman for the Hemp Industries Association disputes that such use
could lead to a positive drug test. | ||||||||||||||||
"There's no way a personal care product will cause someone to fail a
drug test," association spokesman Adam Eidinger said Thursday during a
telephone interview. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) US CA: SCHOOLS PUT DRUG PROGRAM ON NOTICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
S.F. Tells Lecturers Linked to Scientology to Fix Inaccuracies | ||||||||||||||||
A popular anti-drug program with ties to the Church of Scientology will be ousted after 13 years in the San Francisco schools unless it agrees to stop teaching what the district calls inaccurate and misleading information, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
The district's ultimatum means that Narconon Drug Prevention &
Education has until June 24 to revise parts of its curriculum, said
Ackerman, whose health education staff no longer wants the program to
make sweeping generalizations about all drugs or claim that drugs are
stored in fat for years. | ||||||||||||||||
"The fact that (Narconon) is addressing drugs is a positive," Ackerman
said. "But some of the facts that they were teaching the kids support
a philosophical or religious belief, as opposed to science, so we had
to say 'no. ' " | ||||||||||||||||
Narconon must make the requested changes or be "removed from the list
of Community Based Organizations" given to San Francisco schools,
according to a letter faxed Wednesday by the district to Narconon's
education director, Tony Bylsma. | ||||||||||||||||
Bylsma, who works out of Narconon's headquarters in Hollywood, said he had not decided whether to comply with the district's demand. | ||||||||||||||||
"We don't want to desert the kids," he said. "I'm going to decide how
we're going to respond." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) SOUTH AFRICA: DRUG CENTRE UNDER SPOTLIGHT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
For the first time a government-appointed team of experts will be allowed behind the high walls of the Noupoort Christian Care Centre to see at first-hand how drug-addicted teenagers are treated. | ||||||||||||||||
Social development minister Zola Skweyiya says a hand-picked team will
spend three days at the Northern Cape institution next week, speaking
to staff members and deciding whether the centre should be allowed
permanent registration. | ||||||||||||||||
The controversial facility run by Pastor Sophocles Nissiotis has been accused of torturing teenagers sent to the centre for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. There have been allegations of boys being scrubbed with steel wool, of patients having their antidepressants confiscated and of teenagers trying to escape the centre and hitch-hiking home. | ||||||||||||||||
There were also reports of two teenagers being chained to a truck overnight in below-freezing temperatures while one of the teachers at the centre poured icy water over them. An employee of the centre, who has since been suspended, pleaded guilty and was convicted on two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. | ||||||||||||||||
Skweyiya's team includes drug rehabilitation experts from
organisations including the Human Rights Commission, the Central Drug
Authority and the Eli Clinic. | ||||||||||||||||
Ministry spokesman Mbulelo Musi said the team was scheduled to visit
the centre on June 16, 17 and 18. | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
While many agree New York's Rockerfeller laws need to be changed,
ongoing differences over specifics mean the laws will likely remain
in force for another year. Strangely, Governor George Pataki is
proposing new harsh methamphetamine laws in the state, even as
everyone else tries to figure out how to get away from those other
governor-proposed drug laws. If Pataki's plan is adopted, will they
be debated in coming years as the "Pataki laws"? | ||||||||||||||||
In Illinois, the recreational use of dextromethorphan is leading to
hype from lawmakers. In the state legislature, the over-the-counter
cough suppressant is being demonized and prepared for crackdown.
Other news this week raises troubling questions. Does an anti-drug
program in California schools promote Scientology? And what secret
information does drug czar John Walters have to suggest that
Boston's heroin problem has leveled off,= when local officials say
it continues to escalate? | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) DISPUTE DIMS HOPE FOR DRUG LAW REFORM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Bipartisan Committee Fails to Agree on Key Points of Progress for
Deal on Changes | ||||||||||||||||
The possibility of a legislative deal on drug law reform dimmed
Monday after a bipartisan conference committee ended its meetings
without either reaching consensus or agreeing to extend its public
sessions. | ||||||||||||||||
"We have to close down this and other issues to end the session in
two weeks," said John McArdle, spokesman for state Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno. "For now, we're not planning on extending this
committee." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) METH LAB LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
ALBANY, N. Y. - Penalties would be heightened for those caught making the illegal drug methamphetamine, and for possessing a fertilizer commonly stolen by those engaged in its manufacture, under legislation proposed Tuesday by Gov. George Pataki. | ||||||||||||||||
The bill would create new crimes of unlawful clandestine lab
operation in the first degree, bringing a prison sentence of 6-to-25
years, or in the second degree, punishable by up to 15 years in
prison. It would also make possession of stolen anhydrous ammonia, a
farm fertilizer used in methamphetamine production, a felony
bringing up to 4 years in prison. | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) HOUSE SEEKS RESTRICTIONS ON LEGAL DRUG (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois House is examining ways to crack down on a legal drug found in some forms of nonprescription cough medicines that, when abused, can lead to hallucinations, brain damage and even death. "This is bad, bad stuff," said state Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet. "It's killing people, and it's going to kill more people." Medicines containing dextromethorphan, sometimes called DXM, are safe in the recommended doses listed on their packaging, but can be extremely dangerous in large quantities. Yet some abusers drink half a bottle or more of cough syrup to obtain a high. | ||||||||||||||||
According to National Institute on Drug Abuse and Partnership for a
Drug-Free America, overdosing on DXM can produce nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, confusion, poor coordination,
rapid heart rate and hallucinations. In some cases, it can even
cause inability to talk or move one's limbs. | ||||||||||||||||
Dextromethorphan is available in syrup or pill form in dozens of
over-the-counter cold remedies, and the drug can also be obtained in
pure form over the Internet. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) SCIENTOLOGY LINK TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
As Early As the Third Grade, Students in S.F. and Elsewhere Are Subtly Introduced to Church's Concepts Via Anti-Drug Teachings | ||||||||||||||||
A popular anti-drug program provided free to schools in San Francisco and elsewhere teaches concepts straight out of the Church of Scientology, including medical theories that some addiction experts described as "irresponsible" and "pseudoscience." | ||||||||||||||||
As a result, students are being introduced to somebeliefs and methods
of Scientology without their knowledge. | ||||||||||||||||
Anyone listening to a classroom talk by Narconon Drug Prevention &
Education is unlikely to recognize the connection with Scientology;
the lessons sound nothing like theology. Instruction is delivered in
language purged of most church parlance, but includes "all the
Scientology and Dianetics Handbook basics," according to Scientology
correspondence obtained by The Chronicle. | ||||||||||||||||
Narconon's anti-drug instruction rests on these key church concepts:
that the body stores all kinds of toxins indefinitely in fat, where
they wreak havoc on the mind until "sweated" out. Those ideas are
rejected by the five medical experts contacted by The Chronicle, who
say there is no evidence to support them. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) DRUG CZAR EYES PROGRESS VS HEROIN ADDICTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
New England's deadly addiction to cheap, super-pure smack shows some
signs of slowing, U.S. drug czar John Walters said yesterday in
Boston. | ||||||||||||||||
"The rates of use have not continued to rise. We hope that's a plateau," Walters said, citing tentative federal drug use data. | ||||||||||||||||
Heroin-related emergency room visits in Boston have soared to triple
the national average in recent years. The number of fatal overdoses -
especially among teens and young adults - also have been rising at
alarming rates. | ||||||||||||||||
John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health
Commission, said the latest figures he's seen indicate heroin
overdoses and emergency room visits continue to rise here.
Meanwhile, the number of beds in drug treatment programs has been
cut in half by budget cuts, he said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"Stale" information may not be suitable grounds for a drug arrest. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case in which police made a drug raid about a month after getting a tip. The Colorado Supreme Court had ruled against police in the case. | ||||||||||||||||
California residents will get a chance to vote on the state's
notorious "three strikes" laws which have left some minor drug
offenders with long prison sentences. At the same time in
California, the city of San Mateo has seen a dramatic drop in drug
arrests, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News. No
downside to the reduced number of arrests was mentioned in the
story. | ||||||||||||||||
But there's still no justice in the war on drugs, as a judge stopped
a lawsuit against sheriff's officials by the family of a Georgia man
killed in a botched roadside drug search. | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) DRUG RULING STANDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Case Involving Canon City Incident | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court refused Tuesday to consider a Colorado case in which evidence from a drug raid at a Canon City home was barred because police had relied on "stale" information. | ||||||||||||||||
Attorneys for the state had urged the court to provide guidance on when information is too old to support probable cause for a search. | ||||||||||||||||
In its 4-3 ruling last fall, the state's high court said police did
not have probable cause to search Wade Miller's home because the
information they had of an illegal methamphetamine operation was a
month old. | ||||||||||||||||
Justice Gregory Hobbs, writing for the majority, said an informant
told police he had smoked meth at the home. The informant also said
Miller kept supplies there to manufacture the drug. Police arrested
Miller and discovered what they called a meth lab during a raid at
the house exactly four weeks later. | ||||||||||||||||
Hobbs, however, said because the only information linking alleged
illegal activity to the home was "stale," the search was improper
and evidence from the raid could not be used at trial. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) `3 STRIKES' CHALLENGE MAKES BALLOT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Fall Measure's Backers Say Penalties Too Harsh | ||||||||||||||||
California voters will have a chance this fall to decide whether the ``third strike'' in the state's "three strikes, you're out" law takes punishment too far by locking up thousands of prisoners for decades for non-violent crimes such as shoplifting and petty theft. | ||||||||||||||||
In an attempt to do what the U.S. Supreme Court would not, backers of reforming the nation's toughest sentencing scheme this week succeeded in getting enough signatures to put a measure on the November ballot that would soften the "three strikes" law. | ||||||||||||||||
The initiative, known as the Three Strikes and Child Protection Act
of 2004, would primarily require that a defendant be convicted of a
violent or serious felony to qualify for a "third strike" sentence
of 25 years to life. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) REPORT ANALYZES DROP IN NARCOTICS ARRESTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
San Mateo County narcotics arrests have plummeted by 44 percent over
the past five years. The drop is largely due to dwindling law
enforcement attention to drug crimes and a state mandate that
shifted the focus from arrests to treatment, according to a report
released Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
In its 11-page report reviewing data from seven local police
departments, San Mateo County's civil grand jury found that felony
arrests for narcotics other than marijuana dropped nearly 10 percent
from 1999 to 2002. Seizures of assets related to drug crimes also
sank 61 percent during that period. For the cities of San Mateo and
East Palo Alto, steep drops in narcotics arrest rates -- 69 percent
and 73 percent, respectively -- coincided with budget-spurred cuts
in their narcotics units. | ||||||||||||||||
The report also said that the drop in arrests may have decreased
since 2000, when Proposition 36 passed and allowed those facing drug
charges to enter treatment and prevention programs instead of going
to jail. | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) JUDGE DISMISSES SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FROM LAWSUIT IN FATAL (Top)SHOOTING | ||||||||||||||||
COLUMBUS, Ga. - A federal judge has dismissed the Muscogee County
Sheriff's Department from a civil suit filed by the family of a man
who was fatally shot by a deputy during a Dec. 10 traffic stop along
Interstate 185. | ||||||||||||||||
Attorneys for the widow and child of Kenneth Walker wanted to win
voluntary dismissal of the entire $100 million suit "without
prejudice," which would have allowed it to be refiled later against
the sheriff's department, Sheriff Ralph Johnson, former Deputy David
Glisson and possibly others. | ||||||||||||||||
But U.S. District Judge Clay Land ruled the suit filed Feb. 24
should not proceed against the sheriff's department, because Georgia
law holds such departments immune from such lawsuits. Land dismissed
the suit against the agency "with prejudice," meaning the suit may
not be refiled against the department. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
We have a Canada-centric report this week, as one country's
marijuana laws are proved absurd in story after story. A
conservative Canadian think-tank released a report suggesting the
legalization of cannabis in Canada. The report calculated that $2
billion could be generated each year by such a move. As it stands,
another article indicates, many Canadians with epilepsy and multiple
sclerosis are already using the drug and finding relief, so why not
just tax it? | ||||||||||||||||
Other medical benefits of cannabis were demonstrated again this
week. A new study touts the cannabis-based product Sativex as being
able to reduce arthritis pain. Yet despite all these benefits, and a
medical marijuana program put in place by the Canadian government,
the Canadian postal service still refuses to accept or deliver
shipments of medical cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) LEGALIZE, TAX POT FOR $2-B TAKE, THINK-TANK SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Why Let Criminals Profit? Professor Asks | ||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA -- Marijuana should be legalized, then taxed like any other
product, says a study by an economic think-tank. | ||||||||||||||||
The Fraser Institute estimates that such a move would easily generate
more than $2 billion a year in additional tax revenue. | ||||||||||||||||
All that would really change is that governments, rather than
criminals, would enjoy the spoils, argues the study being released
today by the Vancouver-based institute. | ||||||||||||||||
The potential tax revenue is based on the study's estimate that in
British Columbia alone, the annual marijuana crop, if valued at retail
street prices and sold by the cigarette, is worth more than $7
billion. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) CANNABIS DRUG CUTS ARTHRITIS PAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A drug made from an extract of cannabis has helped to reduce the
pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis. | ||||||||||||||||
The drug, Sativex, has been developed by GW Pharmaceuticals, which
is assessing the medical benefits of cannabis under a UK government
licence. | ||||||||||||||||
Tests of a spray form of the drug on 58 arthritis patients showed it
helped reduce pain, and improve quality of sleep. | ||||||||||||||||
Few people showed signs of side effects, the company said. | ||||||||||||||||
GW Pharmaceuticals has previously carried out trials showing that Sativex can reduce the pain associated with multiple sclerosis. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) EPILEPSY, MS PATIENTS TRYING MARIJUANA FOR SYMPTOMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Canadians with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis are turning to
marijuana to help with their symptoms, two new studies have found, and
some say they find it effective. But clinical trials will be required
to determine if marijuana really helps. | ||||||||||||||||
About 14 per cent of patients at a Halifax multiple sclerosis clinic reported that they used cannabis to treat their symptoms, including about a dozen who reported smoking pot at least once a day. | ||||||||||||||||
Some of the 34 medicinal pot smokers used an entire joint, and some took only a few puffs. They said it helped with pain, muscle spasms and stiffness, but also in dealing with stress, and sleep and mood problems. Those who smoked marijuana as medicine were more likely to be male smokers who had used it recreationally in the past. | ||||||||||||||||
At an epilepsy clinic in Edmonton, 21 per cent of patients reported
that they had used marijuana in the past year, but fewer than half
said they were smoking up for medical reasons. None of the 28 pot
smokers had received official approval under federal regulations
that give sick patients legal access to cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(17) POST OFFICE REFUSES TO SHIP LEGAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Health Canada Gives OK, But Canada Post Says No | ||||||||||||||||
Canada Post is refusing to ship medicinal marijuana between
federally licensed growers and users despite having no basis for
such a denial. | ||||||||||||||||
Michel Aube, a Health Canada-approved medicinal marijuana user who
lives in Brockville has not received a recent shipment his licensed
supplier sent him more than a month ago. | ||||||||||||||||
And, according to Canada Post spokesman John Caines, the package will not be delivered because it contains a controlled substance. | ||||||||||||||||
However, Health Canada spokesperson Catherine Saunders said that
marijuana being transported between licensed growers and licensed
recipients is permitted. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In Victoria, Australia this week, reports of long-standing police corruption again surfaced. On May 15 police informant Terrence Hodson and his wife were murdered, leading to fears that secret police lists of informants may have become compromised. Details also emerged of a scheme where undercover police made huge profits on sales of methamphetamine precursor chemicals, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. Although Victoria's Ombudsman fighting police corruption, George Brouwer, is said to be confident, he's fighting an uphill battle as long as the drugs that people want to take remain prohibited; prohibition continually corrupts police. | ||||||||||||||||
In Peru, the founder of the Peruvian Aero Continente airlines challenged the U.S. justice system to prove wrongdoing on his part. Fernando Zevallos, founder of Peru's largest airline, rebuked the DEA for blacklisting him as a drug kingpin, after Peruvian prosecutors began retrying him on cocaine smuggling charges. Last week, the U.S. government froze the assets of Aero Continente. Zevallos made his comments in an open letter to President Bush. | ||||||||||||||||
The Asian Legal Resource Centre last week condemned recent
human-rights violations in Thailand, saying they "cannot be denied."
Nich Cheesman, speaker from the Hong Kong-based center, denounced
Thai attitudes which fail to see killings, abduction and police
torture of drug suspects as a problem. Decrying a "general denial"
of rights violations by government in the past, Cheesman asserted it
is not possible government can deny violations any longer. The Thai
people, noted Cheesman, felt those suspected of involvement with
illegal drugs deserved to be killed in the street. Cheesman refused
to single out Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. | ||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, a weepy round of chest-thumping by a South
African Deputy Minister of Social Development scores with press
coverage. The government minister, Jean Benjamin, so touched at the
thought of drug-addled children, wept during a debate in the
National Assembly. "Enough is enough ... Our children must be
protected." Calling for an ever-popular 'get tough' policy, Benjamin
sounded the alarm for a "total onslaught" upon sellers of illegal
drugs. The government minister did not, however, give any examples
where a "total onslaught" had ever succeeded in keeping children
from drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
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(18) INTO THE MIRE OF BENT COPS, DRUGS AND GANG MURDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The man leading Victoria's attack on police corruption sounds
confident - so far. Malcolm Brown reports. | ||||||||||||||||
One thing George Brouwer already knows about the Victorian police
force is that the rot set in a long time ago. | ||||||||||||||||
The state's Ombudsman, who this week also became its supremo in the
fight against police corruption, has acknowledged that the root of
the problem stretches back to the 1970s, when the Beach inquiry into
police corruption did not secure a single conviction. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The killing of 27 gangsters in Victoria in six years is one thing.
But when the murders are related to corruption, with the possibility
that some might be paybacks for suspected co-operation with police
internal affairs, it is a different story. | ||||||||||||||||
A turning point in the history of the relationship between police and
the underworld may have been the decision by Victoria Police in 1992
to sell commercially available chemicals to criminals for the
manufacture of amphetamines and other drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
This was meant to allow police to follow the progress of the ingredients all the way to the clandestine laboratories. In 1995 the Chemical Diversion Desk was established to handle these practices. | ||||||||||||||||
In May last year the acting ombudsman, Robert Seamer, reported that
the pseudoephedrine involved in these transactions was being bought
by police for $170 a kilogram. But on the blackmarket the return was
no less than $10,000 a kilogram. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(19) ALLEGED DRUG LORD CHALLENGES U.S. TO PROSECUTE HIM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Assets Frozen: Peruvian Businessman Says Rivals Are Trying To Ruin
His Name | ||||||||||||||||
LIMA - One of Peru's top businessmen has challenged the United States to start legal proceedings against him in U.S. courts after the White House placed him on its list of overseas drug kingpins. | ||||||||||||||||
"I'm sending a letter to the President of the United States asking
that they open a trial in the United States so that I can present my
case and the American justice system can decide if I am guilty or
innocent," said Fernando Zevallos, founder of Aero Continente,
Peru's largest airline, who also faces legal proceedings in Peruvian
courts. | ||||||||||||||||
Mr. Zevallos, 46, has been the subject of more than 30 U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigations, but has never been
convicted of a crime. He denies any wrongdoing. | ||||||||||||||||
He lived as a legal permanent U.S. resident in Florida for a decade
before returning to Peru in 2001 to face drug trafficking charges,
for which he was acquitted. | ||||||||||||||||
On Tuesday, the U.S. government announced it had placed him on its
list of overseas drug kingpins and frozen the U.S. assets of Aero
Continente and several related companies. | ||||||||||||||||
The White House announcement came hours after a Lima court began
retrying Mr. Zevallos on cocaine trafficking charges. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(20) RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 'CANNOT BE DENIED' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Human-rights violations, especially torture and abductions, have
become so frequent in Thailand that the government and society can
no longer deny their existence, a speaker from a regional rights
organisation said at the weekend. | ||||||||||||||||
Nick Cheesman of the Hong Kong-based Asian Legal Resource Centre
said the public has for too long failed to acknowledge violations
such as the abduction of people in the deep South and the torture of
prisoners in police custody. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"There has been a general denial of serious rights violations, even
by people who work in the civil service, [but now] there's no way
that these violations can be denied," said Cheesman. | ||||||||||||||||
He was referring to alleged police torture of people accused of
being involved with violence in the South, the disappearance of
Muslim rights lawyer Somchai Neehlapaichit, the storming of the Krue
Se Mosque and the government's war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Cheesman said the general public's feeling that people connected to
the drug trade deserved to be shot dead in the street will have a
detrimental effect on the judicial process and society as a whole.
He said he was most concerned about the attitude that only the
innocent deserve justice. | ||||||||||||||||
Cheesman told The Nation that such attitudes and the culture of
"official impunity" led to heavy-handedness in dealing with problems
in the South. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Cheesman said hundreds of villagers have disappeared in the deep South in recent years, each deserving as much attention as Somchai. | ||||||||||||||||
He said he didn't want to simply blame Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, because "the conditions must exist to allow a government
to behave in a certain way". | ||||||||||||||||
He added, however, that Thaksin is trying to give orders as if he
were an executive president, while at the same time there is no
mechanism in place to counterbalance his strength. | ||||||||||||||||
"So it points to a systematic problem," Cheesman said. | ||||||||||||||||
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(21) MINISTER BREAKS DOWN IN TEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
An emotional Jean Benjamin, Deputy Minister of Social Development, broke down and cried during a debate in the National Assembly on mapping out plans to help young children hooked on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
"Enough is enough," she said in Afrikaans, speaking through sobs.
"Our children must be protected." | ||||||||||||||||
Benjamin said the department needed to launch a "total onslaught" on
drug merchants who were targeting children as young as 14, saying
the latest drug crazes like tuk-tuk and crystal meth were impacting
on the "emotional, spiritual, mental and moral" development of
children. She said the Ke Moja campaign against drug abuse would be
extended to all provinces by the end of the year. | ||||||||||||||||
Benjamin said she was concerned that South Africa's legislative
framework was not able to keep up with rapid changes taking place in
the drug industry. - Political Staff. | ||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
POT TV FILL THE HILL COVERAGE | ||||||||||||||||
On June 5, 2004 thousands of dedicated Canadian Cannabis activists
converged on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to tell their government
officials to legalize marijuana. Following are some of the many
great speeches given that day. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
JUDGING PROHIBITION | ||||||||||||||||
For the past thirty years Judges have looked on as America's War on
Drugs has played itself out before their eyes. They have seen the
inevitable increase in police powers and erosion of civil rights
needed to facilitate the investigation of drug offenses. They're
finally speaking out. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
SAFE ACCESS NOW NEWSLETTER | ||||||||||||||||
Safe Access Now (SAN) has just put out its latest newsletter about medical marijuana policies and guidelines in California. | ||||||||||||||||
To view it online, follow this link: | ||||||||||||||||
To read back issues, follow this link: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA GROWTH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA | ||||||||||||||||
By Stephen T. Easton, A Frasier Institute Occassional Paper | ||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER - A report sponsored by the Vancouver-based Fraser
Institute says marijuana should be legalized - generating billions of
dollars in tax revenues. | ||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||
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Our guests are the DA of Harris County, (Chuck Rosenthal) who sends
more people to the death chamber and perhaps more people to prison
than any person on earth. We'll have in studio, Tex. Rep. Harold
Dutton and from UnlockYourVote.org, Ralph Garcia to talk of
restorative justice. | ||||||||||||||||
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The district attorney of the "Gulag Filling Station" will join us
for the bulk of the half hour to discuss the drug war. Topics to
include racial bias, knowledge of the genesis of this war, medical
marijuana and the fact that he sends more people to prison than
anyone in Red China, Russia or N. Korea. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
PIEDAD CORDOBA: PLAN COLOMBIA HAS BEEN A TOTAL FAILURE | ||||||||||||||||
A Colombian Senator Criticizes U.S. Policies Imposed in Latin America | ||||||||||||||||
By Alex Contreras Baspineiro, Narco News South American Bureau Chief | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER NEWSFEED | ||||||||||||||||
You will notice a new "XML" link at the bottom of DSW newsletters, and on the newsletter homepage at http://drugsense.org/news.htm | ||||||||||||||||
The latest DSW RSS newsletter may be found at: | ||||||||||||||||
For more on RSS and what iT is, see: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Sad Day At Midland Secondary School | ||||||||||||||||
By Lynn Barker | ||||||||||||||||
Re: Article on May 14, 'Drug dogs find pot ...' | ||||||||||||||||
What a sad day for all of us. Hundreds of innocent people (at
Midland Secondary School) were locked down for two and a half hours,
sniffed by dogs, and treated like criminals. Everyone is a suspect,
and shall be treated as such. | ||||||||||||||||
One week earlier, these same hundreds of people were locked down and
huddled in corners hiding from pretend terrorists. If these people
were adults at work, the above actions would have severe legal
human-rights challenges. So why do we allow our children to be
subjected to such tactics? | ||||||||||||||||
Animosity is created when you treat fellow humans this way. And what
did this cost in education dollars? | ||||||||||||||||
Special-ed programs have all but disappeared, trade courses are practically non-existent, enrollment is down, suspensions are up, expulsions are up, dropout rate up, and drug seizures down. | ||||||||||||||||
Take a look at the students. They are not criminals or terrorists.
They are young minds being molded by (such) moves. Take a look at the
staff. They are not guards. They are teachers, sharers of knowledge
and guardians. Take a look at the building. It is not a criminal
institution. It is an institution of education. | ||||||||||||||||
Think hard about this agenda and what it is teaching. MSS is 100 years
old and dying. | ||||||||||||||||
Lynn Barker | ||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Ronald Reagan On Drugs | ||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||
In 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan made history by urinating. Sure, it's something every president since Washington had done, but Reagan was the first to pee into a bottle for a drug test. | ||||||||||||||||
He did it voluntarily, but a few months later, Reagan signed an
executive order requiring all federal agencies to plan urine tests
for employees in sensitive positions. It was a turning point in the
fledgling drug-testing industry, now a multi-billion dollar
powerhouse which recently convinced federal legislators that
collecting urine is not enough; they want the hair, sweat and saliva
of federal workers as well (see | ||||||||||||||||
The drug-testing industry is one part of Reagan's drug war legacy.
While he was in office, he presented himself as an enemy of
overreaching government.= But at the same time he demanded increased
freedom for Soviet citizens, his rhetoric and policies pushed the
U.S. government further and further into the personal lives of
Americans. | ||||||||||||||||
Reagan wasn't the first president to promote and expand the drug
war. And the U.S. Congress during his terms challenged his excesses
with nothing but more excessiveness. But Reagan set the tone for the
immense bloating of the drug war during the 80s. | ||||||||||||||||
Reagan, at certain points in his administration, seemed obsessed by drugs.= In "Smoke and Mirrors," journalist Dan Baum's excellent history of the modern drug war, Reagan is portrayed trying to get every aspect of the government involved in the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||
"Let's go around the table," Baum quotes Reagan during cabinet
meetings. "Cap?" he addressed Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger.
"What are you doing for the War on Drugs?" Every member of the
cabinet, from labor to agriculture, would be quizzed on what he was
contributing to the crusade. | ||||||||||||||||
Reagan and his first lady were vocal supporters of Straight Inc., an
alleged drug rehab program for youth that employed psychological and
physical abuse. | ||||||||||||||||
"We want you to help us create an outspoken intolerance for drug
use," said Mrs. Reagan with the President by her side during a
nationally televised address in 1985. "For the sake of our children,
I implore each of you to be unyielding and inflexible in your
opposition to drugs." | ||||||||||||||||
Many paint the Reagan administration as victorious in the war on
drugs because self-reports of drug use declined while Reagan was in
office. But that analysis overlooks the onset of those reported
declines, which took place before Reagan's term began. Another way
to measure the success of Reagan's drug war is to look at the crack
market that was created during his term in office. Before the Reagan
years, no one knew what crack cocaine was, but by the time George
H.W. Bush took Reagan's place in the Oval Office, the new president
claimed to be able to buy crack across the street from the White
House. | ||||||||||||||||
Far from keeping crack under control, Reagan's policies launched the
crack revolution. "Dark Alliance," journalist Gary Webb's
controversial but thoroughly documented book, explains the
relationship between the CIA, the Contras and the crack epidemic.
While many Reagan retrospectives have noted the Iran-Contra scandal
as the low point in Reagan's administration, the drug angle has been
generally overlooked. | ||||||||||||||||
Due to human rights abuse, the U.S. Congress had cut funding for the
Contras, who were attempting to undermine Nicaragua's Socialist
government.= Reagan's administration wanted to continue funding the
Contras, regardless of the congress and regardless of law. So they
used profits from illegally selling arms to Iran to pay for the
Contra effort. This much is well-known;= less analyzed is the
Contras' financial support through drug trafficking. Not only was
this arrangement overlooked by officials in the Reagan | ||||||||||||||||
Webb goes even further, tracing the first loads of crack to hit Los Angeles streets in the mid-80s back to the Contra efforts. | ||||||||||||||||
The paradoxical nature of Reagan's war on drugs isn't exceptional;
it mirrors the whole history of prohibition. Seemingly noble words
about protecting the children are always twisted into corruption and
abuse, soon to be forgotten as the children face even more dangers
from the efforts to save them. | ||||||||||||||||
I imagine Reagan the optimist was immune from such dark thoughts. I
imagine he took genuine pride after filling a bottle to prove his
chemical integrity back in 1986. It's a shame Reagan's vision of a
drug-free America has left the rest of us as a nation messily
pissing in the wind. | ||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and the author of
Maximizing Harm, www.maximizingharm.com | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"Paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to
prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people... "
- Hugo Black | ||||||||||||||||
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