Table of Contents

* Breaking News (12/21/24)

* This Just In

(1) Switzerland: Young Pot Smokers At Risk From Drug Dealers
(2) Bush Aide Resigns To Explore Senate Run
(3) UK: When Spliff Gets In Your Eyes...
(4) Probe Confirms Dealing Of Drugs Near D.C. Clinics

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

COMMENT: (5-8)
(5) House Opposes Effort to Allow Pot for Ill
(6) Doctor Who Treated Cheney Has Had An Addiction Problem
(7) Drug-Dog Law Opposed
(8) Drug Tests In Schools A Hot Issue

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

COMMENT: (9-13)
(9) Sentence Ruling Prompts Memo To Prosecutors
(10) Weed Watch: 'America's Most Vulnerable'
(11) Sheriff Gives Seized Money To Citadel
(12) Traffic Ticket Fee Begins Thursday Funds Drug Courts
(13) But McMaster Labels Police Action 'Inappropriate'

Cannabis & Hemp-

COMMENT: (14-18)
(14) Penalties For Marijuana Use Hard To Defend
(15) Medical Marijuana: A Nation Gone To Pot?
(16) Oregon To Vote On Easing Medical Marijuana Use
(17) 67,000 Sign On To 'Pot' Initiative
(18) Medical Marijuana Use Gains Support

International News-

COMMENT: (19-23)
(19) Death Squad Strikes Again
(20) Ex-Con Shot Dead
(21) OPP Officer Accused Of Lying
(22) Germany's Youngsters Going To Pot
(23) Teen Pot Epidemic Out Of Control

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* Quote of the Week

    Chicago Sun-Times

In many parts of Switzerland, police have cracked down on hemp shops selling cannabis and related products.  In Ticino, of the 75 outlets operating in 2002, only two remained in business in 2003.

"We are concerned about it, because in the shops we knew they could buy cannabis and products made with cannabis, and that was all," said Sandra Meier, spokeswoman for the Federal Health Office.

Reports say dealers can net SFr70 ($57) on a gram of cocaine, compared with SFr15 on the same amount of cannabis.  Dealers can be expected to push hard drugs for profit, Meier told swissinfo.

"There is a danger that [the users] not only can buy cannabis, but also heroin and other hard drugs," she said.

Cannabis users are "mainly young people" whose exposure to hard drugs could come at a crucial time, with devastating impact, added Meier.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Fri, 09 Jul 2004

Source:	Swissinfo / SRI (Switzerland Web)

Website:	http://www.swissinfo.org/

Forum:	http://messages.swissinfo.org/cgi-ubb_en

URL:	http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5071453

As Illinois Republicans scrambled to find a U.S.  Senate candidate, the deputy director of President Bush's drug-control office resigned Friday to explore a run for the office.

Andrea Grubb Barthwell, a physician, had been deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy since January 2002, focusing on reducing demand for drugs.  Federal law barred her from seeking the Republican nomination while she worked for the government.

The drug-control office announced her resignation in a written statement.

If Barthwell were chosen to face off against Democrat Barack Obama, it would be the first time in U.S.  history that two black candidates have battled for a Senate seat.

[snip]

The people interested in the nomination have limited support among party leaders who will choose a replacement, and the people with the name recognition or money to be strong candidates have turned the party down.

Barthwell is an unknown even to most leaders of the state GOP.

"Who? Don't know her," U.S.  House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Friday.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Fri, 09 Jul 2004

Source:	Dispatch, The (IL)

Copyright:	2004 Moline Dispatch Publishing Company, L.L.C.

Website:	http://www.qconline.com/

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/1306

Continues:	http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/article/qconline6804.htm

We knew it gave people the munchies and made them giggle.  Now researchers claim to have found a new property in cannabis - it helps us see in the dark.

Scientists made their discovery after becoming intrigued by Moroccan fishermen who not only failed to lose their sense of direction after smoking generous amounts of local kif, a mixture of cannabis and tobacco, but seemed to navigate better on dark nights.

"They attribute their ability to see to the consumption of kif that they spend entire hours smoking before getting into their barques," one of the research team, drawn from the US, Spain and Morocco, reported.

Jamaican fishermen have reportedly shown a similar reaction, suggesting that there may be something medically useful in cannabis apart from the pain-deadening properties already spotted by doctors treating cancer patients.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Wed, 07 Jul 2004

Source:	Guardian, The (UK)

Copyright:	2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited

Website:	http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/175

Author:	Giles Tremlett, in Madrid, The Guardian

Bookmark:	http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n971.a01.html

House Measure Seeks Stiff Penalties For Sales Outside Treatment Centers

Frequent and often blatant narcotics dealing outside several Washington drug treatment centers regularly undermines the efforts of addicted patients and those working to help them, according to a federal investigation released yesterday during a congressional subcommittee hearing.

Newspaper coverage of rampant drug dealing near the D.C.  government's largest methadone clinic prompted the House Judiciary Committee to call for the probe.  During the past 14 months, investigators with the U.S.  General Accounting Office made more than 50 visits to five D.C. treatment clinics to conduct surveillance.  They did not have to look hard to find illegal dealing, according to the report, describing the areas surrounding the city's treatment centers as "a virtual bazaar of illegal drug dealing."

[snip]

Pubdate:	Wed, 07 Jul 2004

Source:	Washington Post (DC)

Copyright:	2004 The Washington Post Company

Website:	http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/491

Author:	Monte Reel

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n977.a07.html

Domestic News- Policy

Federal legislators, many who claim to oppose overreaching intrusive government, again failed to rein in the DEA's efforts to harass medical marijuana users and providers in states where medical marijuana is permitted.  Meanwhile, the personal physician for U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney is accused of abusing drugs more dangerous than cannabis, but no one's talking about getting law enforcement involved.

Another aspect of drug law enforcement is becoming privatized in North Carolina.  A new law allows companies to use drug-sniffing dogs, but police who have monopolized the business for so long aren't happy about it.  And, some hopeful news from California as thoughtful state legislators attempt to limit the use of drug tests in public schools.

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Wednesday to let the federal government continue prosecuting people who use marijuana for medical reasons in states where local law allows its use by patients.

The 268-148 vote turned aside an amendment by Democrats and some conservative Republicans that would have barred the federal government from preventing states from implementing their own medical marijuana laws.  Nine states have passed laws allowing people to use marijuana if recommended by a doctor: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

"It won't encourage the use of marijuana," Rep.  Sam Farr, D-Calif., one of the sponsors, said of the amendment.  "It won't encourage drug use in children.  It won't legalize any drugs."

Supporters of the federal restrictions said that constitutionally, federal statutes must override state laws.  They also argued that medical marijuana laws only encourage the abuse of marijuana and other drugs.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Wed, 07 Jul 2004

Source:	Associated Press (Wire)

Copyright:	2004 Associated Press

Bookmark:	http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n970/a05.html

WASHINGTON, July 4 - Vice President Dick Cheney's personal doctor, who four years ago declared Mr.  Cheney "up to the task of the most sensitive public office" despite a history of heart disease, was battling an addiction to prescription drugs at the time and has recently been dropped from the vice president's medical team, according to officials at the hospital where he practiced.

The doctor, Gary Malakoff of George Washington University Medical Center, had treated Mr.  Cheney since 1995 and been a prominent spokesman on the vice president's health.  He also reviewed the medical records of Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 campaign, but did not see Mr.  Gore as a patient.

Hospital officials said Sunday that they had known since 1999 of Dr. Malakoff's problem, and that Dr.  Malakoff informed the vice president at that time or in 2000.  But he was permitted to continue working, they said, while undergoing treatment and monitoring, including urine tests, by an independent board.

But in May, when the board concluded that Dr.  Malakoff was too impaired to care for patients, he was relieved of his position as director of the medical center's general internal medicine division, they said.  He is on leave until September, and could not be reached Sunday for comment.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Mon, 5 Jul 2004

Source:	New York Times (NY)

Copyright:	2004 The New York Times Company

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/298

Author:	Sheryl Gay Stolberg

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n957/a05.html

Some lawmen say a new law that allows private dog handlers to conduct drug searches ought to be repealed.

The law was passed last year and takes effect in October.  It allows private dog handlers to register with the state to establish a commercial detection service.  The handlers can contract with local businesses to search for drugs.  They must call law enforcement if drugs are found.  People who support the law say private drug detection can help employers maintain a drug-free workplace and provide additional resources for law enforcement.

Critics say only lawmen should be able to use dogs for drug detection and the law could eventually allow anyone with a drug dog to conduct the searches.  "This is a bad idea," said Eldon Presnell, president of the United States Canine Association for North and South Carolina.  Presnell, a dog handler with the Greensboro Police Department, said his association wants to have the law repealed.

"We see nothing but bad case law eventually coming out of this," he said.  Lawmen are concerned, Presnell said, because the law was designed for people other than law enforcement officers.  It could jeopardize the chain of custody by eliminating law officers from drug searches, he said.  State requirements The state has been developing training and qualification requirements for the private dog handlers.  John Womble, a program coordinator for regulatory affairs in the Division of Mental Health, said a draft of the regulations is available for public review.  State officials are working with lawmen to develop the rules, which will take effect in October, Womble said.  "It's already law," he said. "It's already passed the General Assembly.  Now it's a matter of making sure that it's done correctly and everyone that applies is on the same page."

[snip]

Pubdate:	Mon, 05 Jul 2004

Source:	Fayetteville Observer (NC)

Copyright:	2004 Fayetteville Observer

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/150

Author:	Amneris Solano

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n958/a04.html

Bill Would Make Random Testing Illegal and Require 'Reasonable Suspicion.'

Even if Carl Santa Elena gets straight A's, he can't participate in Dixon High School sports unless he agrees to urinate in a jar upon demand.

Such policies have sparked a political fight in California, pitting anti-drug activists against civil libertarians.

At a time when President Bush is pushing to expand random student drug testing nationwide, state lawmakers might ban the practice.

Proponents hail random testing as a way to detect drug use before addiction, but critics call such programs an invasion of privacy.

Legislation to bar random testing, SB 1386, recently passed the state Senate 27-10 and is pending in the Assembly.  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the bill.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Mon, 05 Jul 2004

Source:	Sacramento Bee (CA)

Copyright:	2004 The Sacramento Bee

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/376

Author:	Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n959/a05.html

Law Enforcement & Prisons

The fallout from the U.S.  Supreme Court decision which essentially gutted federal sentencing guidelines continues.  The Justice Department is scrambling to try and save cases from being affected by the ruling.  As if sentencing isn't absurd enough already, a U.S. Rep.  from Wisconsin wants tougher mandatory minimums for marijuana violations.

With police confiscating drug money all the time, some might wonder where it all goes.  In Georgia, it goes wherever the sheriff wants it to go, including his alma mater.  While money from the drug war gets spread around in Georgia, other types of law enforcement revenue will be funneled to one point used to support a drug court in Mississippi.  And in South Carolina, the official investigation into a drug raid where police entered a high school with guns drawn sputtered to a predictable conclusion.  While police may have acted "inappropriately", no one will be punished.

The Department of Justice is telling federal prosecutors to bring fresh indictments against certain defendants to guard against any impact from a recent Supreme Court decision involving sentencing rules.

Deputy Attorney General James Comey, in a July 2 memo, also instructed prosecutors to "immediately" seek waivers from all defendants who agree to plead guilty to bar them from later using the Supreme Court ruling as a basis to challenge their plea agreement.

The high court decision last month said that judges can't act alone to increase prison sentences based on facts that juries never consider or that defendants don't plead to.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Wed, 07 Jul 2004

Source:	Wall Street Journal (US)

Copyright:	2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/487

Author:	Laurie P.  Cohen

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n967/a02.html

The latest assault on drug reformers has landed in Congress, courtesy of U.S.  Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, whose new bill would beef up mandatory minimum sentences for folks convicted of selling marijuana to minors -- a measure that rebuffs recent challenges to the infamous federal sentencing scheme.

Sensenbrenner's HR 4547, titled "Defending America's Most

Vulnerable:	Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child Protection Act

of 2004," would amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide a minimum 10-year federal sentence for adults convicted of selling, or conspiring to sell, or attempting to sell or offer any quantity of marijuana to anyone under 18.  Any subsequent conviction would net a life sentence -- an extreme measure apparently needed to protect "children from drug traffickers," according to Sensenbrenner's charmingly draconian offering.

But that's not all: The bill would also impose mandatory minimum sentences on anyone convicted of "manufacturing or distributing" marijuana in proximity to kid-friendly establishments such as video arcades and libraries.

At press time, the bill had no co-sponsors.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Fri, 02 Jul 2004

Source:	Austin Chronicle (TX)

Copyright:	2004 Austin Chronicle Corp.

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/33

Author:	Jordan Smith

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n945/a07.html

Georgia Lawman Doles Out Confiscated Drug Money To Unusual Organizations

WOODBINE, GA.  - Battle lines have been drawn in one coastal Georgia county sheriff's race over how money seized from suspected drug dealers is spent.  Since 1985, the Camden County Sheriff's Department has seized nearly $15 million in suspected drug money and gotten back more than $10 million of the money after it was processed by federal and state officials.  Laws restrict how counties can spend the returned money, with the intent being the money will support programs that discourage illicit drug use and help law enforcement.

While much of the money is doled out to civic organizations in donations of $10,000 or less, or to buy equipment for deputies, Sheriff Bill Smith has also given substantial donations to other causes.

Rich Gamble, who is running against Smith for the Republican nomination for sheriff, said Smith has gone too far, though he concedes that no laws have been broken.

[snip]

Since 2001, Smith has donated $2,500 to a local Boy Scouts chapter, $3,000 to the Camden County High School cheerleader squad, $5,000 to the high school's band booster organization and $5,000 to the American Cancer Society.  He also has donated $150,000 to Habitat for Humanity and $250,000 to his alma mater, The Citadel, in South Carolina.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Mon, 05 Jul 2004

Source:	Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC)

Copyright:	2004 Evening Post Publishing Co.

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/567

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n962/a08.html

Beginning Thursday, motorists facing traffic citations and citizens convicted of other misdemeanors and felonies can expect to pay a few dollars more to help fund state drug courts and mental health crisis centers.

In the 2004 legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill sponsored by Dist.  39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith to add a $20 assessment to traffic, implied consent, litter, and game and fish law violations and to other misdemeanors and felonies.  The new law takes effect July 1, the start of the state's fiscal year.

In most cases, the assessment revenue will be divided evenly between drug courts and mental health crisis centers.  Officials are expecting about $5 million each to be generated to meet operational needs of the two.

"That's going to be an adequate source of funding for us," said Fourteenth District Circuit Court Judge Keith Starrett, who founded the state's first drug court several years ago for Lincoln, Pike and Walthall counties.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Wed, 30 Jun 2004

Source:	Daily Leader, The (MS)

Copyright:	The Daily Leader 2004

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/1955

Author:	Matthew Coleman

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n966/a01.html

No Charges In School Drug Raid

CHARLESTON - Characterizing police officers' conduct as improper but not criminal, the state's attorney general will not file charges in a high school drug raid in which guns were drawn and students ordered to the floor.

"The tactics were good tactics for a crack house, a drug den or a methamphetamine lab, but highly inappropriate tactics for a school house," said S.C.  Attorney General Henry McMaster.

The decision follows months of reviewing videos, reports and other information from the controversial Nov.  5 search at Stratford High School in Goose Creek.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Sat, 03 Jul 2004

Source:	State, The (SC)

Copyright:	2004 The State

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/426

Author:	Lauren Leach

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n955/a02.html

Cannabis & Hemp-

This week's hemp/cannabis section begins with 2 articles that suggest that there might yet be hope for progress and compassion in U.S.  drug policy. The first is a column by right-wing political pundit William F.  Buckley, who cites Ethan Nadelmann's National Review article on the legalization of cannabis numerous times in his argument for an end to the failure and futility of cannabis prohibition.  The second piece is a call for the legalization of medicinal cannabis and for a lessening of penalties for personal use by The Republican, a Massachusetts daily newspaper.

With the U.S.  election drawing nearer, there is news this week of 2 more medicinal cannabis initiatives making their way unto state ballots.  In Oregon, voters will have a chance to make the current program more comprehensive by expanding the current system to allow for the creation of state dispensaries, and to raise the amounts patients can grow and possess.  In Arkansas, the Alliance for Medical Marijuana appears to have submitted enough signatures to get a medicinal cannabis proposition on November's ballot.

And finally, a fascinating column about the major religious denominations that have recently announced support for the use of medicinal cannabis.  With many of America's mainstream churches and conservative voices like Bill Buckley's now pushing for the legalization of medicinal cannabis, can our legislators be far behind on finally addressing this important health issue on a federal level?

Conservatives pride themselves on resisting change, which is as it should be.  But intelligent deference to tradition and stability can evolve into intellectual sloth and moral fanaticism, as when conservatives simply decline to look up from dogma because the effort to raise their heads and reconsider is too great.

The laws concerning marijuana aren't exactly indefensible, because practically nothing is, and the thunderers who tell us to stay the course can always find one man or woman who, having taken marijuana, moved on to severe mental disorder.  But that argument, to quote myself, is on the order of saying that every rapist began by masturbating.

General rules based on individual victims are unwise.  And although there is a perfectly respectable case against using marijuana, the penalties imposed on those who reject that case, or who give way to weakness of resolution, are very difficult to defend.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Mon, 05 Jul 2004

Source:	Houston Chronicle (TX)

Copyright:	2004 National Review

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/198

Author:	William F.  Buckley Jr.

Cited:	Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicy.org

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n959.a02.html

For a nation that has been waging a decades-long war against drugs without success, it is difficult to admit that someone might benefit by smoking marijuana.

The U.S.  Supreme Court agreed this week to decide whether seriously ill people who smoke pot under a doctor's care are subject to a federal ban on marijuana.

[snip]

As we've noted before, the United States has the best hospitals in the world, the most skilled doctors, the most advanced technology and the most modern medicines, but its laws governing marijuana are archaic.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Fri, 02 Jul 2004

Source:	Republican, The (MA)

Copyright:	2004 The Republican

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/3075

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n944.a05.html

Oregon voters will decide this fall whether to make medical marijuana more readily available after an initiative to expand an existing law gained enough signatures on Friday to be placed on the ballot.

The ballot measure would let patients possess up to 1 pound of marijuana, up from 3 ounces under a law passed in 1999.  It also would create a system of dispensaries that could legally sell pot to patients.

"This initiative will create a regulated supply of medical marijuana so that patients and their caregivers can safely and reliably get their medicine," said John Sajo, director of Voter Power and a chief petitioner.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Sat, 03 Jul 2004

Source:	Reuters (Wire)

Copyright:	2004 Reuters Limited

Author:	Teresa Carson

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n954.a08.html

Advocates for legalizing marijuana for medicinal use said Friday they have submitted just over the minimum number of signatures needed to put the issue to a vote of Arkansans.

Chloe Crater, a spokesman for the Arkansas Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said the group turned in about 67,000 signatures and will continue seeking more over the next few weeks to replace any that may be declared invalid.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Sat, 03 Jul 2004

Source:	Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR)

Copyright:	2004 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

Author:	Laura Kellams

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n958.a01.html

Several major religious denominations have joined a growing movement to legalize the medical use of marijuana, asserting an ethical responsibility to help ease the pain and other debilitating effects of such diseases as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

The United Methodist Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ have made statements supporting the controlled use of marijuana for medical reasons.

"According to our tradition, a physician is obligated to heal the sick," begins a resolution adopted in November by the Union for Reform Judaism.  The statement acknowledges the medical use of marijuana as a 5,000-year-old tradition and encourages the federal government to change marijuana's status from a prohibited substance to a prescription drug.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Sun, 04 Jul 2004

Source:	Detroit News (MI)

Copyright:	2004 Washington Post

Author:	Bill Broadway, Washington Post

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n959.a03.html

International News

In the Philippines this week, grim news from Davao City, where the Davao Death Squad (DDS) was blamed for the killing of more people. The Davao Death Squad -- which had been earlier praised by mayor Rodrigo Duterte of Davao City -- reportedly executed ("salvaged") a habel-habel driver across the street from a police station.  Another DDS killing this week was directed against a person just out of jail on a drug charge.  Previous DDS killings had been directed against those recently arrested and released for petty drug offenses.  As in Thailand, such extra-judicial killings are thought to be the handiwork of police.  Meanwhile, as the mayor of Davao extols the killings, other officials have condemned the summary executions. Complained Davao City Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad: "people are wantonly killed and suspects do not have their day in court with the police and military inutile in the face of this violence.  ... The people are getting used to the killings so much so that some are in fact beginning to accept extra-judicial executions as legitimate and justified."

In Ontario, Canada, an unusual case came to light when a veteran police officer was charged last week with perjury after he lied in court.  Det. Sgt. John Cavanaugh of the Ontario Provincial Police's technical support operations, who lied in court to convince a judge to allow police to get wiretaps on drug suspects, was himself arrested.  Although such police abuses of power are believed to be widespread, only rarely are police ever punished for falsehoods used to obtain convictions against alleged drug offenders.

Finally this week, we have two alarmist articles from opposites sides of the planet which bemoan an "epidemic" of cannabis-taking youth.  In the first piece, one about German youth "going to pot", officials piously decry "a generation of pot heads, many of whom become psychologically if not physically addicted to cannabis." In Australia, a Queensland paper denounced a "teen pot epidemic," after a government report written by police officials recommended that funding be continued for current police policy.  As in Holland, some in Germany understand that illegal markets cannot be controlled, and are calling for "legalization of cannabis" so that government can at least regulate the market.

DAVAO CITY - A "habal-habal" driver was shot dead in front of the Justice Hall by suspected Davao Death Squad (DDS) gunmen at about 9:45 p.m.  Sunday, bringing the "salvaging" death toll to 35. Angging Lomanta, 25, of Kalubinhan, Ecoland, was killed instantly after three motorcycle-riding men shot him three times.  The victim was waiting for passengers on Candelaria St.  in front of the Hall of Justice at Ecoland when he was shot.  Lomanta's mother said she suspected the shooting may be linked to a riot in April in which his son was involved.  Lomanta was killed at a place some 50 meters from the PNP regional headquarters and near the busy bus terminal.  In a similar DDS-style killing, two brothers were also shot dead last week while sleeping in their house by gunmen in barangay Duterte, Agdao.  Killed were Ryan Maraya, l8, and his brother Miguel, l7.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Wed, 07 Jul 2004

Source:	Manila Bulletin (The Philippines)

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/906

Author:	Roger Flaviano

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n966.a06.html

Last night saw the killing of the 35th victim of vigilante hitmen this year.

Joel Duran, 33, single, mason, who was released after serving his term at the Davao Penal and Prison Farm (formerly Davao Penal Colony) sometime in March 2004 for a drug case, was shot dead at 7:40 p.m.  while he was in a store near their house in Dominican Street, Times Beach, Ecoland, Barangay 76-A.

Duran was allegedly buying something when two men on board a motorcycle arrived and peppered him with bullets.

He sustained four gunshot wounds on the head, arms and body, and was rushed to the Davao Medical Center where he was pronounced dead few minutes later.

The suspects fled on board their motorcycle to an unknown direction.

Responding policemen recovered four spent shells of .45 caliber pistol from the crime scene.

[snip]

The killing came after a lady councilor, in her first speech at the opening of the 14th City Council yesterday morning, has vowed to continue the advocacy against summary executions and rally her collegues in addressing the persistent issue on summary executions.

Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad said "people are wantonly killed and suspects do not have their day in court with the police and military inutile in the face of this violence."

"There is no compromise on the issue of vigilante killings.  The people are getting used to the killings so much so that some are in fact beginning to accept extra-judicial executions as legitimate and justified," she said.

She said if not averted, there would be more senseless
deaths.

Pubdate:	Wed, 07 Jul 2004

Source:	Mindanao Times (Philippines)

Copyright:	2004 Mindanao Times.

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/2980

Author:	Jose G.  Dalumpines

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n975.a05.html

Judge Alleges Orillia Man Lied In Court In Major Drug
Case

A veteran provincial police officer from Orillia was charged Tuesday with two counts of perjury and one count of obstructing justice after the country's national police force investigated allegations that he lied in court during a major drug case.

Det.  Sgt. John Cavanaugh of the OPP's technical support operations unit was arrested by officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after he turned himself in at the force's Newmarket detachment.  He was released on a recognizance to appear in a Toronto court on Wednesday.

At the OPP's request, the RCMP began an investigation last September to look into concerns raised by Justice John Macdonald about Cavanaugh's conduct during a provincewide biker gang investigation in 1996.

In its September ruling to drop the drug-related charges against four men, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said Cavanaugh lied to five judges and destroyed five boxes of evidence in the case involving the Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club.

The ruling said Cavanaugh also made several other falsehoods in seeking telephone wiretaps on alleged drug dealers.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Tue, 06 Jul 2004

Source:	Packet & Times (CN ON)

Copyright:	2004, Osprey Media Group Inc.

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/2397

Author:	Jim Purnell

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n966.a08.html

DPA , HAMBURG

"What we have is a generation of pot heads, many of whom become psychologically if not physically addicted to cannabis."

Renate Kuenast, German Consumer Affairs Minister

Teenagers in Germany are smoking cannabis in alarming numbers, prompting health authorities to issue stern health warnings and to call for stringent anti-drugs efforts by schools.

A national survey shows nearly one out of every four 15-year-olds has smoked marijuana or hashish and that 15 percent do so regularly.

Adding to the concerns is the fact that cannabis is far more potent now as a result of the EU's eastward expansion, permitting ready access to cannabis producers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Federal authorities in Germany say the cannabis available on street corners and in school yards across Germany these days contains five times the levels of THC -- the key intoxicant in cannabis -- than was the case a generation ago when pot-smoking was limited primarily to hippies.

"Smoking pot has become a fashionable pastime amongst our nation's youngsters during morning recess breaks," federal Consumer Affairs Minister Renate Kuenast warned recently.

"What we have is a generation of pot heads, many of whom become psychologically if not physically addicted to cannabis," she said.

[snip]

Some 15,000 adolescents are admitted to drug rehabilitation programs for cannabis-related addiction annually -- five times more than just a decade ago, she said.

Contributing to the widespread use of cannabis is the fact that Germany has one of Europe's highest rates of cigarette smoking among teens.  Nearly 40 per cent of teenagers in this country smoke at least occasionally.

Cigarette smoking paves the way for pot smoking, according to a new survey of 3,800 high school students in Hamburg.  The survey's alarming results show that 77 per cent of those students who smoke cigarettes have also smoked cannabis, but only 5 per cent of non-smokers have ever smoked pot.

Some officials meanwhile are calling for legalization of cannabis, if only so that its sale and distribution can be regulated.

"Legalization would also rob cannabis of its cult status as a forbidden drug," says Katja Husen, a Greens party politician in Hamburg.  "The fact that it is outlawed makes it more attractive to rebellious teens."

[snip]

Pubdate:	Tue, 06 Jul 2004

Source:	Taipei Times, The (Taiwan)

Copyright:	2004 The Taipei Times

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/1553

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n968.a02.html

MORE than 4000 children and teenagers have been caught with marijuana in three years in Queensland, a new report reveals.

The youngest found with the drug was just 10, according to the review of the State Government's drug diversion initiative - where first-time offenders are given the option of a two-hour
rehabilitation session rather than going to court.

The review, completed by an independent review team for Queensland Health and the police, says the drug diversion program should continue.

The review found more than 12,000 people had been put through the program since it began in June 2001; more than one-third were under 20, by far the largest proportion.

More than 400 were aged 15 or under.

[snip]

The majority of the youths had committed minor offences while under the influence of marijuana - including using obscene language, urinating in a public place or acts of vandalism.

[snip]

The disturbing trend of marijuana use among younger people comes as new figures in Britain reveal cannabis addiction is soaring.  One in five 15-year-olds in the UK smokes cannabis, placing themselves at great risk of developing schizophrenia in the next decade.

[snip]

Pubdate:	Sun, 04 Jul 2004

Source:	Queensland Sunday Mail (Australia)

Copyright:	2004 News Limited

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/435

Author:	Paul Weston and Mark Alexander

Continues:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n952.a11.html

NEW COMMON SENSE FOR DRUG POLICY PSA

You can see the lateset CSDP advertisement entitled "Justice for All?" featuring Richard Paey and Rush Limbaugh at
http://www.csdp.org/ads/just4all.htm_
The ad deals with pain management.

And I invite those of you newer to the movement to peruse our 53 other national advertisements at http://www.csdp.org/ads/ in order to further acquaint yourselves with various issues and some reform views.

Robert Field, Common Sense for Drug Policy

NEW CASES OF SCIENTIFIC ABUSE BY ADMINISTRATION EMERGE

Thousands More Scientists Join Protest

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 8—Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists released new evidence that the Bush Administration continues to suppress and distort scientific knowledge and undermine scientific advisory panels.  The number of scientists calling for an end to these practices and restoration of scientific integrity in federal policymaking now totals more than 4,000, including 48 Nobel laureates, 62 National Medal of Science recipients, and 127 members of the National Academy of Sciences.

Continues:	http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release.cfm?newsID=405

CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW

07/06/04: Sr.  Warden Richard Watkins

Currently employed as warden of Texas' Holliday Prison Unit, Richard Watkins has called for an end of drug prohibition.  We discuss racial bias, the need for drug education and other aspects of this 89 year old drug war.

MPEG:	http://cultural-baggage.com/Audio/FDBCB_070604.mp3

REAL:	http://cultural-baggage.com/ramtorm/to070604.ram

DPA BLOG: PULL UP A CHAIR

We're very excited to announce the debut of the Drug Policy Alliance's new weblog.  At the blog, which we call The D'Alliance, you can read a steady stream of drug-policy-related postings each weekday and then offer your comments where you see fit.  Blogging is an adventure we look forward to sharing with you

http://blog.drugpolicy.org/

NOT ENOUGH GRAVES / HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

The War on Drugs, HIV/AIDS, and Violations of Human Rights in Thailand

The 60-page report, "Not Enough Graves: Thailand's War on Drugs, HIV/AIDS, and Violations of Human Rights," provides fresh evidence of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations by Thai authorities.

http://hrw.org/campaigns/aids/2004/thai.htm

TOMMY CHONG MAKES 1ST POST-PRISON TV APPEARANCE

Actor Tommy Chong, who gained fame from co-staring with Cheech Marin in the cult classic Cheech and Chong movies, will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday.  This will be Chong’s first national TV interview since being released from Federal Prison for selling Bongs and other drug paraphernalia over the Internet.

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/pressroom/pressrelease/pr070804.cfm

PRIORITES FOR SENTENCING GUIDELINES OUT OF LINE

By Connie Kraft

Are you aware of the sentencing guidelines in your county? Are you aware that if you are caught in possession of illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of a church, school or park twice, that you could be charged with two Class X felonies and be sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in DOC, due to Mandatory Minimum sentencing guidelines? But, if you are prosecuted for shaking a baby to death, with a previous record and history of violence, you can plea bargain your charge from a Class X felony down to an involuntary manslaughter Class 4 felony and you will only be sentenced to 11 years in DOC.

And do you realize that all time served is now day for day, so if you are sentenced to the 12-year minimum Class X felony sentence, for drug possession, day for day would put you in DOC custody for six years, and the 11 year Class 4 felony sentence, for shaking a baby to death, would put you in DOC custody for five and a half years? I know there is no "good time" awarded for the Class X felony, I am unsure if good time is awarded for the Class 4, which would decrease the amount of time in prison to under the five and a half years.

So, am I the only person in Stephenson County that is getting the impression that the ineffective War on Drugs takes precedence to a child's life? Why do we have Mandatory Minimums for nonviolent offenders, but violent ones can plea bargain their sentences and get less time than nonviolent offenders?

If anyone has insight or can explain to me why someone who shakes a baby to death gets less time in prison than someone caught possessing illegal drugs, please fill me in, because I am outraged that this can happen.

It's time the sentencing guidelines are looked at a little more closely.  We need to do away with Mandatory Minimums now.

Connie Kraft
Lena

Pubdate:	Tue, 29 Jun 2004

Source:	Journal Standard, The (Freeport, IL)

Details:	http://www.mapinc.org/media/3182

How To MakeDrugSense Work For You

By Mary Jane Borden

Many people know about some of DrugSense's resources.  Perhaps you read articles about drug policy on our site or visited one of the Web sites that we host.  Among others, our most used resources include the Media Awareness Project (MAP) (http://www.mapinc.org) and Drug Policy Central (DPC) (http://www.drugpolicycentral.com).

But do you know how to use these valuable tools? Say, search for the Congressional voting record on the Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment, or locate all pro-reform newspapers in the Washington, DC area? If it pertains to drug policy, DrugSense has it.

That's what this series is about.  How to use the tools offered by DrugSense to change drug policy worldwide.  We'll be sending this tutorial to you approximately every month.  You may want to save these messages in a special place for future reference.

In addition, each DrugSense "How Do You??" will be archived in the Tutorials forum at DrugSense, which is available to registered members at
http://drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=27

Our first edition will overview all of our services.  In addition, we encourage you to explore these possibilities further by visiting http://drugsense.org/.  Our next edition in this series will focus on a specific tool in detail.

Tools from DrugSense/MAP -- #1 -- Introduction

DrugSense integrates a number of projects and services to encourage online media activism with respect to drug policy.  These include the DrugNews Archive, the DrugSense Weekly newsletter, Focus Alerts, MAP OnAir, the MAP Contact Database, the Drug Policy Links Database, and the Drug Policy Central Web hosting service.

The DrugNews Archive.  The Media Awareness Project has been electronically collecting, cataloging, and archiving news articles about drug policy from various publications since 1996.  The archive now tops 125,000 fully searchable newspaper, magazine, and Web articles on all aspects of drug policy regardless of spin.  You can read articles on line at the MAP website or have them delivered to you by e-mail.  http://www.drugnews.org/

DrugSense Weekly Newsletter.  Each week, approximately twenty articles are selected from the hundreds submitted to form the DrugSense Weekly newsletter.  By providing a synopsis of the most important developments in the drug policy arena through the lens of these articles, DrugSense Weekly may represent the finest overview and analysis of drug policy developments.  http://drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=DSW

Focus Alerts.  Approximately once every other week, one article is chosen as a Focus Alert.  Focus Alerts exert a particularly concentrated letter-writing effort on a specific newspaper article or editorial usually in a high profile publication with a relatively large circulation.  http//drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=Alerts

MAP OnAir.  (http://mapinc.org/onair) In addition to text-based media sources, MAP archives broadcast media appearances and events.  Groups can list and archive both their current and past media events

The MAP Contact Database.  (http://www.mapinc.org/contact/) This online database contains over 25,000 contacts in media, government, and business.  Fully searchable on a number of parameters, it may represent one of the most extensive contact resources available to drug policy reform organizations.

Drug Policy Links Database.  (http://www.mapinc.org/dpr.htm) This database combines the power of the Google search engine with depth of the DrugSense and MAP databases to comb more than 400 Web sites on either side of this issue.

Drug Policy Central.  (http://www.drugpolicycentral.com/) DrugSense provides Web hosting, e-mail discussion lists, newsfeeds, web design, graphics, programming, and technical support to more than 150 organizations that also strive to reform drug policy.  Services are offered for free or on a reasonably priced, fee-for-service basis using sliding scale that reflects the ability of each group to pay.

===== W H A T'S == N E W =====

DrugSense just launched a new look for its site at
http://www.DrugSense.org/, making it a premier "Web portal" for drug policy.  Now all of the resources mentioned above are together in one convenient location.  By registering at our new site, you'll be able to get the most out of these existing services, as well as access our new premium services, all for free.  Here's how:

Bring up the new DrugSense site by clicking on this link: http://www.DrugSense.org.  The heading on the box at the top right corner of your screen should say "Login." If you have already created a Nickname (also sometimes called a "username") and Password, you enter them here.  If not, click on "Create One Here." On the "User Registration/Login" page, you'll need to supply a Nickname, your E-mail address, and your Zip/Postal code.  You'll also need to create a password.  Because some services are personalized, "Cookies" should be enabled on your Web browser.  Please check your browser's Help section for information on "Cookies" and how to activate them.

After you have entered your information and have clicked the "New User" button, you will receive an E-mail message notifying you of the account's registration and verifying your Nickname and Password. Clicking on the supplied link in the message activates your account. When you next visit the DrugSense site, you may use your Nickname and Password to "Login" and gain full access to all DrugSense resources including our new blog, forums, and audio/visual library. These will be covered in future "How Do You??" messages.  Please note that some systems "remember" your Nickname and Password so you don't have to enter them again.

===== W H A T'S == N E X T =====

Do you ever wonder how to find a specific piece of information in the vast MAP archive? For our next edition, we will review the MAP search engine at http://www.mapinc.org/find/.  Look for a message entitled, "How Do You?? -- Tools from DrugSense/MAP -- #2 -- Searching."

===== M A I N T E N A N C E =====

If you know of additional ways to encourage sensible drug policies or if you would like us to cover a particular topic in our "How Do You??" series, please place your ideas in the Suggestion Box on our Forums section at
http://drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=26

DrugSense is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides accurate information about drug policy to heighten awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive "War on Drugs."

Did you know that, since we began to promote sensible drug policies in 1996, DrugSense's has spent only 0.5% of what taxpayers paid to support just the 2003 National Anti-Drug Media Campaign sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)? In spite of being outspent by almost $800/$1, DrugSense-sponsored sites have been as much as four times more popular than opponent sites.  Now that's effective!

Your contributions make this happen.  Please donate today. Our secure Web server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards.  If you'd prefer, you can mail your check or money or order to DrugSense, 14252 Culver Drive #328, Irvine, CA 92604-0326.

Remember, DrugSense Makes Sense.  Thank you!

Mary Jane Borden is a writer, artist, and activist in drug policy from Westerville, Ohio.  She holds an MBA from the University of Dayton and the APR certification from the Public Relations Society of America. She is a past president of the Columbus Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications and its affiliated Columbus Matrix Foundation. Borden is co-founder of the Ohio Patient Network
(http://www.ohiopatient.net) and currently holds the position of Fund Raising Specialist/Business Manager with DrugSense/MAP.

"The continuing persecution of doctors and patients over medical marijuana is one of the most embarrassing chapters of our failed drug war.  We look forward to the Supreme Court putting an end to these overzealous and mistaken efforts emanating from our nation's capital." - Chicago Sun-Times editorial, July 7, 2004.  For details, see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n971/a02.html

DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers our members.  Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you.

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

CREDITS:

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 ()

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists.  Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings.

NOTICE:

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.  Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE

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Mail in your contribution.  Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc.
D/B/a DrugSense
14252 Culver Drive #328
Irvine, CA, 92604-0326
(800) 266 5759