| Aug. 20, 2004 #363 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) MARIJUANA ACTIVIST TO SPEND 90 DAYS IN JAIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
SASKATOON (CP) -- One of Canada's best-known marijuana activists was
sentenced Thursday to three months in jail after pleading guilty to
passing a joint to a supporter last March. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marc Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party and founder of
Cannabis Culture magazine, was charged with trafficking after he spoke
at a political rally at the University of Saskatchewan. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Three months for one joint?" a stunned Emery asked the gallery before
a bailiff shushed him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
While it was Emery's eleventh drug-related conviction, it was the
first time he has been sentenced to jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
His lawyer said the sentence is too strict for simply passing one
joint to one person. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Crown prosecutor Frank Impey conceded the amount of marijuana in
question was small, but emphasized Emery's 10 prior drug offences
warranted more than a fine or a suspended sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Mr. Emery has been fined in the past and his behaviour continues," said Impey, who had suggested a three-to six-month sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) MARIJUANA RIGHTS GROUP UNITING BEHIND KERRY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bush Administration's Drug Policies Fuel Hempfest Stance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
SEATTLE -- More than 150,000 denizens of the Northwest will gather
this weekend in a waterfront park for Hempfest, billed as the largest
promarijuana gathering in the country, to listen to speeches from the
biggest names in the national drug-law reform movement between band
sets and bong hits. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But this year, attendees will hear an explicitly partisan message,
too: Organizers are pushing pot smokers to help elect Senator John F.
Kerry president. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The size of Hempfest indicates the potential power of the pro-pot
vote, particularly in the Northwest, reformers said. Organizers think
that registering even a few thousand Hempfest attendees could make the
difference in a close election. "It is essential for our crowd to
understand that there is nothing more important they can do for drug
policy reform than to go out and cast their ballots in the Democratic
box in November," said Dominic Holden, 27, a spokesman for the
festival. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) FREE HEROIN PROJECT WINS FEDERAL OK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- Ottawa has given conditional approval to the dispensing of free heroin to drug addicts in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The North American Opiate Medication Initiative will recruit 158 local
drug-users for the 21-month pilot project, set to begin by the end of
the year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Health Canada said it wants adequate security measures in place for
staff and users before full permission is granted. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the study, 88 people will receive prescribed heroin; another 70 will get methadone. The first North American study of its kind, it has the blessing of the federal government and Vancouver police. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) NO PROOF CANNABIS USE INDUCES SCHIZOPHRENIA - STUDY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
AMSTERDAM - There is no scientific proof that cannabis use induces
schizophrenia, Dutch scientists say, questioning recent research and
an argument the Dutch government uses to crack down on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In an article in this week's Magazine for Psychiatry, a peer-reviewed
journal, the three authors say that on the basis of currently
available data "there is no justification for the proposed closure of
coffee shops." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Often the first symptoms of schizophrenia occur during adolescence,
when people start to experiment with drugs, but the scientists believe
cannabis use only has a negative effect on people already genetically
predisposed to the mental illness. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"It is therefore advisable that youngsters with a family history of
schizophrenia and patients with a schizophrenic disorder be
discouraged from using cannabis," the report said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
There's so much interesting news packed into this week's Cannabis
section below, it actually overflowed into this section. In Seattle,
even opponents of a successful citizen initiative to make marijuana
arrests the lowest priority for police admit that the measure is
working. Editorialists at a Utah paper don't mention the good news
from Seattle, but they have their own arguments for downgrading the
importance of marijuana in the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, a town in Oklahoma criminalized the purchase of
syringes without a prescription; a lawsuit resulting from a mass
arrest at a Wisconsin party goes forward; and the feds start
spreading money around to the states for drug treatment, even though
that money doesn't buy any new treatment slots. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) MARIJUANA MEASURE CALLED EFFECTIVE BY SUPPORTERS AND FOES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seattleites aren't going to pot -- or jail -- since voters passed
I-75, the initiative that made marijuana the city's lowest
law-enforcement priority. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The number of people prosecuted for pot possession has plummeted,
and despite predictions of naysayers, there is no evidence of
widespread public pot consumption as a result of the measure, which
voters approved last year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
To Dominic Holden, spokesman for the I-75 campaign, that means
Hempfest this weekend will likely be more fragrant than last year,
as attendees at the annual pro-pot event will have yet another
reason to whoop it up -- and light up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Approved by 58 percent of Seattle voters in last September's
election, I-75 relaxes enforcement against adults possessing 40
grams or less of pot for personal use. The measure did not change
city policies toward sellers or minors. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The initiative appears to be working as intended, according to Holden and City Attorney Tom Carr, an outspoken opponent of I-75. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) EDITORIAL: END THE OVERKILL FOR MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
You don't swat flies with 16-pound sledge hammers. The hammer might kill the fly, but it will also do a lot of damage to the furniture. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The so-called war on drugs involves similar overkill that
needlessly, and expensively, puts people in prison for minor
marijuana offenses. A big part of the problem is mandatory
sentences, statutes designed to remove discretion from judges in an
effort to show we're tough on drug dealers. Instead, we often end up
sending low-level marijuana offenders to prison when a less
expensive therapy program would be more appropriate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
At the root of overkill in drug sentencing is how marijuana is
classified. As illicit drugs go, marijuana is innocuous. You don't
hear of people becoming violent after smoking pot, though at the
same time you wouldn't want them flying commercial aircraft, driving
cars or operating heavy machinery. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yet the legal classification of marijuana puts it on par with LSD,
heroin and mescaline -- Schedule I drugs that are defined by statute
as highly addictive and lacking any medicinal value. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But statutory definitions don't always reflect reality, and they
certainly don't in the case of marijuana. The classification ignores
the positive benefits of marijuana's active ingredient, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) VILLAGE OKS LAW ON SYRINGE SALES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE VILLAGE - A new city law passed this month may make it more
difficult for drug abusers to gain access to hypodermic syringes.
City council members passed an ordinance Aug. 3 banning the sale of
hypodermic syringes and needles to anyone who doesn't have a
prescription from a physician or veterinarian. The law took effect
immediately. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Local pharmacists, who wanted to prevent drug abusers from obtaining
syringes, contacted city officials to request the change, City
Manager Bruce Stone said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stone said council members discussed drawbacks of the law, including
other uses people might have for syringes, but decided regulation
was more important. Possession of hypodermic syringes was not
outlawed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anyone convicted of breaking the new law could face a $500 fine and
up to 60 days in jail, Stone said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) ARREST FACTS JUST 'DIDN'T ADD UP': LAWSUIT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
RACINE - When the City of Racine dismissed more than 400 municipal citations it had given people for attending a rave-like party, it was done to head off a possible class-action civil rights lawsuit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In return for that, and other steps taken by the city, the American
Civil Liberties Union agreed not to bring or help bring such a
lawsuit against the city. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jason Witheril was not part of that deal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Witheril was at the party that ran late Nov. 2 and early Nov. 3,
2002. He was in a restroom stall when uniformed Racine police | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
He's asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Witheril's attorney, Jill Packman, offered to settle the case with
the city for an undisclosed amount of money. But the city's finance
committee rejected that offer, and the Racine City Council will take
up the matter Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DRUG CZAR ANNOUNCES $22.8 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Drug Czar John Walters announced Wednesday that $22.8
million in federal aid will go to Missouri for a drug treatment
voucher program, one of 14 states and a tribal council to receive
grants for such programs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The money will be paid out over three years in the form of vouchers
that can be redeemed for drug and alcohol addiction programs, as
well as support services like transportation to treatment centers
and child care. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The voucher system could be implemented in as soon as a month, said
Michael Conty, director of Missouri's Division of Alcohol and Drug
Abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The federal aid does not directly increase the number of beds or
treatment slots, but state and federal officials hope that the money
from the vouchers will indirectly provide more capital for expansion
of existing treatment programs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
As coerced drug treatment in prison expands, this commentator has
long envisioned a time when officials somewhere would simply take
down the "Prison" sign on a correctional facility and replace it
with a sign that says "Treatment Center." Such a change is being
seriously considered in Kentucky, where some think the state's new
prison isn't needed for prisoners. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In Wisconsin, a program that is supposed to divert drug users from prison to treatment is showing poor success rates, but supporters says the program needs more time to get off the ground. Also last week, the New York Times reported on a trend to charge prisoners for their stays; and the New York Police Department is reportedly reforming policies surrounding confidential informants in the wake of a botched drug bust that left an innocent woman dead last year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) USES FOR ELLIOTT PRISON SUGGESTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
PIKEVILLE - A candidate for Kentucky Supreme Court is recommending
that a newly built prison in Elliott County be turned into a
long-term drug treatment center. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Will T. Scott, a Pikeville lawyer who is challenging incumbent
Justice Janet L. Stumbo of Van Lear, said it would be the best use
for the $92 million facility. "Eastern Kentucky has one of the
highest per capita rates of illegal drug use in the nation," he
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Ernie Fletcher said yesterday that Scott's proposal is
"certainly something we would consider looking at." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, said he, too, is willing to consider the idea. "I would not be opposed to a state-run drug rehabilitation program for drug offenders," Adkins said. "It would still need to be a state-run, state-operated prison." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Little Sandy Correctional Complex, a 961-bed prison that was
supposed to open in June, remains empty while state officials
consider its fate. Plans were for the prison to bring at least 280
jobs to the county. Fletcher, however, maintains the state doesn't
need a new prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) DRUG PROGRAM BEARS SPARSE FRUIT, CRITICS SAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Few Felons Finish, But Backers Plead For Time | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rico Reed is one of 183 current participants in the state's Felony Drug Offender Alternative to Prison program, which aims to rehabilitate men convicted of drug sales and possession without sending them to state prisons. He hopes the program helps him "lose the desire to sell drugs and do the right things in life." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But the chances of that are slim, if the program's past results are
any indication. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Since former Gov. Tommy G. Thompson announced it in his 2000 "state
of the state" speech, Milwaukee County judges have sentenced nearly
400 men to the program, officials said. Of those, 19 finished the
program, while 180 were revoked and sent to state prisons to serve
out their terms. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Those results have some state officials calling for the end of the
program, which sends participants through phases at the Secure
Detention Facility and the Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center
before they are released on electronic monitoring. It requires
offenders to stay off drugs, complete community service and hold a
job. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Whatever they're doing - it's not working," said Senate President
Alan Lasee (R-De Pere). "It might be time to pull the plug and start
all over again." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But corrections officials along with Sen. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee),
who advocated for the program's expansion, three Milwaukee County
judges involved with drug cases and the lead drug case prosecutor
think the program hasn't had time to succeed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) MANY LOCAL OFFICIALS NOW MAKE INMATES PAY THEIR OWN WAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. - Crime doesn't pay, but criminals just might. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
That is what more and more local governments are hoping, as they grapple with soaring prison populations and budget pressures. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
To help cover the costs of incarceration, corrections officers and
politicians are more frequently billing inmates for their room and
board, an idea popular with voters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Here in suburban Macomb County, 25 miles north of Detroit, Sheriff
Mark Hackel has one of the most successful of these programs in the
nation. Last year, the sheriff's department collected nearly $1.5
million in what are being called "pay to stay" fees from many of the
22,000 people who spent time in the county jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Inmates are billed for room and board on a sliding scale of $8 to
$56 a day, depending on ability to pay. When they are released, the
sheriff's office will go to court to collect the unpaid bills,
seizing cars or putting some inmates back in jail. The wife of one
inmate, a Chrysler truck factory worker who is serving half a year
for drunk driving, dropped off a check for $7,212 this week to cover
part of his bill, the largest single amount ever collected by the
sheriff. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Though the idea is not new - and in fact federal prisons adopted a
similar policy years ago that has fallen into disuse - the squeeze
on local budgets in recent years has propelled more local officials
to assess incarceration fees. In all, more than half of states
collect some sort of fees in their prisons, according to the
American Correctional Association. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But the fees raise thorny ethical and constitutional issues, say advocates of prisoner rights and some other corrections experts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) NYPD CHANGES INFORMANT SYSTEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Police Department is changing the way it handles confidential
informants, restructuring the entire system to better protect them
from retribution and to cut down on the use of those proven to be
unreliable, Newsday has learned. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The overhaul comes on the heels of several embarrassing incidents
for police, most recently an order by a federal judge to disclose
any internal documents that explain how it protects confidential
informants. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to an internal document obtained by Newsday, the new
Confidential Informant Review Committee will be run under the
authority of the Intelligence Division, with information "maintained
under strict and secure conditions." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The committee is charged with cutting down on the use of temporary informants, except in an emergency -- a move designed to allow supervisors to conduct more thorough investigations before conducting raids -- and using "facial recognition software" to prevent duplicate registration of unreliable informants. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sgt. Kevin Hayes, a Police Department spokesman, said the department
had no comment on the issue. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The department's use of CIs, as police call them, came under renewed
scrutiny in May 2003 when Alberta Spruill, a 57-year-old grandmother
and city worker, died of a heart attack when police stormed her
Harlem apartment and detonated a flash grenade after getting a bad
tip about drug deals there. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The informant had at least a dozen arrests and became a collaborater
after he was arrested on drug and trespassing charges five months
earlier, the NYPD later said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In yet another chapter in the long and complicated tale of the
Nevada personal use initiative, U.S. District Judge Mahan has ruled
that the state's "13 county" rule was unconstitutional. This forces
a recount of all of the signatures tuned in by the Committee to
Regulate and Control Marijuana, and should lead to the inclusion of
the initiative - which would legalize up to an ounce of cannabis for
personal use - on the November election ballot. And in California
this week around 3 dozen medicinal cannabis patients have filed
motions for the return of nearly $1 million of cannabis that has
been seized by local and state law enforcement in contradiction of
prop. 215. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our third story reports on studies conducted by a Spanish research team lead by Dr. Manuel Guzman that found that cannabinoids induce cancer cell death by halting the growth of blood vessels that feed tumors. This research, which included tests on both animals and humans, could point to a safe and novel way to treat brain tumors and other cancers. Our fourth story is a great example of major media being co-opted by government propaganda. This Time magazine article (which may as well have been subtitled "How B.C. bud is Corrupting America") quotes John Walters in his attempts to link the rise in marijuana-based emergency room admissions to Canadian-grown cannabis. As a Canuck, I'm all about bragging rights for our admittedly great marijuana, but if any of this were true, wouldn't Vancouver hospitals be overflowing with the stoned and maimed? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
And lastly this week, a great article by Jacob Sullum - editor of
Reason Magazine and author of "Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use" -
debunking the myth of the increasing potency of marijuana. I'd pay
to see Jacob and John Walters have a debate about what the drug czar
has referred to as the "crack cocaine of marijuana": B.C. bud.
Talking about B.C. bud, if you pick up this months High Times
magazine you will see that your faithful editor is the "Freedom
Fighter of the Month" for Sept./Oct.; our pot may indeed be potent,
but it's the B.C. activists that John Walters really has to worry
about | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) NEVADA MARIJUANA PETITION SIGNATURE COUNT BACK ON AFTER RULING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
A federal judge breathed new life into an initiative to legalize up
to one ounce of marijuana on Friday and declared two Nevada petition
requirements that left the measure short of qualifying for the
ballot were unconstitutional. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
However, U.S. District Judge James Mahan refused to order Nevada
Secretary of State Dean Heller to put the marijuana measure on the
Nov. 2 ballot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Instead, Mahan said, verification of the 66,000 names submitted on
petitions statewide would determine if supporters reached the
required 51,337 valid signatures. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"If you've got the signatures, then it's on the ballot," Mahan told
lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, the
Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, the Marijuana Policy
Project. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) CALIFORNIA MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS COORDINATE MASS COURT (Top)ACTION | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
On Tuesday, more than three dozen patients across the state will be
in their respective county courthouses filing motions for return of
nearly a million dollars' worth of marijuana. Humboldt County's
Courthouse will most likely be one of them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medical marijuana patients want their "medicine" back and Tuesday
they will demand it, according to a news release from Americans for
Safe Access. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to a report by an advocacy group released Monday, local and state law enforcement agencies are seizing the marijuana to which patients are legally entitled under state law - and not giving it back. Humboldt County is one of 36 counties named in the report. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) 'CANNABIS' BRAIN TUMOUR DRUG HOPE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
An ingredient in marijuana may be useful for treating brain cancers,
say Spanish researchers from Madrid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chemicals called cannabinoids could starve tumours to death by
halting the growth of blood vessels that feed it, the Complutense
University team hope. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By studying mice, the team has shown for the first time how these
chemicals block vessel growth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Their study, published in Cancer Research, also shows the treatment
appears to work in humans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) THIS BUD'S FOR THE U.S. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canada's Relaxed Drug Laws May Be Fueling A Boom In Marijuana
Exports To America. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian pot has cachet in the U.S. because of its reputation for
being especially potent. The featured brand is BC Bud - which is
grown in British Columbia and has become synonymous with the
high-grade marijuana grown throughout Canada. Once in the U.S., the
pot is exchanged for cash, and sometimes cocaine or guns, which are
then smuggled back to Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Although the actual potency of BC Bud varies from batch to batch,
depending on how it's grown, the U.S. Drug Enforcement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
White House drug czar John Walters blames BC Bud in part for the
increased number of pot-related emergency room incidents, which have
more than doubled, from 54,000 in 1996 to 119,000 in 2002. Those
incidents range from accidents and injuries to unexpected reactions
to the drug. "Canada is exporting to us the crack of marijuana,"
Walters told reporters in April. Others dispute Walters' claims.
"Domestic American marijuana is probably a little bit better," says
Richard Stratton, editor in chief of High Times, a magazine that
covers marijuana issues. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) POTENT ARGUMENT - THE LATEST MARIJUANA SCARE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Office of National Drug Control Policy is so happy with a recent
Reuters story about marijuana that it has a prominent link to the
article on its Web site. It's not hard to see why. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Pot is no longer the gentle weed of the 1960s and may pose a greater threat than cocaine or even heroin," writes Reuters health and science correspondent Maggie Fox. That's her talking, not the ONDCP. More precisely, it's Fox dutifully parroting what the ONDCP has told her in its latest attempt to scare people about marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Because so many Americans have decided, based on direct experience
or by observing pot smokers they know, that marijuana is no big
deal, the government's anti-pot propaganda has taken on a decidedly
defensive tone. "Marijuana today is a much more serious problem than
the vast majority of Americans understand," ONDCP Director John
Walters tells Fox. Or, as he put it during a visit to Seattle last
month, "This is not the substance you joked about in the '60s. We
have a greater reason for concern." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld traveled to Kabul,
Afghanistan last week, to go over strategy with beleaguered U.S. and
Afghan commanders. He warned that the profits from drug trafficking
fed into the Afghan insurgency, and was hindering efforts to
establish "democracy" there. The cultivation of opium poppies has
soared to record highs since the U.S. invasion of that nation in
2001. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In Mumbai, India, the U.S. plans to train Indian police
"anti-narcotic cells" by sending five U.S. DEA officers to train
Indian police. DEA agents planned to share their modern and
up-to-date investigative techniques (such as "intelligence gathering
through informants") with Mumbai police. Similar DEA training was
held recently in Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai. Readers can expect
drug use in Mumbai to rise to U.S. levels. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the Philippines this week, embattled Davao City Mayor Rodrigo
Duterte came out swinging against Amnesty International. After the
human rights group criticized the summary executions of suspected
drug offenders, Mayor Duterte shot back at Amnesty, insisting that
instead of noting Davao death squads, Amnesty should instead note
"pedophile activity" in Scandinavia. "[W]e will solve it [drug use
in Davao] my way," swaggered the mayor. Amnesty's criticisms of the
killing of suspected drug users in the Philippines was reportedly
sent in a letter to the current Philippine President, Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo. Arroyo, meanwhile, took additional heat from a
report released by the U.S. CIA last week which pegged the
Philippines as a "top heroin source." The report, which enraged
Philippine prohibition officials, "should not yet be taken
seriously," stated Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye. The report
wasn't a total insult to Philippine prohibitionists, however, as it
gave especially high marks to law enforcement's enthusiastic
repression of suspected drug use. Philippine officials stressed that
the Philippines did not produce heroin itself, but is merely a
trans-shipment point for the illegal drug. The U.S. CIA's report was
released in the 2004 edition of the World Factbook. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(19) RUMSFELD IN AFGHANISTAN FOR TALKS BEFORE ELECTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
US Defense Secretary Says Drug Trade Hurts Democracy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rumsfeld traveled to the Afghan capital from Oman where he warned
that the drug trade from massive opium poppy crops was hampering
U.S. efforts to foster democracy in the war-torn central Asian
state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"You need a broad effort in Afghanistan to make sure the hundreds
and hundreds of millions of dollars, and undoubtedly billions of
dollars over time ... will not go into the hands of people who want
to also destroy democracy, or reinstitute a Taleban government or
provide funds to Al-Qaeda or whatever," Rumsfeld said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The UN says the drug trade threatens to turn Afghanistan into a
failed narco-state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) U.S. TO TRAIN ANTI-NARCOTICS CELLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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But that is being compensated with new training and investigative
skills. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Five officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are
in Mumbai to conduct a fortnight-long training programme for police,
customs, Narcotics Control Bureau personnel. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thirty-six officers are participating in the programme which began
on Monday. A similar programme was recently held in Delhi and are
also planned in Kolkata and Chennai. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
A senior officer of the DEA stated "We will discuss issues like
investigation techniques, drug identification, intelligence
gathering through informants and other sources and also share our
experience in combating the drug mafia in the US. The programme will
also help us to understand the drug problem in India." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(21) MAYOR HITS AMNESTY INT'L (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Sunday lambasted an international human
rights group for criticizing the series of summary executions here
in Davao City and other parts in Mindanao. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The group Amnesty International reportedly wrote a letter to
President Arroyo expressing their concern on the killings in Davao
City, among others. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Duterte advised the human rights group to check first on the rampant
pedophilia abuses in the Scandinavian region where Amnesty
International is based. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Denmark, Belgium and other countries in the Scandinavian region are
known to be the hub of pedophile activity. They should first check
on that before checking on us," Duterte said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The mayor said the group has no right to meddle into the city's
affair especially on how to deal with criminality. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"May problem kami dito and we will solve it my way," | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(22) PALACE YAWNS AT CIA 'RP TOP HEROIN SOURCE' REPORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Malacanang yesterday shrugged off a report recently released by the
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States citing
the Philippines as among the top countries which export heroin in
the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye, in his regular press
conference at the Palace, said the report should not yet be taken
seriously as it had yet to be verified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency. He though underscored the government's "successful" campaign
to stem the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country with the
recent arrests of transnational manufacturers and local distributors
of illicit substances. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The veracity of this report has yet to be confirmed. But we must
emphasize that our sustained campaign against illegal drugs has
since cut the domestic drug trade in half. Transnational
manufacturers and distributors of illegal drugs have fallen one by
one in big raids over the past year," he maintained. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bunye also said the country is continuously coordinating with its
neighbors, like China, in sharing information and intelligence
against proliferation of illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"We are permanently committed to the global fight against illegal drugs and we will work with all nations supplying information to stop the threat and bring drug dealers to justice," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The CIA, in a report contained in its "World Factbook 2004," said the Philippines is the top supplier of heroin, not only to countries in Asia, but also to other western countries like the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The United Nations, in a report last month, also tagged the Philippines as one of the main suppliers of shabu worldwide. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The UN report was rejected by the Philippine government. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time Magazine Scare Story on B.C. Bud Ignores Real Facts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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New Calif. Survey: Medical Marijuana Hasn't Increased Teen Drug Use | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Official State Survey Shows Sharp Drop Since Prop. 215 Passed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quitting Ecstasy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers at University College London interviewed 66 former users of MDMA (Ecstasy) to find out why they stopped using the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pot Patients Require Fewer Meds, Study Says | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
August 18, 2004 - Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sydney, New South Wales: Nearly two-thirds of medicinal marijuana patients report that they have decreased or ceased taking other prescription medications early due to their use of cannabis, according to the results of state government survey conducted by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre in Sydney. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Using the Government to Investigate the Drug War | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jeremy Bigwood on the Freedom of Information Act | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Eartha Melzer, 2004 Narco News Authentic Journalism Scholar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
August 20, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Narco News students eager to break big stories gathered on Friday
August 6th in the Salon Mara at Casa Capestre in Cochabamba, Bolivia
for a presentation by investigative journalist Jeremy Bigwood on how
to use the United States Freedom Of Information Act to obtain
information on the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Data Show Increased Abuse of Methamphetamine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug abuse-related emergency room visits involving | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://162.99.3.50/news/newsreleases/040817nr_meth_amphet.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cultural Baggage Radio Show | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
08/17/04: Drug Czar of the America's: John Walters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
We expose the lies of the director of the US Office of National
Drug Control Policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
WHY WE RESIST THE DRUG WAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Stan White | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
America is prime for credible drug law reform at every facet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
As a deputy attorney general with Pennsylvania's Drug Strike Force,
Mark Serge conveniently overlooks reasons why people deride law
enforcement's effort to enforce the nation's drug laws ( "Freedom vs.
the drug war," Letters, Aug. 5). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
After decades of history, it's clear that drug laws are discredited
and arguably unconstitutional. America is prime for credible drug law
reform at every facet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Remember when police used to say, "If you don't like the laws, change
them" and "I don't make the laws; I just enforce them"? Police don't
recite those anymore because police and prison guards unions that
support perpetuating and expanding the war on drugs gain job security
by keeping them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
When police and the industrial prison complex cite historically
discredited information to support their war on some drugs, including
the plant cannabis ( example: DARE programs ), there will be increased
contempt for police by society. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The original Prohibition was clearly bad for the people, bad for
police and good only for the underground economy, which brought us
organized crime and Al Capone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The problem is the discredited laws and the people who support them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stan White | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - JULY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
We recognize Russell Barth of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for his seven
letters to the editor published in July, bringing the total that we
are aware of to 18. You can review Russell's published letters at
http://www.mapinc.org/writers/Russell+Barth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MAP Published Letters Awards, to include our Platinum, Gold, and Silver recognitions, are found at http://mapinc.org/lteaward.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
New Drug Use Surveys: Don't Get Spun! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By MPP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With the release of the annual Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) and other drug use surveys pending, the Marijuana Policy Project -- borrowing a phrase from television personality Bill O'Reilly -- is urging the news media to declare a "no-spin zone" when reporting this year's data. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The annual changes in these survey results generally have no more
significance than the daily ups and downs of the stock market, but
government officials hype the survey results for political reasons,"
said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project
in Washington, D.C. "This year, we are urging reporters to ignore
the spin, take a step back, and look at the big picture -- the
long-term trends that policymakers try to obscure." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
To illustrate that big picture, MPP has assembled the government's
long-term drug survey data into a collection of graphs, which can be
viewed at www.mpp.org/pdf/surveys_04.pdf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
August begins the traditional release period for a series of annual
drug use surveys. Typically, the first are the privately funded CASA
and PRIDE surveys, released last year in mid-August and early
September, respectively, and the federally funded National Survey on
Drug Use and Health, released in early September last year. The
federal Monitoring the Future teen drug use survey is usually
released in December. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Each year, federal drug war bureaucrats -- sometimes joined by
their allies at private organizations -- announce the new survey
results in one of two ways," Kampia said. "If drug use is down, even
a tiny bit, officials declare that victory over marijuana and other
drugs is imminent if we just do more of what we're doing -- more
arrests, more jails, more anti-marijuana propaganda. If use is going
up, officials cry out that we're in trouble and, amazingly, that we
need to do more of what we're doing. The one thing they never seem
to do, whether marijuana use goes up, down, or sideways, is consider
the possibility that prohibition doesn't work and that our policies
need a top-to-bottom rethinking." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Three decades of drug-use survey data have demonstrated that
arresting people for marijuana has no impact on marijuana use,"
Kampia continued. "From 1991 to 2000, marijuana arrests more than
doubled, and what happened? Daily marijuana use by high school
seniors tripled, the number of new users increased, and marijuana
availability didn't change." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
For more information about MPP, please visit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Tell the truth, and so puzzle and confound your adversaries." - Sir
Henry Wooton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection
and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International
content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (),
Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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