| Sept. 3, 2004 #365 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) VOW TO OPEN NEW CITY CENTRE CANNABIS CAFE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A LEADING supporter of Scotland's first cannabis cafe today vowed a
similar outlet would be opened in the city centre. | ||||||||||||||||||
Cult publisher and author Kevin Williamson announced the move after Edinburgh Sheriff Court fined the owner of Leith's Purple Haze Cafe UKP 500 for allowing the drug to be smoked on the premises. | ||||||||||||||||||
Paul Stewart, who operated the cafe, yesterday admitted permitting cannabis use on the premises. The 37-year-old was arrested on January 29 - the night he opened his Portland Place "private members' club" and the same day cannabis was downgraded to a Class C drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Mr Williamson, the Scottish Socialist Party's drugs spokesman and
founder of the Scottish Cannabis Coffeeshops Movement, today said the
UKP 500 fine was a "token slap on the wrist". | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm pleased Paul didn't receive a custodial sentence. A small fine
of UKP 500 shows what a waste of police time and court time this was.
This entire case has been a joke from start to finish but it is not
going to put anyone off opening a new cannabis cafe. Our ultimate
aim is to get cannabis out of the black market and what we are doing
is morally right. I can say for certain that supporters will get
together and discuss ways to open another cafe and this time it will
be right in the middle of Edinburgh city centre." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) MARIJUANA REFERENDUM MAY GET NEW LIFE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Carson City -- Nevada voters may get a chance to legalize marijuana after all, the secretary of state's office announced Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
A day after Secretary of State Dean Heller announced the marijuana
petition drive fell 1,925 signatures short of what's needed to qualify
for the Nov. 2 ballot, his assistant said 2,360 previously rejected
signatures could put the petition over the top. | ||||||||||||||||||
These are signatures of newly registered voters in Clark County that
U.S. District Judge James Mahan ruled last month should not be
counted. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana appealed that decision
to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court is expected to
rule by Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker said if the marijuana committee
wins the appeal, then the petition will go on the ballot. She was
notified Thursday of the 2,360 potentially valid signatures by Clark
County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We don't have to check other counties," Parker said. "There are enough signatures in Clark County alone to put them on the ballot." | ||||||||||||||||||
"We really have a shot at this," said Jennifer Knight, communications
director for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana. "The 9th
Circuit has a history of respecting voters' rights." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) BROWN BACKS OFF GREENS' DRUG IDEAS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
RATTLED Greens leader Bob Brown yesterday rushed to distance himself
from his party's policies on hard drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Senator Brown, who admitted smoking dope in his mid-20s, denied some
of his own party's policies. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I don't back the illegal drug trade. I don't back an open slather,
over-the-counter system," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I advise people not to (smoke marijuana) - the medical evidence is
not good." | ||||||||||||||||||
But the Greens website advocates the controlled availability of
cannabis at "appropriate venues". It proposes to investigate
regulating the supply of ecstasy and unspecified drugs in controlled
environments, and the removal of illicit drug use from the criminal
framework. | ||||||||||||||||||
Senator Brown's outburst follows a Herald Sun expose of his party's
soft-on-drugs policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
The revelations prompted wide debate about the Greens, whose recent
polling indicates they might win the balance of power in the Senate in
the new Parliament. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) MEDICAL POT SIGNATURES TOO FEW FOR BALLOT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Advocates of legalizing medical marijuana all but conceded defeat
Thursday, saying it was unlikely they had gathered enough signatures
to put a proposal before Arkansas voters. | ||||||||||||||||||
Denele Campbell of West Fork, treasurer of the Arkansas Alliance for
Medical Marijuana, said it would take "a miracle" for the secretary of
state?s office to verify enough signatures for the group?s initiative
to qualify for the ballot. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tim Humphries, attorney for Secretary of State Charlie Daniels, said the signatures probably would be tallied by the end of today. "It?s not looking good as of this moment," Humphries said Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
So far, he said, only about half of the names on the alliance?s petition have turned out to be those of registered voters. | ||||||||||||||||||
The alliance needs 64,456 signatures - or 78 percent of the ones they submitted ? to be verified for the proposal to make the Nov. 2 ballot. | ||||||||||||||||||
Campbell said that as of midafternoon Thursday, only 41,824 signatures
had been verified. Even with more than 24,000 signatures yet to be
counted, there?s almost no chance the threshold will be reached, she
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
This would mark the third time the group or its parent organization,
the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas, has tried
unsuccessfully to gather enough signatures to place an initiative
before voters. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The dangerous pitfalls of government-sponsored, faith-based drug
treatment programs have been realized in Michigan. A Catholic man
who entered such a program operated by Pentacostals was told that
his "cure" entailed religious conversion. His "treatment" providers
also told the man Catholicism was based on witchcraft. A judge
apparently saw no problem with the arrangement, so the man was left
with the choice of jail or renouncing his faith. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another public official who seems determined to ignore reality is
Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert. Last week, Hastert implied
that financier, philanthropist and drug policy reform supporter
George Soros was funded by the llegal drug trade. Later in the week
Hastert said he didn't mean to imply anything negative, but some
late reports say Soros is considering a lawsuit. | ||||||||||||||||||
The amazing results of drug prohibition have been demonstrated
again, as a new strain of coca plant has been discovered. Bigger,
heartier, and with a much higher drug content, the plant promises to
further frustrate already dismal efforts to rid the world of
cocaine. And finally, the governor of New Jersey has unveiled a
needle exchange plan for the state. That's nice, but why governors
only make such moves when they are lame ducks? | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) RELIGIOUS COERCION IN MICHIGAN CASE SHOWS GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE (Top)WARY OF FAITH-BASED PROGRAMS | ||||||||||||||||||
In a nation that cherishes religious freedom, how is it that a judge
permitted blatant religious coercion, endorsing one religion over
another and discouraging one religion? That's what happened when Joe
Hanas, a young man from Genesee County, was arrested for a
nonviolent drug offense. | ||||||||||||||||||
As part of a progressive court program, Hanas had a chance to
receive drug rehabilitation rather than go to jail. There was,
unfortunately, one major problem -- Joe Hanas is a practicing
Catholic, and the program was operated by Pentecostals. Though the
judge's intent may not have been for Hanas to convert to the
Pentecostal faith, his test for Hanas' successful completion of the
"drug court" program hinged on just that. | ||||||||||||||||||
The coercion was extreme, and it was an elected judge who allowed
it. Hanas' rosary, his Bible and his priest were all kept from him.
Staff members, none of them certified or trained drug counselors or
therapists, told him that Catholicism is a form of "witchcraft." He
was not only forbidden to follow his Catholic faith, but he was also
tested on his learning of Pentecostal principles. | ||||||||||||||||||
And, he was told, his rehabilitation would not be complete until he
knelt at the altar and proclaimed himself "saved." | ||||||||||||||||||
Hanas' only alternative was to request a transfer to another program
where he would not be coerced into practicing a religious faith
alien to his own. However, the judge viewed his early withdrawal
from the program as an indication that Hanas was not committed to
overcoming his substance abuse. The judge then took away the only
opportunity Hanas had to receive affordable residential drug
rehabilitation and a possible dismissal of the charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) LOOSE-TONGUED SPEAKER? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - having already enraged some
New Yorkers with his remarks about local office-holders' "unseemly
scramble" for federal money after 9/11 - yesterday opened a second
front. | ||||||||||||||||||
On "Fox News Sunday," the Illinois Republican insinuated that
billionaire financier George Soros, who's funding an independent
media campaign to dislodge President Bush, is getting his big bucks
from shady sources. | ||||||||||||||||||
"You know, I don't know where George Soros gets his money. I don't
know where - if it comes overseas or from drug groups or where it
comes from," Hastert mused. | ||||||||||||||||||
An astonished Chris Wallace asked: "Excuse me?" | ||||||||||||||||||
The Speaker went on: "Well, that's what he's been for a number years
- George Soros has been for legalizing drugs in this country. So, I
mean, he's got a lot of ancillary interests out there." | ||||||||||||||||||
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[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) NEW SUPER STRAIN OF COCA PLANT STUNS ANTI-DRUG OFFICIALS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug traffickers have created a new strain of coca plant that yields
up to four times more cocaine than existing plants and promises to
revolutionise Colombia's drugs industry. | ||||||||||||||||||
The new variety of coca, the raw material for cocaine, was found in an anti-drug operation on the Caribbean coast, on the mountainsides of the Sierra Nevada, long known as a drug-growing region. | ||||||||||||||||||
Samples of the plant were sent for laboratory analysis and experts then pronounced drugs traffickers had developed a new breed. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is a very tall plant," said Colonel Diego Leon Caicedo of the
anti-narcotics police. "It has a lot more leaves and a lighter
colour than other varieties." | ||||||||||||||||||
A toxicologist, Camilo Uribe, who studied the coca, said: "The
quality and percentage of hydrochloride from each leaf is much
better, between 97 and 98 per cent. A normal plant does not get more
than 25 per cent, meaning that more drugs and of a higher purity can
be extracted." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) NEEDLE SWAP BILL IS READIED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TRENTON - Heroin addicts and other injection drug users could soon have access to clean needles under a bill Gov. James E. McGreevey hopes to sign into law before resigning from office in November. | ||||||||||||||||||
Momentum is building for the bill, which apparently would permit needle-exchange programs to be established but would not allow nonprescription, over-the-counter sales of syringes at pharmacies. | ||||||||||||||||||
A spokesman for the governor said McGreevey's impending resignation gives him the freedom to tackle such controversial issues. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It does free him up to worry about what issues he can resolve
before he leaves," said spokesman Micah Rasmussen. "Politics is no
longer a consideration. Good policy is the only concern at this
point. (McGreevey) has always supported an exchange program in the
right health environment. We're pretty confident that we can get it
done." | ||||||||||||||||||
More than half of the cumulative HIV/AIDS cases in New Jersey have
been attributed to sharing dirty needles or by having sex with
someone who was infected by one. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Seattle spends thousands of police hours on its "buy-bust" program, but all the money isn't stopping drugs and its raising many other problems, according to a piece in the Seattle Times last week. | ||||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere, the perils of wrongful arrest on drug charges were
illustrated in two different stories last week. Even if police
apologize, that doesn't end the problems. And out of Missouri, a
lengthy but fascinating look at the local DARE program: how it's
funded and what kids really think of it. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S APPROACH TO DRUG ENFORCEMENT IS A (Top)BUST | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
During the past year, I have served as a consultant to the Defender
Association Racial Disparity Project. In that capacity, I have
analyzed more than 15,000 Seattle police records of police-citizen
encounters involving alleged drug activity, many of which resulted
in arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||
The findings are quite striking. The SPD conducts significantly more drug arrests than many comparably sized cities. Many of these are the result of buy-bust operations. In buy-bust operations, an officer poses as a drug user to identify and arrests drug sellers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Buy-busts are quite expensive. In the year 2000, SPD officers spent
an estimated 25,000 officer-hours conducting buy-bust operations.
About one-third of these hours were overtime hours. | ||||||||||||||||||
The payoff for this effort was minimal. Buy-busts yielded an average
of one-tenth of a gram of drugs per officer hour. By contrast,
search warrant arrests yielded an average of 19.9 grams of narcotics
per officer hour. | ||||||||||||||||||
Buy-busts are problematic for other reasons. They are a leading cause of racial disproportionality in drug arrests in Seattle -- roughly 65 percent of buy-bust arrestees are black. They capture only the lowest-level dealers, many of whom are addicts, and who are quickly replaced by others on the streets. Although buy-busts are concentrated overwhelmingly downtown, there has been no notable reduction of drug activity in the Seattle downtown area. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) MAN WRONGLY ACCUSED IN DRUG RAID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Federal authorities have acknowledged they
wrongly arrested an Evansville businessman in a drug raid last
month. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Enforcement Administration said Tuesday that one of the 37
people charged with participating in a drug ring that distributed
$30 million worth of cocaine, heroin and marijuana in Southern
Indiana was falsely using the name of Charles Hall, 42. | ||||||||||||||||||
"As soon as we realized we made a mistake, we moved to correct it,"
said Armand McClintock, head of the Indiana office of the DEA. "The
last thing we want to do is arrest an innocent man." | ||||||||||||||||||
Hall said it's the second time in less than a year that he has been
arrested by drug agents because of mistaken identity. | ||||||||||||||||||
Most recently, on July 16, authorities burst into the | ||||||||||||||||||
"To say it's embarrassing is an understatement," Hall said.
"Actually, I live in fear it will happen again." | ||||||||||||||||||
Hall said his four children have been taunted by schoolmates. Even
people in his church don't believe him, he said. "They keep saying,
`We're praying for you,' even after I tell them it was all a
mistake." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) PARENTS COMPLAIN OF POLICE ACTIONS NEAR SCHOOL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Panel Will Review Chief's Action | ||||||||||||||||||
A hand-to-hand exchange of something in a small plastic bag drew
what a pair of south Charlotte parents say was an excessive display
of force by police and false accusations that their son was dealing
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, who reviewed the family's complaint
after an internal affairs investigation, say the officers acted
appropriately on the scene. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Feb. 13 incident in a parking lot next to Charlotte Catholic
High School will be the focus of a hearing today by a rarely used
citizen panel. The Citizens Review Board will decide whether Police
Chief Darrel Stephens abused his discretion in the handling of the
case. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
James Chandler, an attorney for Zachary, said there's a clear
explanation why his client was not arrested. He said the bag
contained two packs of cigarettes -- Newport and Kool. Each has the
color green on the label. And he said it was the classmate who
handed Zachary the bag. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They're accusing kids of felonies when there's no evidence," the
Charlotte attorney said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) BUZZKILL! (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As Auditors Try To Figure Out How Jackson County Spends Its Anti-drug Money, Perhaps An Investigator Should Ask A Kid. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Lee's Summit Police Department was the first in Missouri to
adopt the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, in 1987.
The program, started by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983,
sends officers into fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms to instruct
students on how to make good choices, build good self-esteem and say
no to drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
But ask middle schoolers to explain what DARE is all about and they're likely to respond with shrugs, if not outright laughter. | ||||||||||||||||||
DARE draws giggles from these Lee's Summit girls who can more
readily list the drugs they've tried than the names of the boys
they've kissed. | ||||||||||||||||||
"You go first," says Iris, bumping Quinn with her shoulder. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Ecstasy, 'shrooms. I've smoked, and I drink. That's pretty much it
for me," Quinn says. | ||||||||||||||||||
Iris counts off on her fingers, "Cocaine, Ecstasy, mescaline,
'shrooms, pot, opium -- " | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The recent incarceration of uber-activist Marc Emery for passing a
joint may have emboldened police to defy public opinion in Canada by
cracking down on cannabis users. Our first story this week looks at
Vancouver's Da Kine, one of the city's first Amsterdam-style
cannabis cafes. Following a number of national news stories about
the suddenly famous cannabis retailer, Da Kine has temporarily
stopped selling cannabis to prevent an anticipated raid by local
police. In a similar story from Hamilton Ontario, police laid their
first charges against a patron of the Up in Smoke, a pro-cannabis
caf=E9. The woman - a 76 year old MS patient - was so distraught by
the situation that she suffered a mild stroke and had to be taken
from the scene in an ambulance. Nice work, officers; I feel so much
safer now. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our third story takes us north of Canada to Alaska, where the state's
Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that police cannot execute a search
warrant in a person's home for possession of less than 4 oz. of
cannabis. For our fourth story we head back to Canada where the
Canadian Association of Police Chiefs is calling for a federal study
into the negative health effects suffered by police as a result of
busting grow-ops. I'm going to save the chiefs and government much
time, trouble and expense with this simple piece of advice: STOP
BUSTING GROW-OPS! | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally, the story of a British man who received a conditional discharge for cannabis cultivation after he was able to prove that he used it to alleviate the pain and discomfort of severe eczema. | ||||||||||||||||||
I'm glad that we ended this week's cannabis section on a happy note, because I swear I'm this close to putting together a team of sled dogs, grabbing 4 oz of bud and heading for the Klondike! | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) FEARING RAID, POT CAFE STASHES ITS WEED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver's controversial pot cafe pulled its marijuana
and hashish inventory from the shelves Wednesday fearing a raid from
Vancouver police. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, the owner of Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shops Inc. is vowing to resume selling weed and hash today via the Canadian Sanctuary Society, whose mandate is to make medicinal marijuana available in a safe environment much like a Compassion Club. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We'll be back in business soon," vowed 38-year-old cafe owner Carol
Gwilt, adding she pulled the pot to protect her assets. "We're not
shutting down and we're not backing down. It (jail) is not OK, but
it's all part of the deal. Marijuana is a part of B.C. and it's a
part of Canada." | ||||||||||||||||||
The shop with an Egyptian motif opened four months ago and also sells colourful glass pipes ranging from $30 to $50, 16 types of rolling papers, growing products, hemp clothes and even a T-shirt with the original Vancouver Canucks logo with a joint in place of the hockey stick. There is also a ventilated, 12-seat smoking room. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to Gwilt, business is booming. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) WOMAN, 76, ARRESTED AT HAMILTON POT CAFE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Up in Smoke Patron Went Quietly. | ||||||||||||||||||
Chances are she's not the first person you'd expect to get busted at
the new marijuana cafe. | ||||||||||||||||||
But yesterday afternoon, in mid-joint, a 76-year-old woman became
the first person arrested for pot possession inside the Up In Smoke
Cafe, on King Street East. | ||||||||||||||||||
The woman was smoking at a table when three uniformed police officers entered the establishment, according to witnesses. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) PRIVACY WINS IN ALASKA POT RULING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Alaska Court of Appeals ruled Friday that police cannot execute
a search warrant in a person's home for possession of less than 4
ounces of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Attorney General Gregg Renkes says he will appeal the ruling to the
state Supreme Court and he is "fearful that this will shut down
effective investigation of marijuana growing cases." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The opinion is the latest decision that has carved out protections for possessing marijuana in an Alaska home. The state Supreme Court in 1975 ruled that an adult's rights to limited marijuana possession was protected under the state constitution's privacy provisions. Last year the Appeals Court defined that limit as 4 ounces. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) BUSTING GROW OPS UNHEALTHY FOR POLICE? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's police chiefs are calling on the federal government to
launch a study into the health effects of busting marijuana grow
ops. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is particularly
worried about toxic mould often found in damp and poorly ventilated
illegal grow operations. "Large amounts of moisture in (marijuana
grow op) confined spaces create and encourage the growth of many
micro-organisms and indoor species of mould," said the resolution,
passed last week at the police chiefs' annual conference in
Vancouver. Some varieties of mould are toxic and can cause
respiratory illnesses. | ||||||||||||||||||
One veteran of the Edmonton Police Service Green Team said it's
something he and his colleagues worry about. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's not as bad as busting meth labs -- it's a little more organic,"
said Det. Clayton Sach. "But yeah, it's a concern. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) BRITISH SKIN COMPLAINT MAN GREW CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A man who grew his own cannabis was given a condition discharge by
magistrates after they accepted he was smoking it to relieve the
symptoms of his severe eczema. | ||||||||||||||||||
A Norfolk doctor leading clinical trials into the use of cannabis in
the treatment of ailments today said thousands more people suffering
pain and discomfort could be helped but for stigma of taking the
drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr William Notcutt, who spearheaded Britain's first clinical trial of the drug at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, said cannabis or its derivatives could help people with conditions like eczema. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We know some cannabis derivatives have an effect on pain in
rheumatoid arthritis," he said. "It doesn't surprise me that someone
is using cannabis in this way." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As the vigilante killings of suspected drug users climb in Davao City, Philippines, some there are beginning to question Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's repeated emphasized support for death squads. This week we feature an unsigned editorial from the Mindanao Times which notes government approval of death squads, "sends a message to the killers that what they are doing - getting rid of the so-called dregs of society - is good." The piece also noted the "breakdown of the justice system if the killings are allowed to continue." | ||||||||||||||||||
In Vancouver, Canada, Mayor Larry Campbell is forging ahead with
plans for adding a room to smoke cocaine inside the city's existing
safe injection center. Over the cries of police that people would
become violently psychotic from cocaine use there, and that no
research existed that proved such a room would benefit addicts,
Mayor Campbell said, "I'm completely for it." The Mayor noted that
similar legal cocaine smoking rooms he visited in Switzerland - like
safe-injection centers - were also "calm." | ||||||||||||||||||
In Nova Scotia, Canada, prohibition-related corruption cut down the
career of another cop as a decorated, veteran police officer was
sentenced to four years in prison for selling marijuana. The
marijuana was said to have been obtained from police evidence
lockers. The sentencing judge fulminated against the corruption of
the convicted officer, but left off mentioning the corrosive role
that drug prohibition plays in the corruption of police, just as the
former prohibition of alcohol historically corrupted police in the
U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, some good news from Alberta, Canada, as plans advance for a "hemp co-op" in Sherwood Park even as police denounce the move as a step towards drug abuse. Max Cornelssen, the man behind the hemp co-op idea, says he has enough seed to be able to sow 30 acres of hemp this fall. The co-op could use hemp to make products like fuels, fertilizers, and fabrics, noted Cornelssen. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(18) KILLERS ON THE LOOSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
We should listen closely to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte when he said there
are groups who are using the same modus operandi as the media-tagged
Davao Death Squad - motorcycle, 45 cal. pistol - in shooting
suspected illegal drugs users and traders, petty criminals and
recently, a human rights worker. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The pronouncement of government officials that killings do not detract
from the image of the city and has in fact propped it up, sends a
message to the killers that what they are doing - getting rid of the
so-called dregs of society - is good. Such callous and insensitive
remarks are secretly shared by a lot of people. | ||||||||||||||||||
We share the view of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Davao
Chapter that there is a breakdown of the justice system if the
killings are allowed to continue. Anyone can just shoot whoever he
wants killed without going through the due process of the law. This
kind of justice harks back to primeval times, the law of the jungle,
yet most people do not seem to care if the pavement is awash in
blood. Most have become too indifferent. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(19) MAYOR SAYS LEGAL CRACK SMOKING ROOM IS NO PIPE DREAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite opposition from the Vancouver Police Department, Mayor Larry
Campbell supports opening a room inside the city's legal injection
site for addicts to smoke rock cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Campbell told the Courier Wednesday he will speak to Health Canada
next month about getting the appropriate exemption to open a safe
inhalation room. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm completely for it," said Campbell, who is chair of the police
board. "We've already got the room there, it's set up, how much more
does it take?" | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In response, the police commander for the Downtown Eastside told the
Courier the group's request wasn't based on credible research
proving smoking crack in a government-approved site would benefit
addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Insp. Bob Rolls said an inhalation room would move criminal activity
indoors and create potential violent situations from addicts
suffering from cocaine psychosis. | ||||||||||||||||||
The mayor, who was recently on holidays, said information from Europe and Australia supports the merits of safe inhalation rooms. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
When he visited Switzerland earlier this year, Campbell said he
toured an injection site that also had a room for crack smokers.
Authorities there told him the smoking site made sense and its
clients hadn't caused problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I sat in a room in Zurich and watched people smoking crack. It was calm. The place was no different than the injection site." | ||||||||||||||||||
Insite employs nurses and counsellors on staff to offer support for
addicts requiring medical attention and to help them break their
addictions. Campbell said he would like to see the same attention
paid to crack smokers, despite Rolls' concerns about cocaine
psychosis and violence. | ||||||||||||||||||
Health care providers on site could diagnose a psychosis, he said, noting "any time you can get people off the streets and into a place where you can get contact with professionals, it's a positive." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) DRUG COP JAILED FOUR YEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Officer Who Sold Pot Was Slated To Guard PM | ||||||||||||||||||
Joseph Daniel Ryan, the former Tantallon RCMP officer who sold marijuana seized by police, is now behind bars with other pushers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lilly Ryan, the former constable's pregnant wife, wailed, "Oh, my
God" moments after a Supreme Court judge sentenced her husband to
four years in prison for what the Crown called "absolute
corruption." | ||||||||||||||||||
The sentence is one year longer than the Crown requested. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Before his arrest, Mr. Ryan was "highly respected," and was in line
to join the prime minister's security detail. | ||||||||||||||||||
In June, Justice Walter Goodfellow found Mr. Ryan, an ex-member of
the Tantallon RCMP's revered street team, guilty of marijuana
trafficking and breach of trust. On Monday, the judge handed Mr.
Ryan four-year concurrent sentences on each count. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
A number of reviews relating to cases Mr. Ryan was involved in and
policy changes relating to accountability and how Mr. Ryan improperly
obtained the drugs have already occurred. Followup investigations are
ongoing. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) HEMP CO-OP POSSIBLE FOR STETTLER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Sherwood Park man pushing for the establishment of a hemp growers co-op in the Stettler area says a dozen producers have come on board. And Max Cornelssen is optimistic that enough seed will be produced this year to sow about 30 acres of hemp come fall. | ||||||||||||||||||
Cornelssen, who grew up near Stettler and whose family still owns
land north of town, pitched the idea of a hemp growers and
processors group this spring. He said material from the plant could
be used to produce methanol and other fuels, with spinoff products
including fertilizer and fabric. | ||||||||||||||||||
Cornelssen, who ran for the Marijuana Party in the Crowfoot riding during the recent federal election, said his biggest hurdle is overcoming public concerns about the legality of the crop. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But Const. John Bishop of the Stettler detachment of the RCMP said people have good reason to be leery about hemp production. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bishop said his department is continuously investigating and
charging people involved in marijuana grow operations. Anyone
growing hemp in contravention of the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act faces criminal prosecution - including a mandatory court
appearance and penalty at the discretion of the judge. | ||||||||||||||||||
He added he is familiar with Cornelssen's campaign but does not know
of anyone in the area who is growing hemp illegally. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Cornelssen said he has also distributed seed to approximately 400
people, and is optimistic many of these are now growing hemp. But
with the public's concerns about legal restrictions on the crop,
many are keeping quiet. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is guerrilla farming." | ||||||||||||||||||
If the laws are changed to eliminate those fears, Cornelssen thinks
hemp production will take off. He said the timing is good, with
dwindling fossil fuel reserves and rising prices making | ||||||||||||||||||
"Hemp produces more biomass than any other plant on the planet, and
that's the one we should use." | ||||||||||||||||||
Producers who harvest hemp this fall will likely do so by clipping off the seed-bearing tops of the plants using a raised combine platform. The rest of the plant could then be cut and baled. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm pretty sure we can come up with 50 pounds (23 kg)," said
Cornelssen. | ||||||||||||||||||
He estimates about five pounds of seed per acre would be needed to
grow widely spaced plants for seed production. Later, when fields
are seeded more densely for fibre production, greater quantities of
seed would be required. | ||||||||||||||||||
Cornelssen hopes to take the seed from the 2004 harvest and plant it
on his family's land outside Stettler this fall. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Primarily for the next couple of years we're going to be growing
seed." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug War Ideology And Its Powerful Exceptions | ||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young at Newtopia Magazine - | ||||||||||||||||||
"Removed from its cultural and ideological context, the drug war is
impossible to understand. Questions about why a non-lethal drug like
marijuana is illegal, while drugs linked to hundreds of thousands of
deaths each year, like tobacco, are legal cannot be answered with
facts or reason. Yet drug war ideology has dominated drug policy
since the early twentieth century." | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.newtopiamagazine.net/content/issue18/features/drugwar.php | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
99 Percent Of All Marijuana Plants Eradicated In US Is Feral Hemp | ||||||||||||||||||
September 2, 2004 - Washington, DC, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
Washington, DC: Approximately ninety-nine percent of all marijuana eradicated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program in 2003 was feral hemp-not cultivated marijuana, according to figures recently published online by the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cultural Baggage Radio Show | ||||||||||||||||||
08/31/04, Howard Wooldridge | ||||||||||||||||||
18 years a police officer, Howard Wooldridge quickly determined that alcohol killed more people than all illegal drugs combined. Howard is a very active member of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Dana Larsen with an update on the Marc Emery Vigil in Saskatoon | ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis Culture editor and activist Dana Larsen gives an update on the Saskatoon Courthouse Vigil being held daily as well as the much bigger rally in Marc and Marijuana's honor in September 11th. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Good Guys Are Gaining | ||||||||||||||||||
By John Walters, New York Daily News, August 31, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
Latin America's oldest democracy is a vigorous nation of 41 million
people that for 40 years has suffered violence at the hands of brutal
armed groups funded by the narcotics trade. But because of courageous
action by a new administration, this need not be Colombia's future.
There are signs of hope in Colombia's struggle to remain democratic
and liberated from fear. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Altered Plants Pose New Drug War Threat | ||||||||||||||||||
By Dan Molinski, Associated Press Writer | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday September 1, 2004 6:31 PM | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Authorities suspect a new threat is lurking
in the mountains and jungles of Colombia: Not a new rebel cadre, but
altered coca plants that are bigger, faster-growing and produce more
of the compound that gives cocaine its kick. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4466854,00.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SOCIETY, NOT FOOTBALL PLAYER, HAS A MARIJUANA PROBLEM | ||||||||||||||||||
Editor, the Tribune: | ||||||||||||||||||
I'm writing about Bill O'Reilly's not-so-thoughtful Aug. 7 column,
"Pot problem bigger than Ricky Williams." | ||||||||||||||||||
Williams doesn't have a pot problem. The NFL, our government and our
society have the pot problem. Pot didn't negatively affect his
performance on the football field. | ||||||||||||||||||
It seems to me that adult citizens of a so-called free country
should be free to smoke, swallow, snort or inject any substance that
they want - as long as they are personally responsible for the
consequences. | ||||||||||||||||||
It seems to me that what Williams does on his own time should be his
business and nobody else's. | ||||||||||||||||||
O'Reilly claims to be a conservative, yet he wants the government to
be able to dictate which substances adult citizens may or may not
consume - even in the privacy of their own homes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our annual obesity-versus-marijuana kill ratio is about | ||||||||||||||||||
So which obesity-causing foods should we criminalize first? | ||||||||||||||||||
Kirk Muse | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
New DrugSense Feature | ||||||||||||||||||
By Debra Harper | ||||||||||||||||||
Add Your Drug Reform Organization Downloads Here | ||||||||||||||||||
In response to an unfilled need in drug policy reform, DrugSense is
offering a one-stop shop where the public can view and download
promotional and educational materials from the drug reform
community. Once you register at the site, (email and zip code) you
will have access to the Download section along with many other
features and services we offer members. | ||||||||||||||||||
If you have material to offer the public, please click ADD DOWNLOAD. Fill out the download form where you can add the link and description for your material. If your organization is not listed, add it to "YOUR ORGANIZATION HERE" and a category will be created. | ||||||||||||||||||
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If you value the services DrugSense provides, please donate
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| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"We do not operate according to the Constitution." -Valentin Zhdanov, the head of a Russian Federal Drug Control Service's office, after hearing the suggestion that efforts to confiscates shirts and other items with marijuana leaf images were unconstitutional. For more information, see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1240/a06.html | ||||||||||||||||||
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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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