| Oct. 29, 2004 #373 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) STUDENTS PLANT FOR DRUG-FREE FUTURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Canyon County Schools Hope Tulip Bulbs Will Serve Of Reminder Of Red
Ribbon Week Goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
CANYON COUNTY -- Area schools are putting a new twist on Red Ribbon
Week this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In addition to tying red ribbons in honor of the annual anti-drug
campaign, Nampa, Caldwell and Vallivue students are planting hundreds
of red tulips on campuses this week. The tulip bulbs are symbolic of
their commitment to staying drug- and alcohol-free. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mary Ensley, the Nampa School District's director of student
advocacy services, said flower bulbs hold the promise of life when
cared for properly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) KARZAI'S NEXT TEST - STAMPING OUT OPIUM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Officials Consider Using Troops To Quash Afghan Drug Trade | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - With Afghan President Hamid Karzai's election victory in
hand, U.S. and Afghan officials are focusing on Afghanistan's opium
poppies as the next major challenge. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Reports soon to be published by the CIA and the United Nations show
opium poppy cultivation is soaring, along with laboratory production
of heroin. The opium-based drug trade accounts for more than half of
Afghanistan's economy and most of the financing for remaining
al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pentagon and State Department policy planners are trying to decide whether U.S. troops should play a role beyond intelligence in eradicating the drug trade, now left to the fledgling Afghan army and police under the supervision of British forces."This is a huge challenge for the new government," said Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. "We've been thinking a lot about this issue in the course of the last several weeks and months, and we're on the verge of embracing a more robust strategy to deal with this problem." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But Barnett Rubin, an Afghanistan specialist at New York University,
said a successful strategy for curbing the drug trade has to start
with cutting off security alliances with drug traffickers, and with
the recognition that using U.S. forces to eradicate poppy fields
could make enemies of Afghan farmers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"There's no way we can eliminate this as long as we are publicly
allied with major traffickers - which we are," he said. "Some have
even been arrested by the U.S. military with trucks full of heroin
and let go." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) PRISON NEEDLES NEEDED | ||||||||||||||||||||||
According to the Montreal-based HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the rates of
HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C among Canada's prison population are soaring
and, if the spread is to be halted, prison authorities must implement
a needle-exchange program as soon as possible. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The idea isn't new. As Ralf Jurgens, the Legal Network's executive
director, points out in a new comparative report he co-authored on
prison needle-exchanges, Canada is actually lagging behind Spain,
Germany, Switzerland, Moldova, Belorussia and Kyrgyzstan in this
regard. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Kyrgyzstan? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The experience shows that countries in both the West and the East
have woken up to a new reality and are taking a pragmatic approach to
the problem," says Jurgens. He says that while the report was being
written, Iran also implemented the measure. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jurgens also says that prison staff in the six countries surveyed
approve of the idea, saying that it doesn't lead to increased drug
use, doesn't result in needles being used as weapons and demonstrably
decreases the spread of infection. He has met with corrections and
health officials here, and is hoping that they will heed his urge
to start up a pilot project within 18 months. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) CANADA: BILL WOULD HELP POLICE TO SEIZE PROCEEDS OF CRIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police and prosecutors may soon get a new tool in the fight against
organized crime, making it easier to seize everything from cars to
homes of those convicted of gangsterism. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A new bill tabled yesterday by Bloc Quebecois MP Richard Marceau calls
for the burden of proof to be reversed once someone is convicted of
gangsterism. Instead of prosecutors having to prove that goods
belonging to the person convicted were obtained as a result of
criminal activity, the burden will be on the criminal to prove the
goods were earned honestly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The bill does not provide for any exceptions for the spouses or dependent children of those who commit crimes. Officials would have the right to seize a home of someone convicted of gangsterism, sell it and turn the proceeds over to the government even if it means the wife and children of the person convicted would lose their home as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"If it's a wife, if it's a kid, if it is a girlfriend -- nobody should
benefit from an illegal activity. Those are are crocodile tears," said
Conservative justice critic Vic Toews. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal prohibitionists want to pressure states into another
oppressive anti-drug plan. A new committee will somehow figure out
how to make the drug war work based on the same old failed tactics.
Methamphetamine and other "man-made drugs" will be a focus of the
plan, while another story says current anti-meth campaigns are wrong
to ignore the sexual aspect of the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A number of marijuana-related election measures are covered in this
week's Cannabis section of DrugSense Weekly, and there's other
election news as well. In New York, an advocate of drug policy
reform is leading a local district attorney's race. While there
hasn't been a whole lot of talk about drug policy reform in the U.S.
presidential race, journalist Robert Parry, who broke the
CIA-Contra-Crack story in the 1980s, recalls how John Kerry
investigated into the story. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, New Jersey will finally have some state approved needle
exchanges, but only in three select cities, thanks to an executive
order by the state's outgoing governor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) FEDS TO PUSH STATES ON ANTI-DRUG PLAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The federal government is urging states to remove some
over-the-counter drugs from store shelves, search for people who use
multiple prescriptions for painkillers and target organizers of "rave"
parties, as part of proposed crackdown on the abuse of man-made drugs.
The proposals are included in a "National Synthetic Drugs Action Plan"
to be announced today in Missouri by White House anti-drug czar John
Walters. The plan comes in response to the increased abuse of
methamphetamine and painkillers such as Oxycontin, and the ongoing use
of the hallucinogenic stimulant Ecstasy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The plan calls for federal enforcement and treatment agencies to meet
within 30 days to coordinate a strategy and then share it with the
nation's governors, state legislators and 714 community anti-drug
coalitions. It urges: Stronger state control on the ingredients that
can be turned into methamphetamine, similar to a new Oklahoma law that
allows only licensed pharmacists or pharmacy technicians to sell
products containing non-prescription pseudoephedrine. The ingredient,
which is common in decongestants that are sold on shelves, can be used
to make "meth," a highly addictive stimulant. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) 'APHRODISIAC' EFFECT PART OF METH'S DECEPTIVE CHARM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Doctors and government officials don't like to
talk much about it, but there's an obvious reason people get hooked
on methamphetamine: sex. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The drug eventually destroys the sex drive, but doctors say for a short while meth can boost sexual appetite and performance -- in a way that's much stronger than stimulants such as cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Laymon said he has interviewed hundreds
of meth users, and a startling number -- men and women -- say the
drug enhances sexual performance and desire. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Who wouldn't want to use it? You lose weight and you have great
sex," Laymon said recently at a meeting of Tennessee's meth task
force. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For obvious reasons, government officials, facing an epidemic of
meth abuse in rural Appalachia, want to focus on the misery meth
causes and not its aphrodisiac effect. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But Dr. Mary Holley, an obstetrician who runs a Mothers Against
Methamphetamine ministry across the state line in Albertville, said
sex is the "No. 1 reason" people use the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) SOARES, BRESLIN LEADING IN POLL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Democrats in Races for Albany County DA, State Senator Have Strong
Support, Survey Shows | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ALBANY -- A political newcomer waging an ardent grass-roots campaign
on Rockefeller Drug Laws reform is comfortably leading in the
three-way battle for Albany County district attorney, according to
an independent Times Union/News Channel 13 poll. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
However, almost a third of those polled said they are still
undecided nine days before the election. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Of the 622 residents questioned by the Siena Research Institute
between Oct. 19-21, 38 percent said they planned to vote for David
Soares, 34, who seized the Democratic Party line from incumbent
District Attorney Paul Clyne in a dramatic Sept. 14 primary
election. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) HOW JOHN KERRY EXPOSED THE CONTRA-COCAINE SCANDAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Derided by the Mainstream Press and Taking on Reagan at the Height of
His Popularity, the Freshman Senator Battled to Reveal One of
America's Ugliest Foreign Policy Secrets. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In December 1985, when Brian Barger and I wrote a groundbreaking story for the Associated Press about Nicaraguan Contra rebels smuggling cocaine into the United States, one U.S. senator put his political career on the line to follow up on our disturbing findings. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
His name was John Kerry. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Yet, over the past year, even as Kerry's heroism as a young Navy
officer in Vietnam has become a point of controversy, this act of
political courage by a freshman senator has gone virtually
unmentioned, even though -- or perhaps because -- it marked Kerry's
first challenge to the Bush family. In early 1986, the 42-year-old
Massachusetts Democrat stood almost alone in the U.S. Senate demanding
answers about the emerging evidence that CIA-backed Contras were
filling their coffers by collaborating with drug traffickers then
flooding U.S. borders with cocaine from South America. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) EXECUTIVE ORDER OKS NEEDLE-EXCHANGE PROGRAMS IN JERSEY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
TRENTON -- Three New Jersey cities with high rates of HIV infections
will be able to establish needle-exchange programs under an order
signed Tuesday by the governor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Gov. James E. McGreevey's executive order declared a public health emergency in the cities, paving the way for addicts to exchange used syringes for sterile ones. It leaves Delaware as the only state without a legal method for drug abusers to obtain sterile needles. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Cities eligible to participate in the governor's pilot program are Atlantic City, Camden, and a third city yet to be identified. Atlantic City and Camden had already passed local laws to start needle exchanges, but their efforts stalled without legislative authority. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
McGreevey sought to make needle exchanges part of his legacy by trying to fast-track legislation into law before he leaves office Nov. 15. But the measures had fallen victim to legislative wrangling. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Where does the money go as it moves through anti-drug enforcement
efforts? In some places, nobody's quite sure. Citizens of
Pennsylvania don't even have the legal right to know what officials
do with seized drug money, but some are asking questions after a
district attorney paid a friend thousands of dollars for an anti-drug
talk. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In Missouri, auditors want to see where a county's anti-drug tax has
been spent, but there are so many problems with records, it's going
to be very expensive. Therefore, officials aren't going to look back
too far in the past. In Canada, police are having a bit of problem
with seized property. Marijuana-growing equipment taken in police
raids appears to have been auctioned off to other illegal marijuana
growers at bargain prices. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, many Dallas narcotics officers who were accused of
wrongdoing in a recent report analyzing the city's fake drug scandal
won't be subject to criminal charges since statutes of limitations
have expired; while Missouri is looking a mandatory minimums for
meth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) SPENDING DETAILS PRIVATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
PITTSBURGH --Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala
Jr.'s office seized $3.3 million in cash and assets from suspected
drug dealers between 1998 and 2003, records show. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But exactly how the money bolstered the war on drugs is a secret. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Under the state's Controlled Substance Forfeiture Act, prosecutors can use drug forfeiture money to finance witness protection efforts, bolster drug law enforcement or fund drug awareness programs. But the public has no right to know how prosecutors use the money. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
That's because the use of drug forfeiture proceeds is an exception
to the state's Right-to-Know laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's a ridiculous exception to the open records law," said Witold
"Vic" Walczak, legal director of the Pittsburgh chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Questions about how Allegheny County dispenses the cash were raised
when Clerk of Courts George Matta announced he would use $3,750 in
drug forfeiture money to pay a childhood friend, Lionell Dudley, 52,
of Duquesne, to speak to athletes in a dozen Mon Valley schools
about choosing a college. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) COST OF ANTI-DRUG TAX AUDIT RISES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
An audit of Jackson County's anti-drug tax spending will cost more and take longer than expected but review fewer years of the tax. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jackson County Legislator Ronald Finley introduced an ordinance Monday
to spend $27,500 more with auditors Cochran, Head & Co. of Kansas
City. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
However, under the proposal the firm wouldn't be required to audit the
anti-drug tax back to 1990, the first year the tax was collected.
Instead, the audit - which originally was expected to cost $90,000 -
would cover only 1996 through 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Legislator Bob Spence said he supported reducing the time frame
because the county had retained too few records from the early years
of the tax for an adequate review. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Spence said it would have cost an additional $25,000 to $30,000 to
retrieve the remaining records from microfilmed archives or to
recreate missing records by contacting outside agencies that received
the anti-drug tax money. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) SEIZED DOPE GEAR SOLD TO CROOKS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug-growing gear seized by cops in three separate raids was resold
to drug growers through a federal agency, police say. York Regional
Police Chief Armand La Barge said last night that grow lights,
generators, dehumidifiers, fans and other grass-growing hardware
found in a $1.1-million drug raid at a Stouffville industrial unit
on Aug. 11 bore police identification numbers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
La Barge said the serial numbers were traced to seizures in 1998 and
1999 by York, 2001 by Halton and a 2002 bust in London. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In all four cases, La Barge said, the equipment was seized by
federal justice department orders and turned over to the Seized
Property Management Directorate (SPMD), a federal agency responsible
for either destroying or selling seized goods. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It appears the drug gear was turned over to a private liquidator and
sold at a public auction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) STATUTES EXPIRED IN DRUG SCANDAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Delay In Dallas Police Inquiry Means Some Officers Can't Be Charged | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Dallas police decision to defer an investigation into the
fake-drug scandal until after the FBI finished its inquiry means
that some officers can't be prosecuted for potential crimes because
the statutes of limitations have passed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two lawyers who released a scathing account on Wednesday - that said sloppy police work and lax supervision contributed to the false drug arrests in 2001 - also said the decision to defer unnecessarily delayed discipline for several possible rules violations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Simultaneous investigations of federal and state law criminal
violations were necessary for effective and adequate resolution of the
issues in the fake drug cases," wrote Terence Hart and Lena Levario,
both of whom spent 10 months looking at the cases. "Discipline of
officers has been delayed for years." The two report authors, both now
defense attorneys, made 59 referrals in recent months to the
department's public integrity division, which investigates possible
criminal acts by police. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
They sent an additional 51 potential rules violations involving about
20 officers to the internal affairs division, which is responsible for
looking into potential administrative violations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For many of the potential criminal referrals - including questions
about inconsistent statements or records tampering - too much time has
passed to prosecute, the report said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MANDATORY SENTENCES IN METH CASES PROPOSED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Methamphetamine cooks and dealers in Missouri could face mandatory
minimum sentencing for the first time ever, under proposals
discussed Tuesday by U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., and Peter Kinder,
the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. Speaking to
reporters at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, Mr. Talent said he would
file the "most comprehensive methamphetamine legislation ever
introduced into Congress" in January. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The bill would provide $47 million toward the fight against meth,
including $5 million for a two-state pilot program that would require
those states to enact mandatory minimum sentences for the manufacture
and sale of methamphetamine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Current federal guidelines call for five years in prison for possession of 5 grams of the drug. Although it is consistently ranked as one of the top meth-producing states in the country, Missouri has no minimum sentences for meth production or distribution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Talent said his bill has not been finalized but would require "at
least a couple of years" in prison upon conviction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
We begin this week's hemp/cannabis section with a story looking at the U.S. government's conscious (but unconscionable) attempt to suppress studies proving that cannabinoids inhibit tumor growth and development in some types of cancer. When these ideological idiots get anal cancer and end up at the steps of a compassion club looking for help, they will understand that karma can be a real bitch. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our second story is a comprehensive examination of 3 upcoming medical or recreational cannabis ballot initiatives - Alaska, Oregon and Montana - from the point of view of a conservative medical journal called the American Medical News. Next is a report on the lawsuit initiated by the "Yes on 2" lobby group against the State of Alaska and Lieutenant Governor Leman. The group alleges that Leman crossed the line of neutrality by being the main author of the official statement opposing the ballot initiative, which would legalize the possession of cannabis by adults. A judge agreed with "Yes on 2," but offered no official punishment, other than a few stern words. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our fourth story is a look at the debate surrounding Oregon's Measure 33, which would expand the state's medical marijuana laws to include the establishment of licensed dispensaries and an increase in the personal possession limits for patients and caregivers. And lastly this week, a look at 2 local ballot initiatives from Columbia, Missouri, which would lessen the penalty for both medical and recreational use, respectively. I applaud the few states that have the opportunity to alter the future of regional cannabis enforcement next week, and urge all U.S. citizens to get out and vote. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) REPORT SUPRESSED THAT MARIJUANA COMPONENTS CAN INHIBIT CANCER (Top)GROWTH | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Clinical research touted by the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research that shows marijuana's components can inhibit the growth of cancerous brain tumors is the latest in a long line of studies demonstrating the drug's potential as an anti-cancer agent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Not familiar with it? You're not alone. Despite the value of these
studies, both in terms of the treatment of life-threatening illnesses
and as items of news - the latest being that performed by researchers
at Madrid's Complutense University that found cannabis restricts the
blood supply to glioblastoma multiforme tumors, an aggressive brain
tumor that kills some 7,000 people in the United States per year -
U.S. media coverage of them has been almost non-existent. Why the
blackout? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) 3 STATES FACE MARIJUANA VOTES ON DECRIMINALIZATION, MEDICAL (Top)TREATMENT | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medical societies in three states are fighting to see November ballot
initiatives dealing with marijuana go down in flames. The groups argue
that the measures are bad for public health. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Voters in Alaska, which legalized medical marijuana in 1998, will decide whether to decriminalize marijuana altogether for adults. In Oregon, voters face a question of whether to expand existing medical marijuana laws. And Montana voters will decide whether to legalize medical marijuana, which would make the state the 10th to do so. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
AMA policy calls for "further adequate and well-controlled studies" of
medical use of marijuana and other related cannabinoids in patients
with serious conditions for which preclinical, anecdotal or controlled
evidence suggests that the drug might help. The Association opposes
legalization of the substance for nonmedical use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) LEMAN LOSES IN POT SUIT RULING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 2: Judge Rules Against Handling of Voter Pamphlet
Statement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Lt. Gov. Loren Leman violated his obligation to assure the
"integrity, credibility and impartiality" of state elections when
his office wrote the official voter pamphlet statement opposing
legalization of marijuana and had someone else sign it, a Superior
Court judge ruled Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
However, Judge Mark Rindner concluded there is no acceptable way to
fix the wrong done by Leman. Passing out corrective leaflets to
voters or posting notices near ballot boxes would foster confusion
and violate laws against campaigning at the polls, Rindner said,
limiting his action to a declaratory judgment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Each election year, supporters and opponents of ballot measures are invited to submit pro and anti statements for inclusion in an informational booklet of candidates and issues mailed to 300,000 Alaskans. Producing the voter pamphlet is the responsibility of the lieutenant governor, part of his job to manage state elections. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) AMERICA VOTES 2004; A GROWING DEBATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Measure 33: Improving Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program or Crossing
the Line? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana was legalized for medicinal purposes in Oregon with the approval of Measure 67 in 1998, igniting a debate that has been further inflamed this election year by ballot Measure 33. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The measure would amend the current medical marijuana laws by
requiring marijuana dispensaries throughout the state and increasing a
patient's possession limit. Many opposed to the measure are concerned
it is a disguised attempt to legalize marijuana for all purposes and
would harm the current medical marijuana laws that have helped many
patients get the medicine they need. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) POT ADVOCATES HOPE THIRD TRY PROVES CHARM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Penny and Joseph Brotherton live next door to Tina Edholm in a west
Columbia neighborhood, but they're miles apart over two initiatives
on the Nov. 2 ballot to reduce penalties for marijuana possession in
the city. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Edholm will vote against the ballot initiatives for the following
reason: "After working with individuals who have had substantial
marijuana use, I've seen how it can destroy their lives. They lack
initiative and concern for their personal well-being." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Brothertons say that the ballot issues would have police treat marijuana as what it is: a natural drug safer than alcohol. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 1 would allow seriously ill people to use marijuana with
the permission of their doctors. If arrested, the highest fine they
would have to pay is $50. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 2 would make all misdemeanor marijuana arrests civil
matters in municipal court that would net at the most a $250 fine
and result in no criminal record. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The international drug news this week shows harsh eastern "justice"
applied to those who offend prohibitionists. In Malaysia last week,
a man was sentenced to be hanged for the crime of possessing less
than a kilogram (about 2 pounds) of cannabis. Officials in Malaysia,
a strict prohibitionist Islamic kingdom, take great pride in the
intolerant enforcement of laws against "dadah" (drugs made illegal
in western countries in the 1900s). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
While Draconian Philippine prohibitionist laws are embraced with
gusto, Philippine prisons concentrate human misery and breed wrecked
lives. Even the Manila Times last week was moved to comment on the
deplorable conditions of Philippine jails, calling them "incubators
for more violent crimes." The average pre-trial stay is a 3.2 years,
and "two to five" inmates at one jail in Quezon City alone die each
month. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines last week
released a report on jails which urged that drug laws be changed
which pack Philippine jails with petty users, "and automatically
classified all accused persons as pushers." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In the oppressive Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia, drug offenders
are regularly publicly beheaded, as a message to kids. But the
endless jihad against drug users seems to mean little, even to the
Saudis, who regularly consume hashish now as they have done
traditionally. Another big hashish bust on the Saudi border with
Yemen confirms that there is yet a large demand in the kingdom for
the illicit cannabis preparation. Authorities, predictably, painted
the 40 kilo hash seizure as a wonderful victory. "It is a great
achievement of the security forces in the region," crowed Saudi
governor Prince Mishaal bin Saud. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In Thailand, some 2,500 drug offenders were summarily executed by
death squads (believed to be police) in recent years. This was all
to save Thai society from the ravages of drugs - and to make
Thailand drug-free in 2003, Thai officials explained. But this week
readers will note that Thailand is as saturated with drugs as ever,
another huge meth bust in Chiang Mai confirms. However, Chiang Mai
Police (who were threatened, like all Thai police, with firing for
failing to reach drug suppression quotas in 2002 and since), don't
see the huge supply of speed pills as evidence of failure. After the
bloody program of extralegal killings started in 2002, drug busts
have dropped from almost 300,000 drug "cases" in 2002 to only 70,000
this year, police claimed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) MALAYSIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR POSSESSING CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A Malaysian national was sentenced to death by hanging by the Brunei High Court yesterday for possessing a compressed slab of cannabis weighing 922.276 grammes for the purpose of trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Since the amount of cannabis exceeds 600 grammes, the sentence we
are obliged to pass is one of death, with a direction that he be
hanged by the neck till he is dead," said the Chief Justice in
passing his verdict. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) CORRUPTION IN OUR PRISONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
SORDID conditions in the national prisons and local jails are a
chronic problem no president has manfully addressed and has sought
to reform. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Through the years administration after administration, life in the
penitentiaries has deteriorated dangerously, making prisoners more
dangerous than when they started serving their sentences, turning
prisons into incubators for more violent crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On the other hand, there is wanton violation of human rights. Medical care is wanting. Toilets and showers are notoriously dirty. Prisoners sleep on the floor when they could find space. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Thursday gave the nation a peek into conditions in the city and municipal jails maintained by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The CBCP presented a study by Raymund Narag, a penology consultant
to the Supreme Court and a cum laude graduate in public | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The average stay of prisoners is 3.2 years before their cases are
finally decided. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Inmates have a living space of 0.28 square meters per person, way
below the 3-square meters per inmate set by the UN Minimum Standard
for the Treatment of Prisoners. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Inmates at the Quezon City jail die at an alarming rate of two to
five a month. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Narag has proposed three solutions to deal with deprivation in the
city and municipal jails: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Amend Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, which, according to Narag, lowered the threshold for a nonbailable drug offense and automatically classified all accused persons as pushers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) SAUDI POLICE SEIZE 40 KG OF DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
RIYADH - Saudi Arabian police have nabbed a gang of smugglers as
they tried to bring 40 kilograms of hashish across the southern
Saudi border with Yemen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Saudi daily Okaz said the smugglers were spotted by heat sensors
spread along the border and arrested them after a long chase in the
province of Najran. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It is a great achievement of the security forces in the region,"
said Najran's governor, Prince Mishaal bin Saud. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The efforts of the border guards resulted in preventing our youth
from having access to those poisons," he added. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) LARGE DRUG BUST IN CHIANG MAI NETS DEALERS AND AGENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Extra-Judicial Killing in Chai Prakan District, Chiang Mai | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pha Muang Task Force seized over 400,000 ya ba pills from two agents
in Chiang Dao and Chai Prakan districts and confiscated the dealers'
properties valued at 20 million baht. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A joint press conference was held on October 16 at the Pha Muang Task
Force by Pol Lt Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij, commander of
Narcotic Suppression Bureau, Maj Gen Manus Paorik, the commander of
Pha Muang Task Force, and Pittaya Jinawat, director of the Office of
Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Northern Office. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pha Muang Task Force had been tipped off that the ya ba shipments would be smuggled into Chiang Dao and Chai Prakan districts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
After the arrest, the authorities confiscated properties belonging to
Soonthorn and Nafu that included 200,000 baht cash, a title deed, a
house located on 1 rai land, four deposits for land in tambon Sri Dong
Yen, a bank deposit account, a longan drying factory on 2 rai, along
with eight drying ovens, 10 rai of longan plantations and a Toyota
pickup truck. The combined value was 20 million baht. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pol Lt Gen Watcharapol said that drug busts have gradually decreased
from 260,000 cases in 2002 to 160,000 cases in 2003 and 70,000 cases
this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
D.E.A. Dictates Doctor Confusion | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Prison Needle Exchange | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Lessons from a Comprehensive Review of International Evidence and
Experience | ||||||||||||||||||||||
This report examines the issue of prison needle exchange based upon
the international experience and evidence current to 31 March 2004.
Evidence was gathered over an 18-month period beginning in October
2002. The authors undertook a literature review, visited prisons in | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.aidslaw.ca/Maincontent/issues/prisons/pnep/toc.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
United States-Canada Border Drug Threat Assessment | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Government of Canada and the Government of the United States
jointly prepared this document with contributions from several
departments and agencies on both sides of the border. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nader Urges Bush to Grant Clemency for Non-Violent Drug Offenders | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Describes Drug War as Three Decade, Unjust Failure | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Washington, DC: Independent Presidential candidate Ralph Nader today wrote President Bush urging that he grant clemency to 30,000 non-violent drug offenders. Nader?s letter highlighted the three decade long failed, and unjust, drug war. His call for clemency highlighted a similar request made by 400 clergy members to President Bill Clinton in 2000. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kerry Speaks! About Marijuana! Sort Of... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In an interview broadcast on KGW-TV, Democratic presidential nominee
John Kerry gave a backhanded endorsement to state medical marijuana
initiatives. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://blog.drugpolicy.org/2004/10/kerry-speaks-about-marijuana-sort-of.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marijuana Arrests For Year 2003 Hit Record High, FBI Report Reveals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pot Smokers Arrested In America At A Rate Of One Every 42 Seconds | ||||||||||||||||||||||
October 25, 2004 - Washington, DC, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Washington, DC: Police arrested an estimated 755,187 persons for
marijuana violations in 2003, according to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The
total is the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and comprised 45
percent of all drug arrests in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
SANE VOICES BANNED SLAVERY, ENDED PROHIBITION; TIME NOW TO LEGALIZE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Marty C. Keef | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Historically, the U.S. government is on the wrong side of important
social issues. For example, slavery was legal for more than two
centuries; disenfranchisement of women was the norm until early this
past century; Prohibition was the greatest turmoil our society has
ever experienced, creating organized crime; segregation was
accepted, codified and defended. Eventually, someone took the lead
in these causes and sanity prevailed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Isn't it time to rethink and adjust our approach to the "war on
drugs"? Someone has to take the lead. Why not Alaska? We exemplify
the spirit of independence for the entire United States because we
have the courage to try. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Annually the taxpayers spend more than $70 billion to arrest,
convict and incarcerate more than 570,000 of our neighbors. We've
done this for more than 70 years without any positive results. That
is worse than crazy; it's stupid. Families are destroyed, careers
terminated because of irrational fear. The feds' normal response to
this kind of challenge is to request another study. Every one of
these studies has shown the most harm caused by using marijuana is
being caught and prosecuted. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If you feel you need a nanny to make decisions for you, vote against
Proposition 2. As an independent Alaskan, follow the Alaskan credo:
vote for privacy and independence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marty C. Keef | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA MODEL CAN FOLLOW ALCOHOL'S | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Bill Parker | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Teenagers tell us it's now easier for them to get marijuana than
alcohol. Why? That's because we have adopted increasingly strict
penalties for selling alcohol to anyone under 21. Yes on 2 proposes
the same approach for marijuana -- restricting teenager access
through a targeted regulation model. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Ballot Measure 2 will undertake a new approach to marijuana
regulation in Alaska when it passes on Nov. 2. Instead of an
impossible-to-enforce prohibition against marijuana use by people of
all ages, Measure 2 completely prohibits use only by kids under 21
and enables the state or local governments to formulate specific
rules and restrictions on marijuana use among adults. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Permitting regulated adult use will actually make it easier to
reduce teenage use because it takes illegal drug dealers out of the
picture. Licensed marijuana retailers will make sure they don't sell
to kids, just like liquor stores do now. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In addition to severe penalties for providing marijuana to anyone
under 21, the new model will restrict adult marijuana use in public,
set maximum amounts that an individual can possess and maintain our
tough laws against driving under the influence of marijuana. Here
are more reasons to vote yes on Measure 2: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
* Alaskans overwhelmingly passed the medical marijuana initiative in
1998. But patients of cancer, MS, AIDS and other diseases still have | ||||||||||||||||||||||
* The Alaska constitutional right to privacy protects practically all of our personal activities in the home, including marijuana use. In August, the state Supreme Court reaffirmed this broad right, but the Legislature still needs to bring the law into conformity with the court's decision. Voting yes on 2 sends lawmakers a strong message not to tamper with any of our personal rights and privacy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
* Alaska has spent millions of dollars arresting, prosecuting and
incarcerating nonviolent adults for marijuana offenses. At the same
time, too many cases of sexual assault and child abuse have gone
uninvestigated. Voting yes on 2 will stop wasting your tax dollars
on chasing adult marijuana users, and it will free up our justice
resources for fighting the real crimes that affect so many victims,
young and old. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The current prohibition system has clearly failed to achieve its
most important objective: minimizing nonadult use. More teenagers
now smoke marijuana than cigarettes. It's time for a new approach in
which we regulate marijuana basically as we do alcohol and tobacco.
Universal prohibition is unworkable in a free society; voting yes on
2 ends it, so that Alaskans can start being smart about finding ways
to keep marijuana away from teenagers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Bill Parker is a retired Alaska deputy commissioner of corrections
and former state legislator. He lives in Anchorage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"By identifying the new learning with heresy, you make orthodoxy
synonymous with ignorance." - Desiderius Erasmus | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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