| Nov. 5, 2004 #374 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) US: DRUG TRIAL OF FORMER PAIN DOCTOR OPENS TODAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A prominent former pain doctor from McLean will go on trial today in
federal court in Alexandria, accused of leading a broad conspiracy to
traffic in prescription narcotics that prosecutors say led to the
deaths of three patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
The case against William E. Hurwitz has drawn national attention from
advocates for patients with chronic pain, who decry it as a zealous
attempt to criminalize what they consider good medical practice.
Government officials say the prosecutions of Hurwitz and other doctors
has helped stem growing abuse of OxyContin and other potent
prescription painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hurwitz, 59, is charged in a 62-count indictment that includes charges
of drug trafficking resulting in death and serious bodily injury,
conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances and health care fraud.
Prosecutors allege that Hurwitz prescribed excessive quantities of
dangerous narcotics to patients who were then selling the drugs on a
lucrative black market. His dosages, they said, led to serious
injuries and the three deaths. | ||||||||||||||||||
The trial is the culmination of a two-year federal investigation into
doctors, pharmacists and patients suspected of selling potent and
addictive painkillers. About 50 people have been convicted. Law
enforcement sources said the probe is ongoing, though Hurwitz was one
of the ultimate targets. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) US CA: CRITICS OF '3 STRIKES' LAW PLAN TO CONTINUE PUSH FOR CHANGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Californians will never know whether Proposition 66, a measure to reform the state's "three strikes" law, would have led to the release of thousands of "murderers, rapists and child molesters." | ||||||||||||||||||
But using that imagery in a multimillion-dollar television blitz last
week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his unrivaled political clout to
persuade scores of California voters to change their minds and vote
down Proposition 66 by a 53 to 47 percent ratio. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now, the decade-old fight over the toughest sentencing law in the
nation is back to square one. Even critics of Proposition 66 concede
the hard-fought campaign is likely to produce reforms to a law put in
place after the Polly Klaas kidnapping and murder by felon Richard
Allen Davis. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Nobody is under the delusion that because this thing didn't pass,
this is going to be the end of it," said Santa Clara County prosecutor
David Tomkins, a three-strikes expert who opposed Proposition 66.
"This sniping over three strikes needs to end." | ||||||||||||||||||
Schwarzenegger himself said Wednesday that he planned to consult with
Attorney General Bill Lockyer and legislators on possible improvements
to the law. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If there's something wrong with it you know that needs to be
adjusted, then we should do that," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) NEW ZEALAND: MEDICAL CANNABIS OUT, SAYS ANDERTON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Associate Minister of Health Jim Anderton says he will not support a bill allowing the cultivation of cannabis for pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons believes the drug should
be allowed for medical reasons. | ||||||||||||||||||
The issue has arisen after Christchurch man Neville Yates was sent to jail for five months by Christchurch District Court Judge David Holderness for growing cannabis he says he uses for pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yates, who is wheelchair-bound and brain-damaged after being hit by a
truck 30 years ago, had been sent to jail in 1999 for the same
offence. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Anderton, chairman of the ministerial committee on drug policy,
said yesterday that he would not support a bill allowing cannabis
cultivation for pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The Ministry of Health is looking into this issue but it has to do it on a careful basis. It has to have clinical evidence and advice that using cannabis for pain relief is safe," he told National Radio. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Anderton said the effects of smoking cannabis were even worse than
tobacco. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said if cannabis was to be allowed for medical reasons, it had to
be properly administered and trialled clinically to ensure it did have
the benefits claimed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) US KY: BULLITT SCHOOL DRUG SWEEPS BRING 1 ARREST, 9 CITATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Kentucky State Police arrested one student and cited nine others last week in drug sweeps at Bullitt County's three high schools. | ||||||||||||||||||
Police arrived unannounced at Bullitt Central, Bullitt East and North
Bullitt high schools Friday and used seven drug-sniffing dogs to
search lockers, classrooms and parking lots for illegal drugs, Trooper
John Nokes said. They found small amounts of marijuana and about 25
pills, all prescription muscle relaxants, at Bullitt Central and
Bullitt East. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Nokes said the amount of drugs confiscated wasn't any larger than they
typically find during school sweeps. | ||||||||||||||||||
School officials requested the action after being offered the service
by the state police, said Pat Smith-Darnell, the school system's
director of anti-drug programs. | ||||||||||||||||||
That offer was made to school systems two years ago, after state
police added 16 German shepherds to their statewide dog unit, bringing
the total to 25. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
European viewers of MTV will see a new drama about cannabis dealers next month. An MTV executive says it will be educational. "It's the perfect time to do a programme about this because it's something people are confused about. People may know cannabis has been taken down a notch legally but they don't know what that means," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
We'll see what people learn from it, but I hope something like this
makes it way across the ocean. Any network could make a great
reality series about a typical drug task force. If it's truly
realistic, there will be corruption like that found in Alabama,
where a task force chief has been convicted of extortion and other
crimes related to his position. | ||||||||||||||||||
A typical pro-drug-war editorial in Virginia acknowledged that a new
prescription drug database isn't working to stop drug-related crime,
but then argued the program should be expanded. Finally, few
Illinois residents seem to be taking advantage of liberalized needle
purchase laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) ROLL, ROLL UP, FOR THE DOPE OPERA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MTV has found a way to stay ahead of the pack - a new drama about
drug dealers | ||||||||||||||||||
MTV reckons that if it wants to be down with the kids and remain the
most-watched music channel among 16- to 24-year-olds, it has to
stick its neck out. Hence the first-ever drama to be shown on the
channel will be based, controversially, on the life and times of two
cannabis dealers. "It's a departure for us," says Richard Godfrey,
senior vice president of MTV Productions Europe, of the "dope opera"
- called Top Buzzer - which begins next month.From the early rushes
,TopBuzzer looks like nothing else you'd see on TV, nothing like a
BBC3 or Channel 4 show," says Godfrey, revealing precisely which
channels he's benchmarking his output against. | ||||||||||||||||||
Asked why the music channel has gone for drama he replies: "We've
taken the decision to invest in original programme development in
the UK and we need a balance of projects." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's based on a culture that exists and it's a perfectly justifiable one on which to base a show," says Godfrey. "It's the perfect time to do a programme about this because it's something people are confused about. People may know cannabis has been taken down a notch legally but they don't know what that means." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) EX-DRUG TASK FORCE CHIEF PLEADS GUILTY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The former head of the Lauderdale County Drug Task Force pleaded
guilty Tuesday to extortion, lying to the FBI and misappropriating
funds in his work as task force director. | ||||||||||||||||||
David Lynn Scogin, 44, of Florence has also agreed to pay $20,000 in
restitution. U.S. District Judge Robert B. Propst will sentence him
Dec. 16. | ||||||||||||||||||
Scogin was originally charged in a 10-count indictment last July. But on Tuesday, he agreed to plead guilty to three counts. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to the indictment, Scogin extorted $5,000 from an
individual in April 2002 by forcing the person to give the drug task
force the money to avoid an arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) EDITORIAL: AN INFORMATION WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Virginia needs its pilot prescription-monitoring program not only to continue, but to expand beyond its current limited reach. | ||||||||||||||||||
Since Virginia started a pilot prescription-monitoring program in
Southwest Virginia about a year ago, the region's wave of drug
addiction and related crime has not subsided. | ||||||||||||||||||
That is not an argument for ending the program, but for expanding
it. The General Assembly should make the pilot project permanent -
right after reluctant lawmakers take the steps needed to make it
fully effective. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) SYRINGE LAW NOT MAKING AN IMPACT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SPRINGFIELD -- Relatively few people appear to be taking advantage
of a new state law that allows them to purchase up to 20 hypodermic
syringes without a prescription, one of the state's largest
pharmacies said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Blagojevich enacted the law in July of last year amid heavy
lobbying from the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, which pushed the idea
as a means to reduce the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C among
intravenous drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I don't think there has been a real large difference for us so far
in the sale of syringes," said Walgreens spokesman Michael Polzin.
"It's not like all of a sudden our sales have doubled. That's not
the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
"A lot of that is because there's still some education that needs to
be done among the public that they don't need a prescription for
that," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Citing proprietary concerns, Walgreens would not divulge its sales
for prescription-free syringes under the new law, which was pushed
by state Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago). The Illinois Department of
Public Health does not track how many people buy needles without
prescriptions, an agency spokesman said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
About $1,000 worth of crack in a set-up drug sting netted a 99-year
sentence in Texas. Sadly, the case doesn't seem to be an anomaly.
The Texas drug war is skewed by race, and there's a similar
situation in Toronto, according some Canadian judges. Also this
week, more prohibition-related corruption, including a heart-warming
family story. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) MAN GETS 99 YEARS FOR DRUG DEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Matagorda County jury handed a Bay City man the maximum possible punishment -- 99 years in prison -- on a conviction of selling crack cocaine Wednesday -- the second such sentence in as many weeks. | ||||||||||||||||||
Johnnie Jones, 27, of Bay City, was convicted of unlawful delivery
of a controlled substance in a drug free zone. | ||||||||||||||||||
In addition to the 99-year sentence, the jury also assessed Jones a
$20,000 fine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jones resisted authorities during the trial -- refusing to change
out of his jail outfit and forcing deputies to physically carry him
into the courtroom, deputies said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jones also struggled with officers later during fingerprinting after
his sentencing, deputies said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jones was accused of selling 2.5 ounces of crack cocaine to an undercover officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). | ||||||||||||||||||
The DPS officer negotiated the sale with Jones on March 10, 2003 in
the Roland Hillard Memorial Apartments at 1408 Whitson Street,
according to the indictment. | ||||||||||||||||||
The apartments are within 1,000 feet of Linnie Roberts Elementary,
and convictions for selling drugs within that distance of a school,
by state law, draw a stiffer felony classification. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jones told the undercover officer that he would sell the drugs for
$400 an ounce. | ||||||||||||||||||
After the officer asked to see them, Jones gave the officer three individually wrapped bags containing the drugs, records show. | ||||||||||||||||||
The officer paid $1,000 for the bags, and left the complex to meet
with a federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent who took them
into evidence, indictment records show. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) POLICE ARRESTS OF BLACK MEN RIPPED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
JUDGES HAVE been sharply critical recently of police conduct during searches and arrests of young black men. Last week, the Crown attorney decided to stay and withdraw drug dealing charges against admitted drug dealer Sheldon Jackson, 28, who was pulled over in his new 750 BMW in 2001 on St. Clair Ave. W. by Det. Glenn Asselin. | ||||||||||||||||||
Asselin is the same officer named in the Kevin Khan case, considered
the first "Driving While Black" case ruling in Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
Khan, a real estate broker, was acquitted last month of a drug-trafficking charge. Justice Anne Molloy said Asselin and his partner "fabricated significant aspects of their evidence" when they pulled the 28-year-old over on Marlee Ave. on Oct. 22, 2001. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) DETECTIVE TURNED SON INTO DEALER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A detective who recruited his son to pull off a drugs deal has been jailed. Suspicious colleagues bugged William Jones, 47, for months during forbidden contacts with a police informant who was involved in the drugs conspiracy. At Harrow Crown Court on Friday Jones, of Ware, Herts, admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis and willful misconduct in a public office. The former Scotland Yard officer and father-of-three was jailed for three years and nine months. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jurors heard conversations were secretly taped in his police car as
he promised former robber Anselm Peries, 35, of Bushey, information
about a multi-million pound hold-up. | ||||||||||||||||||
'Wicked behaviour' They then heard Jones briefing his son about a drugs deal in which he wanted him to buy UKP 425 of cannabis resin from a house linked to the informant and sell it in a pub. | ||||||||||||||||||
When fellow officers investigated the detective's background they
found he had also indirectly accepted UKP 12,500 from Peries to help
set up a cafe in Borehamwood. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) DEPUTY CHARGED WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE COCAINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Roanoke Sheriff's Deputy Tierre Allen McGinnis was supplying inmates
with cocaine, a police investigation alleges. | ||||||||||||||||||
By Lindsey Nair 981-3334 The Roanoke Times | ||||||||||||||||||
A former Roanoke Sheriff's deputy was indicted on two felony charges
Monday after a two-month investigation alleges that he sneaked
cocaine into the jail. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tierre Allen McGinnis, 25, is charged with possession of cocaine
with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm while in
the possession of cocaine. The second charge carries a mandatory
minimum sentence of five years in prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
Roanoke Sheriff George McMillan said the investigation began about
the first of September after three separate tips came in to
authorities that a deputy was delivering drugs to inmates. One came
from an inmate at the jail, one went to the Roanoke police and one
to the Drug Enforcement Agency, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13- 16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
I'd like to begin this week with a moment of silence for the
Democratic Party and for liberal values such as equality,
compassion, social justice, secularism, and diplomacy; all of which
just died at the hands of a conservative electorate bent on 4 more
years of international isolation, radical right-wing ideology,
religious revivalism, increased drug prohibition spending and
enforcement, social and sexual inequality, and flat out
war-mongering. | ||||||||||||||||||
[silence] | ||||||||||||||||||
Now let's get back to business. The U.S. election featured 20
cannabis ballot initiatives, ranging from full-on legalization in
Alaska to smaller municipal medical initiatives such as those in Ann
Arbor Michigan and Columbia, Missouri. I consider all of these
groundbreaking and meriting of notice, and so in a bit of a twist on
our normal compilation of news articles, we will start this week's
section with a press release by the Marijuana Policy Project
outlining the results of all 20 ballot measures. MPP reports that 17
of 20 initiatives were passed by voters, including record support
for a medical marijuana program in Montana. This becomes all the
more significant in light of the Bush victory in that state, going a
long to prove that compassionate access to medicinal cannabis is one
of the only truly bi-partisan issues in this country. | ||||||||||||||||||
And there was also some interesting news from Canada this week,
where the ruling Liberal party once again unveiled a bill which
would decriminalize the minor possession of cannabis while also
doubling the penalty for cultivation. Bill C-17 would make
possession of 15 grams or less of cannabis by an adult punishable by
a fine of $150 ($100 for youth), but would also double the maximum
penalty for cultivation of over 50 plants to a maximum of 14 years
in prison. The Liberals also attempted to deflect police concerns by
simultaneously introducing a new drugged-driving bill that gives law
enforcement more power to test and detain those suspected of driving
under the influence of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our next article is an editorial by Canada's leading daily calling
for the legalization of cannabis. While supporting the | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) AT LEAST 17 OF 20 MARIJUANA INITIATIVES PASS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Proposals to reform marijuana laws racked up record-setting vote
totals across the country Tuesday, leaving reformers cheering
despite a few setbacks. | ||||||||||||||||||
Montana voters approved a medical marijuana measure, Initiative 148, by an overwhelming 62% to 38%, eclipsing the previous record for any state's first vote on a medical marijuana initiative, the 61% support received by a medical marijuana measure in Maine in 1999. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Alaska, Measure 2 scored the highest vote percentage ever
achieved by a statewide proposal to abolish marijuana prohibition
entirely and replace it with a system of regulation. With 43% of the
vote, Measure 2 outpolled previous attempts in Alaska, Nevada,
California, and Oregon - - none of which received more than 41% of
the vote. | ||||||||||||||||||
Efforts to replace prohibition with regulation got a huge boost from Oakland voters, who approved Measure Z by 64% to 36%. The measure commits the city of Oakland to supporting the taxation and regulation of marijuana in California and makes personal marijuana offenses the lowest priority for Oakland law enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, voters overwhelmingly passed a local medical
marijuana initiative, Measure C, 74% to 26%. In August, Detroit
voters passed a similar measure by a 60% to 40% margin. | ||||||||||||||||||
Voters in Columbia, Missouri, gave big wins to two separate reforms:
A medical marijuana proposal, Proposition 1, passed by 69% to 31%;
and Proposition 2, which replaces jail time with a maximum $250 fine
for marijuana possession, also received a solid endorsement with 61%
of the vote. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) LIBERALS UNVEIL POT BILL FOR SECOND TIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Paul Martin's Liberals reintroduced a controversial bill Monday that
would decriminalize marijuana possession and replace criminal
charges with fines for anyone caught with up to 15 grams of the
drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
The new possession bill comes with the same old warning from Justice
Minister Irwin Cotler: This doesn't mean marijuana will be legalized
in Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Marijuana use is and remains illegal," he said. "What we have done
here is alter penalty frameworks." | ||||||||||||||||||
If the bill passes, adults who are caught with less than 15 grams of
marijuana could be fined up to $400, but would not be left with a
criminal record. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) LET'S REMEMBER PROHIBITION - AND LEGALIZE MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The commercial cultivation of marijuana, once largely confined to
British Columbia, has spread nationwide. In Ontario, the harvest has
grown by an estimated 250 per cent in the past two years. Police
recently raided grow-ops in Moncton. In Edmonton, real-estate agents
are exploring their legal liability for selling a house that turns
out to have been a nursery. | ||||||||||||||||||
Remember this, when you consider Bill C-17. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Liberal government's third attempt at decriminalizing marijuana
possession was introduced in the House yesterday. Whether the bill
makes it into law will largely depend on whether Parliament lasts
long enough to get it through. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In an effort to control the spread of grow-ops, governments are
skirting with unconstitutional laws. The Ontario government has
introduced legislation that would permit authorities to cut power to
homes suspected of growing marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
At the federal level, Bill C-16, which was also introduced
yesterday, will expand police powers to compel blood, saliva or
urine tests for suspected drugged drivers. Both laws may well offend
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) TOP COURT FREES POLICE TO USE INFRARED DEVICES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court of Canada put marijuana enforcement ahead of
privacy yesterday, freeing police to use sophisticated | ||||||||||||||||||
The 7-0 decision reversed an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that had
urged a more liberal attitude toward marijuana and the right to be
free of unfair search and seizure. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Peter Zaduk, a Toronto lawyer who has defended scores of grow-op charges, predicted that police forces will silently rejoice. "I can see them systematically flying over whole neighbourhoods," he said. "Their mindset is that marijuana grow houses are an epidemic. They are obsessed with the idea of them being on every block. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Afghan government really means business, this time. According to wire reports last week, a senior Afghan official from the ruling Karzai regime sternly warned a seminar in Kabul that no opium would be grown. "Growers must not plant poppies this year," Interior Minister Ali. A. Jalali commanded. Opium production in Afghanistan had fallen to record lows before the U.S.-led invasion of the landlocked Asian nation in 2001. Since that time, opium growing has soared to the highest levels ever. The government threatened to destroy all opium crops this year, and to skip paying farmers even a token amount in compensation for destroyed crops, as in past years. | ||||||||||||||||||
While U.S. drug czars ballyhoo an abstract "tipping point" (just
around the corner) where suddenly prohibition will become effective,
on the ground in Colombia, there are indications a new | ||||||||||||||||||
In Vancouver, Canada, a crack-user's support group is now
distributing free crack pipes. The "kits advance harm reduction and
prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C," said Rob Morgan, a
self-described crack cocaine addict. Private donations paid for the
kits some 500 of which have been handed out so far. Officials,
including Mayor of Vancouver, Larry Campbell, had earlier endorsed
the creation of a crack smoking room for Vancouver. The city of
Vancouver also has a "safe-injection" site, the first in North
America. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, a report from The Press in New Zealand, that
a brain-damaged man there was sentenced to five months in jail for
growing medical cannabis. The cannabis, said the man, relieved
chronic pain from an accident 30 years ago which left him in a
wheelchair ever since. The judge lashed out at "pro-cannabis
advocates" at the sentencing, and scolded the man for not pleading
guilty. Christchurch District Court Judge David Holderness
proclaimed that not jailing the brain-damaged, wheelchair-bound
patient, "in this case would be to suggest that there is some
special category of cannabis-cultivation offenders -- those who use
it for medicinal purposes." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) KARZAI DECLARES WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Afghan Interior Minister Ali. A.
Jalali told provincial security chiefs Monday that poppy cultivation
must stop and future crops would be destroyed. | ||||||||||||||||||
The announcement was made at the ministry in Kabul during an
anti-narcotics seminar attended by provincial security chiefs and
senior government officials. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"Growers must not plant poppies this year," Minister Jalali warned
the officers. He told them to return to their provinces and tell
growers that cultivating poppies was against Islam, and beginning
this year the government would destroy their crops without
compensation. | ||||||||||||||||||
The ministry said the government is committed to destroying the drug
economy, and that if the security chiefs fail to stop poppy
cultivation in their provinces, the government's eradication program
will begin | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) THE MYSTERY OF THE COCA PLANT THAT WOULDN'T DIE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Over the past three years, rumors of a new strain of coca have circulated in the Colombian military. The new plant, samples of which are spread out on this table, goes by different names: supercoca, la millonaria. Here in the southern region it's known as Boliviana negra. The most impressive characteristic is not that it produces more leaves - - though it does - but that it is resistant to glyphosate. The herbicide, known by its brand name, Roundup, is the key ingredient in the US-financed, billion-dollar aerial coca fumigation campaign that is a cornerstone of America's war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
One possible explanation: The farmers of the region may have used
selective breeding to develop a hardier strain of coca. If a plant
happened to demonstrate herbicide resistance, it would be more
widely cultivated, and clippings would be either sold or, in many
cases, given away or even stolen by other farmers. Such a
peer-to-peer network could, over time, result in a coca crop that
can withstand large-scale aerial spraying campaigns. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
We hike up the ridge, and suddenly there are healthy coca plants
stretching to the horizon. On one side of an imaginary line,
devastation. On the other, billowing, neck-high coca plants dotting
hillsides that are denuded of all other vegetation. "Boliviana
negra," Don Miguel says, pointing at the large bushes. "They were
sprayed as well." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The new strain is disseminated via cuttings; farmers cut off stems
and sell them. Some farmers, looking to make more money, travel with
their cuttings and peddle them around the region. And once a farmer
grows a new plant, he can sell his own cuttings. It's file-swapping
brought to the jungle - a highly efficient decentralized
distribution chain. | ||||||||||||||||||
Don Miguel doesn't know where the strain originated. He has heard
rumors of a group of mysterious agronomists who develop better coca
plants for the traffickers, but he doesn't know where they are or
anything about them. | ||||||||||||||||||
He does have a clear sense of how the new plant is affecting his
region. At first, he says, the aerial spraying was successful, but
now, with the arrival of Boliviana negra, it's affecting only those
who are growing lawful crops. "The truth is that the fumigation
drives us to the one thing that will survive - and that is Boliviana
negra," he says. "Not bananas, not yucca, not maize." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
This technique - applied over four years - is now the most likely
explanation for the arrival of Boliviana negra. By spraying so much
territory, the US significantly increased the odds of generating
beneficial mutations. There are numerous species of coca, further
increasing the diversity of possible mutations. And in the Amazonian
region, nature is particularly adaptive and resilient. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) CRACK KITS HIT B.C.'S STREETS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- A support group for drug users began distributing
hundreds of free crack pipes over the weekend in an initiative they
say will slow the spread of disease among drug users. Over 500 crack
kits were handed out Friday and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug
Users plans to hand out hundreds more in the coming days, said
network president Rob Morgan. The group wants public funding to
maintain the program. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In the same way as handing out needles, these kits advance harm
reduction and prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C," said
Morgan, a self-described crack cocaine addict. | ||||||||||||||||||
Each kit contains a glass pipe, mouthpieces, condoms, alcohol swabs,
matches, and smoking instructions. Money to buy the kits came from
private organizations and street donations. Morgan said drug users
are asked to donate at least $1 for the kits. "But we're not going
to turn people away," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Health officials are also being lobbied to create a crack smoking
room in the city's controversial safe injection site, the first of
its kind in North America. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) OUTRAGE AT JAILING OF INVALID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Wheelchair-bound and brain-damaged beneficiary Neville Yates is back
in prison as accusations fly over him becoming a pawn in the
cannabis debate. | ||||||||||||||||||
Christchurch District Court Judge David Holderness yesterday
sentenced Yates to five months jail for growing cannabis, which the
sickness beneficiary uses to relieve the chronic pain he has endured
since being hit by a truck 30 years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||
As the judge acknowledged that Yates would find jail hard, he had a
swipe at the cannabis activists in court who had played a part in
Yates's doomed defence of medical necessity. | ||||||||||||||||||
They included Blair Anderson, who stood for the Christchurch
mayoralty on a policy of repealing the prohibition on cannabis and
who acted as in-court assistant to Yates. | ||||||||||||||||||
"You were not greatly assisted by (Anderson) and other members of
the group who were, plainly, pro-cannabis advocates," the judge
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday's sentence provoked violent scenes, with abuse yelled at
the judge and angry protesters forced from the court building by
security staff. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Garrett, prosecutor Craig Ruane and the probation officer who
prepared the pre-sentence report had all supported a non-custodial
penalty. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"I don't overlook that a further prison term will be difficult for
you and I have regard to your physical difficulties and your
significant problem with pain," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"However, in my view, to impose a non-custodial sentence in this
case would be to suggest that there is some special category of
cannabis-cultivation offenders - those who use it for medicinal
purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DRUGS AND THE NATION | ||||||||||||||||||
By Steven Wishnia, AlterNet. Posted November 4, 2004. | ||||||||||||||||||
The election results show there is still substantial support for liberalizing the nation's drug laws ? just not too far or too fast. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DR. MIKURIYA'S MEDICINE | ||||||||||||||||||
By Peter Gorman, AlterNet. Posted November 3, 2004. | ||||||||||||||||||
The prime target of the government's campaign against physicians who
recommend medical marijuana is fighting for his patients and his
professional life. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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AFTER THE WAR ON DRUGS - OPTIONS FOR CONTROL | ||||||||||||||||||
'After the War on Drugs - Options for Control' is a major new report
examining the key themes in the drug policy reform debate, detailing
how legal regulation of drug markets will operate, and providing a
roadmap and time line for reform. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_AftertheWaronDrugsReport.htm | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WALTERS AND ME | ||||||||||||||||||
Remember how Michael Moore tracked down the CEO of GM to ask why his
town had been ruined in Roger And Me? This Moore-esque hour-long
Potumentary follows the history of the Canadian "decrim" bill, now
called C-17. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CANADIAN HOUSE OF COMMONS DEBATES CANNABIS BILL | ||||||||||||||||||
Comments from members of parliament Libby Davies, Randy White and
Keith Martin. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
EIGHT REFORMS FOR OUR NEXT PRESIDENT | ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Policy Alliance recommends eight reforms to make our drug
policies more rational, fiscally responsible, and fair. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WORKING UNDER FIRE: DRUG USER HEALTH AND JUSTICE 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
5th National Harm Reduction Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
New Orleans November 11-14, 2004. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA RESIDUE PRESENT ON US CURRENCY, STUDY SAYS | ||||||||||||||||||
November 4, 2004 - Cleveland, OH, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
Cleveland, OH: Trace levels of THC and other cannabinoids are present
in United States paper currency, according to the findings of a study
published in the September issue of the Journal of Analytical
Toxicology. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA-LIKE COMPOUNDS MAY AID ARRAY OF DEBILITATING CONDITIONS | ||||||||||||||||||
No longer a pipe dream, new animal research now indicates that
marijuana-like compounds can aid a bevy of debilitating conditions,
ranging from brain disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS) and Parkinson's disease, to pain and obesity. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://apu.sfn.org/content/AboutSFN1/NewsReleases/am2004_cannabinoids.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DRIVERS ON POT - ISSUES AND OPTIONS | ||||||||||||||||||
On November 1, Canada's federal government introduced a legislative scheme to deal with drug-impaired (read "cannabis-impaired") driving. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Canada Safety Council has come out with a sensible alternative to
this intrusive bill, along with an issues paper that looks at cannabis
and impaired driving. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
COLOMBIA DRUG DISASTER | ||||||||||||||||||
By Martin Lepkowski | ||||||||||||||||||
I am pleased that Rafael Lemaitre, the deputy press secretary in the
White House Office of National Drug Policy, took notice of my Sept.
14 Commentary column, "Plan Colombia: Poisoning a country," in his
Sept. 23 letter, "Plan Colombia a clear success." | ||||||||||||||||||
A few facts: To say that the glyphosate used in Colombia is your
garden-variety herbicide is, to put it kindly, untrue. Mr. Lemaitre
and company know that the glyphosate used in Colombia is being mixed
with other chemicals that have not been approved, or even tested for
harmful effects. The chemical company Monsanto specifically states
not to mix glyphosate ( Roundup ) with other chemicals. It goes on
to say that users of its product should wear gloves, protective
clothing, and, especially, eye protection, because of the
possibility of severe eye damage. Try telling this to a child when
the planes come to spread their chemical brew on the Colombians'
fields, homes and schools. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is true that there has been a reduction of coca in some parts of
Colombia. However, Accion Andina, an independent agency monitoring
growth and production of coca, reports that before fumigation began,
coca could be found in 12 Colombian provinces; now it can be found
in 20. | ||||||||||||||||||
The agency also reports an increase in the production of coca in
nearby countries. One wonders: Is the White House contemplating
spraying in these countries, too? Will our fumigating planes fly
deeper into the Amazon forest? | ||||||||||||||||||
I wonder if the White House reads its own State Department report, dated March 2004, stating that the price of coca is not rising in Colombia, and that coca cultivation is increasing elsewhere. Even "Drug Czar" John Walters has said that fumigation has failed to make a significant dent in the amount of cocaine flowing out of Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||
Colombia's President Alavaro Uribe has provided some Colombian
families with alternative-development aid. However, he should be
aware that some of these funded projects have been fumigated.
According to a U.N. report, fumigation has destroyed 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
It is worth noting, too, that some Colombian government officials
have ties to paramilitary narco-traffickers. President Uribe could
be doing more to weed out these corrupt politicians. | ||||||||||||||||||
In conclusion, I refer the White House Office of National Drug Policy to a Rand Corporation study that states that prevention and drug-treatment therapies are 23 times more effective than drug-eradication programs. To date, U.S. taxpayers have spent $3.3 billion on Plan Colombia. I think another approach is in order. | ||||||||||||||||||
Martin Lepkowski | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
IN THE WAR ON DRUGS, EUROPE MUST MAKE A SEPARATE PEACE | ||||||||||||||||||
By Polly Toynbee | ||||||||||||||||||
Give Addicts a Prescription and End the Crime Wave Destroying Our
Cities | ||||||||||||||||||
Waiting to see who has won the most important U.S. election for
decades, the world has been an anguished bystander, pressing up
against the window of the superpower. So much depends on America -
from climate change to terms of global trade and haphazard forays
into global policing. | ||||||||||||||||||
But one policy on which the U.S. has always had an iron grip was not
mentioned at all - because both candidates would agree on it. Both
would say the global "war on drugs" must go on. Since 1961 the U.S.
has strong-armed most countries into signing UN conventions to join
this futile and destructive battle. Drug prohibition has torn apart
poor drug-producing countries and wreaked drug-fuelled terror on the
streets of every city in the world. It has created crazed addicts
lurking in dark streets everywhere from Rio to Russia. | ||||||||||||||||||
"A drugs-free world - we can do it!" is the slogan of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. It is, it says daftly, "on target to reach its goals". What goals? To eradicate drug abuse and the cultivation of coca, cannabis and opium by the year 2008. Yes, in just four years. | ||||||||||||||||||
Prohibition not only hasn't worked, it makes things ever worse. If
ever there was a good example of a policy where Europe needs to make
its own way, this is it. The former Interpol chief (and now its
honorary secretary general) Raymond Kendall has broken official
silence in Europe over this. | ||||||||||||||||||
Writing in Le Monde, in a preview of a key lecture later this month,
he declared the drugs war lost and said that enforcement policies
had failed to protect the world from drugs. It was time for "harm
reduction" instead of the UN's "obsolete international conventions".
He called for Europe to take the lead in an international movement
to reform policy when the UN's drug conventions come up for renewal
in 2008. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under the conventions, all countries are obliged to pursue growers, dealers and users in an expensive attempt to hold back an unstoppable tide. Prohibition has bred crime on an unimaginable global scale. Bravely, most countries have to pretend that they are winning - when it is painfully obvious there are only losers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Look at the absurdity of our own Home Office's five-year plan,
published this summer. Here are its drug targets: "We aim to
increase the proportion of heroin seized from 10% in 2003 to 16% in
2006 and cocaine from 12% to 26%. We will make the UK a more hostile
environment for organised drugs trafficking." | ||||||||||||||||||
These figures are almost touchingly barmy. The Home Office has no idea what proportion of any drug it is seizing. If it does seize more, it may only be a bad sign that there is more on the streets. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Home Office appears not to have read the prime minister's
strategy unit report (unpublished), which found that UK police
enforcement had failed to have any meaningful impact on illegal drug
supply. Sadly, this report took fright at the logic of its own
findings, and ended up calling for mandatory treatment for heroin
addicts - now expected in the Queen's Speech. Evidence suggests
forced treatment rarely works: even the results for voluntary
treatment are not always brilliant. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, out there in the real world far from UN or Home Office fantasy targets, Time magazine reports that the revenue from opium grown in Afghanistan this year is $30bn already; 95% of the crop is destined for Europe, and it is the source of most of the heroin arriving in Britain. But how is Hamid Karzai supposed to prevent it? Who can stop the poorest country on earth from growing the only crop that brings in wealth? In the chaos of the Iraq war and its aftermath, the Jordanian anti-narcotics department is alarmed, the BBC reports, to find a new and unfamiliar sea of drugs from Afghanistan pouring across its borders and out across the region. | ||||||||||||||||||
Look at other opium-growing regions, and it's the same story. Their
governments are obliged to crack down as best they can or risk U.S.
revenge in loss of aid, trade and other penalties. Drugs harm
individuals, but it is not drugs that cause social calamity. It is
their prohibition that brings a wave of criminality and corruption,
chasing profits of up to 3,000%. | ||||||||||||||||||
What the former head of Interpol is saying echoes the excellent new
report by the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, setting out a
step-by-step route map towards controlled legalisation. There is now
a free market in the most dangerous drugs - absurdly known as
"controlled drugs" when the opposite is the case. Their availability
is in the hands of the worst people on any street corner on the
globe. A rational, evidence-based policy would seek to kill the
market, put dealers out of business and put control of these drugs
into the safe hands of pharmacists. | ||||||||||||||||||
Raymond Kendall calls for Europe to "medicalise" drugs, instead of
criminalising them. He cites British research that finds every UKP1
spent on treatment saves UKP3 in the criminal justice system. By
prescribing pharmaceutical opiates, he says there is an 80% cut in
addict deaths, a drop in the spread of disease and, above all, a
"sharp cut in the delinquency rates of drug addicts". | ||||||||||||||||||
He has spent his working life trying to cut off supply, only to see
it soar, prices drop and the number of addicts rise. Now he comes to
the only sensible conclusion: the war on drugs doesn't work. Give
all addicts a prescription, and they can lead reasonably normal
lives, with no need to commit crime. The UKP300bn global market
would grind to a stop with an end to its violence, corruption,
fraud, money laundering and financing of terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Britain, drugs are cheaper than ever. The lowest estimate
suggests half of all prisoners are jailed for offences related to
their need to sustain a habit of, on average, UKP50 a day. The
government spends far more on enforcement than on treatment. But
treatment is not the whole answer: sometimes it works, sometimes it
doesn't. For many addicts, maintenance is the best option. Most
citizens only care about stopping addicts committing crimes and
rescuing inner-city zones that have become battlegrounds for drug
gangs and pimps running drug-addicted prostitutes. No one is
suggesting selling the stuff in corner shops, but destroying the
market by making it easy to register for controlled drug use is the
only hope left. | ||||||||||||||||||
No American politician would find it easy to start a revolutionary
rethink on the drugs war. But Europe can and should; Holland began
and now has a shrinking, ageing number of addicts. Together the EU
could move step by step to rationalise drug policy; it is just one
example of what Europe could do together to offer another, non-US,
liberal model of democracy. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"One of the interesting questions facing baby boomers is, have we
grown up? Are we willing to share the wisdom of past mistakes? And I
think the message ought to be to all children, 'Don't use drugs. Don't
abuse alcohol.' That's what leadership is all about." -- George W.
Bush, Boston Globe, p. A3 Aug 22, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||
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