| Nov. 26, 2004 #377 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) CANADA: POLL SHOWS POT USE UP, LEGALIZATION FAVOURED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
CANADIANS are smoking pot more than ever before and the majority want police and government to let the people indulge in peace. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The results of the national poll, released by the advocacy group NORML
Canada, comes the same day a national addiction survey found more than
four of 10 Manitobans admit to having used marijuana sometime in their
life. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The poll shows for the first time that more than half of Canadians
support legalization of marijuana, with 57 per cent of respondents
saying people should be "left alone" if they are caught with small
amounts for personal use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jody Pressman, executive director of the NORML pro-marijuana group, said the poll was "a rude awakening for the government. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) U.S. SUPREME COURT TO HEAR MARIJUANA CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Might be Yea or Nay for Medical Marijuana
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GARY STORCK smokes a lot of pot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The 49-year old co-founder of IMMLY - Is My Medicine Legal Yet - uses the illegal drug everyday to counter the debilitating effects of glaucoma, heart surgery and chronic arthritis. His physician supports the treatment, which, under Madison ordinance 2320, allows it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The federal government doesn't. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"For me, cannabis has been a great equalizer in trying to counteract
my chronic health problems," said Storck. "I've known for over 32
years that it can save eyesight from glaucoma and I think it is a
national shame that we have allowed politics to withhold medical
cannabis from patients in need."
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Storck has lobbied on behalf of medicinal marijuana at the state and
national level. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"(A friend) takes shots of morphine to control her pain, and on our last two trips I actually had to help her with shots in the hallways of congressional office buildings," Storck told Representatives at a 2002 Washington D.C. Capitol press conference. "It seemed very ironic. If it is legal for her to have morphine, why not cannabis?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) PROP. 36 CLIENTS APPLAUD UCLA REPORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It proves more sanctions for drug offenders are needed, they say. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Critics of Prop. 36, a 2000 ballot measure that gave drug offenders a
choice of treatment instead of jail, have said it is all carrot and no
stick. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A UCLA report released today may bolster their claim. It shows that Prop. 36 treatment clients were 48 percent more likely to commit another drug violation within a year, compared to rehab clients who signed up for treatment under supervision of probation or parole. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Any treatment model has to have sanctions," said Mike Kennedy, president of the California Narcotic Officers' Association. "The problem with Prop. 36 is there are none. That's the big deal." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Results of each study looking at the law have been scrutinized by
supporters and detractors of the ballot measure that 61 percent of
California voters backed, and the law is watched nationally as a
social experiment in drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) UK: THE PRICE OF POWDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The cheapness of illicit drugs isn't just a sign of police failure. It is also evidence that the drugs business has got more competitive | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Following a quiet spell, Britain's war on drugs seems to be heating
up. This week, the Home Office unveiled legislation that will create a
Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), which, it is promised, will
conduct "a specialist and relentless attack" on racketeers. Suspected
traffickers will be compelled to produce documents and drug kingpins
encouraged to inform on one another. Other legislation will force more
addicts into treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Hopes are high, which is surprising given the failure of previous
efforts. Street prices of Class A drugs have fallen steadily in recent
years (see chart) and the number of users has risen. Drug traffickers
are running slicker businesses. "We dealt with a team a while ago that
had a director of operations and a director of finance, and they
actually called them that," says Bill Hughes, the appointed
director-general of SOCA. More importantly, they are running a
different kind of business. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The big news is in the Cannabis section of DrugSense Weekly, as we
await Monday's U.S. Supreme Court hearings on medical marijuana. We
hope the Supremes get a chance to read the latest issue of New
Scientist, which asks, is there anyone who hasn't enjoyed a little
buzz sometime? Very few, according to a fascinating article. Yet the
folly of increasingly aggressive prohibition continues. A U.S. Rep.
from the state wants to further federalize the fight against
methamphetamine, ignoring the dismal results of past federal
anti-drug efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Also, a treatment program for caffeine gets some publicity, while students at a Colorado school wonder if they're on the drug list. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) THE INTOXICATION INSTINCT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Since prehistoric times, humans have been seeking out and using
intoxicating substances. Most people who have ever lived have
experienced a chemically induced altered state of consciousness, and
the same is true of people alive today. That's not to say that
everybody is constantly fighting the urge to get high, nor that
intoxication is somehow a normal state of consciousness. But how many
of us can claim never to have experienced an altered state, whether it
be a caffeine kick to help us get going in the morning, a relaxing
beer after work, a few puffs on a joint at a party or the euphoric
high of ecstasy?
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In the present prohibitionist climate it is difficult to talk about the use of psychoactive, literally "mind-altering", substances without focusing on their harmful and habit-forming properties. And it's true that excessive use of consciousness-altering drugs, both legal and illegal, is bad for individuals and bad for society. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
People who seek intoxication are taking risks with their health and
flirting with addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drugs can lead to crime, violence, accidents, family disintegration
and social decay. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nonetheless, intoxicants remain a part of most people's lives . And
indeed most of us are able to consume them in moderation without
spiralling into abuse and addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) LAWMAKER CALLS FOR NATIONAL METH FIGHT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Chairman of a House Reform Panel Sees Growing Support for a Broader Plan to Defeat the Drug As the Epidemic Moves East | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- With methamphetamine addiction sweeping eastward, political momentum is building in Congress for a broad national strategy to destroy the illicit trade and control its essential chemical ingredients, a key congressional Republican said Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Now is the time we push," said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chairman
of the House government reform subcommittee that deals with drug
policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Souder's subcommittee is working on a comprehensive package of
anti-meth legislation to be introduced in the next session of
Congress. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"You've now reached a threshold. It's crossed the Mississippi,"
Souder said of the drug's rapid spread. "You have a majority of
Congress now interested in this."
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The conservative Republican held a hearing Thursday in which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the White House drug czar's office testified about strategies to stop the drug. In addition, representatives for the pharmaceutical industry threw key support behind eliminating certain loopholes in current drug law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL IS THE REAL THING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Addiction To Cola And Coffee Is A Biological Fact, Researcher Finds | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mark Nicholson considers himself a recovering drug addict of sorts.
His addiction?
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"Coca-Cola," he says. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Or more precisely, the caffeine spike in every can. The 51-year-old
Idlewylde, Md., nurse spent years stashing sodas in his car, in his
hospital locker, even by his bed. It was frequently the last thing
he drank at night, the first when he awoke. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If he didn't get his fix, he paid: "I'd get this humongous headache
and feel like I was going to throw up."
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Mr. Nicholson ultimately kicked the caffeine habit with help from a
little-known Johns Hopkins Hospital program for people hooked on the
drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Easily hooked
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But latte lovers, chocoholics and other caffeine junkies take heed:
While this particular case may sound extreme, mounting scientific
evidence shows that jokes about caffeine withdrawal are no joke at
all - and it doesn't take much to get hooked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) DRUG-SUSPECT LIST ANGERS STUDENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jeffco Teachers Asked Kids For Names Of Peers Who Might Be Users | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jefferson County - Students at Jefferson County Open School have
asked district officials to investigate why they were "forced to rat
out friends" suspected of using drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jelena 16, and Lily , 14, both students at the Lakewood-based
alternative school, told the Jefferson County school board Thursday
night that teachers overreacted to fears of drug use in the middle
school by asking students to begin making lists of people who might
be using drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The students say they now fear that classmates who were
inappropriately named could be punished or that the district could
be sued by parents of students whose names appear on a list of
possible drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"There's a lot of power in suggestion," Woehr said. "If they say,
'Try and think of someone who is doing drugs' ... there is pressure
to think of someone."
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The students also said that two female students who believed their
names were on a master list of suspected drug users were later
suspended for going into a teacher's office, opening a file on the
teacher's desk and using their cellphone cameras to take pictures of
the list. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal sentencing practices are getting a hard look right now. The U.S. Sentencing Commission is examining the impact of current sentence guidelines. They are finding what drug policy reform advocates have said for a long time: There are racial disparities in the system, particularly when it comes to drug-related sentences. Ideas about changes to the guidelines are being discussed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The problem isn't only at the federal level, as a judge in
Massachusetts noted last week. He attacked the state's drug-free
school zones laws as biased against minorities in urban areas.
Meanwhile in Indiana, the drug war isn't tough enough for one deputy
county prosecutor who isn't doing any more plea bargaining in
methamphetamine or cocaine cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) COMMISSION FINDS RACIAL DISPARITY IN JAIL SENTENCES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The percentage of minorities among the prison
population has risen sharply since the federal sentencing-guideline
system was created and minorities are more likely to serve long
sentences than their white counterparts, according to a report by
the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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The report, a 15-year review of the guideline system, also found
that defendants are staying in prison nearly twice as long as they
did before Congress called for the creation of the Sentencing
Commission and the guidelines. The review is intended to determine
if the guidelines, which went into effect in November 1987, have
achieved their goal of bringing consistency and predictability to
sentencing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The system of sentencing guidelines is up in the air as the Supreme
Court is expected to rule, possibly as soon as next week, on the
constitutionality of the guidelines. At issue is whether a judge can
increase a defendant's sentence using factors not considered by
juries or admitted to by defendants. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Two of the more troubling findings of the commission's report focus
on race. "While the majority of federal offenders in the
preguidelines era were white, minorities dominate the federal
criminal docket today" and their sentences are longer, it says. "The
gap in average sentences between white and minority offenders was
relatively small in the preguidelines era," the report said, but
began widening once the guidelines went into effect. Now, "the
typical black drug trafficker receives a sentence about ten percent
longer than a similar white drug trafficker."
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[snip]
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(10) SENTENCING PLAN IN WORKS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Legal Experts Revising Federal Guidelines
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WASHINGTON - Judges and legal scholars are working on new federal
criminal sentencing guidelines, in anticipation that the Supreme
Court will strike down a 17-year-old system that has been challenged
as unconstitutional. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Since last June's high court decision raised questions about the
legality of the system, 30,000 cases have backed up. The court now
is considering whether the guidelines must be replaced because they
call for judges, not juries, to consider factors that can add years
to prison sentences. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A ruling is likely before the end of 2004, and experts helping a federal panel draft alternatives were generally united in predicting that at least part of the guidelines will be overturned. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Justice Department weighed in Wednesday with an unofficial
endorsement of an alternative -- making slight changes to the
current system that would allow harsher penalties for convicted
criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The work is being done by the Sentencing Commission, a federal panel
that sets guidelines for federal judges who sentence more than
60,000 people each year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) JUDGE: DRUG POLICY UNFAIR TO MINORITIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
BOSTON - One of Massachusetts' top judges denounced the state's
sentencing laws yesterday, saying that the mandatory two-year
sentence for drug possession near schools discriminates against
minorities, does not deter crime and decreases faith in the judicial
system. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert A. Mulligan, who became the chief justice for administration
and management in October 2003, said that 90 percent of the people
who receive the mandatory sentences for possessing drugs within
1,000 feet of the school are minorities. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"I'm not saying that minorities are being targeted, and I'm not
saying that the arresting officers are unfair, but I'm saying that
the policy itself is not wise," Mulligan told the Associated Press.
"The policy has a discriminatory effect."
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The 1989 law, passed at the urging of then-Gov. Michael Dukakis, has
had the greatest impact in urban settings, Mulligan said, because
there are few areas in any Massachusetts cities that are not within
1,000 feet of a school. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) DEPUTY PROSECUTOR SEEKS METH CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
He Aims To Curb Plea Agreements
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LAGRANGE, Ind. - A deputy prosecutor is trying a new way to stop the
infiltration of methamphetamine by eliminating plea agreements for
suspects in meth cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
LaGrange County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Greg Kenner is also refusing to offer plea agreements for cases that involve cocaine. Anyone facing meth charges in Superior Court, which Kenner handles, must plead to the most serious charge or take the case to trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's just a way to show people that we're serious about these drug
cases because we're getting so many of them. And we're going to see
how it goes," Kenner said. "We're just trying to make an
impression."
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The experiment, as LaGrange County Prosecutor Jeff Wible refers to the approach, is receiving mixed reviews around the state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
This week begins with an editorial by Scientific American protesting
the U.S. government's restrictions on cannabis research. Challenging
the notion that those seeking to legalize the medicinal use of
cannabis are just in it to smoke pot, the editorial urges the
government to facilitate research into its therapeutic use. This
eases us into a Washington Times piece on the Raich/Monson Supreme
Court challenge which is taking place next Monday (the 29th). These
lovely warriors have fought hard for all of us, so we certainly wish
them and their wise counsel strength, courage, and not a little bit
of good luck. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our third story takes us to the University of Maryland, where
student-reporter Damien Nichols has some useful recommendations
regarding the school's cannabis policy, which penalizes students
particularly hard as a result of the Higher Education Act. Our
fourth story brings us to the U.K., where a recent report shows that
although cannabis seizures have increased since marijuana possession
was reclassified as a non-arrestable offense, overall police
resources spent on cannabis have gone down since officers no longer
charge most offenders. And lastly, Australian Foreign Minister
Downer has agreed to help out Shapelle Corby, who is facing possible
execution by firing squad for accusations of smuggling cannabis into
Indonesia. Downer has offered the expertise of government labs in an
effort to determine the country of origin for either the cannabis
found on Corby, or the plastic bag in which it was stored. If anyone
else reading this section has any ideas on how to help, please
contact:
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(13) MARIJUANA RESEARCH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The human brain naturally produces and processes compounds closely
related to those found in Cannabis sativa, better known as marijuana
[see "The Brain's Own Marijuana," by Roger A. Nicoll and Bradley E.
Alger.] These compounds are called endogenous cannabinoids or
endocannabinoids. As the journal Nature Medicine put it in 2003,
"the endocannabinoid system has an important role in nearly every
paradigm of pain, in memory, in neurodegeneration and in
inflammation." The journal goes on to note that cannabinoids'
"clinical potential is enormous." That potential may include
treatments for pain, nerve injury, the nausea associated with
chemotherapy, the wasting related to AIDS and more. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Yet outdated regulations and attitudes thwart legitimate research with marijuana. Indeed, American biomedical researchers can more easily acquire and investigate cocaine. Marijuana is classified as a so-called Schedule 1 drug, alongside LSD and heroin. As such, it is defined as being potentially addictive and having no medical use, which under the circumstances becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) MEDICINAL POT BEFORE HIGH COURT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court next week will hear the case of an ailing woman's
battle with the federal government over her possessing marijuana to
treat herself, in a decision that could determine the direction of
the medicinal pot movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The case, to be heard Nov. 29, stems from the 2002 seizure by
federal agents of marijuana plants grown by a California woman who
claimed the weed was for medicinal purposes, which is legal under
state law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Diana Monson, a patient who was prescribed the marijuana to
alleviate back-spasm pain, and another medicinal patient, Angel
McClary Raich, sued the federal government. They claimed their
growing and use of the drug was not covered under the federal
Controlled Substances Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The two won a preliminary injunction last year in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found their cultivation and use of marijuana to be noncommercial and outside federal jurisdiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) POT AND POLICY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Knock, knock. "Who's there?" "It's the police, and you're in trouble." I hope you weren't expecting a knock-knock joke because this all-too-common scenario at the university isn't funny at all. Whenever resident assistants think they smell marijuana, they're instructed to contact the police without conducting any further investigation or warning students to refrain from smoking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps this excessive policy is one reason why the university ranks
eighth in the nation in arresting its own students for drug
violations, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Too
often, police haul away university students in handcuffs for simple
possession of marijuana. But being arrested isn't just an one-night
inconvenience; it can ruin students' lives. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) HUGE RISE IN CANNABIS USE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Was the Government right to relax the laws on cannabis possession? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis seizures have leaped in London since the Government relaxed the law on possession, the Metropolitan Police said today. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Despite the rise in seizures, the change in the law has saved officers' time because actual arrests are down sharply. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Tories seized on the findings to claim the reclassification was
not working. Bob Neill, Conservative leader on the London Assembly,
said: " The reclassification would seem to have made it harder,
rather than easier, to enforce the law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(17) DOWNER OFFERS HELP IN BALI CANNABIS CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Australian Government has agreed to help the jailed Queensland student Schapelle Corby get evidence about the origins of 4.1 kilograms of cannabis found in her luggage at Denpasar airport. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, met Corby's legal advisers
in Adelaide yesterday and agreed to ask the Indonesian Government to
undertake the tests that may reveal where the large plastic bag was
made and where its contents were grown. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We would like to know where this cannabis came from and where the
bag came from," a spokesman for Mr Downer said after the meeting. Mr
Downer's office will make the request to the Indonesian authorities
through the embassy in Jakarta. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The U.N. issued another round of criticism of U.S. policies in
Afghanistan this week. U.N. drug chief, Antonio Maria Costa
proclaimed Afghan drugs "a clear and present danger," based on the
results of a recent survey. While 2003 already was a bumper year for
Afghani opium crops, 2004 exceeded it by about 64%, the U.N.
reported. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Midas touch in Afghanistan resulted in skyrocketing opium
production in recent years. In Colombia, while U.S.-sponsored
glyphosate pesticide spraying has devastated rainforest and food
crops, cocaine prices reflect a saturation of supply in the U.S.
None of this matters to the True Drug Warrior, who see the success
of prohibition as just around the corner. And so we find Bush in
Colombia this week, promising to throw more U.S. tax dollars down
the rabbit-hole. The $3.3 billion flushed so far has had no
discernible impact on anything in the U.S.A, while ravaging
Colombia, yet that didn't stop Bush from promising still more. To
Bush, all is well with Plan Colombia: "This man's plan is working,"
he said, referring to the Colombian President, rightist Alvaro
Uribe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police in Kelowna, B.C., Canada, aren't only enforcing the laws of
the land, they want harsher, U.S-style drug laws that jail "drug
offenders" (read: cannabis growers) for longer. To this end police
in Kelowna are setting up programs to pressure judges to ever more
harshness in sentencing, just like they do in the states. "There
needs to be a change in the mindset of judges," rued one police
spokesman. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian "big business" agrees that Canadians need harsh, U.S.-style
drug justice, readers were told this week. The Canadian Council of
Chief Executives warned of cannabis-addled zombies in place of the
normally drug-free workforce Canada now enjoys, should Canadian
government more ahead with limited plans to decriminalize the
ancient plant remedy. Scenarios of injured workers, too drugged to
make it to work and thus harming the economy were held out as
reasons to "delay passage" of cannabis decrim plans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) U.N.: POPPIES MAIN EXPORT OF AFGHANISTAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
KABUL, Afghanistan - Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, the source of most of the opium and heroin on Europe's streets, was up sharply this year, reaching the highest levels in the country's history and in the world, the United Nations announced on Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
" In Afghanistan, drugs are now a clear and present danger," said
Antonio Maria Costa, director of the U.N. Office of Drugs and crime,
on the release of the 2004 Afghanistan opium survey. " The fear that
Afghanistan might degenerate into a narco-state is becoming a
reality. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Afghan officials and foreign diplomats called the rise in cultivation and production a major failure for President Hamid Karzai and the international effort to counter narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
More than 321,236 acres of land were planted with poppy in 2004, a
64% increase over last year, the survey found. Poppy has spread to
every province in the country, it said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(19) BUSH, IN COLOMBIA, PROMISES MORE AID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Bush stopped Monday in one of the
less discussed corners of the American battle with terrorists,
promising President Alvaro Uribe that he would push Congress to add
to the more than $3.3 billion that Washington has spent since 2000
to destroy coca crops and support Colombia's battle against Marxist
rebels. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"This man's plan is working," Mr. Bush said, pointing to Mr. Uribe,
who since taking office in 2002 has become the American president's
closest ally in Latin America. Advertisement
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[snip]
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The visit gave Mr. Bush a chance to trumpet what the United States
considers successes in a bruising, if little understood, war just a
three-hour flight from Miami. It allowed him to do so with a
reliable ally in a region where anti-American sentiment is rife and
which the Bush administration has largely ignored since the attacks
on Sept. 11, 2001.
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[snip]
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But while an American-backed defoliation campaign has halved the acreage of Colombian land devoted to growing coca, the plant used to make cocaine, the eradication has not made a discernible difference on American streets, as Washington's drug warriors had promised. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Coca has instead spread from 12 to 23 Colombian states, which has
made destruction of the crop increasingly difficult, said Ricardo
Vargas, director of Andean Action, a Colombian policy group that
monitors antidrug efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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After Mr. Bush left for Washington, Mr. Uribe took the unusual step
of wandering through the military officers-club-turned media center
for White House reporters, encouraging them to write about Colombia
as a tourist destination. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
He wore a Boston Red Sox cap, in honor of Orlando Cabrera, the team's Colombian-born shortstop, who had also greeted Mr. Bush. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(20) GET TOUGH ON DRUGS, COPS URGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Kelowna RCMP want tougher sentences for drug traffickers, and
they're thinking of asking for volunteers to track the kind of
punishment - or lack of it - judges are handing out
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Supt. Bill McKinnon said the detachment is thinking of setting up a
"court watch program" that would see volunteers keeping an eye on
sentences and providing that data to the media
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"There needs to be a change in the mindset of judges," said
McKinnon. "Politicians don't control judges, the police don't
control judges. There needs to be a public outcry over what is
acceptable
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[snip]
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(21) EASING POT LAWS BAD FOR ECONOMY, BIG BUSINESS WARNS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Studies Show More Absenteeism, Injuries On Job
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OTTAWA - Canada's largest and most influential business group is
urging the federal government to delay passage of legislation to
decriminalize marijuana until a thorough study has been conducted of
its impact on the workplace. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Canadian Council of Chief Executives, which represents 150 major
multinational corporations, warns that pushing ahead with the pot
law could harm the economy through a higher number of injuries,
absenteeism and poor job performance. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WHERE'S LULA? THE DECREE THAT HASN'T COME
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By Al Giordano
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From the Narcosphere - http://narcosphere.narconews.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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RAICH V. ASHCROFT - A GUIDE TO THE SUPREME COURT CASE
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By Pete Guither at Drug WarRant - http://www.drugwarrant.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2004/11/23/raichVAshcroftAGuideToTheS.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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RELIGION SERIES FEATURES MEDICAL MARIJUANA
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"Religion and Ethics Newsweekly," a national PBS program, recently
featured a documentary report on medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week812/cover.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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THE STATE OF THE DRUGS PROBLEM IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND NORWAY
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Annual report 2004
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Signs of progress - decline in drug deaths, new HIV infections
and heroin use but increasing worries about rising use of other
drugs
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CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
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POLL - GOVERNMENT OUT OF TOUCH WITH CANADIANS ON POT LAWS
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OTTAWA--The Liberal government’s policies on marijuana use are out of
touch with Canadian public opinion according to the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Canada (NORML
Canada). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WOMEN OF WEED
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This CBC spotlight on Vancouver women - Carol Gwilt, Hilary Black
& Watermelon - who work inside and outside the cannabis laws to
bring the weed to the people. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
CAGED VEGETABLE USERS
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By Jay Bergstrom
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Re "Sentencings cap medical pot saga," Nov. 3: Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Wong and Deputy Tracy Grant prosecuted vindictively. They were just following orders to stymie the implementation of the people's will as expressed in the Compassionate Use Act. The immediate victims here are Robert and Shawna Whiteaker. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
When the state can put people in cages for a prohibited vegetable,
the concepts of liberty and pursuit of happiness are diminished.
Prohibition in the cause of a drug-free utopia is a titanic waste.
Other means can be employed to reduce use - witness the decrease in
tobacco smoking. Not one person had to be caged to make such
impressive gains. There are more powerful tools than the law when
truth is in your hand. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Wise up America, legalize. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jay Bergstrom, Forest Ranch
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
UP IN SMOKE
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By Philippe Lucas
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1. The use of marijuana is increasing in popularity among all age
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2. This increase indicates that the attempt to suppress, or even to
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-- From the LeDain Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of
Drugs, Canada, 1972
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What is it with the Liberals and pot? Why would a prime minister who
has admitted to ingesting his wife's illicit cannabis brownies want
to keep arresting Canadians who might choose to do the same thing,
when all evidence suggests that prohibition and increased police
enforcement criminalizes millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens
without ever reducing usage rates?
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Insanity, that's why -- according to Einstein, anyway -- but more on
that later. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Despite recent moves towards alternative penalties, over the past 10
years the Liberals have overseen a massive increase in
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According to the RCMP, cannabis seizures have gone from 5,500 kg in 1995 to more than 21,000 kg in 2003, and from 295,000 plants to 1.4 million over the same period -- an increase of more than 400 per cent -- with some police departments now reporting that more than half of their current drug cases involve cannabis cultivation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
According to a recent Statistics Canada report, the rate of cannabis arrests has gone up 80 per cent between 1992 and 2002, to a total of more than 70,000 a year, two-thirds of which are for minor possession. According to the auditor-general, spending on cannabis education and enforcement cost Canadians nearly $340 million in 2000 -- a number that has only gone up over the past four years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Now that Canada arrests more people per capita for cannabis crimes
than any nation in the world other than the U.S., one would hope to
see a reduction in the rates of use, but results from the Canadian
Addiction Survey released today reveal that quite the opposite is
true. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Over the 10 years since the last national survey was conducted in
1994, cannabis use in Canada has risen dramatically, with 44.5 per
cent of Canadians over the age of 15 reporting that they have tried
cannabis, up from 28.7 per cent in 1994. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The biggest rise was seen in 18-24 year olds, where use rates
doubled from 35 per cent in 1994 to nearly 70 per cent today. Total
reported use over the past year also nearly doubled, rising from 7.4
per cent to 14 per cent, meaning that more than three million
Canadians used cannabis over the past 12 months. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A few weeks ago our cigarette-smoking minister of public safety,
Anne McLellan, displayed her usual tact and grace by calling
Canadian cannabis users "pretty stupid."
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On behalf of the 44 per cent of Canadians who have tried cannabis --
including the likes of literary icon Pierre Berton and our
aforementioned PM -- I demand an apology. This assumption is not
only offensive but, according to the new CAS survey, it's just plain
wrong. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
One of the study's most interesting revelations is that the rate of
lifetime cannabis use increases significantly in conjunction with
both higher education and income -- rising from 34.9 per cent among
those without a high school degree, to over 52 per cent among
Canadians with some post-secondary education and from 42.9 per cent
of those with low income, to 54 per cent of those reporting a high
income. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In other words, Minister McLellan, the smarter and more successful
you are, the more likely you are to use cannabis; or is it
vice-versa?
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The results of the CAS survey will inevitably provoke cries from
prohibitionists to further increase both enforcement spending and
the penalties around cannabis use and production. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over
again and expecting different results, yet this all too accurately
describes the madness of our federal cannabis policy over the 30
years since the report of the LeDain Commission. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps it would serve to remind both Paul Martin and Anne McLellan
that the 42 per cent of Canadians over 15 who have tried cannabis --
and who remain potential targets for either high fines or
imprisonment under Bill C-17 -- are considerably more numerous than
the 36.7 per cent of voters who voted for the Liberals in the last
election. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As the data from the CAS survey suggest, it's time that we stopped
waging this unwinnable, unpopular war on cannabis, and put an end to
the potential criminalization of the nearly 15 million Canadians who
have tried it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Legalizing and taxing the adult use of cannabis may finally allow
our nation to focus our resources on the many real problems we face,
chief among them being the unending flow of inane comments from
McLellan. As the wise man once said, "stupid is as stupid does," and
you can put that in your pipe and smoke it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Philippe Lucas is a medicinal cannabis researcher and distributor
living in Victoria. He is the founding director of Canadians for
Safe Access and the Vancouver Island Compassion Society. He also is
an editor of DrugSense Weekly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"'Learn what is true in order to do what is right' is the summing up
of the whole duty of man..." -Thomas H. Huxley
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection
and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International
content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (),
Layout by Matt Elrod ()
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