| Jan. 7, 2005 #382 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) BUSH'S DRUG VIDEOS BROKE LAW, ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE DECIDES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said on Thursday that the Bush administration violated federal law by producing and distributing television news segments about the effects of drug use among young people. | ||||||||||||||||||
The accountability office said the videos "constitute covert
propaganda" because the government was not identified as the source of
the materials, which were distributed by the Office of National Drug
Control Policy. They were broadcast by nearly 300 television stations
and reached 22 million households, the office said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The accountability office does not have law enforcement powers, but
its decisions on federal spending are usually considered
authoritative. | ||||||||||||||||||
In May the office found that the Bush administration had violated the
same law by producing television news segments that portrayed the new
Medicare law as a boon to the elderly. | ||||||||||||||||||
The accountability office was not critical of the content of the video
segments from the White House drug office, but found that the format -
a made-for-television "story package" - violated the prohibition on
using taxpayer money for propaganda. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) ONE PILL MAKES YOU BETTER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
American Drug and Alcohol Addicts Are Going Abroad in Search Of
Ibogaine, a Purported Miracle Treatment That Is Banned in the United
States. Will the Drug Industry Ever Embrace a Substance That Causes A
Hallucinatory High?
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The first thing was a loud buzzing in his ears, as though a swarm of bees was swirling around his head. Then the hallucinations kicked in. The patterns in the blanket tacked to the ceiling above him glowed vibrantly and then began transforming into the faces of members of his family, faces that turned themselves inside-out and back again. He saw his father finding him dead with a needle in his arm. He saw himself in a beautiful field of flowers. He saw Jesus standing outside the Earth, creating different races of men and placing them on different continents. While Shawn's mind reeled through this visual cacophony, his body lay quietly in a darkened room in a house near Tijuana, Mexico, deep in the grip of a powerful psychedelic drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) THAT'S THE WAY THE B.C. COOKIE CASE CRUMBLES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER - A British Columbia woman who makes and sells ginger snaps
laced with marijuana has been acquitted of trafficking for a second
time, after prosecutors failed to prove the treats contain cannabis
resin. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mary Jean Dunstan, also known as Watermelon, was arrested twice and
charged with possession of cannabis resin for the purposes of
trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||
But analysts who used samples of the resin police seized to mix and
bake the same kind of batter Dunstan uses for her ginger snaps have
not been able to prove the extract is still present in the finished
product. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The judge found a reasonable doubt at the end of the Crown's case as to what was in the cookie," said Dunstan's lawyer, John Conroy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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"My lawyer and I are saying, like, if you can't prove it's there, how
can you measure it?" said Dunstan, who hosts a Pot TV internet show
when she's not selling the cookies at places like Vancouver's Wreck
Beach. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) EDITORIAL: AFGHANISTAN'S DRUG PROBLEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Policy battle lines are forming over how to handle poppy production in
Afghanistan, with Pentagon civilians increasingly pitted against the
uniformed leadership on the ground in Afghanistan. This page has
expressed concern about the potential pitfalls of aggressive poppy
eradication, and that view is now being strongly voiced by military
commanders. The military leadership has a more tactile and immediate
sense of developments in Afghanistan, and their opinion should be
carefully heeded by Washington policy-makers. | ||||||||||||||||||
The debate over drugpolicy in Afghanistan is not being fueled by staunch political or ideological differences. Instead, each side has weighed the complicated factors and reached differing judgments. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to a Monday article in the Financial Times, Afghan President
Hamid Karzai has been urging U.S. officials to ramp up America's
counter-narcotics role, with military officials in Afghanistan wary of
such a move. "Central Command would prefer not to be in the
eradication business," said Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, Central Command's
deputy commander. "We have spent a lot of capital in trying to build
relationships with the people in there and now this has the potential
for us to do things that wouldn't be popular for some of the areas
we're operating in."
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Lt. Gen. Smith's concern would hold true even if eradication were done
by U.S. contractors rather than U.S. troops, and such a distinction
would probably be lost on the Afghan people. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It was a banner year in the drug war, according to headline writers
at the Washington Times. Record seizures of drugs may garner
applause from some corners, but other stories last week make one
wonder how well the drug war is really going. In Iowa, a hospital is
considering testing every single baby born there for drugs.
Likewise, a Louisiana sheriff want random drug tests for all her
staff. | ||||||||||||||||||
No one is above suspicion in the drug war, but some are scrutinized
more than others. In Tennessee, for example, state officials have
been sending threatening letters to many people using state
insurance to buy prescription medication. Even more intimidating are
federal authorities investigating a pain doctor in Kentucky. The
narks convinced the doctor to accept the forfeiture of his property
before he even goes to trial. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) U.S. AGENCIES CELEBRATE BANNER YEAR IN DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The war on cocaine and other illegal drugs raged in new directions
in 2004, with agencies in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
claiming major successes against the two most powerful
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While the press spotlighted action in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Coast Guard and
other agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
spent the year seizing record amounts of cocaine in the largely
forgotten war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
ICE "achieved unprecedented success," working closely with Colombian
authorities and other agencies to interdict a mountain of more than
340,000 pounds of cocaine and 2.6 million pounds of marijuana, said
ICE Assistant Secretary Michael J. Garcia.
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The Coast Guard alone, with cutters making major seizures in the
Caribbean and Colombian basin, seized 255,233 pounds of cocaine,
breaking the single-year record set in 1997, Homeland Security
figures show. | ||||||||||||||||||
But 2004 was topped by the extradition of several key players in the
once-dominant Cali drug cartel and the arrests of two top bosses in
the Norte Valle cartel, which law-enforcement authorities say is
responsible for about 40 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the
United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) UNIVERSITY CURRENTLY TESTS INFANTS WHEN DEEMED NECESSARY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
IOWA CITY - University Hospitals may begin screening all babies for drugs starting later this year, hospital officials said Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
At present, only those babies suspected of having been exposed to
drugs before birth are tested. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The only way to know how many you are missing is to test them all,"
said Dr. Edward Bell, the director of neonatology at University
Hospitals in Iowa City. | ||||||||||||||||||
University Hospitals, using protocols developed a decade ago, tests
about 5 percent of the estimated 1,500 babies born there each year.
Bell said between 10 percent and 30 percent of those babies test
positive for illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) ST. MARTIN SHERIFF STARTS RANDOM DRUG TESTING OF WORKERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ST. MARTINVILLE -- St. Martin Parish Sheriff Ronny Theriot has
changed his office's drug policy, instituting monthly random drug
testing of his employees. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sheriff's Office Capt. Ginny Higgins said Theriot wants the people
of the parish to know he holds his deputies and office employees to
the same standard as the people are. | ||||||||||||||||||
Theriot and 21 members of his command staff were the first to
undergo the testing, Higgins said. | ||||||||||||||||||
She said Theriot wanted to sent the same message to his deputies with the first round of testing that the new policy is meant to let the public know that the zero-tolerance drug policy applies to all. | ||||||||||||||||||
Higgins said the new policy will involve having a private company
test 20 randomly selected employees each month. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) TENNCARE WARNING LETTERS CRITICIZED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
State efforts to crack down on TennCare fraud have been met with
criticism by the American Civil Liberties Union and lawyers for the
1.3 million poor and uninsured people in Tennessee's health
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In the past month, TennCare has mailed out nearly 12,500 letters to
TennCare users who the state says appeared to have underreported
their income or whose patterns of prescription drug use appear
suspicious. The letters tell people to explain their actions in
writing within 14 days. One version of the letter tells recipients
they face prosecution or jail time for failing to report to
TennCare. | ||||||||||||||||||
State officials say the letters represent a renewed commitment on
the part of TennCare to restore faith in the $8.7 billion program,
often criticized for fraud. ''We're looking at the people who are
lying, cheating and stealing from the people of Tennessee,'' said
Deborah Faulkner, who heads the TennCare Office of Inspector
General, a state watchdog agency created in July by Gov. Phil
Bredesen to investigate TennCare user fraud. | ||||||||||||||||||
''At the same time, there are very deserving people on TennCare.
That's not who we're after.'' The ACLU and the Tennessee Justice
Center, a nonprofit legal agency that represents TennCare users in
federal court, say the agency's efforts are casting too wide a net
that may include many innocent TennCare users. ACLU of Tennessee
Director Hedy Weinberg says the letters are intimidating and ask
people to turn themselves in, violating the constitutional rights of
enrollees to not incriminate themselves, while the Justice Center
says the letters are difficult to understand and contain inaccurate
information about the law. ''The tone is quite intimidating, and it
shows a disregard for the constitutional protections of
recipients,'' Weinberg said. ''It's important that a state agency
respect constitutional rights. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(9) FEDERAL SUIT OF DOCTOR SETTLED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A local doctor investigated for his prescription-writing practices
has settled a forfeiture case brought against him by the federal
government. Dr. Ghassan Haj-Hamed's attorney, Bob Carran, said he
hopes the settlement will end any questions about the doctor's
practice. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government sued the doctor in September 2002, saying his
Riverside Medical Clinics and Urgent Care Centers were connected
with illegal drug transactions. | ||||||||||||||||||
The settlement agreed on earlier this month calls for the doctor to
surrender the properties at (Address omitted), plus $17,325 and two
Mercedes Benz automobiles. But the government agreed to give up
claims to three properties: (Addresses omitted)
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The government also relinquished its claim to $133,000 in bank accounts in the doctor's name or the names of family members. | ||||||||||||||||||
The doctor settled the case because he felt compelled to, Carran
said. When the government can take away or seize everything someone
has even before bringing a criminal charge against him, and then
follow up by sending him tax bills he can't pay because the
government has his property, it "inevitably puts the person in a
position where they have to settle," Carran said. "Dr. Haj-Hamed
settled. He's giving up some of the property, but he's getting back
enough to pay his tax bills and the debts he incurred while his
property was seized."
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Asked if the government was pursuing a criminal case against Haj-Hamed, Carran said he couldn't answer for the United States. David Olinger Jr., the assistant U.S. attorney in charge of the case, couldn't be reached for comment on Thursday afternoon. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A pair of contrasting stories show the disparity in drug war
sentences. In one case, a high level dealer sentenced to life was
out after a couple years, while a small-time, generally inept,
beginning dealer got five years after his case was pushed into a
federal venue. | ||||||||||||||||||
The heavy sentences burdening small fry are packing prisons, but
there are political and economic payoffs for prison towns to stay
full, according to New York Times columnist Brent Staples, who has
been focusing attention on criminal justice issues lately. Finally,
a reminder that putting people in prison won't keep them away from
drugs and other problems, especially when prison employees are
allegedly involved. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) DRUG CONVICT TURNED EVIDENCE TO ESCAPE FROM LIFE SENTENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Normally, the arrest of a high-profile drug dealer will make even
the most hardened drug cop smile, but that smile quickly fades if
the same drug dealer was already supposed to be serving a life
sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||
March 16, 2000, Terrence Boyd, then 30, was sentenced by U.S.
District Judge Stephan Mickle to life imprisonment for trafficking
in cocaine, a federal sentence that does not carry the possibility
of parole. Tuesday night, Putnam County detectives arrested him and
an accomplice for trafficking $10,000 worth of cocaine at a Palatka
convenience store. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's kind of disheartening," said Detective John Merchant of the
Putnam County Sheriff's Office on Thursday afternoon. "Here you have
one of the biggest, if not the biggest, crack dealers in Putnam
County gets a life sentence, and four years later we get him on the
streets trafficking again."
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Boyd, known on the streets as "Bub" or "D.A." (a nickname taken from the local funeral home, but owner Charles Boyd said his business had no connection with Boyd), was released from federal prison Dec. 15, 2003, less than four years after his sentence. While in prison, Boyd cooperated with federal prosecutors on other investigations and watched his sentence dwindle away through "Rule 35" motions for his "cooperation and substantial assistance since his sentencing." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) IN CRIMINAL TRIALS, VENUE IS CRUCIAL BUT OFTEN ARBITRARY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Taking Over From the States, Tough Federal Courts See Surge of
Small-Time Cases
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[snip]
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James Sylvester Hester, a self-employed car repairer and salesman,
didn't like it when his case ended up in federal court. Mr. Hester
was cruising along a main road in Charlottesville, Va., in February
2003 when a local cop pulled him over because the 1991 Chevrolet he
was driving didn't have license plates. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Hester didn't have a driver's license and initially lied about
his identity. As he was being searched by an officer, Mr. Hester
dropped a yellow Ziploc bag on the ground and attempted to hide it
by stepping on it, according to the police report on his arrest. The
officer quickly found nine small bags of crack cocaine on Mr.
Hester. Altogether, Mr. Hester, then 42 years old, had about 11
grams of crack. | ||||||||||||||||||
During a subsequent interview at the police station, Mr. Hester admitted he had been trying to deal drugs for three weeks. His connections were so limited he had sold little, according to the police report and his lawyer, Dana Slater. Local officials charged him with possession of crack with intent to distribute. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a small town, 11 grams of crack in the hands of a novice raised
an obvious question: Where was it coming from? Federal prosecutors
often zero in on a petty criminal in the hopes of getting
information on bigger fish. That's especially true for drug cases in
places where the state penalty for low-level dealing isn't big
enough to entice the defendant to cooperate. | ||||||||||||||||||
When Mr. Hester, who was free on bail, showed up in state court for
a preliminary hearing, he learned that his case was being
transferred to federal court. Federal prosecutors had obtained a
sealed indictment two weeks earlier, and deputy U.S. marshals now
took him into custody. | ||||||||||||||||||
Unfortunately for Mr. Hester, he had little information to offer the
feds. Ms. Slater, his lawyer, says federal agents questioned him
several times about who was bringing cocaine into Charlottesville.
Mr. Hester couldn't tell them. He had bought the drugs he intended
to sell in a parking lot from a dealer he didn't know. Since he
couldn't get any credit for cooperation Mr. Hester was sentenced in
October 2003 to five years in prison, the minimum required under
federal drug laws. Had he been sentenced in state court, Mr. Hester
would likely have faced between seven and 19 months. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) BULGING PRISONS BRING POLITICAL POWER, CASH TO UPSTATE REGION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The mandatory sentencing fad that swept the United States beginning
in the 1970's has had dramatic consequences - most of them bad. The
prison population was driven up tenfold, creating a large and
growing felon class - now 13 million strong - that remains locked
out of the mainstream and prone to recidivism. | ||||||||||||||||||
Trailing behind the legions of felons are children who grow up
visiting their parents behind bars and thinking prison life is
perfectly normal. Meanwhile, the cost of building and running
prisons has pushed many states near bankruptcy - and forced them to
choose between building jails and schools. | ||||||||||||||||||
Seldom has a public policy done so much damage so quickly. But
changes in the draconian sentencing laws have come very slowly. That
is partly because the public thinks keeping a large chunk of the
population behind bars is responsible for the reduced crime rates of
recent years. | ||||||||||||||||||
Studies cast doubt on that theory, since they show drops in crime
almost everywhere - even in states that did not embrace mandatory
minimum sentences or mass imprisonment. In addition, these damaging
policies have done nothing to curb the drug trade. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(13) GRAND JURY INDICTS SEVEN COUNTY GUARDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SUNBURY -- A long-rumored grand jury investigation involving guards
at the Northumberland County Prison was revealed as truth in April
with seven indictments against former or then-current corrections
officers. | ||||||||||||||||||
The charges ranged from providing drugs and other contraband to prisoners to smoking marijuana with them to assaulting them. | ||||||||||||||||||
The grand jury had been convened the year before -- without public
knowledge, as allowed by law -- and met occasionally to hear
testimony before ordering the indictments. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (14-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Does a slow start to the year in terms of hemp and cannabis news
mean less busts, or less progress? Well it's hard to tell at this
juncture, but as you may have guessed, this week's news pickings
were kind of slim. We begin with some good news from Canada, where
long-time U.S. cannabis refugee Steve Kubby has been granted an
appeal of the December decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board
dismissing his claim. Kubby, who uses cannabis to alleviate a rare
type of adrenal cancer, claims that if he is returned to the U.S.,
he will be jailed as a result of previous drug charges in
California. Without the use of cannabis, Kubby has stated that a
stay in prison may well be a death sentence for him. The appeal is
set for March 24th in Vancouver. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our second story this week is the strange account of a Lincoln,
Illinois police officer who has been charged with cannabis
cultivation. Officer Diana Short and her paramedic husband were
caught with 15 cannabis plants - not exactly the stuff that drug
empires are built upon - and now face a series of production and
trafficking charges. Short has been suspended without pay pending
trial. | ||||||||||||||||||
Third, the Washington Post published an uncharacteristically
positive story on medical marijuana. And lastly this week, if you
think your New Year's Eve was lame, you might consider how it might
have gone in a Greek prison. From the UK paper the Scotsman we have
the harrowing tale of Rachel Swinden, a young Brit who spent her
24th birthday (on January 1st) in the notorious Koridallos jail in
Athens after getting arrested in September with a small amount of
cash and cannabis, which she claims was her boyfriends. We at
DrugSense would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the
world's drug prisoners and refugees a more just, sane and
compassionate year in 2005. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) CANADIAN COURT TO HEAR U.S. MAN'S REFUGEE CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An American user of medical marijuana who had his claim for refugee
status in Canada rejected more than a year ago says the Federal
Court has agreed to hear an appeal of his case. | ||||||||||||||||||
Steve Kubby, 58, said he received word last week that the court had
granted him leave to appeal the December 03 Immigration and Refugee
Board decision that he and his family were not entitled to refugee
status. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the hearing for his appeal is set for March 24 in Vancouver. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kubby came to Canada in 01 after being convicted in California of
possessing peyote and one magic-mushroom stem. He received a 1-day
sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) MARIJUANA CASE AGAINST OFFICER GROWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Lincoln police officer and her husband, a paramedic, should
anticipate additional and more severe charges after Logan County
State's Attorney Tim Huyett presents evidence of their alleged
marijuana growing operation to a grand jury this week. | ||||||||||||||||||
The county prosecutor said Monday indictments relating to Cpl. Diana Short's providing false information to the secretary of state and failure to renew her FOID card also likely will come Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Diana Short, 45, and her husband, John Short, 41, currently face
Class 3 felony charges of manufacture of 30 to 500 grams of
marijuana and manufacture with intent to deliver 30 to 500 grams of
marijuana. Both also are charged with the Class 4 felony charge of
production of cannabis plants. | ||||||||||||||||||
Diana Short also faces a Class 3 felony official misconduct charge,
Huyett said, "for being a police officer growing marijuana in her
basement. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) 'I REALLY CONSIDER CANNABIS MY MIRACLE' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Patients Fight to Keep Drug of Last Resort
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OAKLAND, Calif. -- She is good for two hours. Then the pains start
bullying her again. Her back, her neck, her head, her insides -- all
the warring parts of her body -- rise up to beat her. If she
hesitates to act, they throw her down, throttle her, make her wish
she were dead. | ||||||||||||||||||
So Angel McClary Raich takes more marijuana, buying another two
hours. | ||||||||||||||||||
Diane Monson is a bit luckier. She can function for up to four hours
before her spine reverts to being her enemy. Then she needs another
dose of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
In California, Monson and Raich are not so different from about
100,000 other chronically sick people. They are users of medical
marijuana, or cannabis, examples of why the state's voters passed a
law in 1996 legalizing the drug for the seriously ill or dying. But
the U.S. Justice Department considers all marijuana a dangerous
controlled substance. To the federal government, Raich and Monson
are illegal drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(17) FATHER TELLS OF DAUGHTER'S GREEK JAIL NIGHTMARE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The father of a British woman jailed in Greece on suspicion of drug
offences today spoke of his daughter's four-month nightmare behind
bars. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rachael Swinden will spend her 24th birthday on New Year's Day in a
women's jail in Athens. | ||||||||||||||||||
She was arrested in September on the island of Kos, where she lives,
when found carrying three packets of herbal cannabis, a set of
scales and UKP 500 in cash. | ||||||||||||||||||
The former shoe shop manager, from Sandy, Bedfordshire, claims she was only carrying the drugs for Greek boyfriend "Sam", 27. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (18-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Gung ho Philippine prohibitionists continue to rage, killing another
six drug "suspects." Philippine President Arroyo last week added her
approval to the extralegal killing of drug suspects "with extreme
prejudice," as she put it, praising Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
for the acts. While police assert the six were killed in a
"shootout," few there are fooled. Noted the Philippine Daily
Inquirer: they "were not killed in a shootout but were executed. In
police parlance, they were 'salvaged.'" But, assures the Inquirer,
the executed men were "chinky-eyed guys, probably mainland Chinese
or Taiwanese," who didn't deserve a (legal) trial. Acting as if the
men had been convicted already, the paper added, "If those drug
dealers were not executed and they were sent to prison, they would
be directing inside their prison cells the operation of other
syndicate members." Allow "the vigilantes do their thing," urged
Philippine papers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Duterte -- who, many times in the past
has praised his city's prohibition death squads -- called this week
for police to "monitor foreigners." Because "Oriental-looking men"
were executed by police after police accused the men of involvement
with drugs last week, "all foreigners entering the city will be
registered" the Mayor proclaimed. Now how's that for rolling out the
red carpet?
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In Canada, cops in Alberta put on a brave front for the media, trumpeting ever-increasing pot busts as evidence the "tide" has been "turned." The street-drug math calculation that $53 million of the evil weed was seized in 2003, and $101 million worth of pot was seized in 2004, must be proof-positive that at last, prohibition is working. At the same time, ironically, another top Canadian cop said last week that there are too many grow-ops to ever hope to bust. There are so many grow houses across Canada that police can only focus on the huge gang-run grows leaving the smaller ones alone. There are just too many to ever stop said RCMP Superintendent Derek Ogden. It is "impossible to get rid of them, there's that many." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) GMA HAILS DUTERTE FOR ALL-OUT WAR VS DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
President Arroyo hailed yesterday Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
for waging his own campaign against the illegal drugs trade and
cited the killing "with extreme prejudice" of six suspects in the
drug bust on New Year's Eve in Davao City was part of the all out
war against local and international syndicates operating in the
Philippines. | ||||||||||||||||||
The President singled out Duterte for taking the lead among local
government officials in doing his part to boost the national
campaign against illegal drugs in the country. | ||||||||||||||||||
This was after authorities arrested 10 Chinese and 3 Filipinos in follow-up anti-drug operations a day after the six alleged drug dealers were killed in a shootout with anti-narcotics agents. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(19) DAVAO CITY DRUG DEALERS WERE EXECUTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THOSE suspected drug dealers who were caught during a raid at the
shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) laboratory in Davao City were
not killed in a shootout but were executed. | ||||||||||||||||||
In police parlance, they were "salvaged."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Everybody in Davao City knows that. But nobody is raising a howl of
protest over their deaths. People in the city want their place
completely drug free. | ||||||||||||||||||
Those killed were chinky-eyed guys, probably mainland Chinese or Taiwanese. They didn't have any identification papers on them. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
If those drug dealers were not executed and they were sent to
prison, they would be directing inside their prison cells the
operation of other syndicate members. [snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
This is not to speak in favor of vigilante killings, but if they
would discourage foreign drug syndicates from operating in our
country, then let the vigilantes do their thing. | ||||||||||||||||||
Anyway, we have a lousy judicial system where many judges and
prosecutors can be bribed. And the Triad has the money to bribe
judges and prosecutors. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) MAYOR WANTS FOREIGNERS IN CITY MONITORED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DAVAO CITY -- Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he will ask President Arroyo to assign an immigration official here to monitor foreigners, following Friday's discovery of two shabu laboratories in the city. | ||||||||||||||||||
Six Oriental-looking men were killed during the raid on one of the
shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) labs in Dumoy in Talomo
district. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
The mayor added he "will see to it that all foreigners entering the
city will be registered" so he could keep track of them and prevent
them from doing illegal activities. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I want to know where these foreigners live and what they do in the
city through a centralized monitoring system," Duterte said in the
dialect. | ||||||||||||||||||
Once the system is in place, no foreigner will be exempted from
registering. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) COPS HOPE POT BUSTS TURN TIDE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Recent Raids Net Drugs Worth $1.9m
| ||||||||||||||||||
The city police drug unit is hoping a doubling of marijuana seizures
compared to a year ago signals the tide is turning in the war
against the weed. And their haul for the new year received a big
boost with the seizure of 1,900 plants valued at $2.3 million in
four different raids yesterday and Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The value of marijuana confiscated last year mostly from home grow operations reached the $101 million mark, in contrast to $53 million worth of the drug taken in 2003, city police said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2004 dollar amount is more than 10 times the $9 million worth
seized in 2001. | ||||||||||||||||||
"One can hope (we're turning the corner) ... you have to try," said
Det. Nina Vaughan.
| ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
But she also said the bigger dope bust dollar figure reflects a
greater number of the illegal operations. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The problem has increased ... it's very lucrative and that's what
drives it," said Vaughan. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) GROW-OPS TOO MANY TO RAID, POLICE SAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Police Say Hydroponic Marijuana Is A Canadian Growth Industry Grown
Out Of Control
| ||||||||||||||||||
There are so many grow houses in neighbourhoods across the country
that officers leading the fight are focusing on large, gang-run
operations and resigning themselves to seeing countless others go
untouched. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is "certainly true" there are too many to stop, said
Superintendent Derek Ogden, head of the RCMP drug branch, which has
set its sights on those with the muscle, money and distribution
channels of organized crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Supt. Ogden would not try to guess how many operations exist across
the country. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The only thing I could say is I have no doubt that the number is
increasing and has been increasing over the last number of years,"
he said, pointing to what he called "reasonably accurate" statistics
on marijuana plants seized by police. The count rose from 50,000 in
1989 to 1.5 million in 2003, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
"But the point is, if it's 15,000 or even if it's 2,000, it's still
uncontrollable from a policing perspective. That's a phenomenal
amount of work and a phenomenal number [of cases]."
| ||||||||||||||||||
No matter how hard police work to root out individual grow houses, he said, "it's impossible to get rid of them, there's that many." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
| ||||||||||||||||||
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Listen online at 7:30 ET, 6:30 CT & 4:30 PT at http://www.kpft.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA PETITION BACKERS FILE APPEAL
| ||||||||||||||||||
CARSON CITY, NEVADA -- In the first of a coordinated series of
appeals, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and the American Civil
Liberties Union today filed a formal request with the Secretary of
State's office, seeking a reversal of the decision barring a marijuana
regulation initiative from the ballot based on an after-the-fact
change in the required number of signatures. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA-LOGUES ON BILL MAHER
| ||||||||||||||||||
Check out these two quicktime clips on the Marijuana-Logues site. A segment from Bill Maher and a comedy bit on medieval tokers. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
ALLEN ST. PIERRE ASSUMES HELM AS NEW NORML EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
| ||||||||||||||||||
January 6, 2005 - Washington, DC, USA
| ||||||||||||||||||
Washington, DC: Allen St. Pierre officially took over this week as
Executive Director of NORML, replacing NORML founder Keith Stroup,
who headed the organization from 1970 to 1979, and again from 1995
to 2004.
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| ||||||||||||||||||
LORETTA NALL IN RADIO DEBATE THIS SUNDAY
| ||||||||||||||||||
On Sunday night January 9 at 8 PM eastern time Loretta Nall will be
a guest on WWCU FM's Free Speech Radio program. She will be
discussing the Marijuana Party and she will also be debating the
police chief of Canton, NC. | ||||||||||||||||||
Please tune in to the live webcast. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THAT IS IMMORAL
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Max Obuszewski
| ||||||||||||||||||
Of course the medicinal use of marijuana should be legal. What person
of conscience would deny treatment to someone who is suffering by
arguing that marijuana is against the law?
| ||||||||||||||||||
Anyone against medicinal marijuana must not understand the difference
between law and morality. | ||||||||||||||||||
Slavery was legal but immoral. It was illegal for women to vote, and
that was immoral. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nelson Mandela broke the law in South Africa, but apartheid was
immoral. | ||||||||||||||||||
Alcohol, with all its baggage, is legal, but not medical marijuana.
That is immoral. | ||||||||||||||||||
Max Obuszewski,
| ||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore
| ||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE MONTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - DECEMBER: | ||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Bruce Symington of Medicine Hat, Alberta for his three letters published during December, bringing his career total that MAP is aware of to 58. You can his superb published letters at this link: http://www.mapinc.org/author/Bruce+Symington | ||||||||||||||||||
Unlike the Letter Of The Week which is selected after review of the
past week's published letters to find the best in the opinion of a
committee, Letter Writer of the Month is based strictly on success in
having letters published that newshawks find and MAP archives. The
person with the most published in a month is recognized. In case of
a tie, the recognition goes to the person with the most letters
published as a total. But, once recognized, the person is not
eligible for recognition again for a year. You may review the list of
writers recognized in the past at
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
PUBLISHED LETTER TO THE EDITOR WRITER OF THE YEAR - 2004
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Richard Lake
| ||||||||||||||||||
Two letter writers are so close in their total number of published
letters for the year that DrugSense wishes to recognize both for their
accomplishments. | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert Sharpe had 171 letters published last year that we know of,
raising his career total to an amazing 1,177 published, very likely a
world record for any writer. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 1999 Robert started writing letters as a student at George
Washington University and a member of their Students for Sensible Drug
Policy (http://www.ssdp.org/). Then he often used his SSDP chapter
membership in his signature block to improve his chances of being
published. | ||||||||||||||||||
Today Robert writes as a volunteer for CSDP (csdp.org). He signs his
letters "Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy,
Washington, D.C."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Robert tells us that he is spending about an hour a day after work and a D.C. commute home sending out letters, and yes, many more are not published than are. Robert has provided us with his tips for letter writing success at http://www.mapinc.org/resource/tips.htm | ||||||||||||||||||
You may read all of Robert's published letters at
| ||||||||||||||||||
Kirk Muse of Mesa, Arizona had 155 letters published during 2004
that we know of, bringing his career total to 466. | ||||||||||||||||||
You may read all of Kirk's published letters that MAP has archived
at http://www.mapinc.org/writer/Kirk+Muse
| ||||||||||||||||||
Kirk also supports the Media Awareness Project of DrugSense by
newshawking news clippings, well over a thousand in the past year.
By newshawking Kirk sees targets and frequently sends his letters to
the editor to the newspapers before others are even aware of the
news clipping. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kirk sends copies of his letters to MAP's sent letter email list where
they can be seen at the list's archives at
| ||||||||||||||||||
Like Robert, Kirk sends many more letters than are ever published. | ||||||||||||||||||
Every drug policy reform organization encourages writing letters to
the editor. It is one of the most cost effective ways for activists
to keep our issues before the public. DrugSense recognizes the
efforts of all our letter writing activists, giving recognition
through links from this webpage http://www.mapinc.org/lteaward.htm
We also provide a graphic display of the Top 100 Letter Writers here
http://www.mapinc.org/lte/topwrit.htm
| ||||||||||||||||||
Thank You Robert and Kirk for all you do for our reform efforts! This
recognition is well earned. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he
could only do a little." -- Edmund Burke
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:
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Please utilize the following URLs
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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 ()
| ||||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
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