| March 4, 2005 #390 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) WASHINGTON STATE GROUPS OFFER 'EXIT STRATEGY' FOR THE WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SEATTLE -- A group of Washington doctors, religious leaders and lawyers has offered an "exit strategy" for the war on drugs - a proposal that would aim to dry up the black market for heroin, marijuana and other substances by having the state regulate their distribution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"How we respond to drug abuse should not be more costly and cause more
problems than the drugs themselves," said John Cary, president of the
King County Bar Association, which is leading the effort. "We've got
to find another way." | ||||||||||||||||||||
For now, the group is merely asking the Legislature to form a commission
to recommend ways the state could regulate the drug trade. A bill
introduced in the state Senate would do just that, though the idea faces
serious opposition. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the bar association also released a report Thursday that outlined
what such regulation might look like: Registered addicts would be able
to obtain limited quantities of heroin at state-licensed clinics or
doctor's offices. That model has proved successful in some European
countries, proponents said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The full report is available on the 'Net: http://www.kcba.org/druglaw/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) GROW-OP MANIAC KILLS 4 MOUNTIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Slaughter Worst Since Northwest Rebellion | ||||||||||||||||||||
A crazed gunman with a simmering hatred for cops shot four RCMP officers to death at a rural marijuana grow operation in Alberta yesterday, the country's worst police bloodbath in more than a century. Mounties exchanged shots with gunman James Roszko, 47, at a remote grow operation near the village of Rochfort Bridge north of Edmonton around 10 a.m. Four hours later officers moved in to find their fallen comrades -- two from Mayerthorpe and two from Whitecourt, and the gunman dead. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The loss of four police officers in a single event is | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The killings touched off shockwaves across Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last night, Prime Minister Paul Martin issued a statement
expressing his condolences to the families of the fallen
officers. "Canadians are shocked by this brutality, and | ||||||||||||||||||||
Calling it an "unprecedented and unspeakable" loss, RCMP
Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli said yesterday's massacre
of four Mounties must spark public debate on Canada's drug
strategy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) SENATE APPROVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA MEASURES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Santa Fe -- The Senate has voted to allow patients with cancer and
other debilitating diseases to legally use marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Senate on Wednesday passed three bills, each of them establishing
a program run by the state Department of Health. If any of the bills
were to become law, New Mexico would join 10 other states that allow
the medical use of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Senate Judiciary Chairman Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, said his
proposal would provide "one more opportunity for life for our loved
ones." | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's not the first time lawmakers have dealt with the legislation and
it wouldn't be the first such program in the state. In the late 1970s,
New Mexico set up a program linking the medical use of marijuana with
a research project, which eventually lost its funding and became
defunct. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican and a drug-reform proponent,
pushed medical marijuana legislation. The House and Senate approved
separate bills in 2001 but never agreed on the same version. It was
tried again in 2002 in the Senate and in 2003 in the House, but it
failed each time. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) UK ATTEMPT TO ERADICATE AFGHAN OPIUM FAILS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Afghanistan is on the verge of becoming a "narcotic state" with its
biggest annual crop of opium since the overthrow of the Taliban,
the United Nations drug control board warns today. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The International Narcotics Control Board reports that the opium crop
in Afghanistan - which is the source of more than 90% of the heroin
sold on Britain's streets - reached a bumper 4,200 tonnes, up 800
tonnes on the previous year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The rise is a blow to Tony Blair who told the Labour party conference
in 2000 that the war against the Taliban was an opportunity to
eradicate the poppy harvest which is the source of three-quarters of
all the world's heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The UN report also warns of an alarming spread in HIV/AIDS among injecting drug users in eastern Europe, Russia and central Europe with an estimated 4 million people now believed to be infected. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Britain's former deputy drug tsar Mike Trace said yesterday there
would be an alarming US-led attempt next week at the UN's annual
commission on narcotic drugs meeting in Vienna to rule out the use of
needle exchange and other programmes to deal with the growing
epidemic. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration's attempts to meddle in international drug
policy has become so heinous that even editorialists at the
Washington Post are speaking out. While the U.S. seeks to export our
intolerance elsewhere, a look at the results here at home should
concern the alleged beneficiaries of U.S. drug wisdom. HIV rates for
African Americans have increased significantly; residents of another
country are upset about U.S.-led aerial eradication efforts that
harm more than just drug plants; and at home, the federal drug czar
continues to show his contempt for state law. The good news: a
county bar association in Washington has published a comprehensive
guide to moving states away from disastrous federal anti-drug
efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) EDITORIAL: DEADLY IGNORANCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE BUSH administration is quietly extending a policy that undermines
the global battle against AIDS. It is being pushed in this direction
by Congress, notably by Rep. Mark Edward Souder (R-Ind.). But some
administration officials zealously defend this policy error, claiming
scientific evidence that doesn't exist. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The administration's error is to oppose the distribution of
uncontaminated needles to drug addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A large body of scientific evidence suggests that the free provision
of clean needles curbs the spread of AIDS among drug users without
increasing rates of addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Given that addicts are at the center of many of the AIDS epidemics
in Eastern Europe and Asia, ignoring this science could cost
millions of lives. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Russia, as of 2004, 80 percent of all HIV cases involved drug
injectors, and many of these infections occurred because addicts
share contaminated needles. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Malaysia, China, Vietnam and Ukraine, drug injectors also account
for more than half of all HIV cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Once a critical mass of drug users carries the virus, the epidemic
spreads via unprotected sex to non-drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The administration claims that the evidence for the effectiveness of
needle exchange is shaky. | ||||||||||||||||||||
An official who requested anonymity directed us to a number of
researchers who have allegedly cast doubt on the pro-exchange
consensus. One of them is Steffanie A. Strathdee of the University
of California at San Diego; when we contacted her, she responded
that her research "supports the expansion of needle exchange
programs, not the opposite." Another researcher cited by the
administration is Martin T. Schechter of the University of British
Columbia; he wrote us that "Our research here in Vancouver has been
repeatedly used to cast doubt on needle exchange programs. I believe
this is a clear misinterpretation of the facts." Yet a third
researcher cited by the administration is Julie Bruneau at the
University of Montreal; she told us that "in the vast majority of
cases needle exchange programs drive HIV incidence lower." We asked
Dr. Bruneau whether she favored needle exchanges in countries such
as Russia or Thailand. "Yes, sure," she responded. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) HIV INFECTION RATE AMONG BLACKS DOUBLES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOSTON -- Blacks are contracting HIV at twice the rate they were in
the late 1980s and early '90s, which researchers and AIDS prevention
advocates attribute to drug addiction, poverty and poor access to
health care, according to government statistics. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At the same time, the HIV infection rate among whites has held
steady, causing alarm among some health officials who say the racial
gap in the epidemic is widening. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other troubling statistics indicate that almost half of all infected
people in the United States who should be receiving HIV drugs are
not getting them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It's incredibly disappointing," said Terje Anderson, director of
the National Association of People With AIDS. "We just have a
burgeoning epidemic in the African American community that is not
being dealt with effectively." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The findings, released at the 12th Annual Retrovirus Conference in
Boston Friday, showed an increase in the HIV infection rate from 1
percent to 2 percent of blacks over a decade. White rates remained
level at 0.2 percent, while the overall U.S. rate rose slightly from
0.3 percent to 0.4 percent. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) AFGHANS ACCUSE U.S. OF SECRET SPRAYING TO KILL POPPIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
KANAI, Afghanistan - Abdullah, a black-turbaned shepherd, said he
was watching over his sheep one night in early February when he
heard a plane pass low overhead three times. By morning his eyes
were so swollen he could not open them and the sheep around him were
dying in convulsions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although farmers had noticed a white powder on their crops, they cut
grass and clover for their animals and picked spinach to eat anyway.
Within hours the animals were severely ill, people here said, and
the villagers complained of fevers, skin rashes and bloody diarrhea.
The children were particularly affected. A week later, the crops -
wheat, vegetables and poppies - were dying, and a dozen dead
animals, including newborn lambs, lay tossed in a heap. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The incident on Feb. 3 has left the herders of sheep and goats in
this remote mountain area in Helmand Province deeply angered and
suspicious. They are convinced that someone is surreptitiously
spraying their lands or dusting them with chemicals, presumably in a
clandestine effort to eradicate Afghanistan's bumper poppy crop, the
world's leading source of opium. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The incident in Kanai was not the first time that Afghan villagers -
or Afghan government officials - had complained of what they
suspected was nighttime spraying. In November, villagers in Nimla,
in Nangarhar Province, said their fields, too, had been laced with
chemicals when a plane passed overhead several times during the
night. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DRUG CZAR VISIT LEADS TO COMPLAINT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
HELENA -- A national organization that successfully promoted a 2004
ballot measure legalizing marijuana for medical purposes claims the
national drug czar's office violated Montana law by not filing
reports on what it spent to fight the initiative. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a complaint filed with the state political practices commissioner
Wednesday, the Marijuana Policy Project said the White House Office
of National Drug Control Policy and Scott Burns, deputy director,
failed to report spending related to a visit Burns made to Montana
last fall to voice opposition to Initiative 148. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The organization said it filed similar complaints in Oregon and
Alaska this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Montana law requires those who campaign for or against an
initiative to disclose their expenditures," said Steve Fox, director
of government relations for the marijuana group. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) MAKING THE CASE TO LEGALIZE DRUGS IN WASHINGTON STATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
ALTERED STATES' RIGHTS | ||||||||||||||||||||
"States' rights" has always been anathema to liberals--a code word for the Southern racism that embraced slavery, and later segregation. Nowadays, however, in an era when Red America controls the federal government and pushes things like a national ban on gay marriage, progressives are embracing states' rights: the founding fathers' idea of Federalism, in which states cede a few key powers to D.C. while maintaining robust sovereignty themselves. | ||||||||||||||||||||
So, what's the latest group to make the case that states' rights
should determine policy? Try the flaming liberals at the King County
Bar Association (KCBA), who on March 3 will release a radical
proposal urging Olympia to reform local drug laws. And by "reform,"
the KCBA means make certain drugs legal so they can be yanked off
the street (a hotbed of violent crime and addiction) and placed in a
tightly regulated state market. Regulation could allow for things
like safe injection sites, be used to wean addicts off drugs, and
sap a black market that gives kids access to drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The mammoth proposal (www.kcba.org/druglaw/proposal.html)--which
includes extensive academic research on the history of drug laws,
conspiratorial details about the successful efforts of corporations
like DuPont and Hearst to squelch hemp production in the 1930s, and
dispiriting facts about the failed drug war--is anchored by a
16-page treatise titled "States' Rights: Toward a Federalist Drug
Policy." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An analysis of Texas police stops indicated profiling patterns in
drug searches last week. Officials might address it in a few years,
or longer, since it has taken that long for a district attorney
whose office prosecuted flawed drug busts involving fake drugs to
acknowledge that the prosecutions should have been halted much
earlier. Also last week, an Alabama city has been discussing how to
keep its citizens safe from small glass tubes, even as a state ban
remains in effect; and Chicago's expensive command center for a
camera surveillance system in the city helped make its first
predictable arrest: a small time drug deal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) TEXAS POLICE SEARCHES SUGGEST PROFILING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
AUSTIN - A study commissioned by minority advocacy groups released Thursday found that police throughout Texas stop and search black and Latino drivers at higher rates than whites but that officers are more likely to find drugs, guns and other contraband on whites. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The study, called "Don't Mind If I Take a Look, Do Ya?," examined 2003 statistics provided by 1,060 law enforcement agencies on consensual searches of vehicles during traffic stops and how often contraband was found. It said three out of five law enforcement agencies reported conducting searches of minority drivers at higher rates than whites. In addition, of the agencies that searched blacks and Latinos at higher rates, 51 percent found contraband on whites at a higher rate than on blacks, while 58 percent found contraband in the possession of whites at higher rates than on Latinos. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although sponsors of the study admitted that discrepancies exist in how the local police agencies analyzed and reported their data, they said overall, the statistics show a pattern of racial profiling. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) D.A. HILL ADMITS ACTION TOO SLOW ON FAKE-DRUGS SCANDAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the fake-drugs scandal of 2001, crooked informants planted phony
drugs on innocent people, and police supervisors failed to monitor
some officers' work. | ||||||||||||||||||||
District Attorney Bill Hill's staff wasn't directly involved in the misdeeds, but prosecutors did pursue some defendants in cases where they knew the drugs were fake - and Mr. Hill acknowledges they should have spotted the problems sooner and taken action. In two of at least 24 cases connected to the 2001 scandal, innocent people pleaded guilty to lesser criminal charges just so they could get out of jail, where they had been held for months awaiting trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attorney Bill Stovall's client, Jaime Siguenza, agreed to a plea bargain for the time he served while awaiting trial and was deported - just so he could go free. Mr. Stovall said Dallas County prosecutors did tell him that lab results showed a 12,000-gram seizure of "drugs" planted unknowingly on his client was mostly fake. The tests showed just 26 grams of real cocaine. But he says he remains bitter about the plea agreement because prosecutors didn't tell him that others had been arrested based on fake evidence, too. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There was no mention of any other lab results - they had to have
known by then," he said. His client's conviction has since been
thrown out. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) CITY CLOSER TO BANNING SMALL GLASS TUBES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Mobile City Council moved one step closer Tuesday to passing a
ordinance to outlaw small glass tubes that police say are used to
smoke crack cocaine, although sale and possession of such pipes
apparently already are banned under state law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a public safety committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, members of the City Council and Richard Cashdollar, the city's public safety director, asked that the council's lawyer redraft a proposed ordinance that would mirror the language of the Alabama law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
State law forbids the use, possession, delivery or sale of drug
paraphernalia, defined as "equipment, products, and materials of any
kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use ...
introducing into the human body a controlled substance in violation
of the controlled substances laws of this state." | ||||||||||||||||||||
If passed at the council meeting next Tuesday, the city's version of
law would specifically note that small glass hollow tubes are
forbidden to be used or sold as drug paraphernalia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) DRUG DEAL CAUGHT ON CAMERA BY 911 CENTER MONITOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
People rush around on lunch hours, stand at bus stops, hurry across
city streets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's about noon Thursday, and everyday life is unfolding all over
Chicago. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And the police are watching. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Since 2003, when the city first introduced street-corner cameras to monitor criminal activity, the use of such technology has been expanding. Two months ago, the city's emergency communications center was wired into cameras all over the city, allowing staff there to watch everything from a plane landing at Midway Airport to traffic on Lake Shore Drive to a drug deal on the West Side. | ||||||||||||||||||||
On Thursday, officials announced the first arrest since the center
started monitoring cameras. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Three people were picked up on drug offenses Feb. 9 after Chicago
Police Sgt. Gregory Hoffman, inside a dimmed room at the city's
communications center at Madison and Loomis, watched as drugs were
sold 40 blocks west at Kostner and Madison. He called the Harrison
District to report the deal, and 20 minutes later watched tactical
officers swoop in to arrest three people. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
We begin this week with some bad news out of Missouri, where the Columbia Police Officers Association (CPOA) is working to overturn a November ballot initiative that made minor possession of cannabis in Columbia a finable offense with no threat of a criminal record. A letter issued by the CPOA cites the recent murder of a police officer by a young man who had been convicted on a number of cannabis-related charges as proof that harsher penalties were necessary. Unfortunately, it's this kind of unscientific, unsupported reefer madness that led to the implementation of America's unworkable cannabis prohibition in the first place. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our second story examines some of the controversy surrounding a new
children's book about cannabis called "It's Just a Plant". Author
Ricardo Cortez states that he hoped to offer a more honest and
even-handed view of cannabis than the ineffective DARE-inspired
scare tactics seen in many schools, but the book has been touted by
Congressman Mark Souder as being a "pro-marijuana" children's book.
Our third story brings more bad news for cannabis culture
aficionados, as Tommy Chong has had to cancel his "Marijuana-logues"
comedy tour, stating that his parole officer has barred him from
performing the act as too many audience members "sparked up" during
the performance, putting Tommy at risk of violating his probation.
The tour is expected to resume when Tommy's probation ends later on
this summer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Big news from Canada this week where Boris St-Maurice, former head
of the federal Marijuana Party, has joined the federal Liberal Party
of Canada. St-Maurice hopes to influence the Liberals, which
currently lead a shaky minority government, to move towards a policy
of full legalization. And lastly this week, a great editorial by
author Joe Conason examining the incredible hypocrisy at the root of
Bush's war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) POLICE GROUP SEEKS TO ALTER CITY'S POT LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The men and women enforcing Columbia's new marijuana ordinance would
very much like to see it overturned, according to the Columbia
Police Officers Association, or CPOA. But to do that, they're asking
city leaders for help. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In November, voters in the city approved two ordinances, one that
allows marijuana to be used for medical purposes when prescribed by
a doctor and another that limits the punishment for possessing small
amounts of the drug to a $250 fine in municipal court, leaving no
criminal record. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's the second ordinance that troubles police, said Officer Sterling Infield, president of the CPOA. He recently wrote Assistant City Manager Paula Hertwig Hopkins on behalf of the association, asking city leaders to help "squash this tainted ordinance." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) IT'S JUST A BOOK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Not even the foggiest-headed stoner would argue they want children to smoke pot. (Especially if it means children digging into one's stash.) The challenge is in dissuading kids from doing so without resorting to potentially counterproductive myths and hyperbole. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Enter Ricardo Cortes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last month, Cortes published his children's book, It's Just a Plant, 48 cannabis-laden pages that he hoped would be taken as a welcome dose of "reality-based education." The former high school D.A.R.E. officer and Brooklyn-based T-shirt and skateboard designer says the book is intended for "six-to 12-year-olds." It still encourages kids to say "No," but stops short of condemning responsible adult use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Reviews have been expectedly mixed. The most pointed came,
unsurprisingly, from an elected official out to politicize the book.
During a February 16 House Drug Policy Subcommittee hearing on "harm
reduction" approaches to intravenous drug use, the committee's
chairman, Indiana Representative Mark Souder, held a copy of the
book in front of him and denounced it as a "pro-marijuana children's
book." The representative then read excerpts into the Congressional
Record. Cortes says he has already e-mailed a rebuttal to Souder's
office, in the hopes will also be included in the Congressional
Record. Souder's office hadn't yet seen it when contacted by the
Voice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) CHONG'S 'MARIJUANA-LOGUES' TOUR GOES UP IN SMOKE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tommy Chong's play has gone up in smoke. "The Marijuana-Logues" has canceled its spring tour after its star, Tommy Chong, was barred from performing in it because audience members were frequently lighting up during the show. Chong, half of the comedy team Cheech & Chong, was in danger of violating his probation, which bars him from being around people using or selling illegal substances. He served nine months in prison last year for conspiring to sell drug paraphernalia. "The (parole) officer was compelled to revoke his ability to continue on the shows," said Phil Lobel, a publicist for the play. "The last thing he wants to do is go back to prison." | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The Marijuana-Logues" was on the second night of a North America tour. It has played for nearly a year off-Broadway. Chong had a special two-week run in New York and then went on the road with the show. Following a kickoff performance Feb. 18 in Vancouver, British Columbia, a Seattle show the following day was especially smoky. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lobel said the large 1,000-2,000 seat theaters were much more difficult to patrol than the small Actors' Playhouse in New York. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The play expects to resume touring this summer, when Chong's parole
ends. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) MARIJUANA PARTY HEAD JOINS LIBERALS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The head of the Marijuana Canada party has resigned to join the
Liberals. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marc-Boris St-Maurice, who led the party from its inception in 2000
until December of 2004, said he will make a formal announcement on
Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The party's main aim of legalizing marijuana will have more success
if he joins the Liberals, Mr. St-Maurice said in a statement
released Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I believe that if any party will ever legalize marijuana in Canada,
it is the Liberals." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. St-Maurice said he will bring his ideas about marijuana reform to the party's convention, which begins Thursday in Ottawa. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I hope to bring my knowledge and expertise on this issue to help
the Liberal party develop new policies, programs and legislation
which address the marijuana situation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) BUSH DODGES AS ADDICTS ROT IN JAIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
On the audiotapes of George W. Bush recorded secretly by his
erstwhile confidant Douglas Wead in 1999, the future president
revealed how much he feared candid discussion of his personal use of
marijuana and cocaine. As quoted in The New York Times, Bush vowed
that no matter what rumours and facts circulated about what he did
or might have done, he would doggedly decline to answer | ||||||||||||||||||||
His natural urge to protect his privacy evokes sympathy, however
quaint his expectations might be at this point in our political
history. But in justifying his refusal to talk about his foolish
youth, he appealed to a higher purpose. "I wouldn't answer the
marijuana questions," he told Wead. "You know why? Because I don't
want some little kid doing what I tried." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the Philippines, officials in the administration of Davao City
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte scrambled to play down a U.S. Department of
State report released last week. The report, which was surprisingly
critical of the gross human right violations committed by death
squads, was frank about government encouragement of summary
executions. "Summary killings by vigilante groups continued to rise
in Davao City, Mindanao, where the mayor was alleged to be linked to
the vigilantes." "In combating criminal organizations, security
forces sometimes resorted to the summary execution of suspects, or
salvaging," admitted the U.S. State Department Report. Through a
spokesman, Mayor Duterte of Davao City (who earlier embraced death
squad activity) declared, "Whatever they think, so be it." Davao
police leaders denied involvement with death squads. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere in the Philippines, prohibitionist zeal and ingenuity
knows no bounds as drug fighters unveil the latest in the
never-ending quest to crush "drug lords." This time, Ricardo de Leon
(Philippine National Police Ant-Illegal Drugs Special Operations
Task Force AID-SOFT chief Director) suggested a campaign to smear
with graffiti the houses of suspected "drugs lords." An earlier
graffiti campaign ran into legal troubles. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And in Bali this week, a high-powered Australian legal team is
slated to help with the defense of Schapelle Corby. Balinese
officials have accused Corby, an Australian citizen, of smuggling a
kilo of cannabis into Bali from Australia last October. Corby
insists she was set up. Corby's new legal team is being paid for by
Ron Bakir, an Australian cell phone entrepreneur. If convicted of
possessing the cannabis, Corby is eligible for the death penalty in
Bali. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(19) CITY, MAYOR CITED IN U.S. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
DAVAO City and its mayor, Rodrigo Duterte, were mentioned in the
latest report of the U.S. Department of State on Philippine human
rights practices. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor last
February 28, 2005, the report mentioned the summary killings in the
city and Mayor Duterte's alleged links with the vigilante group
Davao Death Squad. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
It said that some elements of the security services were responsible
for arbitrary, unlawful, and, in some cases, extra judicial
killings; disappearances; torture; and arbitrary arrest and
detention. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The physical abuse of suspects and detainees remained a problem, as
did police, prosecutorial, and judicial corruption. As in past
years, the constitutionally mandated Commission on Human Rights
(CHR) described the PNP as the worst abuser of human rights," the
report stated. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Police and local government leaders at times appeared to sanction
extra judicial killings and vigilantism as expedient means of
fighting crime and terrorism," it added. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The report can be viewed at | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(20) PNP WORST ABUSER, SAYS U.S. REPORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Washington has branded the Philippine National Police as "the worst
abuser of human rights" in the country in the 2004 Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices it released yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"In combating criminal organizations, security forces sometimes
resorted to the summary execution of suspects, or salvaging. Police
and military spokespersons at times explained these killings as the
unavoidable result of a shootout with suspects or escapees," the
report added. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(21) WENDEL DOWNPLAYS U.S. REPORT ON 'VIGILANTE' KILLINGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
DAVAO City Administrator Wendel E. Avisado downplayed Wednesday a
report released by the U.S. Department of State citing summary
killings here and Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte's alleged links with
shadowy vigilante group Davao Death Squad. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Whatever they think, so be it. But as far as the mayor is concerned, he's doing his job for the people," Avisado said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Avisado said the mayor couldn't force on everybody what he or she
should and should not believe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"If his actions are not wholesome to others, so be it," Avisado
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Summary killings by vigilante groups continued to rise in Davao
City, Mindanao, where the mayor was alleged to be linked to the
vigilantes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most of the victims were suspected of involvement in illegal drug
trade or other criminal activities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
It said some elements of the security services were responsible for arbitrary, unlawful, and, in some cases, extra judicial killings, disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrest and detention. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Police and local government leaders at times appeared to sanction
extra judicial killings and vigilantism as expedient means of
fighting crime and terrorism," it added. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Davao City Police Office Director Conrado E. Laza, however, denied
this accusation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Laza denied that such a conspiracy exists between his office and the
vigilante group. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(22) SPRAY PAINTING OF HOUSES OF DRUG LORDS PROPOSED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Philippine National Police Ant-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOFT) chief Director General Ricardo de Leon proposed a "spray painting" campaign on houses of suspected drug lords, similar to the anti-drug campaign of former Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. | ||||||||||||||||||||
During the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel, De Leon cited Lim's campaign in
Manila and challenged local government units to show strong
political will in the campaign against illegal drugs and study the
possibility of passing an ordinance authorizing the "spray painting"
of houses of suspected drug pushers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(23) LEGAL TEAM FLIES TO DEFEND CORBY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An Australian legal team flew to Bali on Thursday to help defend
accused Gold Coast drug trafficker Schapelle Corby. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Funded by Gold Coast mobile phone entrepreneur Ron Bakir, the plan
is to guarantee Corby's Indonesian lawyers get all the Australian
assistance they need to prove the origin of drugs found in Corby's
possession. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Corby, who proclaims her innocence, is accused of smuggling 4.1
kilograms of cannabis leaf and heads into Bali's Denpasar Airport in
her boogie board bag last October. | ||||||||||||||||||||
She faces the death penalty if convicted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WILL WE SEE YOU AT A CONFERENCE? | ||||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
METH AND MARIJUANA | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Richard Cowan at Marijuananews.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
Now: How the narks created crank in Canada. The iron law of drug
prohibition. The inescapable economics of contraband. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
NARCO-SCANDAL ROCKS ARGENTINA: KIRCHNER CONFRONTS THE MILITARY | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Al Giordano at Narconews.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
A new star is rising in America's quest for more honest and effective
drug policy. His name is Nestor Kirchner, he is president of
Argentina, and he has recently fired a score of top military officials
in a narco-scandal rocking the country. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
PROHIBITIONISTS PRACTICE FORTUNETELLING | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Libby at Last One Speaks - http://lastonespeaks.blogspot.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
ONDCP has released another self-serving survey on predicting heavy drug use that promotes religious intervention for drug abusing teenagers and puts forward the ridiculous theory that cracking down on marijuana use will somehow prevent kids from using cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://lastonespeaks.blogspot.com/2005_02_27_lastonespeaks_archive.html#110987338684795787 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
MICHELLE KUBBY VS CANADIAN MARIJUANA LAW | ||||||||||||||||||||
Richard Cowan and Kirk Tousaw join Michelle Kubby to discuss
her recent court appearance and how she plans to challenge
Canadian marijuana law and receive an exemption. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
GW APPOINTS SENIOR US EXPERTS TO SUPPORT U.S. MARKET ENTRY | ||||||||||||||||||||
US Founder Investors increase stake with approx $5m additional
investment | ||||||||||||||||||||
GW announces that it is accelerating its strategy to enter the United
States market by retaining experts in pharmaceutical development and
regulatory affairs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://production.investis.com/gwp/pressreleases/currentpress/2005-02-28/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
TRENDS IN MARIJUANA TREATMENT ADMISSIONS BY STATE: 1992-2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||
This Short Report is based on the Drug and Alcohol Services
Information System (DASIS), the primary source of national data on
substance abuse treatment. DASIS is conducted by SAMHSA's Office of
Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA). | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k5/MJstateTrends/MJstateTrends.cfm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
AMERICA'S HUNDRED YEARS WAR ON DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Centennial of the 1st Congressional Anti-Drug Law | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prohibiting Opium in the Philippines - Mar. 3rd 1905 - 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Dale Gieringer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CEASE-FIRE NEEDED IN DRUG WAR | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Dr. Simon McClure | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs has been totally ineffective and outrageously
expensive, all the while corroding the moral compass of our
paternalistic state authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Let us acknowledge that the drug laws have caused the unintentional
deaths of innocent citizens. We need not rehash the deaths of
innocents from drive-by shootings, home invasions, pharmacy heists
or shootouts with police. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Now I wish to bring to the attention of citizens that, because of
drug laws, people without a modicum of training or reliable
equipment are hastily trying to make methamphetamines with chemicals
in poorly ventilated rooms and vehicles. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug dealers -- like government -- don't consider the unintended consequences, namely: poisonings from contaminated drugs, exposure to buildup of wastes and now the all too familiar explosions killing themselves and bystanders in their buildings or on the streets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
These two groups share the same selfish myopic mindset. The state seems not to care how much life and liberty will be sacrificed by responsible citizens for the sake of the jihad against drugs; the people who want drugs will always get them, no matter what. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This cat-and-mouse game is getting more dangerous. The state should
declare a cease-fire, repeal the drug laws, and stop reshuffling the
death certificates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Simon McClure | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. WINS DRUG WAR! | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Dean Becker | ||||||||||||||||||||
What if the government finally managed to remove all illegal drugs
from the streets of America? | ||||||||||||||||||||
The crime rate would fall by almost 50%. Accidental overdose deaths
would basically disappear and children would no longer have easy
access to drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The prison industrial complex would boom like never before, with an
annual influx of 2 1/2 Trillion dollars from government coffers. The
unemployment rate would drop to zero as we staffed the thousands of
new prisons with guards and support staff. More than 100 million US
users of black market and redirected pharmaceutical drugs would be
off the streets and behind bars. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Success would have its price however, with such a significant slice
of the workforce MIA, the "good and decent" citizens would need to
more than double their tax payments to Uncle Sam. On the plus side,
for the first year or two, during and following the roundup of the
100 million illegal users we would have their forfeited assets to
divvy up with the various federal, state and local agencies for whom
the drug war is a bonanza. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Certainly those so inclined as to use drugs and that are then sent to prison are the ones most likely to continue their habits, so therefore in order to keep our streets clean and free of drugs, it would be necessary to keep these "druggies" locked up, forever. Once we lock up all the users for eternity, we will still be faced with the daunting task of keeping drugs out of our prisons and as has been shown over the last several decades that is impossible. Drug cartels in Colombia would still continue to thrive as they sell their drugs to the U.S. prison population via violent gangs. The rest of the free world would ensure a thriving black-marketplace to support the cartels, gangs and necessary drug war violence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Or...U.S. Loses Drug War! | ||||||||||||||||||||
What if the government finally managed to remove its head from its
ass and ended the prohibition of certain, non-fortune 500
manufactured, drugs? | ||||||||||||||||||||
The crime rate would fall by more than 50%. Accidental overdose
deaths would basically disappear and children would no longer have
easy access to drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The prison industrial complex would wither; our economy would suffer
from the loss of the millions of jobs in the black market. We could
make up for that loss by redirecting the 80 billion dollars
currently squandered each year on the drug war to programs of
education, health, jobs training and to employers who support said
efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although government agencies would no longer have the assets of drug
users to add to their coffers, they would reap the benefits of
additional taxes paid by those who no longer are stigmatized and
prevented from education, credit or employment because of past drug
use and arrests. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Certainly those so inclined as to use drugs will do so, no matter
whether in prison or in their homes. Drugs of one type or another
have been used for millennia and we should have zero tolerance for
those who seek to put an end to habits that are personal and
guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and the US
Constitution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
We will never, ever keep drugs off our streets and to continue this
failed; flailing effort is the very definition of insanity. Those
who seek to continue the policy of eternal prohibition are out of
step with reality, certifiable morons in heat. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The end of drug prohibition will signal the end of our support for
Colombian drug cartels and of our funding Osama bin Laden through
profits he makes from the opium trade. When we end this madness of
drug war we will also eliminate the reasons for which most violent
street gangs exist. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Considering that feigned ignorance and hints of superstition are the
only component parts of the drug war left to the warriors, they
still manage quite well. The Fear they have installed around this
issue remains quite effective. The drug war makes fear the most
dangerous commodity and ignorance a badge. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dean Becker is the creator and host of the Drug Truth Network -
http://www.drugtruth.net | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Who's better for society, an Al Capone or an August Busch?" - Bill
McClellan, in a column from the St. Louis-Post Dispatch - see
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n323/a03.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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