| March 11, 2005 #391 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) USE OF TASER TO GET SAMPLE OF URINE BEING INVESTIGATED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
LANDO - A police officer twice used a Taser stun device on a drug suspect who was restrained to a hospital bed because the man refused to give a urine sample to medical staff, authorities said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Antonio Wheeler, 18, was arrested Friday on a drug charge and taken to
an emergency room after telling officers he had consumed cocaine,
police said. Because Wheeler said he had used the drugs, Florida
Hospital officials wanted a urine sample. A police affidavit said
Wheeler wouldn't provide a sample on his own, so workers tried to
catheterize him to get one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The police document said Wheeler was handcuffed to a hospital bed and then secured with leather straps after he refused to urinate in a cup. When medical staff tried to insert a catheter to get the sample, Wheeler refused and began thrashing around, the affidavit said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
At one point, police officer Peter Linnenkamp reported, he jumped on the bed with his knees on Wheeler's chest to restrain him. When Wheeler still refused to let the catheter be inserted, Linnenkamp said he twice used his Taser, which sends 50,000 volts into a target. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"After the second shock (Wheeler) stated he would urinate and calmed down enough to be given the portable urinal," Linnenkamp wrote. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) NEVADA MARIJUANA PETITION GOES TO BALLOT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - If Nevada voters want to legalize marijuana,
they're going to have to do it themselves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
An Assembly panel declined to vote Thursday on an initiative petition that would have legalized possession of one ounce of marijuana, and the non-vote automatically puts the issue on the November 2006 ballot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In 2002, Nevada voters rejected a petition to legalize up to three
ounces of marijuana by a 61-39 margin. The latest proposal would put
the legal limit an adult could possess at one ounce. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The drug could be sold by state-licensed sellers, located no closer
than 500 feet from churches and schools. The petition also levies
heavy taxes on drug users, and double penalties for driving under the
influence of any substance. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's time for new approach," said Rob Kampia, head of the Washington
D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. "If you don't like (drug dealers),
put them out of business. We don't have people peddling alcohol on
street corners." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) OUT OF CONTROL: CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 'ON THE BRINK OF IMPLODING' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
With More Than 4,500 Reports Last Year Of Illegal Indoor Pot-Growing
Operations, B.C. Police Cannot Keep Up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Lawbreakers have to rack up nine or more prior drug convictions before
they have a better than 50-50 chance of being sent to jail. Children
are found in one-fifth of grow-ops raided. In B.C.'s war against
marijuana-growing operations, a groundbreaking new study makes one
thing clear: The growers are winning and the situation is out of
control. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
First of a two-day series | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police are less likely to investigate marijuana growers, prosecutors are less likely to lay charges against them, and judges are less likely to send them to jail than they were in the late 1990s, according to a groundbreaking study to be released today. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It seems, no question about it, that the system is increasingly
unable or otherwise failing to respond to this problem, despite the
fact that we have every indication that the problem is worsening,"
said Darryl Plecas, a criminology professor at the University College
of the Fraser Valley, and the study's lead author. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) MORE SEEK HELP FOR MARIJUANA ADDICTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Treatment rates for marijuana nearly tripled between
1992 and 2002, the government says, attributing the increase to
greater use and potency. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"This report is a wake-up call for parents that marijuana is not a
soft drug," said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy. "It's a much bigger part of the
addiction problem than is generally understood." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Advocates of legalizing marijuana disagreed, saying the trend was
largely due to an increase in marijuana arrests and had almost nothing
to do with more people seeking treatment because they thought their
own health was at risk. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"They have the option of going into treatment for marijuana or going
to jail," said Paul Armentano, senior policy analyst for the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Marijuana is not a harmless substance, and these treatment trends emphasize that point," said SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A spokeswoman for the agency said the study did not determine whether
people sought treatment on their own or were ordered to do so by a
court. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We have no way of knowing why there are so many more going for
treatment. The data just tells us that there are," said spokeswoman
Leah Young. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
She added, "Being forced into treatment does not indicate you don't
need it." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Different newspapers applied different spin to the annual U.S.
report on international narcotics control strategy. The Washington
Post leads with embarrassing failure, noting the exponential growth
of heroin production in Afghanistan. The New York Times attempted to
put a sunnier face on it, starting by suggesting the drug warriors
are trying as hard as they can, particularly in Latin America. The
Post followed up a few days later with something more cheerful about
the great strides to control drugs that are allegedly taking place
in Mexico. That would appear to be contradicted by another story
raising fears about the safety of spring breakers headed to the
border in the midst of drug violence, as well as another story about
violence from Mexico featured in the DrugSense Weekly International
section this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
And while the U.S. magnanimously grades the rest of the world, we certainly have no shortage of drug problems, along with skewed priorities. The state legislature in Louisiana demonstrates its lack of proportion as it works to criminalize 40 more common plants, including some popular flowers. Keenly aware of the danger posed to innocent people by sinister flowers, an editorial in the Times-Picayune couldn't be more supportive. Will we soon seen an episode of "Cops" out of New Orleans where a gun-toting officer shouts, "Just drop the periwinkle and no one gets hurt!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) U.S. REPORT WARNS OF AFGHAN DRUG STATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Heroin production in Afghanistan represents "an enormous threat to
world stability," and the country is "on the verge of becoming a
narcotics state," the State Department said in a report released
yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Despite steps by the Afghan government and foreign donors, the U.S.
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report said that the Afghan
"narcotics situation continues to worsen" more than three years
after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban government. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The report said Colombia has made "impressive progress" against the
drug trade but remains a major producer, and that traffickers
continue to move drugs through Peru -- the second-largest cocaine
producer, after Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The most dramatic conclusions in the report, an annual survey of the
world drug trade, were about Afghanistan, where it praised President
Hamid Karzai's efforts but said Afghan poppy cultivation more than
tripled last year. "Afghanistan's illicit opium/heroin production
can be viewed, for all practical purposes, as the rough equivalent
of world illicit heroin production, and it represents an enormous
threat to world stability," it said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) STOPPING ILLICIT DRUGS IS STILL UPHILL BATTLE, REPORT SHOWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Twenty years after a federal law took effect
authorizing the United States to penalize countries that do not
control illicit narcotics production, the same countries, by and
large, are producing large quantities of heroin, cocaine, marijuana
and other drugs, according to the State Department's annual
drug-trafficking report, published Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The United States has been providing anti-narcotics aid to more than
a dozen nations for more than two decades - roughly $1 billion a
year in recent years. Each year the government reports large-scale
eradication of crops and seizures of illicit drugs. But this year,
as every year, reports of progress are overwhelmed by the weight of
the problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For example, the State Department said in 1985 that in Peru, one of
the world's largest producers of coca leaf and cocaine products, the
government had eradicated 7,500 acres of coca plants, which are used
to make cocaine, but that narcotics trafficking was nonetheless
"flourishing." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The new report says Peru eradicated almost 25,000 acres of coca in
the last year but acknowledged that "dense coca cultivation is
increasing." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The trend lines are good," insisted Assistant Secretary of State
Robert B. Charles, referring specifically to the last few years. "We
are making steady progress in pushing it down." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) U.S. PRAISES MEXICO FOR COOPERATION IN FIGHTING DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Report Says Efforts Could Slip After Fox Leaves Office | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY - The U.S. government praises Mexico's anti-drug efforts
in a new report, lauding the country for pushing extraditions to an
all-time high, detaining an "impressive" number of drug kingpins,
and working to make federal law enforcement institutions more
professional. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The administration of Mexican President Vicente Fox continued its
unprecedented cooperation with the United States in fighting drug
trafficking and other serious trans-border crimes menacing the
cities of both countries," the State Department said in its annual
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The document
addresses drug interdiction efforts around the world for the past
year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A Mexican presidential spokesman said Friday that the findings
vindicate Mr. Fox's policies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The report makes justice to the commitment of President Fox's
government in cooperating with the U.S. against narco-trafficking,"
spokesman Agustin Gutierrez Canet said. "And we will continue to do
so despite some baseless accusations by some minor unidentified
sources from the U.S. who say the opposite." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) VIOLENCE IN MEXICO PUTTING CHILL ON SPRING BREAKERS' JAUNTS (Top)SOUTH OF BORDER | ||||||||||||||||||||||
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas -- SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas -- As tens of
thousands of students make spring-break visits to south Texas, a
resurgence of drug-related violence across the border in northern
Mexico is forcing the U.S. and Mexico to consider how to court these
and other tourists. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Local officials from the two countries have been meeting for weeks
to develop a plan they believe will help keep college | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Yet recent bloodshed, including the January slayings of six Mexican prison workers a few miles outside nearby Matamoros, Mexico, has left even local Mexican-Americans fearful of crossing the border. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
There also has been a spike in kidnappings of Americans in northern
Mexico, although officials say that many of the victims were
involved in the drug trade and that tourists are unlikely to be
caught up in such violence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nonetheless, a January State Department alert to American tourists warning of a "deteriorating security situation" remains in force. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) HOMEGROWN HALLUCINOGENS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Most people look at the periwinkle and see a hardy bedding plant
that will make flower beds look colorful all summer long. But others
look at Vinca rosea and other common plants used in landscaping and
see a way to get high. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
People should be able to use periwinkle, morning glory, angel's
trumpet and other plants with hallucinogenic properties to beautify
their gardens. But they shouldn't be allowed to turn them into
drugs. A bill filed by Rep. Michael Strain would make doing so a
crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
House Bill 20 targets 40 different hallucinogenic plants, making it
illegal to produce, possess or distribute anything containing them
for human consumption. The penalty for producing or distributing
such products would be two to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to
$20,000. Possession would carry a term of up to five years and a
fine of up to $5,000. The penalties are comparable to those for
other hallucinogens. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The bill is a reasonable response to a rash of problems last summer.
Two Des-trehan teenagers had to be hospitalized after drinking
angel's trumpet tea, and three Kenner youths landed in the hospital
after drinking Kool-Aid laced with angel's trumpet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Following those incidents, the Kenner City Council and New Orleans
City Council adopted ordinances aimed at angel's trumpet. But a
statewide law that deals not only with angel's trumpet but other
highly toxic plants is needed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Ingesting these plants is quite dangerous. The hallucinogenic
effects themselves can prompt bizarre and risky behavior. Kenner
Police said one teenager high on angel's trumpet tried to jump off a
roof, and another tried to take a bite out of his own arm. But the
plants are also highly toxic. Angel's trumpet causes fever, blurred
vision, urine retention and delirium. A Florida teenager died from
its effects. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The drug war claimed more innocent lives last week, this time in a
car wreck that followed a botched drug sting. The press probably
won't look at that as a failure of prohibition, just as a long story
out of Kentucky analyzing the horrifying murder of a young girl who
was thought to know too much by local meth manufacturers seems to
imply that getting tough on drugs would have helped an economically
ravaged town. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Alabama has released some non-violent prisoners. It has not led to a crime wave, but it hasn't helped prison crowding much either. And the saga over a huge stash of pot carelessly disposed of by police in a local garbage dump a few years ago drags on in civil court. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) DRUG STING LEADS TO TRAFFIC DEATHS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A man who sold drugs to undercover detectives fled police in a sport- utility vehicle and crashed into a sedan, killing a young adult and teenager inside the car, Clearwater police said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The SUV's three occupants were arrested Wednesday night, shortly
after they fled on foot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police identified the SUV driver as Keo Jonquel Young, 19, of St. Petersburg. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with serious injuries or death and two counts of sale and possession of cocaine. Police said their investigation was continuing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Clearwater police said the incident began with an undercover drug operation. Young was with two passengers in the SUV in the parking lot of a motel when investigators said they bought crack form him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The SUV slammed into a Saturn carrying four people. Police
identified the two killed as a 20-year-old Clearwater man and a
17-year-old from North Port. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) CROTHERSVILLE LOST LUSTER LONG BEFORE HER DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
CROTHERSVILLE, Ind. -- Well before Katlyn "Katie" Collman died,
there were signs of trouble in Crothersville. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Rev. Mark Wooten recognized them immediately in this
once-thriving Jackson County community when he moved his family back
here in November. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Instead of a homecoming to the friendly neighbors, perfect lawns and
freshly painted houses of his youth, he said he barely recognized
the place. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"I remember manicured little homes up and down the streets," Wooten,
the pastor at Nazarene Church, said. "But look at the houses here
now. It's a disgrace." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The farm economy that put the shine on this town since its founding
in 1858 has long since fallen away. Gone are the Chevy dealership,
the lawyers, the doctors, the drugstore and the bakery where
children used to stop on the way to school. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It was after making a similar stop, to buy toilet paper at the
Dollar General store on Jan. 25, that 10-year-old Katie disappeared.
Police found the fourth-grader dead five days later in a creek 19
miles away, her hands tied behind her back. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
When a 20-year-old resident, Charles "Chuckie" Hickman, was arrested
and charged with murder in Katie's death, the town was forced to
confront a problem that was already obvious to many. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Hickman, according to court records, told police that Katie was
killed to keep her quiet about the methamphetamine activity she had
seen involving residents of the Penn Villa apartment complex on her
way home. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) ALABAMA PAROLES THOUSANDS OF INMATES, PRISON CROWDING STILL (Top)UNSOLVED | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MOBILE, Ala. - Alabama's experiment with increasing paroles for
thousands of inmates didn't bring on the crime wave some feared, but
it didn't solve Alabama's prison crowding problem either. Now the
state is running out of nonviolent inmates who are likely candidates
for an early release, the Mobile Register reported. In September
2003, Gov. Bob Riley got the Legislature to create a second state
parole board to speed up the release of nonviolent felons. Since
then, 4,174 prisoners have been released through the second parole
board's special dockets. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
That's on top of the 1,820 paroled through the normal process and
the more than 13,500 whose sentences ended or who started the
probation portion of a split sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But nearly two years later, Alabama prisons, work release centers
and boot camps hold 23,874 inmates - nearly twice their designed
capacity of 12,943. That doesn't include another 3,370 people who
are waiting to be transferred from county jails, are serving time in
privately run prisons in other states or are housed in alternative
arrangements. "I don't think anybody assumed that this would relieve
the crowding conditions. That's not the intent of the second board,"
said Donal Campbell, who became Alabama's corrections commissioner
when Riley took office in January 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) TESTIMONY PAINTS HARSH PICTURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired Deputy Describes Repression In Chatham Sheriff's Office | ||||||||||||||||||||||
PITTSBORO -- Testimony in the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by
a former Chatham County sheriff's deputy painted a portrait of an
organization that quashed dissent in the ranks and retaliated
against those who spoke out against wrongdoing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Former Sgt. Dan Phillips is suing former Sheriff Ike Gray for
wrongful termination. Phillips contends he was fired in 2001 for
alerting the FBI about the theft of marijuana from the old county
landfill. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Phillips also contends he was fired because of his attempt to expose racism in the Chatham County schools. He said sheriff's officials suspected he made a tape recording of a former high school principal using racial slurs, something he denied during testimony Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
We have a truly international hemp and cannabis section this week,
beginning with one of literally hundreds of stories that appeared
worldwide in response to the shooting of four Mounties in Canada,
and political/police attempts to tie this violent event by a
deranged lone gunman to grow-ops and organized crime. Our first
story shows the RCMP back-tracking on initial claims that the
shooting was drug-related, after it was revealed that the major
"grow-op" found at the sight of the murders consisted of just 20
mature plants. RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli made front-page
headlines this weekend by stating that he and his force were too
quick to blame cannabis for the worst Canadian police massacre in
over 100 years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our second story looks at Ohio's Bill SB74, which would protect medical cannabis users from arrest. The bill was introduced by Sen. Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown), who has argued that his father's recent failed battle with cancer convinced him that the critically and chronically ill should have access to cannabis without fearing arrest if the have a physician's support for its use. Our third story is a comprehensive overview of Australian Schapelle Corby case. Corby in on trial on charges that she tried to smuggle 4 kilos of cannabis into Bali, and may face a firing squad if she is found guilty. A theory argued by her defense is that the drugs were planted on her by Australian baggage carriers who failed to retrieve them prior to her leaving Australian airspace for Bali. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our fourth story looks at the impact of a conservative political
swing on Holland's drug policy, where increased regulations and
local bans have led to a significant reduction in coffee shops. And
finally this week, news that England's defiant cannabis granny
Patricia Tabran - who has gained fame for being convicted of
possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, plans to run
to become an MP. The 66-year old medical user will be running on the
Legalize Alliance ticket in the next federal election. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) RCMP CHIEF RETREATS FROM LINK BETWEEN KILLINGS, GROW-OPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Canada's top police officer said yesterday that he was too quick to condemn a marijuana grow operation as the root cause in the deaths of four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers last week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
RCMP Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli said in an interview that his
condemnation of grow-ops shortly after the shootings might have been
inappropriate because police and politicians did not have full
details of the particular case and the background of cop-killer
James Roszko. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"I gave what I believed was the best information I had, knowing full
well that at that time I didn't have all the information," a
contrite Zaccardelli said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
While there, they discovered what a search warrant said were 20
"mature" marijuana plants, "several pots containing dirt with stems
coming out of them numbering close to 100," and a smell "consistent
of a marijuana grow operation." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But in the days since the murders, it appears they were the work of
a deranged man with a long criminal history, as opposed to that of a
gangster protecting his cash crop. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) PROPOSED OHIO LEGISLATION RENEWS DEBATE OVER MEDICAL USE OF (Top)MARIJUANA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In a quiet room with a seriously ill cancer patient, or sitting in a support group with patients, or with their families, Kem Dye, cancer care coordinator at Strecker Cancer Center, listens and learns. One big issue of repeated interest is the medical use of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"My support group has talked about medical marijuana use, pros and
cons, and if it could help better than what we have today," Dye
said. "They have even joked about the idea of baking marijuana
brownies." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The medical marijuana controversy is back on the front burner. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Because of his experience with the death of his loved one from the
ravages of cancer, Hagen has introduced legislation in the Ohio
Senate, SB 74, to protect medical marijuana patients from criminal
arrest and state prosecution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) EVIDENCE LOST AND BUNGLED COULD DECIDE TRIAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The case against young Australian Schapelle Corby in Bali raises more questions than answers. Philip Cornford examines the evidence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
There is a moment in Schapelle Corby's life, before it plunged into
chaos, when the world seemed wonderful, an exciting adventure. It is
a moment when what was to come was just not conceivable, beyond the
imagination of any traveller. It is a moment caught in a photograph,
and it was the last time a camera was kind to her. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The photograph was taken by her mother, Ros, after Corby, 27, and
her three companions had been cleared to board QF50, the first of
two flights that would take them from a crisp, mid-spring Brisbane
dawn to the sultry humidity of Bali. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) AMSTERDAM FALLS OUT OF LOVE WITH COFFEE SHOPS AS LIBERAL STANCE (Top)ON DRUGS BEGINS TO CRUMBLE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For the past 18 years Michael Veling and his staff have been serving
up such delights as White Widow and Blueberry in his wood-panelled
coffee shop in the heart of Amsterdam. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For as little as 805 (UKP 3.50) visitors can smoke a cannabis joint
in Cafe De Kuil and sip a beer while listening to music ranging from
Frank Zappa to Mozart. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The 50-year-old bar owner and political activist said: "My main concern is to make sure there is a good mix of people at my coffee shop and that they get the best quality grass and marijuana." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But the Dutch coffee shop system is under threat. According to one
of the country's leading drug specialists and a government adviser,
cannabis coffee shops and cafe-bars will be extinct within five
years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||||
(18) CANNABIS GRAN'S BID TO BE MP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Tynedale's Cannabis-Cooking Granny Patricia Tabram Is Bidding To
Become An MP. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The 66-year-old from Humshaugh will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown
Court next week on a charge of possessing cannabis with intent to
supply. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police seized 242 grams of the drug - worth over ukp800 - during a raid last year at her home, and also confiscated 31 cannabis plants. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But the former chef is pinning her hopes on staying out of prison - and entering the campaign trail at the General Election. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mrs Tabram will challenge Labour MP and leader of the House of
Commons Peter Hain, for his Neath seat in South Wales. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
She said: "I was at the Legalise Cannabis Alliance conference last week in Norwich and they have asked me to be their candidate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The Legalise Cannabis Alliance say I'm their face of middle
England." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The shooting of four RCMP officers in the province of Alberta, Canada
last week "irked" staunchly prohibitionist U.S. politicians, Canadian
papers reported last week. While unconcerned on how this squared with
the sovereignty and independence of Canada from the U.S., much was
made over the feelings of prohibitionist U.S. officials like
Congressman Mark Souder. Souder denounced Canadian cannabis as a
"really lethal form of marijuana," singling out the province of
British Columbia as a "narco-province." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mexican soldiers and police in the border town of Nuevo Laredo
battled a wave of shootings authorities blamed on drugs. Mexican
Federal police were called in amid concerns over corruption of
bribe-taking local police. Officials promised that now, big
traffickers were the targets of police. Violence among rival Mexican
gangs (who are handed the lucrative illegal drug business by the
policies of prohibition), intensified after arrests of major players
in the trade in 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police corruption is entrenched and many innocent people, lacking
legal representation, rot in Philippine jails a Manila Times piece
this week pointed out. Philippine police falsely accuse victims of
involvement with drugs, or take bribes, as even U.S. human rights
reports on the Philippines note. Meanwhile, Philippine summary
street-executions, where drug suspects are gunned down in public
(thought to be the work of police) also continue without let up. In
Dumaguete City, another "suspected drug pusher" was shot by
assailants using the usual method last week. Two bystanders were
also wounded in the shooting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The rigidly prohibitionist U.S. threatens successful United Nations harm-reduction programs, according to a Guardian newspaper report this week. The U.S. demands "a drug policy based on enforcement and a treatment approach that demands abstinence; it also punishes continued drug use." Previously, the U.S. had let U.N. harm reduction programs exist (like needle exchange to reduce HIV spread), things are changing now, and the U.S. is unwilling to fund harm reduction programs any longer. After a meeting with state department narcotics chief Robert Charles, U.N. drug control executive director Antonio Costa announced needle exchanges would be henceforth not be endorsed by the U.N., regardless of the effectiveness of such programs. Critics of the change argued needle exchange programs have successfully slowed the spread of HIV. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
(19) MARIJUANA LINK IRKS U.S. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The murder of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe last
week may or may not end up having much to do with the marijuana grow
operation the killer maintained. But the incident has still managed
to generate fresh irritation and fear in America over the growing
flood of potent Canadian pot into the U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As if the two countries needed another irritant, the murders have
only underlined concern among officials and politicians here that
Canada's relatively lax treatment of grow-op criminals is fuelling
the influx of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The problem is especially bad in British Columbia, which is showing
early signs of becoming a "narco-province" along the lines of some
South American countries, charged Representative Mark Souder of
Indiana, chair of the congressional sub-committee on criminal
justice, drug policy and human resources. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"They seem to be in a state of denial about (the fact) they have
become a huge exporter of this really lethal form of marijuana," he
said in an interview. "It's close to getting out of hand ... I feel
sorry if four police officers died because of the mistakes of
politicians." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
(20) CRACKDOWN ON MEXICO'S DRUG VIOLENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico - More than 700 soldiers and federal and state
agents took to the streets of this city on the Mexico-U.S. border
Sunday to help local authorities control an increasing wave of
violence believed to be drug-related. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The four victims raised to 20 the number of people who have been
killed in ambush-style shootings in Nuevo Laredo so far this year.
The city is located across from Laredo, Texas. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Arturo Jimenez, a commander of the Federal Preventive Police, said
in addition to the massive mobilization of forces, investigators
would begin interviewing Nuevo Laredo municipal police officers and
state prosecutors in search of those who may be taking bribes from
drug-smuggling gangs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jimenez said the first priority will be re-establishing law and
order, but that soldiers and agents also would eventually play an
active role in going after key drug smugglers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The border region in Mexico's northeast has seen an increase in drug
violence after the area's alleged kingpin, Osiel Cardenas, was
arrested in 2003 in the border city of Matamoros. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
(21) INNOCENT PEOPLE AT RISK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The accused spent about half a year in jail. Fortunately for him, he
is the employee of one of Cebu's most prominent and respected civic
leaders who not only provided a lawyer but also raised the bail bond
(only 3.5 percent of detainees are able to post bond, according to
the 2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices by the United
States' Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor). And
fortunately for the accused, the judge, unlike the policemen and the
prosecutors, is competent and honest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If not, this young man who used to support himself through
scavenging and casual jobs in construction sites would still be in
jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I attended a couple of the hearings at the Regional Trial Court. I
noticed that the accused in drug cases and other criminal cases are
treated as if they were already found guilty. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
They are handcuffed to one another, and while everybody else is made
to observe dress code in the court room, the accused are wearing
shorts and slippers and look untidy-looking every bit like
criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I remembered this case as I went over the U.S. country report on
human rights practices in the Philippines. The report mostly states
the obvious (though diplomatically worded): "The 113,000-member PNP
has deep-rooted institutional deficiencies . . . Judges and
prosecutors often failed to . . . provide due process and equal
justice . . . [P]overty often inhibited a defendant's access to
effective legal representation." The report contains many truths
about the state of the justice system, the pervasiveness of poverty,
the sad state of the education system, trafficking in women and
children, among other human rights related problems haunting this
country. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The case from Cebu cited above illustrates how easy it is for an
innocent person to land in jail. While initially the injustice is
caused by a single policeman, the failure of his superiors and the
prosecutor to correct the wrong, either because of incompetence,
indifference or deliberate cover-up, shows that there is no
assurance that such injustice will be corrected. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
(22) DRUG SUSPECT GUNNED DOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A suspected drug pusher responsible for the entrapment of a former
National Bureau of Investigation agent was gunned down Sunday night
while coming out of the Dumaguete Cockpit and Recreation Center in
Barangay Calindagan, Dumaguete City. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dixon "Bobong" Calimutan was shot at close range and sustained four gunshot wounds in different parts of his body, including the head. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two bystanders, Alexis Villahermosa, 40, married of Purok Gabi,
Banilad, Dumaguete City, and parking attendant, Frankie Bilanda, 18,
were hit by stray bullets. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
(23) AN OVERDOSE OF MORALITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
American Strong-Arm Tactics Threaten To Scupper Successful UN Harm
Reduction Drug Programmes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Who remembers the Aids and drugs panics of the mid-1990s? We would
guess that even those who were interested in drugs and health policy
at the time will only have a vague recollection of fears that the
new killer HIV virus would be spread by drug injectors sharing
needles, then passed on to the rest of society through sexual
contact. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
How this public health disaster has been averted has received little
attention: infection rates have remained low because the government
was among the first in the world to introduce public health
measures. Targeted education campaigns, the provision of clean
syringes and easy access to drug treatment services that did not
demand abstinence - activities known as harm reduction - were backed
by the government in response to an Advisory Council on the Misuse
of Drugs report. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. has remained sceptical about harm reduction, preferring a drug policy based on enforcement and a treatment approach that demands abstinence; it also punishes continued drug use. In recent international debates on drug policy, Washington has criticised countries that deviate from the war on drugs approach, but it has, to some extent, accepted a focus on HIV prevention by other states. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
There are signs, however, that this uneasy consensus is cracking and the gloves are off. The U.S. has always been by far the biggest donor to Aids programmes. Government agencies have indicated they are uncomfortable with their aid being used to fund harm reduction, but now there are moves to cancel any U.S. support for HIV prevention programmes that include harm reduction measures: the very measures that are proven to be most effective in averting epidemics. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. state department has begun to exert pressure on the UN
office on drugs and crime to retract its stated support for public
health measures such as needle exchange. Following a meeting with
state department narcotics head Robert Charles last November, UNODC
executive director, Antonio Costa, wrote to Mr Charles promising to
"review all statements... and will be even more vigilant in the
future", and stating that "we neither endorse needle exchange as a
solution for drug abuse, nor support public statements advocating
such practices". The U.S. is, of course, by far the biggest donor to
the UNODC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If the outcome is a retrenchment from the progress made in recent
years by UN agencies, this would represent a victory of moralism and
financial muscle over evidence and tolerance. Given the huge
financial and human cost of increased HIV infection, we all have
much to lose next week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
PSYCHOSIS, HYPE AND BALONEY | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As the month began, the worldwide press jumped all over a study in the
March issue of the journal Addiction purporting to show a causal link
between marijuana use and psychosis. "Drug Doubles Mental Health Risk,"
the BBC reported. "Marijuana Increases Risk of Psychosis," the
Washington Times chimed in. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Such purported links have lately become the darling of prohibitionists,
but a close look at the new study reveals gaping holes unmentioned in
those definitive-sounding headlines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA USERS IN TREATMENT: UNRAVELING THE FEDERAL SPIN | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"What does it all mean? No one disputes the fact that it is possible for
people to abuse marijuana, however the problem is obviously less
significant than is being portrayed by the feds." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
For a more complete report with links and citations, see:
http://www.csdp.org/news/news/newresearch.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||||
03/08/05 - Roger Goodman of King County Bar Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
NORML RELEASES ANALYSIS OF U.S. MARIJUANA ARREST DATA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
March 11, 2005 - Washington, DC, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
US marijuana policies, which rely primarily on criminal penalties and
law enforcement, are wholly ineffective at controlling the use and
sale of marijuana, concludes a comprehensive report issued today by
the NORML Foundation. The report, entitled "Crimes of Indiscretion:
Marijuana Arrests in the United States," includes a detailed
examination of the fiscal costs associated with the enforcement of
marijuana laws at the state and county level, as well as a complete
demographic analysis of which Americans are most likely to be
arrested for violating marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
AN IRRATIONAL VIEW OF DRUG THERAPY | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By David Oxman, MD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
How distressing to read that our national drug policy relies not on facts but on misinformation and stigmatization. As someone who "gives out" dangerous drugs to my patients every day, I know - and I think most Americans also know - what unfortunately eludes the grasp of administration policymakers like David Murray of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy ( City & Region, Feb. 23). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drugs - be it aspirin, marijuana, morphine, or MDMA ( ecstasy ) - are in and of themselves morally neutral; it is the context of their use that matters. To suggest that the American people - including the children we are trying to protect from drug misuse - don't understand this is insulting and, more important, counterproductive. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Furthermore, if Murray believes that doctors shouldn't use MDMA to help dying cancer patients because young people will no longer think it is dangerous, perhaps he should be consistent and have us stop using morphine and Valium. Not only does a drug policy based on selective "stigmatization" work to deny patients potential new therapies; it is irrational and untenable. Just ask any teenager. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DAVID OXMAN, MD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Souder May Never Understand NEPs Without A Brain Exchange | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, call him a slow
learner. But after so many years of socially-destructive stupidity,
the problem seems to go beyond confused facts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm talking about Congressman Mark Souder (R-IN). When there's a
drug policy choice, expect him to go with the most vicious,
counterproductive option. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
His most famous efforts include the drug provisions in the Higher
Education Act, which deny federal financial aid for students with
drug convictions. But he shows unwavering commitment to all the bad
polices of the drug war, like the suppression of needle exchange
programs. Not satisfied with trying to hurt people in his own
country, Souder and other U.S. drug warriors are attempting to
spread their disease through the world by restricting funds for
groups that promote needle exchanges. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
When most experts on AIDS and other blood-bourne diseases support
needle exchange as a way to reduce disease, Souder says the exact
opposite, contrary to all facts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It's an impossible position to defend. So Souder has attempted for
years to create his own facts. Fortunately mainstream newspapers
like the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post have caught on to
him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Here's what a recent Chicago Tribune editorial said about Souder: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Souder cites a study of a needle-exchange program in Vancouver
that, according to his spokesman, demonstrated the 'HIV and
hepatitis epidemics exploded in the aftermath of the introduction of
needle-exchange programs, as did the drug epidemic.' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"But the doctors who conducted the Vancouver study wrote, in an
April letter to the director of the National Institutes of Health,
that Souder's interpretation of the data was incorrect. 'For Mr.
Souder to take the Vancouver data out of context, is selective and
self-serving,' they wrote." ( See | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Now corrected, Souder won't try to pull the old self-serving
misinterpretation trick again, will he? Don't be so sure. He was
corrected the same way more than six years ago, and it clearly
taught him nothing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Back in 1999, Souder wrote this letter - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"...[L]ast year on the op-ed page of the New York Times, the authors
of those studies wrote that their research was being misinterpreted.
They stated that a comprehensive approach, including needle
exchange, was needed to reduce the spread of HIV among | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps Souder just forgot, or thought activists, as well as the New
York Times and the Washington Post, would forget. Fortunately, the
Media Awareness Project archives don't forget. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm neither scientist nor doctor, but I interpret this ongoing
episode as a sign that support for prohibition leads to (or results
from) memory loss and brain decay. That might not seem too smart in
itself, but it's the nicest thing I can think of to say about either
prohibition or Souder. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and author of
Maximizing Harm - http://www.maximizingharm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The first duty of man is that of subduing fear." - Thomas Carlyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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