| July 1, 2005 #406 | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) SENATE OVERRIDES GOVERNOR'S VETO OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
And as the clock ticked toward a new fiscal year, the Senate also
releases the state's $6.35-billion budget that was signed by Governor
Carcieri. | ||||||||||||||||
PROVIDENCE -- Working late into the night, weary lawmakers slogged on
toward adjournment yesterday, battling over whether to institute new
controls on prostitution and wine sales, confirming a new director of
the state Department of Environmental Management and holding a Senate
vote to override Governor Carcieri's veto of medical marijuana
legislation. | ||||||||||||||||
In voting 28 to 6 in favor of the override, senators rejected objections
of Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere, R-Westerly, who said that
while the governor supports "effective pain management techniques,"
marijuana is "an addictive drug" and the override would mean that
"nearly anyone" in the state could grow the plant. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) SETTLEMENT REACHED IN DRUG DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Partial Award To Be At Least $200,000 | ||||||||||||||||
More than five years ago, 18-year-old Sara Aeschlimann of Naperville
died of an overdose on Mother's Day after taking what she thought
was a popular club drug. | ||||||||||||||||
Her friend, Garrett Harth, who was convicted of supplying the drugs, is
serving out the remaining days of his prison sentence. | ||||||||||||||||
Jan and Robert Aeschlimann sued Harth and his parents because it was in their home that Sara fell ill. She died hours later in a hospital. | ||||||||||||||||
A partial settlement in the lawsuit will be made public today in DuPage
County Judge Stephen Culliton's courtroom. | ||||||||||||||||
The girl's parents will be awarded at least an estimated $200,000, all of which is covered by the Harths' homeowners insurance policy. The policy is capped at $300,000. The award releases Garrett Harth and his parents, Gary and Fran, from further liability in the case. | ||||||||||||||||
But the Aeschlimanns' landmark suit also targets other alleged drug
dealers identified by police on suspicion they sold club drugs in the
area when Sara died. It is based on a rarely used 1996 law that allows
victims to hold dealers accountable for injuries as manufacturers who
produce defective products. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) SHOWTIME GOES TO POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Will A Drug-Dealing Mom Attract Cable Subscribers? | ||||||||||||||||
Exploring The Gray Areas | ||||||||||||||||
As a teenager growing up in Beverly Hills, Jenji Kohan once rummaged
through the refrigerator at a girlfriend's house in search of a snack
and discovered something else: a drawer stuffed with marijuana. Although
not a pot smoker herself, she instantly knew what was inside the plastic
baggies. "It wasn't celery," she says. | ||||||||||||||||
The discovery by Ms. Kohan that a pair of seemingly conventional parents smoked marijuana led her, decades later, to create "Weeds," a series about a suburban soccer mom who, in order to make ends meet after her husband dies of a heart attack while jogging, turns to dealing pot. | ||||||||||||||||
The show, which stars Mary-Louise Parker as the dealer and Elizabeth
Perkins as her best friend, is equal parts comedy and drama, with an eye
to exploring the chimerical moral codes of family life in a sun-bleached
Southern California suburb where everyone drives SUVs and walks around
with double lattes from the local cafe. The first of 10 half-hour
episodes premieres Aug. 7. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
'Soft' On Pot? | ||||||||||||||||
Nevertheless, it's an awkward time to launch a TV series that takes a
casual view of pot smoking. Up to now, comic depictions of drug use have
been limited to lightweight teen gag movies like Cheech and Chong's 1978
"Up In Smoke" or last summer's "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle."
Moreover, "Weeds" makes its debut at a moment when social conservatives
are putting enormous pressure on Hollywood to pay attention to "values"
and practice a modicum of self-censorship. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) WORLD ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The illegal drugs business rakes in more money than 88% of the world's countries. It brings untold deaths and misery to millions. If you were burgled recently, drugs were probably the cause. Isn't it time governments tried a new way of dealing with the problem? | ||||||||||||||||
If your house was burgled last year... if your mobile phone was nicked
in the street... if you have bought a dodgy copy of a computer game or
DVD... then you have probably been sucked into one of the world's
biggest businesses - the drugs business. | ||||||||||||||||
World sales of illegal drugs in 2003 earned more than the gross domestic
product of 88 Per Cent of the world's nations. | ||||||||||||||||
The number of people using drugs rose 15 per cent - a total of 200
million people. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Even the federal drug czar is openly pushing for cuts to a failed
drug war program, much to the chagrin of those who get money from
the program. Just think if he cut all the failed drug war
programs... | ||||||||||||||||
Rush Limbaugh's drug case continues, with a judge looking at Limbaugh's medical records and deciding which prosecutors can use. An advocate and user of religious peyote pleads not guilty. | ||||||||||||||||
In North Carolina, at least one legislator is thinking about the
practical implications of increased restrictions on over the counter
drugs which are used to manufacture methamphetamine. "What we're
talking about is access to a legitimate product," said Rep. Phil
Haire. "I don't know about you all, but I have bad allergies. My
Food Lion doesn't have a pharmacist. My Ingles doesn't have a
pharmacist." Also, a book review revealing the bias behind stories
suggesting meth is ravaging the gay community. | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) DRUG CZAR PUSHES CUTS TO PROGRAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Slashing funds to the area's war on drugs would be harmful, Other
officials contend. | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Federal drug czar John P. Walters said Monday that a
program that brings millions in drug-fighting money to Central
Florida and other areas should be slashed. | ||||||||||||||||
Walters, who is spending today in Orlando making speeches and
meeting with local officials, has angered people nationally and in
Florida with his proposal. | ||||||||||||||||
Central Florida gets $2.5 million for the program from the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which Walters runs.
Ever since a surge in heroin deaths in the 1990s, the region has
been one of 28 in the country designated as a High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area. Jacksonville and South Florida also are on the
list. | ||||||||||||||||
The HIDTA designation brings in extra money and sets up a system in
which state, local and federal law enforcement work together to
break up drug organizations. | ||||||||||||||||
"You're going to see more drugs on the street" if the cuts become
law, said Terry Fernandez, head of the Central Florida HIDTA and a
federal narcotics officer for 27 years before that. "You don't know
how much good it does until you take it away." | ||||||||||||||||
But President Bush earlier this year proposed cutting the program by 56 percent. Walters, in an interview Monday, said HIDTA had grown unfocused and had not proved it breaks up the supply of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
"We have to make choices about funding on the basis of both responsible budgeting and program performance," Walters said. | ||||||||||||||||
But politicians of both parties and law-enforcement officials are
fighting the cut to the $227 million program. Nationally, HIDTA
operations nabbed 12,000 fugitives and $10.5 billion in drugs last
year. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) JUDGE TO REVIEW LIMBAUGH RECORDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
He'll Decide Which Files Will Be Used In Drug Case | ||||||||||||||||
A Palm Beach County judge ruled Friday that he will privately review
Rush Limbaugh's medical records to determine which documents will be
released to prosecutors investigating the conservative radio host's
prescription drug use. | ||||||||||||||||
Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull ruled that prosecutors would receive
only records that "fall within the scope" of search warrants issued
as authorities investigated Limbaugh for a pattern of alleged
prescription drug abuse. Any other documents will be turned over to
Limbaugh's attorney. | ||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors had sought access to all of Limbaugh's medical records, saying the documents could show that the commentator engaged in doctor shopping -- illegally obtaining overlapping prescriptions from different doctors. He has not been charged with any crimes. | ||||||||||||||||
Limbaugh attorney Roy Black had argued the records were seized improperly and contained potentially embarrassing medical details. | ||||||||||||||||
Black also maintained that any records turned over to prosecutors
should be limited to the period between March 2003 and September
2003. Prosecutors cited prescriptions Limbaugh received during that | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) COUPLE PLEAD NOT GUILTY TO PEYOTE CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Founded Church: The Two Claim It Is Their Right To Use The Drug In
Their Religious Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
A Utah County man and his wife who insist it is their First Amendment right to smoke peyote during Native American religious ceremonies pleaded not guilty Friday to federal drug counts. | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. Magistrate Samuel Alba set a hearing for Tuesday to determine
if Benjamin residents James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney, 61, and Linda
Mooney, 51, should remain in custody until their trial. | ||||||||||||||||
"It may be months down the road before this matter is resolved,"
Alba said. | ||||||||||||||||
The prosecution is the latest twist in a dispute over the use of
peyote by the couple and members of the church they founded, the
Oklevueha Earthwalks Native American Church. | ||||||||||||||||
In 2000, the Mooneys were charged in state court with a dozen
first-degree felony counts after police seized 12,000 peyote buttons
from their church. The charges were dropped last year after the Utah
Supreme Court ruled the Mooneys and other members of the Native
American Church, regardless of race, can use the hallucinogenic
cactuses in religious ceremonies. | ||||||||||||||||
However, under federal law, prosecutors contend only enrolled
members of federally-recognized tribes can use the substance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Lambert said Friday that James
Mooney cannot legally smoke or distribute the drug to other members
of his church. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) HAIRE PROPOSES TO AMEND COLD-MEDICINE RESTRICTIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Behind-the-counter question kicked to subcommittee | ||||||||||||||||
State retailers and rural legislators won a battle yesterday in the fight over proposed restrictions on some cold medicine, forcing the matter to a legislative subcommittee for further negotiation. | ||||||||||||||||
Legislation that passed the N.C. Senate in April would require that
any medicine tablets including pseudoephedrine - such as Sudafed -
be kept behind a pharmacy counter, away from people who might use
the tablets to make methamphetamine. Consumers would need to show
photo identification to buy the medicine, and couldn't buy more than
nine grams - about a third of an ounce - a month without a
prescription. | ||||||||||||||||
Senators voted 41-3 in favor of the idea at the time, but some members of the House said yesterday that they might not go along. | ||||||||||||||||
Rep. Phil Haire, D-Jackson, lives in the town of Sylva with a
population estimated at 2,426. He argued that the restrictions would
place too great a burden on people who don't live near all-night
pharmacies and buy their medicine from grocery stores. | ||||||||||||||||
"What we're talking about is access to a legitimate product," Haire
said during a hearing yesterday. "I don't know about you all, but I
have bad allergies. My Food Lion doesn't have a pharmacist. My
Ingles doesn't have a pharmacist." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) BOOK REVIEW: CRYSTAL'S NOT THE REAL VILLAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
There Are Others To Blame For Our Woe | ||||||||||||||||
The bullshit propaganda that gay people are fed by the straight
media is horrifying. But not nearly as horrifying as the bullshit
propaganda we quite happily feed ourselves. | ||||||||||||||||
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It is filled with anecdotal horror stories related by the poor
people who have become addicted to the drug. Each of these tales
follows a pattern that becomes quickly recognizable: Subject starts
doing drug recreationally. Subject starts to take increasingly
higher doses of drug in order to replicate that first high. Subject
becomes addicted to drug, starts having unsafe sex for hours or days
at a time, destroys their family/ social/professional life and hits
rock bottom in some hideously dramatic fashion. Subject realizes
they have a problem and tries to get off crystal, usually
unsuccessfully. | ||||||||||||||||
Of course the details vary slightly. Some are successful businessmen, others are wild club kids, while most are just average fags like you and me. But once you've read the first narrative of a meth addict you've read them all. In fact, once you've read any story involving negative addiction, whether it's alcohol, cocaine, heroin, greasy fried foods, kinky sex or cigarettes, you've read them all and they get tiresome very fast. As most gay men will learn by the time they're 30, the only thing more boring than being involved with a drug addict is being a drug addict yourself. | ||||||||||||||||
The author, like many before him, draws a very direct line from
crystal use to HIV seroconversion. It's a neat, tidy book and would
be far less offensive if it actually was what it should have been -
a pamphlet. But it's a book. | ||||||||||||||||
Despite these rather grandiose claims I saw nothing in this book
that went even an iota beyond the expected "war on drugs" party line
that America likes so much. It's the attitude that says all drugs
are bad and must be wiped out, that there are no casual or
recreational users of drugs, just addicts and that all of an
addict's problems stem from the drug they do rather than the
decisions they make. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Mandatory minimum sentence still seem to be in flux, as some
legislators want more tough punishment, while others, including some
ex-prosecutors, want judicial discretion. In Iowa, the dominant
political parties may be bracing for a fight over the voting rights
of released convicts. And in Florida, a police evidence manager is
sentenced for losing track of $500,000 worth of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) MANDATORY SENTENCE STRUGGLE FAR FROM OVER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. District Judge Rodney Webb breathed a sigh of relief when the
U.S. Supreme Court struck down mandatory sentencing ranges in
January. | ||||||||||||||||
The congressional mandates reduced judges to "whipping boys" who had little discretion in sentencing criminals, Webb said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
"It just galls me that someone would suggest they know more about
handling a case before me," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
But recent statements by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales show
that the struggle between Congress and the judicial branch is far
from over, Webb said. | ||||||||||||||||
Too many criminals are getting light sentences since the Supreme
Court struck down mandatory sentencing guidelines in January,
Gonzales said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||
Gonzales said that since the court ruling, he has seen "a drift
toward lesser sentences." | ||||||||||||||||
He highlighted the sentencing of a drug dealer in South Carolina. A
federal judge sentenced the defendant to 10 years in prison,
compared to the 27-year sentence mandatory guidelines would have
required, Gonzales said. | ||||||||||||||||
Webb called Gonzales' use of a few examples "a cheap shot." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) EX-PROSECUTORS CRITICIZE SENTENCING IN UTAH CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DENVER -- Nine former U.S. attorneys in Oklahoma this week
criticized a prison sentence imposed under controversial federal
laws that mandate minimum prison terms. | ||||||||||||||||
They are among 163 former federal judges, attorneys general and
prosecutors across the nation who submitted a "friend of the court"
brief to the U.S. appeals court in Denver. | ||||||||||||||||
While in office, those officials were sworn to uphold the laws used
to impose the sentence they now challenge. | ||||||||||||||||
The brief argues that a 55-year mandatory sentence imposed on a
24-year-old first-time offender in Utah is so "grossly | ||||||||||||||||
Weldon Angelos, a rap producer who turned down a 16-year plea
bargain, was convicted of carrying a gun under his clothing while
selling several hundred dollars worth of marijuana on two occasions
and for owning several other guns. | ||||||||||||||||
It was the gun circumstances, added to the drug selling, that
triggered the mandatory prison term. | ||||||||||||||||
The judge in Salt Lake City who imposed the sentence described it as
"cruel, unjust and irrational," but said his hands were tied by the
"mandatory minimum" laws. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) FELON VOTING RIGHTS ISSUE MAY SPUR LAWSUIT FROM GOP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DES MOINES - Iowa Senate Co-president Jeff Lamberti, R-Ankeny, said
Friday that Republicans might sue Gov. Tom Vilsack to stop his
planned executive order that would make it easier for convicted
felons to restore their voting rights. | ||||||||||||||||
"It could be legal action against the executive order or legislative
action down the road," he said, interviewed on the Iowa Public
Television program "Iowa Press." | ||||||||||||||||
Lamberti said the Iowa GOP and several other groups are looking for
the best way to fight the plan, which may include seeking an
injunction to stop Vilsack from his scheduled signing of the order
on the Fourth of July. | ||||||||||||||||
But Lamberti conceded that Vilsack might be on solid legal ground to
make his order. He said the GOP would only sue if it can find "solid
legal standing." | ||||||||||||||||
Vilsack announced his plan last Friday, flanked by members of civil rights groups, church leaders and the Iowa Civil Liberties Union. The executive order automatically would restore voting rights for felons who have completed their prison, parole and probation. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) FORMER SHERIFF'S EVIDENCE MANAGER GETS THREE YEARS FOR STEALING (Top)DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||
DELAND -- A former Volusia County Sheriff's Office evidence manager
was sentenced to three years in prison and 10 years probation today
for stealing nearly $500,000 worth of drug evidence from the DeLand
compound he supervised. | ||||||||||||||||
Tim Wallace, of New Smyrna Beach, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
traffic cocaine and official misconduct. He was arrested in February
2004 after investigators said he altered records and replaced some
drug evidence with sod to try to hide the thefts. | ||||||||||||||||
"He abused the public's trust, he abused our trust and he's going to
have to suffer the consequences," said Sheriff's Office spokesman
Gary Davidson. "I think (the sentence) is appropriate under the
circumstances." | ||||||||||||||||
At least 370 pounds of marijuana and 1.89 pounds of cocaine were
missing from the evidence locker, police said. A Marine Corps
veteran, Wallace was fired in February 2004 for neglecting his
duties at the compound. | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Despite the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the right of the
federal government to override state-sanctioned medical marijuana
programs, the march towards compassionate cannabis access is
advancing steadily in many U.S. jurisdictions. This week we begin
with the great news that a Rhode Island medical cannabis bill was
passed by the Senate 33 to 1. Though quickly vetoed by the governor,
the bill - which would allow users with medical recommendations to
grow up to 12 plants and to possess up to 2.5 ounces - supporters
are confident that they have the 3/5ths majority necessary to
override the veto. In other cannabis reform news, Massachusetts
debated a decriminalization bill this week that would make personal
possession a civil offense with a maximum fine of $100. Supporters
say that the bill, which is similar to bills passed in 11 other
states, would save Massachusetts $24 million a year. | ||||||||||||||||
Medicinal cannabis hit the radio airwaves this week, with the Marijuana Policy Project sending 30 and 60 second ads to over 1000 radio stations across the U.S. The ads feature Montel Williams, Angel Raich and Tom Robbins discussing their experiences with medicinal cannabis and urging a change in federal policy. | ||||||||||||||||
In other med-cannabis news, U.K. natural healthcare company William
Ransom looks to be the next major corporation to explore the
therapeutic potential of cannabis. The company will head a 2-year
project funded by the E.U. that will attempt to develop an extract
to treat migraines and rheumatoid arthritis. And lastly this week,
the story of 64-year old Jeanne "Magic" Ferguson, who's cannabis
legalization efforts have led the former nurse to be known as the
"Ganja Gramma". | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) MEDICAL MARIJUANA? RHODE ISLAND SAYS YES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Rhode Island legislature passed a bill yesterday allowing the use of medical marijuana, three weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that federal authorities could prosecute those who use the drug for medicinal purposes, even in states with laws allowing it. | ||||||||||||||||
The bill passed the State Senate by a vote of 33 to 1 last evening
and will head to the desk of Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, who is likely
to reject it. Supporters of the bill, which passed the House 52 to
10 last week, are confident they have the necessary three-fifths
majority to override a veto and make Rhode Island the 11th state to
authorize patients to use the drug. | ||||||||||||||||
The law would allow those with a "debilitating medical condition,"
including cancer, glaucoma and AIDS, to receive a signed statement
from their doctor stating they would benefit from marijuana.
Patients and their caregivers would be entered into a registry kept
by the State Department of Health. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) POT DECRIMINALIZING MEASURE UP FOR DEBATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Lawmakers on Beacon Hill today will debate a proposal to
decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, a
measure advocates say would save the state at least $24 million a
year and prevent pot smokers from losing government student loans
and scholarships. | ||||||||||||||||
The bill, filed in the Senate, would make marijuana possession a
civil offense punishable by a $100 fine. | ||||||||||||||||
"As far as public opinion is concerned, this should pass," said Whitney Taylor, executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts. "Voters are way ahead of the politicians on this." | ||||||||||||||||
Voters in six legislative districts approved nonbinding measures in
favor of marijuana decriminalization last November, according to the
Drug Policy Forum. Since 2000, there have been 36 ballot questions
regarding decriminalization, medical marijuana and marijuana
taxation and regulation, and voters approved every one, the group
said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) ADVOCATE RECORDS MEDICAL MARIJUANA RADIO ADS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The voice of Oakland's Angel Raich might soon be emanating from
radios near and far as medical marijuana advocates launch a
nationwide advertising blitz. | ||||||||||||||||
The Marijuana Policy Project on Monday sent CDs with 30- and 60-second spots to 1,000 radio stations from coast to coast. | ||||||||||||||||
The campaign includes ads with Raich, a plaintiff in the recently
decided U.S. Supreme Court case, and television talk show host
Montel Williams speaking about how medical marijuana has helped them
survive serious illnesses. Raich uses marijuana for a variety of
maladies, including a wasting syndrome, while Williams uses it to
control symptoms of multiple sclerosis. | ||||||||||||||||
Another pair of spots features novelist Tom Robbins describing his
mother's battle with glaucoma. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(17) WILLIAM RANSOM SEEKS CANNABIS BOOST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NATURAL healthcare company William Ransom is working on producing a
cannabis-extract for migraine and rheumatoid arthritis. | ||||||||||||||||
The AIM-listed firm is better known for over-the-counter products,
ranging from aloe vera-based toothpastes and Radian B muscle rub to
Manuca honey, but a move into producing marijuana resins would not
be a first for the firm. | ||||||||||||||||
Hitchin-based Ransom used to produce extracts of the infamous weed
more than 30 years ago, its chief executive Tim Dye told the Evening
Standard, until changes to the law prohibited its prescription as a
medicine in 1973. | ||||||||||||||||
Now a 801.3m (UKP 862,000) grant from the EU to a consortium
spearheaded by Ransom has triggered a two-year project to examine if
there is a viable market for use in medical therapies. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(18) GRAMMA GANJA'S CAMPAIGN IS SMOKIN' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
At the ripe age of 64, Gramma Ganja is proud to say she's gone to
pot. And she was heartened to see Boston ranked No. 1 in the United
States in a recent federal survey of regions with the highest
marijuana use. What's more, there ought to be a law - legalizing pot
- said Jeanne "Magic" Ferguson of West Roxbury, executive director
of Gramma's for Ganja (grammasforganja.org), who has been waging an
Internet campaign for marijuana since the mid-1990s. | ||||||||||||||||
"My son was smoking cannabis 30 years ago, my grandchildren are
suffering the consequences" of the law, Ferguson said. "My
granddaughter has just as much of a chance of going to prison as my
son did. That's why I do what I do." A grandmother of five who wears
hemp clothing, listens to Andrea Bocelli, belongs to the League of
Women Voters and ran for state representative in Washington state,
Ferguson said the first thing she ever did with marijuana was flush
it down the toilet - after she found it in her 16-year-old son's
drawer 30 years ago. | ||||||||||||||||
That same year, a friend brought her some pot to try and she's been
toking ever since. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In Thailand, the "War on Drugs III" (prohibitionists' latest final
solution there) officially ends this month, and prohibitionists once
again have declared victory. Big busts (instead of indicating
supplies are also big) were put forward as indicators of success.
This prohibitionist drive follows a bloody pogrom in 2003 which saw
some 2,500 drug suspects summarily executed, ostensibly to make
Thailand "drug free." This week, drug-war officials also admitted a
police "black list" was still in use. | ||||||||||||||||
Officials in Qatar were jubilant after over 500 kilos of hashish
were seized from "Asian smugglers," a good indication the demand for
hashish in Arabia is as large as ever. With religious fervor
(familiar to readers in the U.S.), Qatar authorities solemnly
proclaimed "the State of Qatar spared no effort" to combat "drug
abuse". Expect use of drugs in the region to soar as prohibitionist
enforcement efforts increase. | ||||||||||||||||
In many countries, pot charges can be used to manipulate public opinion. Canada seemed no exception this week after it was revealed that reefer-growing charges against former ministerial aide David Basi would be dropped. The charges, possibly timed to embarrass the ruling Liberal party before the 2004 election, involved alleged marijuana growing at a B.C. rental property owned by Basi. | ||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, we have two background pieces about the drug
turf battles on the U.S. border with Mexico. The first piece, from
the Chicago Tribune, bemoans the carnage when rival drug
organizations slug it out for market share in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
The second piece, from a U.K. newspaper, laid the deaths at the feet
of the "failure of drug prohibition in the United States." Yet,
"despite the manifest failure of the drug war," continued the U.K.
Economist article, "American officials see talk of legalisation as
surrender." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) WAR ON DRUGS III ENDS IN JULY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
7.2 million baht, drugs and offenders seized | ||||||||||||||||
The records of War on Drugs III show that from April 1 to June 16,
142 retailers and drug addicts with 38,000 speed pills were found
and 7,200,000 baht from 13 drug dealers was confiscated, according
to Pol. Col. Chamnan Ruadreuw, deputy commander of Chiang Mai
Provincial Police. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Pol. Col. Chamnan said that the officers would continue to suppress
drug wholesalers and retailers with names in the police black list.
He claimed that several drug dealers would be arrested before June
30, the scheduled end of the third war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) 503 KILOS OF HASHISH SEIZED IN THREE OPERATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The anti-drugs department has seized a total of 503 kilos of hashish
and 2.42 kilos of heroin in three different operations, Brigadier
Mohamed Mubarak al-Kholeifi has announced. | ||||||||||||||||
A total of 12 Asian smugglers were captured in the sea in two
separate operations, he said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The chairman of the Interior Ministry's Drugs and Alcoholism Control
Affairs Standing Committee, Major General Saad Jassem al-Kholeifi,
asserted that the State of Qatar spared no effort in contributing to
all regional and international efforts aimed at combating drug
abuse. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(21) CROWN DROPS MARIJUANA CHARGES AGAINST EX-AIDE BASI (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- Federal prosecutors have stayed two drug charges
against David Basi, the former ministerial aide at the centre of an
unprecedented police raid on the B.C. Legislature. | ||||||||||||||||
The Crown's decision came to light only yesterday, although the stay
of proceedings on charges against Mr. Basi of production of a
controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking
was entered in provincial court last Friday. | ||||||||||||||||
The charges were laid after the discovery of a marijuana grow operation at a Vancouver Island residence rented out by Mr. Basi. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
His lawyer, Michael Bolton, said the Crown agreed to stay the
charges after reviewing "some material not previously available"
that had been turned over by his client. | ||||||||||||||||
"Mr. Basi is obviously very relieved," Mr. Bolton said. "The
offences committed [at the grow-op house] were without his knowledge
or involvement. | ||||||||||||||||
"Now that these charges have been stayed, Mr. Basi is able to
concentrate on fighting the political charges." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Search warrants that would reveal more details of the case have been
kept sealed by the courts, despite persistent attempts by media
lawyers to have them released. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(22) MEXICAN DRUG GANGS DEFY LAW IN LAREDO, SISTER CITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico -- American tourists used to flock south across
the border to ride through the streets of this town in the back of
horse-drawn carriages. Now the more common sight is heavily armed
Mexican soldiers, riding through the streets in the back of pickup
trucks. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But an explosion of drug violence in Nuevo Laredo in recent months,
capped by the audacious June 8 assassination of the city's new
police chief on his first day on the job, is threatening to tear
apart the two communities and rend a symbiotic relationship that has
existed for 250 years. | ||||||||||||||||
Mexican President Vicente Fox rushed in federal troops to take over
from Nuevo Laredo's corrupt police force, part of a larger
initiative called Operation Safe Mexico that is targeting the entire
border region. But despite the presence of federal officers, gunmen
still shot up a hotel and opened fire on a protest near City Hall in
the last two weeks. | ||||||||||||||||
Turf war casualties | ||||||||||||||||
The unrest, fueled by a vicious turf war between two rival Mexican drug cartels, has claimed more than 60 Mexican lives since the beginning of the year; the U.S. State Department says 30 Americans have been kidnapped or murdered in Nuevo Laredo in the past year. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Fueling corruption | ||||||||||||||||
The Nuevo Laredo violence had been bubbling for years, abetted by a
local police force allegedly corrupted by drug-money payoffs. But
the violence surged earlier this year after the arrests of several
drug kingpins left rivals scrambling for the valuable territory in
the area, which serves as a principal conduit for cocaine and other
drugs shipped north along U.S. Interstate Highway 35 into the
American heartland. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(23) THE WAR ON THE BORDER STREETS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Americans' demand for illegal drugs has created powerful crime
syndicates in Mexico. The country's police, only partly reformed,
struggle to keep up | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The American authorities need to change their way of | ||||||||||||||||
Mr Salazar is not alone in this belief. | ||||||||||||||||
The failure of drug prohibition in the United States is wreaking
havoc in northern Mexico. In the past, much Colombian cocaine
reached the United States through the Caribbean. Repression has made
that route riskier. | ||||||||||||||||
But instead of checking the overall flow, this has merely re-routed
it via Mexico. According to an assessment by the United States'
government, last year 92% of cocaine entering the country did so
through Mexico, up from 77% in 2003. | ||||||||||||||||
The story is the same for other drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
The United States Department of Justice's latest National Drug
Threat Assessment notes that marijuana production in Mexico
increased by 70% in 2003 (the most recent year for which figures are
available). It also gives warning that Mexico's output of heroin and
methamphetamine is increasing. Anthony Placido, an official at the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told Congress recently that
methamphetamine seizures on the United States southern border are up
74% since 2001. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Mexican and American officials agree that the rising violence stems
in large part from a battle to fill a power vacuum left by the
arrest of two prominent traffickers. In 2002, Mexican police
detained Benjamn Arellano Felix, the head of the Tijuana cartel; in
2003, they arrested Osiel Crdenas Guilln, who headed the Gulf
cartel. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The sheer scale of the United States' illegal imports of drugs from
Mexico has created some of the world's most powerful and dangerous
organised criminal gangs. | ||||||||||||||||
Taming them will be neither easy nor quick. | ||||||||||||||||
Despite the manifest failure of the drug war, American officials see
talk of legalisation as surrender. | ||||||||||||||||
The result is that Mr Salazar's prayer seems unlikely to be answered
soon. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
UNITED NATIONS WORLD DRUG REPORT 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has issued its World Drug Report 2005. | ||||||||||||||||
The URL for download is: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MAP MEDIA ACTIVISM ROUNDTABLE | ||||||||||||||||
We are pleased to announce another session during the coming week in the
DrugSense Virtual Conference Room. | ||||||||||||||||
The VC Room will again be open for a couple hours so that DPR activists
from around North America can join an ongoing roundtable discussion of
all things DPR and how to best increase DPR-related media coverage
within your community and nationwide. | ||||||||||||||||
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6 8:00pm EDT | ||||||||||||||||
See: http://mapinc.org/resource/paltalk.htm for all details on how you can participate in this important meeting of leading minds in reform. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
ILLEGAL DRUGS 14% OF WORLD AG EXPORTS | ||||||||||||||||
By Scott Henson at Grits For Breakfast | ||||||||||||||||
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2005/06/illegal-drugs-14-of-world-ag-exports.html | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
The Boulder Weekly | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
TREATING DOCTORS AS DRUG DEALERS | ||||||||||||||||
Cato has published a new report about the DEA's war on pain doctors. | ||||||||||||||||
"Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers" by Dr. Ron Libby (professor of
political science and public administration at the University of North
Florida). | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DIFFERENCES IN MARIJUANA ADMISSIONS BASED ON SOURCE OF REFERRAL: 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) | ||||||||||||||||
Criminal justice referrals continue to drive spike in "marijuana
treatment" admissions. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
NETWORK AGAINST PROHIBITION SITE REVAMPED | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.napnt.org/2005/06/napntorg-undergoes-major-revamp.html | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANANEWS WORLD REPORT JUNE 30, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
With Richard Cowan | ||||||||||||||||
UN Propaganda Dud, But Data Interesting. SF Council Wants To Regulate Clubs; RI Governor Vetoes Medical As Czar?s Urges; New Competition For GW? New Twist On Reefer Madness In Chicago and DC, Of Course. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA DECISION IS WORSE THAN YOU THINK | ||||||||||||||||
By Michael Kerner | ||||||||||||||||
I applaud Daniel Henninger's June 10 Wonder Land column "Marijuana!
Supreme Court Just Says No." The Supreme Court decision presented
some interesting lessons. Two so-called conservative members of the
court joined the so-called liberals in confirming the federal
government's right to regulate medical marijuana via a stilted
interpretation of the Commerce Clause. I can understand the liberal
judges' motives. They want to keep the federal government all
powerful for when they have a majority in Congress again. But why
did the two conservatives join them? Is it as simple as a blind
adherence to selected recent precedent? | ||||||||||||||||
If the vote had gone the other way, this precedent might well have
been used to fight for more freedom from government interference in
many aspects of our lives. As it is, it will now be used as an
excuse for more interference. | ||||||||||||||||
The conservatives of my youth always wanted strict enforcement of
the limits on federal power and, therefore, less regulation. Today's
conservatives seem to have lost their way. Here they are supporting
just the type of law they used to deride. | ||||||||||||||||
Folks, if you want less federal interference in your daily life and
business in matters of economic regulation, in education, in local
criminal matters, then you must support less federal interference in
the drug war. The same expansive interpretation of the Commerce
Clause that permits federal regulation of marijuana permits federal
regulation of the number of gallons that your toilet can use per
flush, the number of acres of corn that a farmer can plant and every
other nonsensical federal intervention. | ||||||||||||||||
Michael Kerner | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Muddle At The Supreme Court Over Medical Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||
By Sheldon Richman | ||||||||||||||||
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against medical-marijuana users,
many critics of the decision thought the six-justice majority failed
to show compassion for severely ill people. But the Supreme Court
doesn't sit to dispense compassion. It's supposed to ensure that
Congress respects the Constitution and, by extension, individual
liberty. How did it do on that count? | ||||||||||||||||
Before we get to that question, a foreword is in order. Under
California's Compassionate Use Act, doctors may prescribe marijuana
to patients with severe medical problems. Those patients are then
permitted to grow marijuana for their own use. The state closely
regulates the prescription, cultivation, and use of the product to
prevent others from obtaining it. (At least nine other states have
similar laws.) | ||||||||||||||||
The issue in Gonzalez v. Raich et al. was whether such patients
should be exempt from the federal prohibition against production and
possession of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
Many well-intentioned people say yes: of course, severely ill people
should be able to grow and use marijuana by prescription without
fear that federal agents will barge into their homes (as they did to
Diane Monson, a party in the case), destroy their plants, and charge
them with unlawful possession. | ||||||||||||||||
But the case raises questions that cry out for answers. What about
equality under the law? Why should only sick people be exempted from
the prohibition? If sick people have a right to obtain marijuana, it
must be because they have a right to their own lives and therefore a
right to take all peaceful actions to maintain their lives. But
don't the rest of us have the same rights? | ||||||||||||||||
These questions show that medical-marijuana laws are inappropriate
in a free society, which should respect the right of all adults to
use whatever substances they wish. Laws such as the Compassionate
Use Act are examples of misplaced compassion. Sick people need
freedom, not permission, however compassionate the motive. So do we
all. | ||||||||||||||||
Now what about the Court's ruling? | ||||||||||||||||
If you wish to see how far America has drifted from its libertarian roots, just study the Supreme Court's Commerce Clause cases. The U.S. Constitution delegates to Congress the power to "regulate commerce ... among the several states." This provision was intended to prohibit state governments from enacting protectionist trade restrictions against commercial interests in other states. The clause thus declared the United States a free-trade zone. | ||||||||||||||||
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Congress and the Supreme Court to warp the Commerce Clause into something unrecognizable. It went from a way to maintain the flow of products to a way to restrict and even prohibit the flow of products. Then, during the New Deal it became a means of prohibiting even noncommercial intrastate activity if seen as necessary to regulate interstate commerce. That brought us to our present lamentable circumstances. | ||||||||||||||||
The unfortunate upshot is that while the Raich ruling faithfully follows (bad) Court precedent, it woefully violates the original purpose of the Commerce Clause. More fundamentally, the war on drug producers and consumers itself violates the Constitution. Alas, even the dissenting opinions, such as Justice Clarence Thomas's, is flawed. Thomas writes, "The Commerce Clause empowers Congress to regulate the buying and selling of goods and services trafficked across state lines." Wrong, but the majority, including Justice Antonin Scalia, agreed, adding that, because Congress has a rational basis for fearing that homegrown marijuana could end up in the banned interstate market and because Congress may enact all laws "necessary and proper" for carrying out its objectives, no exemption for sick people from the Controlled Substances Act is justified. | ||||||||||||||||
What a muddle. Yes, there should be no exemption. But that's because
there should be no war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Sheldon Richman is senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation
- http:www.fff.org | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"Crime pays, sometimes, for law enforcement agencies that are
involved in complex, long-term investigations." - U.S. Attorney
Gregory Miller on splitting $11 million in drug money among many
agencies. For complete story, visit | ||||||||||||||||
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