| July 29, 2005 #410 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) CN BC: MARIJUANA SEED STORE RAIDED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police in Vancouver have raided a pot seed business run by the head of
the B.C. Marijuana Party - and it appears as though it was ordered by
the American government. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
An employee of the store says police arrived with a warrant around 11
a.m Friday. The charges outlined in the warrant indicated it was on
behalf of the U.S. government.
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B.C. Marijuana Party leader Marc Emery was not in the store at the time
of the raid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) STUDIES MAY BE OVERSTATED, NEW JAMA REPORT SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nearly one out of every three published medical studies may be
exaggerated or simply untrue, a new study says. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The study's results, which were published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association, concluded that 16 percent of the studies
examined were later contradicted and another 16 percent were weakened
by further testing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
These numbers led the authors to conclude that almost one-third of
published medical research findings may not hold up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Donald Heistad, a UI professor of internal medicine, was glad to see
the study because it brings to light important facts about medical
research the public and media don't realize, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"There is an inherent probability that some findings will be wrong," he
said. "When you have to rely on statistics [for research], there's a
built-in chance for error."
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He added that the media are to blame for some of the misinterpretation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The media latch onto surprising findings; if a study happens to find
that cholesterol isn't harmful, they'll focus on it," he said. "I think
it's an error by the press to overstate such findings and also an error
by the public to accept them."
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[snip]
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(3) BUSH'S WAR ON POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Forget Meth And Other Hard-Core Drugs -- The Administration Would Rather Waste Taxpayer Dollars In An All-Out Assault On Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
America's long-running war on drugs has, literally, gone to pot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
More than two decades after it was launched in response to the spread
of crack cocaine -- and in the midst of a brand-new wave of
methamphetamine use sweeping the country -- the government crackdown
has shifted from hard drugs to marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pot now accounts for nearly half of drug arrests nationwide -- up from
barely a quarter of all busts a decade ago. Spurred by a Supreme Court
decision in June affirming the right of federal agents to crack down on
medical marijuana,
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The Drug Enforcement Administration has launched a series of high-profile raids against pot clinics in California, and police in New York, Memphis and Philadelphia have been waging major offensives against pot smokers that are racking up thousands of arrests. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By almost any measure, however, the war has been as monumental a
failure as the invasion of Iraq. All told, the government sinks an
estimated $35 billion a year into the War on Drugs. Yet illegal drugs
remain cheap and plentiful, and coca cultivation in the Andes -- where
the Bush administration has spent $5.4 billion to eradicate cocaine --
rose twenty-nine percent last year. "Drug prices are at an all-time
low, drug purity is at an all-time high, and polls show that drugs are
more available than ever," says Bill Piper, national affairs director
for the Drug Policy Alliance, a drug-reform organization in Washington,
D.C. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) DARE: IS IT REALLY TELLING CHILDREN THE TRUTH? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On the door to my room there is a bumper sticker that reads "Proud
Parent of a D.A.R.E. Graduate." I put this sticker on my door after
5th grade. I was not in fact a parent of a Drug Abuse Resistance
Education graduate, but a recent graduate myself; one whose essay
was picked to be read in front of a gathering of parents and teachers
for its mature discussion on the perils of drug use. Now the bumper
sticker serves as an ironic reminder of the path I have traveled
since graduating the DARE program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our DARE program leader was a fine member of the Concord Police
Department. He spent countless hours teaching our class what drugs
did to one's health. We knew without a doubt that drugs essentially
fried your brain. If we doubted this fact at all, we were reminded
by the video showing an egg - -"This is your brain" - and then an
egg being fried - "This is your brain on drugs." We practiced and
learned countless techniques to avoid being sucked into the cold,
dark world of drug use. If a drug dealer were to offer us drugs in
the hypothetical future, we would respond with a firm "no" or
explain that we were "allergic." If needed, we could revert to the
conversation closer, the technique that put drug dealers to shame:
the cold shoulder. We knew these techniques were essential because
without them we would probably become addicted or die. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Entering high school I had not tried any substances. However I
assumed that once in high school I would be offered drugs in a dark
hallway and have to revert to the DARE resistance techniques, but
was surprised to find that this situation never arose. My entrance
into the world of drug use was surprisingly safe and natural. My
best friend and I talked to another friend who drank alcohol before.
We were impressed (that he was alive) but mostly we were curious.
So, in the summer between freshman and sophomore year I failed my
Drug Abuse Resistance Education. I drank alcohol. Amazingly, we all
survived the night and actually enjoyed the experience. In fact, I
learned something that night that the DARE program failed to teach:
drugs feel great!
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[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal lawmakers are still unhappy with the Bush administration,
pushing for more attention to methamphetamine while the Office of
Drug Control Policy continues its marijuana fixation. Another pain
doctor gets a serious prison term despite please from patients he
had helped. An opinion piece by John Tierney in the New York Times
offers some insights about why such cases persist. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, a South Carolina city pushes the state to ban salvia
divinorium, while the U.S. House appears ready to back off a tiny
bit from withholding financial aid to students with drug
convictions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) GOP CALLS ON BUSH TO AID METH FIGHT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Proposed Funding Cuts, Lack Of Plan To Control Drug Panned | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Republicans on a key drug panel scolded the Bush
administration Tuesday for proposing budget cuts in programs that
combat methamphetamine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Stop cutting the budget for methamphetamine and back up the Congress," Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., told Scott Burns, an official at White House Office of National Drug Control Policy at a hearing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Our frustration is building because meth is moving west to east,
from rural to small cities to larger cities. When it hits it
overwhelms us," Souder said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Souder is chairman of the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Subcommittee of the Government Reform Committee. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Republican lawmakers also criticized the Bush administration for failing to develop a comprehensive plan to control meth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"I don't hear anything that looks like a plan," warned Rep. John
Mica, R-Fla. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Burns, who is deputy director of state and local affairs for the White House drug office, said, "I'll deliver the message." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Burns said he agrees the administration needs to develop a national
strategy to control meth but stopped short of calling
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[snip]
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(6) DOCTOR GETS 25 YEARS IN DRUG CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
He's Also Convicted Of Racketeering
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They stood one by one, more than a dozen people, heaping praise on their beloved former family physician Dr. Denis Deonarine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
They lauded the 60-year-old Jupiter doctor for being an old-fashioned practitioner who gave patients his home phone number and spent a lot of time with them during office visits. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Near the end of Deonarine's three-hour sentencing on 10 counts,
including trafficking in oxycodone, racketeering and Medicaid fraud,
the teary-eyed doctor addressed the court and begged Circuit Judge
Richard Wennet for "mercy, leniency and empathy."
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The Trinidad native said he dedicated his life to his patients, calling medicine "my love, my hobby, my life, my career." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It cost me two divorces," the doctor said. "I worked 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. I took my own calls."
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Any possible mistakes, he said, were unintentional. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Please, look at some of the good things I have done in my life." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But in the end, the judge had no choice but to give Deonarine 25
years in prison, the minimum mandatory sentence for trafficking more
than 28 grams of the painkiller oxycodone. Deonarine was also
ordered to pay $550,000 in fines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two vastly different views of Deonarine emerged on Friday.
Prosecutor Barbara Burns said the doctor may have entered medicine
with good intentions, but greed took over when he began focusing on
pain management in mid-2000. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
At his May trial, she blamed Deonarine for the 2001 overdose death
of college student Michael Labzda, who went to Deonarine complaining
of back and toe pain and was prescribed OxyContin without any tests.
The jury acquitted Deonarine of murder and 74 other counts, but
convicted him on 10. Deonarine apologized to the Labzda family on
Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) HANDCUFFS AND STETHOSCOPES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The current zeal for sending doctors to jail for writing painkiller
prescriptions may seem baffling, especially to the patients who
relied on the doctors for pain relief. But if you consider it from
the perspective of the agents raiding the doctors' offices, you can
see a certain logic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
During the war on drugs in the 1980's and 1990's, federal and local
agents risked their lives going after drug gangs on the streets. As
their budgets for drug enforcement soared, they arrested hundreds of
thousands of people annually and filled a quarter of American prison
cells with drug offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But what did they have to show for it? Drugs remained as available
as ever on the streets - and actually got a lot cheaper. The street
price of heroin and cocaine dropped by more than half in the last
two decades. Dealers just went on dealing, not only lowering their
prices but also selling stronger, purer versions of heroin, cocaine
and marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Given this record, and the pressure from Congress to show results,
it's understandable that the Drug Enforcement Administration and
local police departments hit on a new strategy: defining deviancy
up. Federal and local authorities shifted their focus to doctors and
the new scourge of OxyContin and similar painkillers, known
generally as opioids. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) CITY SEEKS BAN ON HALLUCINOGEN SALVIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug Available On Ocean Boulevard
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Myrtle Beach City Council on Thursday discussed asking the S.C.
General Assembly for a statewide ban on a hallucinogenic plant
that's being sold on Ocean Boulevard. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The herb Salvia divinorum is legally available in many Boulevard
stores. It causes euphoria and disorientation through smoking or
chewing the leaf, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration
Web site. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
However, City Council members Thursday spoke of the plant's ill
effects on teenagers who are looking for a legal high. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Kids are really getting messed up on this stuff," Councilwoman
Susan Grissom Means told council members, many of who had not heard
of the plant and its extracts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The council will vote on the request Tuesday night at the Ted C.
Collins Law Enforcement Center. The S.C. General Assembly won't pass
additional legislation until it reconvenes in January. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
However, council members said they may soon vote to make sale of the
plant illegal in city limits. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(9) DRUG CONVICTIONS WOULDN'T PREVENT SOME COLLEGE AID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
College students with past drug convictions could receive financial
aid, under a change proposed in Congress. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But students who have a drug conviction while in college would no
longer be eligible, according to a statement from Students for a
Sensible Drug Policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The bill, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005, next goes
to the full House for a vote before it can move to the U.S. Senate.
In January, the congressionally-created Advisory Committee on
Student Financial Assistance recommended that drug convictions were
not relevant to aid eligibility. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In Texas, the virtue of a police shooting victim is being
questioned. Initial lab tests reports showed the man shot by police
was drug-free at the time of the incident, but, later, suddenly the
medical examiner discovered traces of marijuana in his system.
Strange. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, a group of former Boston police officers are suing the
department, saying drug tests using hair samples were biased against
them. In Illinois, police appear to be singling out certain
convenience store owners for selling drug paraphernalia. Also last
week, a mistrial in the case of a young Massachusetts man with no
record who was allegedly caught selling marijuana in school zone;
while a program to prevent overdose deaths seems to be succeeding in
Pennsylvania prisons. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) ROCHA CASE: NEW DRUG EVIDENCE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT COUNTY LAB (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
There's more trouble and confusion in the Daniel Rocha police
homicide case. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Travis Co. Medical Examiner Robert Bayardo originally reported that
Rocha was drug-free the night he was killed during a June 9
encounter with Austin police. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On Monday, July 18, Bayardo reversed that assessment, reporting that a subsequent toxicology screen revealed the 18-year-old had marijuana in his system the night he was shot by Austin police. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The abrupt about-face has raised questions not only about the
handling of the Rocha case, but also about the general reliability
of evidence coming from the ME's office. "The Medical Examiner's
office apologizes for the confusion caused by the reporting of a
false negative result in the initial toxicology report," Bayardo
wrote in an open letter. "The probability of a false negative
occurring is very low, unfortunately it did occur in this case." The
reversal prompted APD Chief Stan Knee to request that the blood and
urine samples be submitted to outside, third-party analysts for
additional testing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On June 9, APD Officer Julie Schroeder fired a single 9mm round into
Rocha's back, killing the 18-year-old during a traffic stop made in
connection with an undercover drug operation in the Dove Springs
neighborhood. According to the department, Schroeder shot Rocha
because she thought that he'd grabbed her Taser and was preparing to
use it on Sgt. Don Doyle, whom Rocha allegedly knocked to the ground
during a struggle with the officers near the intersection of South
Pleasant Valley Road and Quicksilver Boulevard. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On June 15, Bayardo reported that the results of initial toxicology
testing meant that Rocha was drug-free that night. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The clean report quickly became fodder in the debate over Rocha's death -- particularly regarding the police version of events. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If Rocha was killed during a traffic stop connected to an undercover
drug sting, as the police have said, why then was he drug-free? And
didn't that fact undercut the cops' argument, suggesting instead,
perhaps, that Schroeder acted prematurely or carelessly -- or worse
-- when firing a single 9mm round into Rocha's back? With the
revelation on July 18, that Rocha did, in fact, have a small amount
of marijuana in his system on the evening of June 9, the argument
hasn't changed much. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) DRUG TEST BIASED AGAINST BLACKS, 7 EX-OFFICERS ALLEGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Seven former Boston police officers, all African-Americans who were fired after testing positive for cocaine in drug tests using samples of their hair, sued the police department yesterday, alleging the screening technique is biased against African-Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Rheba Rutkowski, an attorney at Bingham McCutchen who represents the former officers, said scientific literature indicates that the texture of African-American hair as well as the hair products they use could skew the results of a hair test. She also said hair tests are easier to pass if an employee has light hair, and that stray molecules can bind to African-American hair, altering the results. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"African-American hair is different from white hair because, among
other things, it is coarser and thicker," Rutkowski said. "In fact,
those properties make it far more likely to yield a false positive
on a hair test than white hair." Officer Michael McCarthy, a Boston
Police Department spokesman, said the department had not been
notified of the lawsuit and could not comment on the allegations.
But McCarthy said the department initiated the drug test in 1999
after "extensive negotiations with the police unions. The unions had
notice at that time if they wanted to raise an issue."
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The test is an annual mandatory test given a month before each
police officer's birthday. The mandatory hair test replaced a urine
test. If officers fail the yearly hair test, they can agree to enter
a drug rehabilitation program and are then subject to random urine
tests. Several of the plaintiffs refused to participate in a rehab
program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The company that conducts the drug tests for the department,
Psychemedics Corp. in Acton, said it has had no complaints from any
of its hundreds of clients. The idea that "drugs can get into your
hair because of your race is a ridiculous concept," said Bill
Thistle, senior vice president. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) R.I. CONVENIENCE STORE OWNERS ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two Rock Island convenience store owners were arrested Wednesday for allegedly selling drug paraphernalia at their store at 2030 11th St. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Rami Fahmi Qattoum, 27, of 3602 35th St., and Mahdi A. Qattoum, 34,
of 4833 50th Ave., both of Moline, were charged in Rock Island
County Circuit Court Wednesday. Rami Qattoum faces two counts of
unlawful sale of drug paraphernalia and Mahdi Qattoum faces one
count of the same charge. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
According to court records, the men are accused of selling rose
tubes - -- small glass tubes containing a fabric rose -- and steel
wool at the Quick Shop to undercover police officers. Rami Qattoum
allegedly sold the items July 12 and 14 and Mahdi Qattoum allegedly
sold them July 6, court records state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The tubes and steel wool can be used to make a crack pipe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Capt. John Wright of the Rock Island police said detectives were
interviewing the two men Wednesday afternoon. They were to be taken
to the Rock Island County Jail Wednesday evening where they were
each to be held on $20,000 bail. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Capt. Wright said officers started investigating after receiving complaints from citizens, including Ald. Terry Brooks, 1st Ward. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Capt. Wright noted that several convenience stores and hardware
stores sell similar items, but in this case the undercover officers
have evidence that the men knew how the items were going to be used
when they sold them. He said he could not give specific details
about the investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(13) MISTRIAL DECLARED IN SCHOOL-ZONE DRUG CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
PITTSFIELD -- A mistrial was declared this afternoon in the case of
Kyle W. Sawin, an Otis teenager who faced a mandatory jail term for
allegedly selling small amounts of marijuana in a Great Barrington
school zone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The district attorney's office said it planned to retry the
case. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The mistrial was declared after the jury, which began deliberating Wednesday, twice told the judge it was deadlocked. Earlier in the day, the judge had instructed the jury to continue deliberating after it told the court it was unlikely to reach a verdict. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sawin, 18, was one of seven young people arrested in last year's
drug sweep in Great Barrington who had no prior record but faced a
mandatory two-year jail sentence under the state's school-zone drug
law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) TEACHING DRUG OVERDOSE SURVIVAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Program Goal: Limit Addicts' Overdose Risk
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To a group of Allegheny County Jail inmates, Alice Bell gave a
detailed presentation aimed at keeping them and others from dying
from a drug overdose. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Overdoses kill more people locally than traffic accidents or
homicides, Bell said before outlining ways to prevent an overdose or
to intervene if one occurs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Bell and other staff members and volunteers for Prevention Point Pittsburgh, a local nonprofit, have presented the hour-long training to 3,000 people, 2,000 of them county jail inmates, since 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We hope the 3,000 people we've talked to about this, and the people they've talked to, may have contributed to saving some people's lives," Bell told her audience, noting that drug overdose deaths in Allegheny County declined last year for the first time since 1999. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Though other communities have overdose prevention initiatives, the
Pittsburgh program is unusual because it targets jail inmates, said
Robert Heimer, associate professor of epidemiology and public health
at the Yale University School of Medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (15-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
This week we look at articles from around the world after kicking
off with a story from home. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Kudos to MPP's Bruce Mirken for his published oped which exposes a DEA report released earlier this month which contradicts the ONCDP's assertion marijuana is the biggest drug threat. The report states police see pot as much less of a problem than methamphetamine, and Mirken ends it by calling for Walter's resignation in light of the findings. The question is, would his replacement be any better when we are dealing with an agenda rather than a personality? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Next we move north of the border to Canada where the so-called
decrim bill that no one wants, and has already died twice, could
possibly be revived yet once again in the autumn. Ho hum. What is
not ho hum however, is the range of opinions gathered for the
selected article, including an insightful look into the Canadian
activist scene, (and a quote from our diligent, regular cannabis
editor who is away this week). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Moving eastward as many trends do, Britain is now seeing a budding
grow op scene emerging with street prices that rival Vancouver - if
the article is believed - despite growers facing possible 14 year
sentences. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
We end with somber news from Malaysia, where a carpenter is
sentenced to death for 3.5 lbs of cannabis. In other times and
places, tobacco and other substances were unfashionable enough to
bring death sentences, but for most of us, this era can't pass soon
enough. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) EVEN THE COPS KNOW METH IS WORSE THAN MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Earlier this month, a survey from the National Association of
Counties reported that local law enforcement agencies think the
federal government has its anti-drug priorities backward, putting
too much emphasis on marijuana and not enough on truly lethal drugs
like methamphetamine. Now a new report suggests that even the
federal government's top drug cops - the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration - - know something is very wrong. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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America's police have different priorities, the DEA found. Asked to identify the greatest drug threat in their communities, only 12 percent of local law enforcement agencies named marijuana - a figure that has been declining for years. In contrast, 35.6 percent named cocaine and 39.6 cited methamphetamine as the greatest threat - despite the fact that marijuana use is much more common. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The DEA said, "Data indicate that, despite the volume of marijuana
trafficked and used in this country, for many in law enforcement
marijuana is much less an immediate problem than methamphetamine,
for example, which is associated with more tangible risks such as
violent users and toxic production sites."
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[snip]
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(16) CANADA: MARIJUANA BILL UP IN THE FALL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The controversial Marijuana Decriminalization Bill has already died
twice on the Order Paper. It's up before the House Justice Committee
this fall, but lobbyists say there's little support for the bill, on
either side of the decriminalization debate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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"This bill has the distinction of being disliked both on the right
and the left," noted Philippe Lucas, director of Canadians for Safe
Access, an association that supports users of medicinal marijuana,
who appeared before the committee that studied C-17's predecessor,
C-38, in 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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"It may not be one of the great hot-button issues, but in some ridings, you only need a few percentage points to win, and if you offend the wrong people, it has the potential to become a political issue. It's hard to tell what issue will become the flavour of the moment--it has a lot to do with media attention, and the events at the time. If someone was involved in a serious accident where four people were killed, and the driver had cannabis in his system, it will suddenly become a major issue," said Mr. Oscapella. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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"The government now has a decision to make in the fall as to whether it wants to move forward with C-17, recognizing that the Conservatives and some Liberal backbenchers will oppose it. There's no doubt that groups such as NORML and Educators for a Sensible Drug Policy and many other advocacy groups are almost as disenchanted with the bill as conservatives, but on the other hand, I think it's time to move somewhere on this issue," said Prof. Boyd. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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"The gay community has become a fairly effective and powerful lobby community, but the marijuana community is completely inept when it comes to lobbying. The people who are vocal and willing to take a stand are fairly young, and have no influence, and the people who are older, and have influence, choose to remain silent. What we need is for the Pierre Bertons of the world to come forward, and explain how they were able to receive the Order of Canada while using marijuana, but few people are willing to do so," said Prof. Young. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The marijuana movement is in desperate need of spokespeople from
'the establishment,' he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) EXPLOSIVE SECRET OF THE CANNABIS FARM IN SEMI NEXT DOOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Secret cannabis farms are being run by criminal gangs in suburban semis throughout the Home Counties Once associated with 1970s hippies and cultivated in communes in the Welsh hills, cannabis is now driving an illicit harvest that could be responsible for sales of the drug on the streets of Britain worth UKP 100 million a year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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British Gas has compiled figures to show that the number of
incidents may be doubling in a year. It investigated 46 cases last
year but so far this year there have been more than 71. A number of
raids are still being planned and the figure could reach more than
100 by the end of the year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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What is intriguing, however, is that the factories are largely being
operated by criminal drug gangs originating in Asia. The "farmers"
tending the plants are largely young illegal asylum-seekers, who do
not speak English, who have paid for unauthorised admission to
Britain. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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An ounce of strong cannabis can fetch as much as UKP 120* in the UK,
though most of it is sold in eighths or quarters of an ounce.
(*$210.00 USD)
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(18) CARPENTER GETS DEATH FOR DRUG OFFENCE CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A carpenter was sentenced to death by the High Court here for
trafficking about 1.6kg of cannabis four years ago. ( About 3 1/2
lbs)
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[snip]
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Defence counsel Syed Fakhruzzaman Syed Mansor said he would appeal
against the High Court decision. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News
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COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Colombian government has made an offer: sell us your drugs. According to a report this week in The Herald newspaper in New Zealand, Colombian rightist President Alvaro Uribe made the desperate offer in a bid to undermine the illicit and violent trade in (currently prohibited) cocaine. Coca paste now fetches around $800 a kilo in rural Colombia, but no word yet on how much the government will pay farmers for the prohibited commodity. Although the U.S.-funded war on drugs in Colombia has for decades poured billions of U.S. taxpayer funds into eradicating the cocaine trade there, cocaine prices continue to fall as availability soars. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In New Zealand, even police disputed the alarmist claims of political candidate John Hayes that methamphetamine flooded his district during the recent "Golden Shears" sheep shearing contests. New Zealand politicians are always fond of building up drug scares into shocking epidemics from which politicians are happy to rescue an unwary people - with more government power. This time, however, the claims appeared to be too much even for police. A Wairarapa Area police spokesman denied a flood of meth (called "P" in New Zealand) had been loosed upon the land for the sheep shearing contests, and suggested that next time, at least politicos check with police. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If the recommendations of a new Senlis Council report are followed, Afghanistan might one day again legalize the production of opium. The report, made at the behest of "a dozen European social policy foundations," according to the Financial Times newspaper in the UK, generated "cautious interest" from Afghan officials. The Senlis Council report also suggested finding legal markets for Afghan opium, which ironically, would involve changes to U.S. laws that currently stipulate where pain killers may be produced globally. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A report in the New York Post this week claimed that in 2002, Osama
bin Laden attempted to buy cocaine and spike it with poison,
supposedly to kill infidel Americans addicts. The report, which
appeared only in the New York Post (tabloid-format) newspaper,
relied upon un-named "law-enforcement sources." Readers will recall
similar unsourced reports in October 2001, which then claimed Bin
Laden was attempting to hook heroin users with the "Tears of Allah,"
a mythical opiate more potent than heroin. Reports did not elaborate
on how Osama might have managed to broker the alleged poison coke
deal while he was on the run from the U.S. military, hiding in the
mountains. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT BUYS COCAINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Colombian Government has offered to buy illegal drug crops from
peasants in an effort to break the cocaine trade's stranglehold on
violent rural areas. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
President Alvaro Uribe did not say how much the Government would
pay. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Peasants can get about US$800 ($1180) for 1kg of coca
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(20) POLICE DISMISS MP'S P INFLUX CLAIM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Masterton police have no evidence to back a claim by Wairarapa's
National Party candidate John Hayes that an influx of pure
methamphetamine, or P, came into the district during Golden Shears
week in March. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Wairarapa Area Controller Inspector John Johnston, who has just arrived back from overseas and was away when the claim was published, said he could not recall anyone mentioning a huge amount of P coming to the region either at that time or since. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Johnston said the importation of 30,000 doses Mr Hayes said he had been told about by a "reliable source" was of such magnitude that police would almost certainly get to hear about it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
He said he would expect Mr Hayes to phone police to give further
details if he had any. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(21) AFGHANS TO CONSIDER LEGALISING OPIUM PRODUCTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Afghan farmers could from next year be able to grow opium for legal medicinal purposes, under an innovative plan designed to curb illegal production being drawn up by a drug policy think-tank. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Senlis Council, a group that studies narcotics, is in preliminary talks with international organisations and Afghan regional administrations to garner their support for pilot programmes designed to tackle the country's problem with opium by using it to produce the legal painkillers codeine and morphine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The council, due to present in September a feasibility study funded
by a dozen European social policy foundations, calculates that
Afghan farmers and intermediaries could receive revenues from the
scheme that almost match their current earnings from unauthorised
opium production for smuggling abroad. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The plan could help bring greater stability to Afghanistan and reduce illegal flows of opium to the rest of the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It could also help fill developing nations' large demand for
painkillers. The group calculates this demand could be for twice the
amount of Afghanistan's annual opium harvest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"This may be the only chance Afghanistan has to solve its drug
problem," said Emmanuel Reinert, co-ordinator of the study for the
Senlis Council, who emphasised that discussions were at an early
stage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
He hoped agreement for pilot projects could be reached later this
year. "We think there are some good possibilities for shifting the
debate," Mr Reinert said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
He said the plan had met cautious interest from officials including
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, although some members of the
Afghan cabinet and foreign governments had expressed concern it
could undermine current efforts to eradicate domestic opium
production. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
However, he argued neither eradication nor alternative employment
programmes provided a realistic short-term alternative for Afghan
farmers of opium, which accounts for an estimated 60 per cent of the
country's gross domestic product and 80 per cent of the world's
illegally consumed heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(22) COKE FIEND BIN LADEN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Osama bin Laden tried to buy a massive amount of cocaine, spike it
with poison and sell it in the United States, hoping to kill
thousands of Americans one year after the 9/11 attacks, The Post has
learned. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The evil plot failed when the Colombian drug lords bin Laden approached decided it would be bad for their business - and, possibly, for their own health, according to law-enforcement sources familiar with the Drug Enforcement Administration's probe of the aborted transaction. The feds were told of the scheme earlier this year, but its existence had never been made public. The Post has reviewed a document detailing the DEA's findings in the matter, in addition to interviewing sources familiar with the case. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sources said the feds were told that bin Laden personally met with
leaders of a Colombian drug cartel to in 2002 to negotiate the
purchase of tons of cocaine, saying that he was willing to spend
tens of millions of dollars to finance the deal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DRUGSENSE "COMMUNITY AUDITS AND INITIATIVES" WEBPAGE
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Here you will find a) the exact wording of many of the nation's most
successful local drug policy audits and municipal medical cannabis
and personal possession de-prioritization initiatives; b) much of
the research used to justify a shifting of drug policy enforcement
priorities; c) links to related press coverage; and d) lists of
supportive organizations.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 SURVEY FOUND TEENS HEAR PREVENTION MESSAGES
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
today released data showing that youth who reported seeing or hearing
media messages on preventing drug and alcohol use are significantly
less likely to report substance use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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IS YOUR FANNY PACK BREEDING TERRORISTS?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
How will looking in my bag protect me from terrorism? Search me. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Jacob Sullum
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IBOGAINE : RITE OF PASSAGE
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by Ben De Loenen (Director and Producer)
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In September the documentary about the use of Ibogaine for the treatment of addiction, "IBOGAINE-Rite of Passage" premiered at the Dutch Film Festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Since then the film has been showcased at several film festivals and conferences, and in January of 2006 it will play at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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METH SCIENCE NOT STIGMA: OPEN LETTER TO THE MEDIA
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
To Whom It May Concern:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
As medical and psychological researchers, with many years of experience
studying prenatal exposure to psychoactive substances, and as medical
researchers, treatment providers and specialists with many years of
experience studying addictions and addiction treatment, we are writing
to request that policies addressing prenatal exposure to
methamphetamines and media coverage of this issue be based on science,
not presumption or prejudice. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/features/reader/0,1854,577769,00.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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THE CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO REFUSING NEW YORK SUBWAY SEARCHES
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
In response to the recent London terror attacks, New York police
officers are now conducting random searches of bags and packages
brought into the subway. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
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POT'S GREATEST HITS: A STASH OF STANDUP COMEDY CD
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
NORML is honored to have the exclusive on a brand new comedy CD/DVD called, 'Pot's Greatest Hits: A Stash of Standup Comedy CD'. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Starting today for a $25 donation, you will receive a genuinely funny and contemporary comedy CD featuring some of today's best comedians, including many from the cast of 'The Marijuana-Logues'. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
You can get this exclusive offer at:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
All of your donations for 'Pot's Greatest Hits' go directly to NORML's cannabis law reform efforts and cannabis consumer advocacy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
RFP FOR MPP GRANTS PROGRAM
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
The grants program administered by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) seeks proposals from organizations and individuals to build statewide coalitions in support of taxing and regulating marijuana (similarly to alcohol) in Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Each proposal should focus on only one state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Please see http://www.mpp.org/grants/ for MPP's grant application
guidelines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Check Out Tips To Getting Letters Published
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Media Awareness Project of DrugSense has a number of resources
available to help you influence the media on drug issues. One resource
includes a collection of pieces on strategies to get letters published
in your local media and nationally. Take a look at:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WAR ON DRUGS IS JUST ONE BIG GRAVY TRAIN / By Greg Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A July 17 letter on the war on drugs was outstanding. The War on Drugs,
Inc. is actually history's biggest gravy train and boondoggle. With 2.1
million American citizens currently behind bars, there is some serious
money on the table. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It is no coincidence that the prison industry and police unions are the
most fervent cheerleaders for the War on Drugs, Inc. They know that if
the citizens of this country ever wake up to the scam, their free lunch
will be over. Drug abuse is more properly considered a public health
issue than a law enforcement issue. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The only success in the War on Drugs, Inc. and Prohibition II has been to guarantee lifetime employment to those doing the prohibiting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Greg Francisco
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
TIME FOR A MARIJUANA SALES TAX
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By Ronald Fraser
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Californians spend about $981 million each year to enforce state and
local marijuana laws. What are these taxpayers getting for their
money? Not much, according to a recent study. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jon B. Gettman, a senior fellow at George Mason University's School of Public Policy, prepared the study, titled "Crimes of
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Marijuana arrests," says Gettman, "are instruments of a
supply-reduction policy. But, he adds, "The doubling of marijuana
arrests in the 1990s has produced the opposite of the intended
effect in every major indicator. An increase in arrests should
produce a reduction in use and the availability of marijuana.
However, during the 1990s both use and availability of marijuana
increased."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana possession arrests in the U.S. totaled 260,000 in 1990. By
2003, that figure topped 662,000. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Even failed public policies, however, can cost a bundle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Who pays: Californians are, in effect, paying for Washington's
marijuana prohibition policies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Boston University economics professor Jeffrey A. Miron estimates
that nationally, state and local officials spend about $5 billion
per year enforcing marijuana laws. California's share of this
multibillion-dollar handout to Uncle Sam includes $228 million for
police services, $682 million for judicial services and $71 million
for correctional services. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Individual costs: The thousands of people arrested on marijuana possession charges in California each year -- especially teenagers -- pay extra. "Marijuana arrests," Gettman stresses, "make criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens. Indeed, the primary consequence of marijuana arrests is the introduction of hundreds of thousands of young people into the criminal justice system." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Once a teenager has a criminal record, a number of other penalties
often follow. In California, for example, employers can ask job
applicants about arrests leading to a conviction, and a criminal
record may bar a person from public housing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Taking a close look at marijuana arrest patterns, Gettman notes that
young people are disproportionately targeted. "The brunt of
marijuana law enforcement," he says, "falls on both adolescents and
the youngest adults -- on teenagers. Nationally, almost 17 percent
of all persons arrested for possession of marijuana were between 15
and 17 years old. Another 26 percent were age 18-20."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana use: And what do Californians get for these financial and
personal costs? In 2002, there were 47,988 marijuana possession
arrests in California compared to 37,246 such arrests in 1995. But
the number of users keeps going up. While 6.0 percent of
California's population was estimated to be monthly users in 1999,
in 2002 the estimate stood at 6.8 percent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationally, monthly users went from 4.9 percent in 1999 to 6.2
percent in 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The basic problem, says Gettman, is that "overall supply of
marijuana in the U.S. is far too diversified to be controlled by law
enforcement."
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If the current marijuana policies are both costly and ineffective,
what is the next best strategy? Because marijuana is so widely used,
Gettman recommends treating marijuana like a pharmaceutical product
subject to Federal Drug Administration testing and regulatory
requirements. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By shifting to a policy that treats and taxes marijuana like tobacco
and alcohol, Californians could gain the following benefits: a
decrease in illegal activities surrounding drug sales; government
control of marijuana quality; better control of underage access to
marijuana; and the removal of the profit motive that attracts
sellers, including a substantial number of teenage sellers who most
frequently supply other teenagers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On top of that, Miron estimates a marijuana sales tax would replace
the $981 million a year California taxpayers are now spending to
enforce unenforceable laws, with a new revenue pipeline bringing in
$96 million a year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It is never too late to give up your prejudices." - Henry David
Thoreau
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by guest editor Debra Harper (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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