| Sept. 2, 2005 #415 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) PRISONERS OF PAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Why Are Millions Of Suffering Americans Being Denied The Prescription
Drug Relief They Need?
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Deborah Hamalainen was feeling more and more agitated by the minute.
Waiting to see her neurologist, she was silently rehearsing a
confrontation that had been building for months. She planned to look
the doctor directly in the eyes and demand that he treat the chronic
pain that had invaded her life. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the two decades since doctors diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis,
Hamalainen learned to tolerate numb extremities, tingling sensations,
even the weakness that causes her left foot to drag. And it wasn't like
her to be confrontational. "I'm much happier in denial," admits the
soft-spoken 52-year-old sculptor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Some physicians fear that if they deliver humane pain care, they'll
face prosecution by the DEA. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The symptoms she couldn't ignore, though, were the intense shooting
pains that raced across her shoulder blades and down her limbs. By the
time she arrived for this doctor's appointment, they were a 24-hour
presence. Hamalainen barely slept anymore. Rolling over was an ordeal.
When the Medford, New Jersey, resident awoke, stiff and exhausted, she
braced her shoulders so they wouldn't move as she rose. Sometimes, her
husband had to pull her upright from the bed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Every three months for three years, Hamalainen saw this neurologist.
Each time, she mentioned the pain. Each time, the doctor deftly changed
the subject. Each time, she left in pain.
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But this time would be different. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hamalainen waited quietly as nurses wandered in and out of the
examination room, taking her vital signs. Finally, she lost it. "My
pain is real," she said frantically to one of the nurses. "I need
relief. Why does he keep refusing to talk to me about it? What do I
have to do?"
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The nurse turned to her conspiratorially and lowered her voice. "I
should not tell you this," she said. "But he doesn't want to treat your
pain because the treatment that works is opioids, and he's afraid to
prescribe them."
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[snip]
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(2) DRUG CZAR TOUTS COLOMBIAN EFFORTS, SAYS HEROIN PRICE UP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The purity of South American heroin on U.S. streets
declined sharply last year as prices increased for the first time, the
strongest indication yet that an aggressive antidrug program in
Colombia may be having an impact in the United States, U.S. drug czar
John Walters said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
But Walters recognized there was still no change in the purity and
price levels of cocaine, by far Colombia's largest drug crop and the
top moneymaker for drug traffickers. U.S. officials hope the heroin
numbers are an early indicator that will eventually carry over into
cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration Domestic Monitor
Program, which uses samples obtained through undercover purchases to
measure purity, South American heroin was 32.5 percent pure in 2004,
down from 41.8 percent in 2003. The price was $1 per milligram in 2004
versus 77 cents a year earlier. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the past, the Bush administration has cited statistics from fewer kidnappings to record crop eradications as proof that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, an erstwhile U.S. ally, was making headway against drug traffickers and the paramilitary fighters and left-wing guerrilla groups that have been battling the government for decades. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) SIXTEEN MORE SOLDIERS, LAW OFFICERS PLEAD GUILTY IN DRUG STING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FBI agents posing as cocaine traffickers have snared another 16 former and current soldiers and law enforcement officers in Arizona who agreed to take bribes to transport drugs past law enforcement checkpoints. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 16 agreed to enter guilty pleas before a federal magistrate as
participants in a bribery and extortion conspiracy, a Justice
Department official said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In May, another 17 former and current law enforcement officers and
soldiers pleaded guilty in the same conspiracy, which operated from
January 2002 through March 2004 and involved the transport of about
1,474 pounds of cocaine, acting Assistant Attorney General John Richter
said in a release. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In addition, several Air Force personnel were charged last spring in military court under the same cocaine conspiracy, but their cases have not been resolved, a spokeswoman at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 16 included two current and three former members of the Arizona
Army National Guard, seven former corrections officers with the Arizona
Department of Corrections, two former soldiers, an ex-Marine and a
former Nogales, Ariz., police officer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) PATAKI SIGNS BILL SOFTENING DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gov. George E. Pataki signed a bill into law last night that will soften the so-called Rockefeller drug laws, his office said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The new law will allow about 540 inmates - those convicted of Class A-2 felonies - the chance to petition for resentencing and early release. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It is the second piece of reform to the drug laws that were passed in 1973 and that established mandatory sentences that in some cases were longer than those for murder convictions. Last December, Governor Pataki signed a bill allowing 446 inmates serving time for A-1 felonies to petition for a reduction in their mandatory sentences. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The bill, one in a batch of about 100 that the governor signed about
7:30 p.m., would have gone into effect at midnight without Mr. Pataki's
signature unless he had vetoed it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The governor, who is weighing a run for president, signed the bill
"based on its merits," a spokesman, Kevin Quinn, said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
While reformers hailed the new law last night, they said they would like to see more done to dismantle the drug laws. "We took 2 steps forward on Rockefeller reform last December, and we're taking another step forward today, but we have another good 10 steps to go," said Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit group focused on changing national drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal drug warriors, seemingly stung by criticism that it doesn't spend enough time and money fighting meth, put together a bunch of raids for show in a single week. Will it change the fundamental market in any way? No, as a column about how American drug policy affects Guatemala from the Wall Street Journal indicates. Fresh drug routes are being cut through smaller towns in the country, making sure the market continues as traditional routes are challenged. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A new report says "rapid detox" methods are likely ineffective and
possibly dangerous. And as a resident of the United States with AIDS
fights deportation to Jamaica (where she says she would soon die
without access to proper medicine) because of a drug charge from
almost 20 years ago, the Organization of American States is trying
to help keep her here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) OVER 400 ARREST MADE IN FEDERALLY COORDINATED METHAMPHETAMINE (Top)RAIDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Facing growing criticism that the federal government is
not doing enough to combat methamphetamine use, the Justice
Department on Tuesday announced the results of a week-long raid of
drug suppliers and manufacturers and unveiled a Web site aimed at
dissuading teenagers from taking up the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operation Wildfire, billed as the first nationally coordinated
investigation to target methamphetamine, resulted in more than 400
arrest and the dismantling of 56 clandestine drug laboratories
nationwide, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Police
and drug agents found 30 children in the makeshift labs when they
were raided, officials said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and DEA Administrator Karen P.
Tandy also announced the launch of www.justthinktwice.com, a
teen-oriented Wed site run by the DEA. The site features graphic
pictures of drug users' rotting teeth, before-and-after pictures of
methamphetamine users and other warnings about the perils of
methamphetamine abuse. "Some say it's really great, but it's really
your worst nightmare," the Web site says. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) SMUGGLING DRUGS? LET U.S. COUNT THE WAYS
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MALACATAN, Guatemala -- Whoever said that the U.S. "war on drugs" is a complete waste of time and money never visited this sweltering little town where Guatemala's western highlands slope down to its southern Pacific coast -- spitting distance from the Mexican border. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Here profitable consequences of the "drug war" are prominently displayed; it's just that they're not the ones that Richard Nixon had in mind when he declared the "war" more than 30 years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A fertile mix of incentives -- high demand for cocaine "up north,"
the prohibition against buying and using and U.S. insistence on
interdiction -- has pushed lucrative trafficking operations off
traditional routes and onto paths that pass through places like
this. Locals here say that everybody and his uncle is getting into
"transporting" and they're all getting rich. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
One thing the "war" -- with its $40 billion per year price tag -- is not doing is reducing the supply of cocaine in the U.S. so that prices go up. In their recent book titled "An Analytic Assessment of U.S. Drug Policy" (AEI Press), David Boyum and Peter Reuter reported that "adjusted for inflation, cocaine prices have fallen by more than half since 1980, despite much greater enforcement efforts." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
But don't be confused by the facts. There's a whole army of
Washington bureaucrats paid to fight America's drug habit by cutting
off supply. A cynic might even suggest that career drug warriors
have an incentive to see the "war" go on forever. One glance around
this town and you can see that, barring a change in policy, it
probably will. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The drug war is driving up violence and corruption and putting frail
democracies at risk. But by making an otherwise common weed valuable
it is also creating perverse incentives for even more people to get
into the business. From coca growing in the Andes to hiring out as a
mule in towns like this one, the opportunity is compelling. Around
here all you have to do is carry the package a short distance and
drop it off at the assigned destination. Chances are you're going
that way anyway. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) HEROIN DETOX USING ANESTHESIA LIMITED AND RISKY, STUDY SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Using general anesthesia to help detoxify heroin addicts is no more
effective than other treatments and potentially much more dangerous,
says a study to be published today by Columbia University
researchers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The method -- going by names such as "rapid detox" and "detox in a day" -- has been promoted as a quick and easy way to relieve the stress and pain of withdrawal from heroin as well as from more easily accessible opiates, such as Vicodin and OxyContin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) RIGHTS AGENCY URGES U.S. NOT TO DEPORT AIDS PATIENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The human rights arm of the Organization of American States is
asking the United States not to deport a terminally ill AIDS patient
from the Bronx while it reviews her claim that deportation would
violate her basic right to life. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The patient, Andrea Marie Mortlock, 41, is a legal permanent
resident of the United States who was convicted in 1987 of selling
cocaine and has been fighting a criminal deportation order for a
decade. She argues that deporting her to her native Jamaica would be
"tantamount to a death sentence" because she could not get proper
AIDS medication and treatment there and would face severe
discrimination. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Her lawyers turned to the O.A.S., the organization for the 35
nations of the Western Hemisphere, in a desperate bid to halt the
deportation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The petition is the first deportation case involving AIDS to be
accepted by the O.A.S. agency, the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Advocates for human rights say it points to a larger trend: As
groups like deportable immigrants and death row inmates are being
blocked from domestic courts by legislators impatient with
protracted appeals, international bodies like the O.A.S. commission,
the International Court of Justice at The Hague, and the United
Nations Committee Against Torture are expanding their reach to fill
the gap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The usual corruption, violence and injustice fills much the section this week. But, on the brighter side, it looks like admitted marijuana users may soon be eligible to be cops in Los Angeles. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) LUTCHER POLICE CHIEF INDICTED IN DRUG CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal grand jury accused Lutcher Police Chief
Corey Pittman on Thursday of selling crack cocaine, once in June and
twice this month, to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration
operative. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The three-count indictment came eight days after Pittman's arrest
and 13 days after he allegedly sold crack to the DEA operative for
$900. That alleged sale occurred Aug. 12 at an Airline Highway truck
stop in Reserve and was monitored by video, audio and physical
surveillance, federal authorities said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pittman also is accused of selling crack to the undercover operative on June 24 and Aug. 8. Those alleged sales too were monitored by video, audio and physical surveillance, authorities said. The June sale, for $1,900, allegedly took place in front of the Garyville/Mt. Airey Magnet School on La. 54, federal prosecutors said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(10) STATE'S WAR ON POT GETTING MORE VIOLENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug Agents Trying To Keep Pace With Mexican Cartels
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San Benito County -- As the sun rose over the rugged hills in this
remote and wild land, 10 drug agents clad like commandos in
camouflage and green face paint and clutching AR-15 assault rifles
crept cautiously through thick brush up the mountain where an outlaw
marijuana farm was hidden. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The lawmen say the wariness is warranted: The race is on between
Mexican drug cartels and narcotics agents to see who will harvest
California's multibillion-dollar pot crop before the season peaks at
September's end. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Given the high stakes, the drug lords have hired armed pot guards,
including violent street gang veterans. Authorities say they are
increasingly willing to shoot at any intruders, including narcotics
agents who only a month into the state Department of Justice's
annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting -- or CAMP -- have seized
a record 742,684 plants with an estimated street value topping $2.6
billion. The haul shattered last year's total season high by 20
percent with a month remaining in this year's pot-eradication
campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The marijuana war casualties aren't just financial. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three weeks ago, a grower was shot dead and a state Fish and Game
warden was wounded when a gunfight erupted during a raid on a
sprawling, 22,000-plant spread in the hills above Los Gatos. It was
the fourth suspect to die during marijuana raid shootouts in the
past three years and the first time an officer has been shot in the
campaign's 22-year history. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) INFORMANT'S PAST TAINTS DRUG CASES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MCMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Drug cases against more than 40 people have
been dropped because of the actions of an informant working for the
Yamhill County Interagency Narcotics Team. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
District Attorney Brad Berry said information published by the McMinnville News-Register led him to abandon the cases, which primarily involved the delivery of small amounts of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He said the drug team was not privy to the information when it
contracted with Marc Caven, 51, of Portland to help run a four-month
sting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The newspaper reported that Caven had a felony criminal record and a
history of entrapment while working as an informant for several
Oregon counties during the 1980s. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In those cases, Caven enticed young people into acquiring small
quantities of marijuana by offering a high-paying job in
construction or landscaping. Those tactics lead to the dismissal of
at least 33 cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) LAPD MAY RELAX ITS HIRING RULES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Bratton proposes ending zero tolerance of past drug use and
bad credit. Some fear that lower standards would bring problem
officers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Struggling to lure more officers, the Los Angeles Police Department is joining a growing number of law enforcement agencies across the nation in considering less stringent recruitment rules. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Police Chief William J. Bratton said he was drawing up the proposed
changes, which would end the LAPD's zero-tolerance rule toward past
marijuana use and make it easier for the department to hire people
with bad credit histories. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bratton's idea has ignited a debate within the department, with some fearing that lower standards would bring problem officers to the force and create the potential for more misconduct and corruption. Others question whether people who admit to breaking the law in the past can be trusted not to commit crimes in the future. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
But outside law enforcement experts said it would not be a radical
departure from what many other agencies already are doing. Some said
the rules would end up making the LAPD look more like the population
it serves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's definitely not your father's Los Angeles of 1955," said Eugene O'Donnell, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "It's one of those ironies that LAPD, in a city that's pretty hip and sophisticated, is still somewhat trapped in a time capsule." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Often the stories that make the cut for DSW report on tragic events, so it gives me great pleasure to begin this week's hemp and cannabis section as the bearer of good news. After much resistance, the California Highway Patrol have agreed to stop arresting medical cannabis users and confiscating their medicine under most circumstances. This is a great victory for California's medical users and for Americans for Safe Access, who led the fight for this change by launching a lawsuit against the CHP and Gov. Schwarzenegger to put an end to a policy of arrest and seizures that was in clear conflict with the state's medical cannabis laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In yet another battle for compassion and common sense, the New York
Times reports on hearings taking place at DEA headquarters, where
UMass professor Lyle Cracker is seeking to get a judge to overturn
the DEA's decision to reject his application to cultivate cannabis
for research purposes. Prof. Cracker is arguing that the current
supply, which is grown by the federal government at the University
of Mississippi is of very poor quality and virtually inaccessible to
researchers wishing to investigate the therapeutic potential of
cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our third story this week is a great San Jose Mercury News article on the growing debate around the potential regulation of San Francisco's 40+ medical cannabis dispensaries. With the knowledge that the DEA could subpoena any documentation required by the city to ensure compliance with proposed regulation, many activists and civic leaders have been resistant to put the compassion clubs at further risk of federal prosecution. And just to offset these very real concerns for California's critically and chronically ill and those who care for them, we have a story from Chicago about the implementation of the windy city's new law banning the sale of cannabis-flavored or themed candies. That's right, now even the very essence of cannabis has been outlawed, but why stop there? Let's penalize the use of the word "weed", "grass" or "pot" in any context, lest kids get too familiar with the "lingo" of illegal substances; and let's ban all green herbs, including oregano and basil, because it's becoming clear that people willing to ingest one green, leafy substance might also be lured into the use of that nefarious plant marijuana (vegetarian-hippy need I say more). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It's a slippery slope my friends, and I believe that only by
replacing marijuana-flavored suckers with Popeye cigarettes and pina
colada jelly-bellies will we be able to finally eliminate the
scourge of independent thought and natural curiosity cropping up in
our youngsters. Let's ensure that instead of tackling drug-related
crime or the real harms that licit and illicit substance abuse can
bring to both individuals and society, we focus instead on blurry
and ill-defined philosophical principles that have no basis in fact,
science or common sense. Screw "evidence-based" my friends! I want
an unthinking and illogical ideology as a guiding principle for this
war on our personal freedoms. After all, only lonely druggies and
miscreants would want a pot-flavored lollipop, and only crack-heads
would drink a soda called Coke - am I right? Are you with me here
folks - down with chronic candy, and "up" with healthy non-drug
related alternatives like Doritos, Kit Kats, Red Bull and pork
rinds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lastly this week, Canada's Prince of Pot has gotten into trouble
over a prison blog he wrote last fall in which he refers to Justice
Minister Irwin Cotler a "Nazi-jew". Mr. Emery made the comments
while serving three months in jail for passing a joint. These
revelations came to light under the media barrage surrounding the
DEA's recent attempts to have Mr. Emery extradited for distributing
viable cannabis seeds to the U.S. At least he wasn't covering them
in chocolate and selling them as snacks; the DEA might have just
shot him dead in the streets of Vancouver. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) CHP REVISES POLICY ON POT SEIZURES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The California Highway Patrol has ordered its officers to stop
confiscating medical marijuana during routine traffic stops, a
victory for patients hoping to win broader acceptance of the
controversial medicine from balky police departments around the
state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highway Patrol officials sent out a bulletin last week to field
commanders spelling out the policy shift, which would allow patients
to travel on California's highways with up to 8 ounces of marijuana
as long as they have a certified user identification card or
documented physician's approval. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Patient advocates say the change will make the state's highways a
"safe haven" for those who use marijuana with a physician's
permission. They also hope the shift by the CHP sets an example for
law enforcement agencies around California. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) MARIJUANA PIPE DREAMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When the Supreme Court ruled in June that states could not legalize marijuana for medical uses, Justice Stephen Breyer voted with the majority. But during oral arguments, he suggested an alternative way for patients to get it: let the federal Food and Drug Administration decide if marijuana should be a prescription drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Medicine by regulation is better than medicine by referendum," he
said. In theory, that sounds reasonable. But what if the officials
doing the regulation are afflicted with a bad case of Reefer
Madness?
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If you doubt this possibility, you should have been at a hearing
that began this week at the Drug Enforcement Administration's
headquarters. Lyle Craker, a professor of plant and soil sciences at
the University of Massachusetts, asked an administrative judge to
overrule the agency so he could grow marijuana for F.D.A.-approved
research projects by other scientists. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) GROUND ZERO IN POT CLUB FIGHT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kevin Reed has a broad smile as he watches a stream of customers --
as many as 300 a day -- examine the neatly displayed merchandise at
his Green Cross medicinal-marijuana dispensary. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Several dozen large glass jars, stuffed with green buds and labeled
with names such as "Juicy Fruit" and "Wonder Woman," sit on the
counter in the narrow San Francisco shop that shares the block with
a hair salon and Irish bar. An extensive price list on a large white
board starts at $40 for an eighth of an ounce. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reed and the city's estimated 40 other pot-club operators are at the
center of a raging debate over who, if anyone, should regulate them
-- a subject that grew more hazy in June when the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that medicinal-marijuana laws in a dozen states including
California do not protect users or suppliers from federal
prosecution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On one side of the regulation debate are critics who say strict
rules are needed to prevent further proliferation of clubs in a city
where they already outnumber Burger Kings and McDonald's combined.
Law enforcement officials have called the unregulated operations "a
great lie" and earlier this summer raided three clubs, alleging
illegal drug-dealing and money-laundering. On the other side are
advocates suspicious of any oversight, fearing it will aid federal
prosecutors. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) CITIES NOT HIGH ON 'POT SUCKERS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The likes of Snoop Dogg, Nelly and Paris Hilton aren't mentioned in
many city ordinances, but two new laws banning the sale of
marijuana-flavored candies--one in Chicago, the other in the
northwest suburbs--take a swipe at the celebrities for endorsing the
bitter-tasting products. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schaumburg last week became the latest to say no to the
hemp-flavored candies, which are popular with young people even
though they don't contain the main ingredient in marijuana that
causes a high. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
With names like "Pot Suckers," the candies were sold for about a
year at Woodfield Mall's Spencer Gifts amid the lava lamps, gag
gifts and "High Street" signs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lawmakers say the candies send the wrong message to children, but
young people and the candymakers argue that they're nothing but
sugar-filled novelty items and contend that such laws will have
little impact on actual drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(17) 'PRINCE OF POT' UNDER FIRE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana crusader Marc Emery was under fire this week as
web-loggers scrutinize the content of his websites, including a
posting from his "jail blog" last summer that called federal Justice
Minister Irwin Cotler a "Nazi-Jew."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
With the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after him, the case of
B.C.'s "Prince of Pot," has become a cause celebre. Since his arrest
a month ago, Emery faces possible extradition to the United States
for selling marijuana seeds to U.S. customers.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Supporters of Emery, who calls himself "the leader of the marijuana
people around the world," include federal NDP leader Jack Layton,
who has argued against the extradition. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emery, 47, was serving a three-month sentence in Saskatoon last
summer for passing a joint at a marijuana rally when he wrote the
"jail blog," which he dictated to associates over the phone. It was
then posted on the Internet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In it, he complained that Cotler went from being a human rights
advocate to a justice minister who, as attorney general, allows for
the prosecution of cannabis users. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A 28-year old Canadian English teacher was arrested in Taiwan last
week for allegedly selling marijuana, cocaine, and MDMA. Taiwan,
like many countries, uses harsh prohibition laws to curry favor with
a prohibitionist regime in the U.S., as well as a way for local
politicians to get press. The Canadian arrested, Mathieu Forand,
joins a growing list of arrestees from western countries to become
snared by harsh oriental prohibitionist regimes like Thailand,
Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Forand, who grew up in Port Moody,
B.C., is said to be eligible for the death penalty. Canadian officials
claim they can do little to help. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
While police say that the recent run of drug-deaths in Vancouver,
Canada is consistent with "hot" (unexpectedly powerful) heroin,
others there aren't so sure. Tests on supposed heroin OD victims in
Vancouver showed various causes of death, including methadone,
methamphetamines, cocaine, as well as heroin. "Nothing is
confirmed," police spokesman Constable Howard Chow insisted.
Meanwhile, Vancouver police went into action over the recent deaths,
and promised to quickly test seized drugs in an effort to determine
what is causing the deaths. Police have also vowed to "aggressively"
seize drugs, in an effort to find out who is dealing the deadly
dope. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opium production in Afghanistan was down a scant two percent,
admitted frustrated U.N. prohibition officials, even after they had
announced the land area under opium cultivation was down by some 21
percent. Afghanistan has become the world's largest producer of
illicit opium since the Taliban fell. Opium production soared after
U.S.-led forces invaded and installed a pro-Washington regime in
Afghanistan, in early 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(18) PORT MOODY TEACHER COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY IN TAIWAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A Port Moody couple was waiting Tuesday to hear from their son, Mathieu James Forand, who is facing a possible death penalty in Taiwan after his arrest Friday on drug-trafficking charges. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to media reports from Vancouver and Taiwan, the
28-year-old English teacher was arrested by police during a drug
bust that allegedly involved quantities of cocaine, ecstasy and
marijuana found in Forand's Taipei apartment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug crimes, under Taiwanese law, are subject to capital punishment,
and the prosecution is reportedly seeking the death penalty or 25
years in prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Canadian government can do little more than ensure Forand has
competent legal representation and is not mistreated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) OVERDOSE DEATHS NOT DUE TO BAD HEROIN, REPORT SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- Something is killing drug addicts in Vancouver at an alarming rate, and it may not be a lethal batch of "bad heroin" as police initially suspected, preliminary toxicology tests have shown. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In one of the worst outbreaks of narcotic-related deaths in recent years, nine long-time drug users, six men and three women ranging from 28 to 48 years of age, have died within the past 12 days. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radio station CKNW reported yesterday that initial tests on five
victims showed only one appeared to have suffered a heroin overdose.
The other four bodies contained methadone, crystal meth and cocaine,
but no heroin, CKNW said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vancouver police immediately disputed the report, stressing that the
findings were preliminary. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Nothing is confirmed," police spokesman Constable Howard Chow
insisted. "All along we've been telling people that we believe this
stuff to be heroin. At the end of the day, it may not be, but we
don't know that yet."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
However, Constable Chow confirmed police are investigating a possible link between the spate of addict deaths and the theft of a large quantity of methadone from a local pharmacy this month. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) LETHAL HEROIN TO BE TESTED TO FIND DEALERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All drugs seized by Vancouver police will be tested immediately to
help investigators determine who is selling what is believed to be a
lethal batch of heroin responsible for seven overdose deaths since
Aug. 19.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An analysis of a drug normally takes weeks or months, but police are
working with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority to have drugs
tested within a day. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Insp. Bob Rolls, police commander of the Downtown Eastside and
eastern portion of the city, said his officers have been ordered to
seize drugs wherever and whenever possible. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"We're aggressively looking for a sample of this hot
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The police's public warning is criticized by Ann Livingston, project
coordinator of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users. Livingston
questions how police know-without receiving toxicology reports on
the seven victims-the cause is "hot heroin."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
She said many longtime heroin addicts will search out the "hot
heroin" to get a better high. The warning should have simply been
that heroin was involved in the deaths, she said, noting many
addicts are also addicted to crack cocaine and booze. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's quite rare that it's one thing," she said, noting the rumours
on the street suggest the lethal drug is powdered methadone. "Most
overdoses are from poly drug use."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Police, however, argue evidence collected at the scenes of the seven
deaths leads them to believe heroin caused the deaths. The warning
was issued to save lives, Rolls said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Police have also reversed the department's overdose policy, in which
officers only attend overdose deaths, or be present at an overdose
if public safety is endangered. They are now responding to all
overdoses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The policy was created to quell fears of drug addicts who believe
that a 911 call to get help for themselves, or a friend who has
overdosed, could lead to an arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The deaths come one month before the second anniversary of Insite,
the city's injection site at 139 East Hastings. An average of 600
people a day use the site. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Police are working with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority to
obtain samples of heroin from addicts using the facility. Heroin is
still the drug of choice at the facility, said Viviana Zanocco,
spokesperson for the health authority. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Since Insite opened Sept. 22, 2003, no one has died at the site. An
evaluation released in September 2004 on Insite showed heroin was
the addicts' drug of choice, followed by cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(21) AFGHAN OPIUM PRODUCTION DOWN JUST 2 PERCENT DESPITE CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Bumper growing conditions meant that Afghanistan's opium production remained almost unchanged this year even though a crackdown on poppy farming cut the land under cultivation by 21 percent, the U.N. anti-drug chief said Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Antonio Maria Costa warned it could take another 20 years to
eradicate opium from the impoverished country -- despite the recent
injection of hundreds of millions in foreign aid to fight the
world's biggest drug industry. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE METH DEATH COVERUP
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Jacob Sullum
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.reason.com/hitandrun/2005/08/the_meth_death.shtml#010767 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LIBERATE DRUG DOGS
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This site by attorney Rex Curry explores the reliability of drug dogs, along with updates on a case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE US MARIJUANA PARTY: SEATTLE HEMPFEST 2005
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This show covers the 2005 Seattle Hempfest. Watch the shoutouts of
goodwill and support to Marc Emery, speeches from, Dominic Holden of
Sensible Seattle, Tony Bowles of the California Marijuana Party,
Loretta Nall of the United States Marijuana Party with a surprise
address from Marc Emery via cell phone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LISTEN Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
http://www.kpft.org/
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MANAGING PAIN - A PROJECT OF COMMON SENSE FOR DRUG POLICY
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Where healthcare and drug control policies intersect.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE MEDIA'S METH BABY MANIA
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Maia Szalavitz
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Being labeled a 'meth baby' by the media can do more harm to children
than the methamphetamine itself. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIND OUT HOW TO GET DRUG POLICY ON THE AIR IN YOUR COMMUNITY
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MAP has online resources and contact information to help media
coverage for drug policy issues. Check it out!
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SHAME UTAH FOR RAVE BUST
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An armed SWAT team with helicopters and dogs violently raided a party
in Utah. Though the partygoers attempted to disperse peacefully,
several were tackled, hit and kicked. There is never an acceptable
excuse for using such extreme force against people who are peacefully
assembled. Tell the governor and the state tourism office that your
tourist dollars will not support this kind of civil liberties
violation!
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. ON SELF-DESTRUCT
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Colleen Arthurs
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To the editor:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I want to add my voice to the protest about sending Marc Emery to the U.S. ( Extradition to face marijuana trafficking charges. ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Now, especially in this time of runaway insanity occurring in the U.S. and beginning to emerge here in Canada as well, I believe we need to take a step back, and resist being drawn into that madness down there. God knows, the U.S. government does not cooperate with anyone on earth, not even their own free trade agreements. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It seems to me we are all being led into the third world war by all
the posturing and striking out mindlessly they do. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I have always loved Americans, but am greatly saddened and puzzled
by that grotesque government they have put into office. They make
trouble everywhere they decide to look, and are a great threat to
the world. I do no want to cooperate with them while they
self-destruct and take us all with them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Colleen Arthurs,
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
US ON SELF-DESTRUCT
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New Candy Laws Play Residents For Suckers
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I missed my opportunity. I should have gone to my local mall to buy "pot suckers" before the city council banned them. The ban, which follows one in Chicago, made the news in the Chicago Tribune this week - see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1411.a07.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Let me make it perfectly clear: I haven't tried one of these
so-called treats. But the more the politicians demonize the
lollipops, the more irresistible they become. I know NORML head
Allen St. Pierre says the taste is rather, well, unpleasant ("foul"
and "nasty" are the specific ways he describes it in the Tribune
story). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I know there are no intoxicants involved (the "controversial"
ingredient, hemp oil, is available in lots of other food, despite
federal attempts to ban it a few years ago). But surely if the
government wants to protect me and my kids from this so desperately,
the product must have some appealing quality. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I don't want to get too specific about when I may try it - I don't
need trouble from the local cops for smuggling contraband back into
the city. But, it's going to happen - and I'm going to raise my fist
in a people power salute when the first rank taste touches my
tongue. I will beat the system, and, as Homer Simpson says, stick it
to the man. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maybe then I will understand what the fuss is all about. Of course,
having followed the drug war for several years, I do sort of
understand what's going on, but with the recognition that these
things don't follow conventional logic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As far as I can tell from the news coverage, there haven't been
actual complaints about the hemp candy, not from parents, not from
kids (even those shocked by the pungent flavor). No one says the
product is unsafe. It presents no threat at all - except a symbolic
one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If there's one thing drug warriors can't stand, it's a symbol that
challenge their own symbols. The drug war is primarily about
symbols; illegal drugs are representations of evil that must be
eradicated. Illegal drugs can never be good in the ideology of the
drug war. That's why drug warriors still call medical marijuana a
"hoax," and that's why political drug warriors in my state are
stunned that anyone would be immoral enough to mix hemp oil with
sugar and then dare to market it in niche that has essentially been
created by the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Think about it: without the drug war, no one would care about this
product - the press, the politicians or even the entrepreneurs.
Prohibitionists have given life to this, but the only reaction they
can imagine is to try and crush it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
They argue candy employing marijuana prohibition imagery sends the
wrong message; that it's designed to get kids to try marijuana. But
they miss the point there too: the candy is designed to take
advantage of the "forbidden fruit" reactions that naturally occur
when something with desirable qualities is outlawed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If hemp candy really is some kind of monster, it's one of the
prohibitionists' own creations. As such, it's no surprise that these
suckers are tinged with bitterness. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The essence of justice is mercy." - Edwin Hubbel Chapin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection
and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International
content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (),
Layout by Matt Elrod ()
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