| Oct. 14, 2005 #421 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||||
THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) MARIJUANA MIGHT CAUSE NEW CELL GROWTH IN THE BRAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A synthetic chemical similar to the active ingredient in marijuana
makes new cells grow in rat brains. What is more, in rats this cell
growth appears to be linked with reducing anxiety and depression. The
results suggest that marijuana, or its derivatives, could actually be
good for the brain. | ||||||||||||||||||
In mammals, new nerve cells are constantly being produced in a part of
the brain called the hippocampus, which is associated with learning,
memory, anxiety and depression. Other recreational drugs, such as
alcohol, nicotine and cocaine, have been shown to suppress this new
growth. Xia Zhang of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon,
Canada, and colleagues decided to see what effects a synthetic
cannabinoid called HU210 had on rats' brains. | ||||||||||||||||||
They found that giving rats high doses of HU210 twice a day for 10 days
increased the rate of nerve cell formation, or neurogenesis, in the
hippocampus by about 40%. | ||||||||||||||||||
Just like Prozac? | ||||||||||||||||||
A previous study showed that the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac)
also increases new cell growth, and the results indicated that it was
this cell growth that caused Prozac's anti-anxiety effect. Zhang
wondered whether this was also the case for the cannabinoid, and so he
tested the rats for behavioural changes. | ||||||||||||||||||
When the rats who had received the cannabinoid were placed under stress, they showed fewer signs of anxiety and depression than rats who had not had the treatment. When neurogenesis was halted in these rats using X-rays, this effect disappeared, indicating that the new cell growth might be responsible for the behavioural changes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(2) DRUG AGENTS CAN'T KEEP UP WITH POT GROWERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NORTHERN MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the waning days of a record season, a helicopter buzzes treetops
here in a remote corner of the "Emerald Triangle," redwood country
notorious as the USA's premier producer of marijuana. (Photo gallery:
Rooting out pot hot spots) State narcotics officers from CAMP -
Campaign Against Marijuana Planting - are searching for "gardens" to
eradicate and find six on a warm, cloudless day. They strap onto a 150-
foot cable dangling from the chopper, drop into the pot patches, hack
down the plants and bundle them for the chopper to haul back to a
landing zone. | ||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps $500,000 worth of America's favorite illegal drug is trucked
off for burial. It's not a big day by CAMP standards: 813 plants that
fill a pickup bed. In this ever-growing illicit market, agents
routinely find plots of 5,000 and 10,000 plants that require dump
trucks to dispose of. In the 2005 growing season, CAMP says it so far
has destroyed more plants than ever - 1.1 million worth $4.5 billion on
the street, up from 621,000 plants last year. But agents still lost
ground to growers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(3) MEXICO, U.S. PLAN TO FIGHT BORDER VIOLENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SAN ANTONIO - Law enforcement from the United States and Mexico have
formed a partnership aimed at quelling drug-related violence on the
border. | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Mexican counterpart Daniel
Cabeza de Vaca stood side by side Thursday to announce the security
plan. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Violent Crime Impact Team will target the most violent members of
warring drug cartels. Armed with high-powered weapons, the warring
cartels have been blamed for more than 140 murders this year alone in
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. | ||||||||||||||||||
The new partnership will double the current presence of federal law
enforcement in Laredo and the border, Gonzales said. | ||||||||||||||||||
There are 22 anti-violence teams operating nationwide. The Laredo
chapter is the first to meld law enforcement agencies from outside the
United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In order to have an effective relationship with Mexico, there has to
be a level of trust," Gonzales said. "That's why operations like this
are very important." | ||||||||||||||||||
The plan calls for police agencies to keep working as they have, and
within their geographical boundaries, but also to increase information
sharing and be ready to offer support when asked. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(4) CITY ACTION ON DRUGS INADEQUATE, REPORT SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Toronto needs to tackle its growing drug-abuse problems -- with alcohol
and crack cocaine at the top of the list -- with a strategy proved
elsewhere that brings everyone to the table, including police, health
officials and governments, according to a major report obtained by The
Globe and Mail. | ||||||||||||||||||
The authors of the report, which is scheduled to be released today,
conclude that the current mix of one-off measures and disjointed
government action is inadequate when drugs like crystal methamphetamine
appear in Toronto. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Crystal meth arrived on the scene two years ago and we have no idea
how to respond to it," said city councillor Kyle Rae (Toronto Centre-
Rosedale), the chairman of the Toronto Drug Strategy Advisory
Committee. "We don't know what to say about it, we don't know enough
about it, we don't know where it is getting into the community and who
is affected by it." | ||||||||||||||||||
Two other top recommendations, among a total of 66 in the report, are
expected to draw political fire. | ||||||||||||||||||
One supports passage of already-proposed federal legislation to
decriminalize the consumption of small quantities of cannabis for
personal use. The 45-member committee also calls for tougher
enforcement of traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The propaganda released as science to support the drug war is being
challenged more frequently in the mainstream media. A columnist at
the Wall Street Journal was quick to debunk the latest "study" on
teen drug use from the Columbia University's National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse. Unfortunately, reporters and editors
at the Freelance Star in Virginia apparently missed the WSJ piece,
as they took the dubious findings from the "study" and ran with it,
churning out a big, warm, fuzzy feature that would have been great
if it had been based on reality. | ||||||||||||||||||
With all the focus on kids, it's time to ask, who will save the
grown-ups? In California, drug users over 40 seem to be dying in
higher numbers than in years past. Also in California, the Governor
singed a bill making it easier to maintain needle exchanges in the
state. | ||||||||||||||||||
And, finally, even snowmen aren't safe from drug war demonization, as the New York Times offers careful consideration to determine whether a popular new cartoon image is a force of evil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(5) THE LINK BETWEEN DINNER AND DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
If you missed Family Day last Monday, you may have missed an
important opportunity to prevent your kids from smoking, drinking
and using drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Local governments and a national public-service ad campaign
headlined by Jamie Lee Curtis and Barbara Bush told parents to eat
dinner with their children on Sept. 26, based on a study that showed
frequent family dining reduced the risk of substance abuse in kids
by 50%. | ||||||||||||||||||
"There is no more important thing a parent can do" to reduce the
risk of their children using drugs, said Joseph A. Califano, Jr.,
chairman and president of Columbia University's National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse, or CASA, the group behind the study.
The report's claim was repeated in local media reports in Arizona,
Florida and Indiana, among other places. | ||||||||||||||||||
But before the government takes its war on drugs to the family
kitchen, a closer look at the study is warranted. The study, based
on a phone survey of 1,000 kids between 12 and 17 years old, and 829
parents, didn't show that family dinners cause a reduction in
substance abuse. Instead, it found that teenagers who dined
frequently with parents scored 50% lower on a substance-abuse risk
assessment than did teenagers who didn't. That alone doesn't prove
anything, and other factors could explain that correlation. What's
more, the study found that other behavior actually had a greater
influence on a teen's decision to use drugs, though those findings
didn't fit as easily into a TV commercial. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(6) BRING IT TO THE TABLE STUDY SHOWS FAMILY DINNERS HELP KEEP KIDS | ||||||||||||||||||
The Hardys Of Spotsylvania County Have Homemade Meals Together Every
Night. A Report Says The More A Family Eats Together, The Less
Likely Children Are To Abuse Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
How often a family eats together is a powerful indicator of whether
a child is likely to smoke, drink or use drugs, reports the National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in
New York City. | ||||||||||||||||||
The more often families have dinner together, the less likely their
kids are to abuse drugs--and the more likely they are to have good
grades, according to the annual back-to-school survey. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report compared teens who have five or more family dinners
together a week with those who had two or less. | ||||||||||||||||||
Those with fewer family dinners are: | ||||||||||||||||||
Three times more likely to try marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Two and half times more likely to smoke cigarettes. | ||||||||||||||||||
More than one and a half times more likely to drink alcohol. | ||||||||||||||||||
Those who don't sit down to dinner with their families also are more
likely to have friends who use drugs, ranging from Ecstasy or acid
to heroin or cocaine, according to the report. | ||||||||||||||||||
Teens who have family dinners seven nights a week are almost 40
percent more likely to say they get As and Bs, compared to teens who
have dinner with their families two nights a week or less, said the
report. | ||||||||||||||||||
None of the findings surprised Debra McPhee, a substance abuse therapist with the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(7) BOOMERS' OVERDOSE DEATHS UP MARKEDLY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Californians age 40 and older are dying of drug overdoses at double the rate recorded in 1990, a little-noticed trend that upends the notion of hard-core drug use as primarily a young person's peril. | ||||||||||||||||||
Indeed, overdoses among baby boomers are driving an overall increase in drug deaths so dramatic that soon they may surpass automobile accidents as the state's leading cause of nonnatural deaths. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 2003, the latest year for which the state has figures, a record
3,691 drug users died, up 73% since 1990. The total surpassed deaths
from firearms, homicides and AIDS. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(8) GOVERNOR SIGNS BERG'S CLEAN-NEEDLE BILL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday signed a bill by
Assemblywoman Patty Berg that makes it easier for cities and
counties to maintain needle-exchange programs that fight the spread
of AIDS and Hepatitis-C. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This bill very simply saves lives," said Berg, D-Eureka. "I'm very
happy that it has been signed into law." | ||||||||||||||||||
Assembly Bill 547 will reduce red tape by eliminating a section of
state law that requires cities and counties to declare a health
emergency every two weeks in order to continue operating a
needle-exchange program. | ||||||||||||||||||
Several county health officers have said they would be more likely
to initiate needle-exchange programs if Berg's bill becomes law.
Needle-exchange programs fight the spread of blood-borne diseases
that threaten not just intravenous drug users, but also people whose
lives are knowingly or unknowingly linked to them. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(9) HE'S NOT JOLLY, BUT IS HE SINISTER OR BENIGN? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THE snowman began appearing on T-shirts in the midst of soggy summer weather that would have melted the real thing in seconds. | ||||||||||||||||||
The scowling snow figure was borrowed liberally from a gangsta
rapper named Young Jeezy, who inspired the character, a menacing
version of Frosty. | ||||||||||||||||||
A shirt with the image of an almost expressionless snowman is among
a vendor's wares. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some people see the T-shirts as wearable billboards for traders in another powdery white substance sometimes called snow: cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
But that meaning has been lost on many who are lining up to buy the
snowman shirts from street vendors. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war doesn't really deter people from running drugs, as a story in Rolling Stone Magazine reminds us again. In fact, the drug war can turn a high school dropout who has trouble spelling the word "marijuana" into a hugely successful drug entrepreneur. | ||||||||||||||||||
In addition to the usual corruption and incompetence, this week the
FBI is considering lowering its standards (and, ironically, likely
raising its collective IQ); while a New York Court will need to
determine exactly how to measure a "drug-free zone." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(10) KID CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
How a Chubby Pizza-Delivery Boy From Idaho Became a Drug Kingpin | ||||||||||||||||||
Nate Norman was hanging out with his buddy Topher Clark when he came
up with The Idea. The two friends were sitting around Nate's house,
a dumpy little place near the cemetery, and both of them were
extremely stoned. And yet The Idea had more legs than your typical
pot-inspired idea. It did not involve a second Twinkie inside the
first one. It did not involve genetically modifying the bugs so
their blood would not be blood but windshield-wiper fluid. It was,
in fact, based on a practical application of global economic theory.
That, and cheap weed in Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
At the time, Nate was a nineteen-year-old high school dropout who
worked at a Pizza Hut in Coeur D'Alene -- a gorgeous but dull resort
town in Idaho -- and sold the occasional dime bag on the side.
Chubby and baby-faced, Nate had never been the type to come up with
a million-dollar brainstorm. "He was one of those guys everybody
used to pick on," says his friend Scuzz -- Ben Scozzaro, a year
ahead of Nate at Coeur D'Alene High. "He looks like the Keebler Elf.
That's what we used to call him, actually." Nor was Nate much of a
scholar. His girlfriend Buffy once received a letter in which Nate
spelled "pot" with an extra "t." "He can't spell 'marijuana,'
either," she adds. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(11) D.A. DROPS 27 DRUG CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
More Charges Likely In Investigation Of Former Narcotics Officer | ||||||||||||||||||
Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht said Monday that he had dismissed criminal drug charges against 27 people because he couldn't assure the credibility and reliability of a material witness or the credibility of the evidence in the cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said in a news release that the necessity of dismissing the charges became evident "during the course of a joint investigation of activities of certain police officers conducted by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney's Office." | ||||||||||||||||||
"Because this investigation is coming to a close and other
consequences may result, this office cannot, and will not, provide
any more specific information at this time for to do so may impact
the rights of future litigants," Hecht said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Topeka Police Chief Ed Klumpp said Monday afternoon that Hecht had
told him about a month ago that at least one other person would be
charged in connection with an investigation of former police
narcotics officer Thomas Pfortmiller. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(12) SBI INVESTIGATES MISSING EVIDENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Red Springs - The State Bureau of Investigation is trying to
determine how evidence in two separate cases disappeared from the
Red Springs Police Department. | ||||||||||||||||||
District Attorney Johnson Britt requested the investigation on Sept.
29. Some of the evidence was for a murder trial and the other | ||||||||||||||||||
SBI agents have taken control of the Police Department's evidence room and changed the locks on the door Tuesday, Britt said. Agents began an inventory of items stored in the evidence room on Wednesday to compare what is there with what logs show should be there. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(13) FBI MAY RELAX HIRING GUIDELINES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Changes Would Ease Limits On Past Drug Use For Applicants | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The FBI, famous for its straight-laced
crime-fighting image, is considering whether to relax its hiring
rules over how often applicants could have used marijuana or other
illegal drugs earlier in life. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some senior FBI managers have been deeply frustrated that they could not hire applicants who acknowledged occasional marijuana use in college, but in some cases already perform top-secret work at other government agencies, such as the CIA or State Department. | ||||||||||||||||||
FBI Director Robert Mueller will make the final decision. "We can't
say when or if this is going to happen, but we are exploring the
possibility," spokesman Stephen Kodak said | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(14) COURT TO HEAR SCHOOL-ZONE DRUG CASE IN OCTOBER SESSION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The shortest distance between two points landed
James Robbins in jail. | ||||||||||||||||||
In addition to other drug crimes, Robbins was charged with a New
York law that makes it a crime to sell illegal drugs within 1,000
feet of school property. However, the law does not say how the
distance should be measured. | ||||||||||||||||||
That is just one of several issues the state's highest court, the
Court of Appeals, will consider in its October session. | ||||||||||||||||||
Robbins, 40, was arrested in March 2002 after selling crack cocaine
to an undercover officer in Manhattan, about three blocks from the
Holy Cross grade school on West 43rd Street. He's now serving a
six-to 12-year prison sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||
Robbins' lawyer, Martin Lucente, argues that lower courts erred when
they ruled the distance from the school should be determined by "a
straight line or `as the crow flies' method," according to court
documents. | ||||||||||||||||||
He contends that because buildings were in the way of that line, the distance in his client's case should have been determined by how far one would have to walk from the school to get to the location Robbins was selling drugs. Detectives measured two walking routes and found the distances to be 1,294 feet and 1,091 feet. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lucente said authorities "actually proved, through more than one
attempt to walk the distance, that the school children in question
had the 1000-foot protection _ and more." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In an incredibly sad turn of events, American drug law refuge Steve
Tuck was taken from a Vancouver hospital and turned over the U.S.
officials this week to face federal prosecution on unlawful flight.
Tuck, who is a U.S. army veteran, fled to Canada in 2001 to avoid
cultivation charges in California. After spending five painful days
in prison without treatment, he was finally released on a promise to
appear in California and was immediately hospitalized once again to
treat a cyst and long-standing health conditions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our next two stories look at the continuing compassionate cannabis
controversy in California. The first article comes to us from the
San Francisco Chronicle, and examines the city's attempt to regulate
the 35 or so medical cannabis dispensaries that have opened over the
last few years. | ||||||||||||||||||
A proposal by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi that would allow clubs to
operate as long as they were 500ft from schools and limited their
daily sales to less than one pound of cannabis per patient has been
deemed too lenient by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who would rather see
dispensaries remain at least 1000ft from schools, and limited to
distributing 8 ounces or less per customer, per day. Patient
advocates argue that under Mayor Newsom's guidelines, nearly all of
the existing clubs would be illegal, and that dispensaries would
then be relegated to operating on outskirts of town, forcing
critically and chronically ill Californians to travel much further
to seek relief. | ||||||||||||||||||
And in our second story on California's compassionate access policies, the Chicago Tribune examines the hazy legality of dispensaries in this most liberal of med-cannabis states. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our fourth story this week takes us to New Jersey, where both main
contenders for the upcoming gubernatorial election have vowed
support for medical cannabis. U.S. Senator Jon S. Corzine and his
opponent Douglas Forrester have both pledged to sign into law a
medical cannabis policy should it be presented to them while either
are Governor of New Jersey. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(15) JUDGE RELEASES MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT ARRESTED IN B.C. (Top)HOSPITAL | ||||||||||||||||||
A U.S. Army veteran who fled to Canada to avoid prosecution because
he grew marijuana to help control chronic pain was yanked from a
hospital by Canadian authorities, driven to the U.S. border with a
catheter still attached, and turned over to U.S. officials - who
provided him with no medical treatment for five days, his lawyer
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Steven William Tuck, 38, was still fitted with the urinary catheter
when he shuffled into U.S. District Court for a detention hearing
Wednesday, said his lawyer, Douglas Hiatt. | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Donohue ordered Tuck temporarily
released so that Hiatt and Sunil Aggarwal, the president of
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, could take him to
Harborview Medical Center for treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The guy comes into the jail with a catheter sticking out the end of his (penis), you'd think they'd do something about it!" Hiatt said, launching into a profanity-laced tirade after the hearing. "This is totally inhumane. He's been tortured for days for no reason." | ||||||||||||||||||
Tuck is a veteran who said he suffered debilitating injuries in the late 1980s, when his parachute failed to open during a jump. He spent a year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center undergoing surgeries to fuse discs in his back, Hiatt said. His injuries were exacerbated in a car crash that killed his brother-in-law in 1990; over the years, he has had more than a dozen surgeries, his friends said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(16) MAYOR CALLS PROPOSED LAW TO REGULATE POT CLUBS TOO SOFT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Legislation regulating medical marijuana clubs in San Francisco that
comes today before a Board of Supervisors committee isn't tough
enough, according to a letter sent by Mayor Gavin Newsom on
Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Newsom is taking issue specifically with a bill proposed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who has spearheaded the effort to standardize how the approximately 35 pot clubs currently selling marijuana operate in the city. Under Mirkarimi's proposed legislation, pot clubs could operate within 500 feet of a school and could sell up to a pound of marijuana a day to customers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"While I believe the legislation currently being considered by the
board goes a long way to regulating (pot clubs), I have concerns
that it does not go far enough," Newsom wrote in his letter. The
mayor is proposing a 1,000-foot limit from schools, recreation
centers and parks for pot clubs, strict regulations on what type of
advertising the clubs can use and limiting the amount a patient can
buy each day to 8 ounces. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"I believe that the mayor is sending a very inconsistent message," Mirkarimi said. "In the very recent past he had stated that he would like to see a regulatory scheme that allows clubs who want to comply with the law to thrive. But under his letter this would in essence ban practically all the clubs that exist into areas on the far outskirts of the city. Those issues need to be reconciled." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(17) ARE POT CLUBS LEGAL? IT'S HAZY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Four months after the Supreme Court upheld the right of the federal
government to crack down on the sale and use of medical marijuana,
California's estimated 150,000 medical marijuana patients are still
puffing freely. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nellie, the so-called bud-tender at the Alternative Herbal Health
Services medical marijuana dispensary here, tucked some cannabis
into a pipe recently and lit up. Reaching across a display case
holding marijuana brownies, she passed the pipe to Leather Webb, 51,
who took a hit and handed the pipe to three guys relaxing on a
couch. | ||||||||||||||||||
Leaning against a wall and exhaling a cloud of pungent smoke, Webb
said marijuana eases the residual pain from 15 surgeries on her left
leg, which was damaged by polio. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I was on 100 milligrams of morphine twice a day," she said. "I was
zombied. I got my cannabis to take me off of it." | ||||||||||||||||||
As they smoke, the air grows as hazy as the complicated legal saga of medical marijuana. When California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, medical marijuana became legal under state law but remained illegal under federal law. Federal authorities have always had the right to arrest and prosecute people using marijuana for medical reasons in the 10 states that have passed laws allowing such use. California's law is considered among the most liberal in the nation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(18) GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE FINDS ACCORD ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA, SALARY (Top)REFUSAL | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine and Douglas Forrester would sign a medical- marijuana law if elected governor, and neither would accept their $175,000 governor's salary, they said in a debate last night. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Both said they would sign a medical-marijuana bill if it reached the governor's desk. One such proposal has stalled in the Legislature. | ||||||||||||||||||
"With respect to providing relief under doctor's supervision, under
the proper circumstances, I think we need to provide all medical
resources, and that includes what is emerging now with regard to
this particular application," said Forrester, the Republican
nominee. "So, yes, I'm very much open to that." | ||||||||||||||||||
Said Corzine, the Democratic nominee: "I believe medical marijuana
is something that, if a doctor prescribes it, we need to do what is
in the best interest of the patient. It's a tragedy when you're not
giving the best medication to an individual." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian judges gave accused pot smuggler Schapelle Corby a taste
of Islamic "mercy" this week when they reduced the Australian's
sentence from 20 to 15 years. Corby was hoping new evidence of her
innocence would cause judges to release her. Government prosecutors,
anxious to jail Corby for life, could still appeal for a harsher
sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking of life sentences, in the Philippines, a gung ho
prohibition judge there sentenced a man to life in prison last week,
for the crime of selling 95 grams (under four ounces, about the
weight of a single hamburger patty) of hashish. The sentencing judge
commended drug agents who were able to "entrap" the man, thus saving
innocents from "almost 100 grams of the potent and dangerous
hashish." | ||||||||||||||||||
Pork-barrel prohibition politics spilled out from the U.S. into the
Philippines last week when the Philippine DEA Inspector for Central
Mindanao announced that a new "multimillion-worth | ||||||||||||||||||
And from Canada this week, sad news as a formerly free country appears to be giving in to pressure from the U.S. juggernaut, to tailor Canada's laws to Washington D.C.'s taste. Startled newspaper editors across Canada expressed shock upon learning of new government wiretap plans targeting Canadian citizens: a steep increase from some 2,000 wiretaps per year, to a requested increase of some 8,000 wiretaps per day! While this top-down increase in spying on its own people would be to protect Canadian from terror, government assures, an opinion piece in the National Post noted that in the U.S., similar promises to use wiretaps against terrorism morphed into going after drug (marijuana) crimes. "At some point," wonders the National Post, "people may well start to ask who constitutes the real threat to Canadians' cherished way of life." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(19) CORBY PROSECUTORS MAY CHALLENGE SENTENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors in Indonesia say they believe a life sentence is still appropriate for convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby. | ||||||||||||||||||
The prosecutors could decide to appeal against a decision to reduce
Corby's prison sentence from 20 years to 15 years. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 28-year-old's lawyers say they have already begun the process of
appealing against the decision. | ||||||||||||||||||
They are still convinced the Gold Coast woman has been treated too
harshly. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) MAN METED LIFE FOR 95 GRAMS HASHISH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THE Baguio City's Special Drugs Court has sentenced to life imprisonment John Junas alias John Buguias after he was found guilty of selling 95.2 grams of hashish or marijuana resin worth P25,000 to an agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||
Junas was also ordered to pay a fine of P500,000. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Madlon displayed the patience of a seasoned officer in the
operation, which he single-handedly initiated, as he and fellow PDEA
agents were able to entrap the accused, which in the end, had taken
out in circulation almost 100 grams of the potent and dangerous
hashish," said Judge Antonio Reyes, presiding judge of the Regional
Trial Court (RTC) Branch 61. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) U.S. TO BUILD 3 ANTI-DRUG CENTERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
GENERAL SANTOS CITY: The United Sates will select three regions in
the country to construct multimillion-worth US-Maritime Drug
Enforcement Coordinating Center satellite stations. | ||||||||||||||||||
Chief Insp. Jessie Estrada, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency regional director for Central Mindanao, said the center will help the Philippines enhance its monitoring system specifically in the proliferation of prohibited drugs from foreign countries. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and Joint
Inter-Agency Task Force West had asked assistance from the drug
agency to scout the strategic locations for building satellite
stations in General Santos City, Davao City and Appari. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"The satellite stations will be furnished with radars and other sophisticated equipments that would detect the presence of drugs even at the high seas," Estrada told The Manila Times yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Senior Supt. Alfredo Toroctocon, city police director, said the
coming of the U.S. antidrug monitoring center will be a "bad news"
for drug traffickers not only in the city but throughout Southern
and Central Mindanao. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We are expecting that it is not only the small ones, but also the
big fishes giving protection on the illegal drug trade that will
soon be demolished," Toroctocon said during a huddle with newsmen in
Camp Fermin Lira. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) BROTHER GETS BIGGER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
This week, we learned the federal government wants telecommunications companies to modify their networks to allow for far more extensive government wiretapping of private e-mail, Internet and telephone conversations. The move would represent an unprecedented invasion of Canadians' privacy, and should be opposed on that basis. | ||||||||||||||||||
At present, the courts issue approximately 2,000 warrants for
wiretapping a year, but the government proposal would give law
enforcement the ability to do upwards of 8,000 taps -- a day. These
sweeping extra powers for government snoops would open the door for all
sorts of abuses, despite the government's assurance that police will
still have to get a warrant before tracking a cellphone call or
computer exchange. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
We suspect that the government would have a difficult time finding even a few examples. In the United States, reports from the Administrative Office of United States Courts have shown that the majority of calls police intercept through wiretaps are innocent, and the majority of the wiretaps they place are used to investigate "moral" crimes, such as drug trafficking and gambling. Assuming the Canadian statistics are similar, we wonder, is it really worth sacrificing Canadians' privacy so that the government may play thought police and crack down on essentially victimless crimes? | ||||||||||||||||||
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Canadian government
has ample reason to focus on preventing terrorism. But it should be
doing so without resort to excessive intrusion into our private
lives. At some point people may well start to ask who constitutes
the real threat to Canadians' cherished way of life. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ETHAN NADELMANN AND MARSHA ROSENBAUM SPEAK IN B.C. | ||||||||||||||||||
Reflections Forward and Back on the Methamphetamine Crisis / Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance, New York | ||||||||||||||||||
Just Say Know: Getting Real about Teens and Drugs / Marsha Rosenbaum,
Director, Drug Policy Alliance, San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||
Thursday, September 15, 2005, 5:00 pm, University of Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DRUG USE IN IRELAND & NORTHERN IRELAND FROM THE 2002/2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Prevalence Survey: Cannabis Results | ||||||||||||||||||
National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) & Drug and Alcohol
Information and Research Unit (DAIRU) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DRUG OFFENDERS | ||||||||||||||||||
Various Factors May Limit the Impacts of Federal Laws That Provide
for Denial of Selected Benefits | ||||||||||||||||||
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at www.KPFT.org | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
420 DRUG TRUTH NEWS | ||||||||||||||||||
NORML's Allen St. Pierre Vs. Drug Free America's Calvina Fay, from USA
Today | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
THE MAPS 2006 CALENDAR | ||||||||||||||||||
MAPS is pleased to present our first wall calendar. The months of 2006
are decorated with a collection of unique visual art pieces, from both
famous and virtually-unknown artists. Each month also contains a list
of important dates in drug history. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
POLITICIANS AND DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||
The persistent questioning of Tory leadership hopeful David Cameron
about whether or not he has ever taken drugs is the latest example of
MPs being grilled about their relationship - or otherwise - with
illicit substances. | ||||||||||||||||||
For journalists, politicians, and interested members of the public,
'Issue of the Day' provides a snapshot of responses and views on the
leading issues of the day. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
REPORT - 92 PERCENT OF SOULS IN HELL THERE ON DRUG CHARGES | ||||||||||||||||||
HELL - A report released Monday by the Afterlife Civil Liberties Union
indicates that nine out of 10 souls currently serving in Hell were
condemned on drug-related sins. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CRACK-CRAZED SQUIRRELS TERRORISE SOUTH LONDON | ||||||||||||||||||
Be afraid | ||||||||||||||||||
By Lester Haines | ||||||||||||||||||
Stop us if you've heard this one: crack-addicted squirrels are
terrorising Brixton in Sarf London in a desperate search for a fix,
eschewing their traditional nuts and digging up residents' front
gardens in what appears to be a credible zoological threat to the
Yardies' hard-drug hegemony. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/10/london_squirrel_terror/ | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, MEET THE WAR ON DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||
From The Liberty Blog of the ACLU of Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MCLENNAN COUNTY "SNUFFS" AGRIPLEX TASK FORCE | ||||||||||||||||||
From the Grits For Breakfast blog by Scott Henson | ||||||||||||||||||
Texas' Tulia-style regional drug task forces are dropping like
flies. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Job Opportunity: MPP Seeks National Field Director | ||||||||||||||||||
The Marijuana Policy Project is hiring a National Field Director to
spearhead MPP's grassroots organizing efforts in targeted
congressional districts and nationwide. This is an excellent
opportunity to play an exciting role in a fast-paced, well respected
lobbying organization. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cut War on Drugs to Pay for Katrina Relief | ||||||||||||||||||
Congress is debating how to pay for hurricane relief efforts. Cutting funding for the failed war on drugs is on the table. Contact your members of Congress and tell them to cut wasteful drug war spending. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=28232 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
REGULATED MARIJUANA SALES WOULD STYMIE 'GATEWAY EFFECT' | ||||||||||||||||||
By Kirk Muse | ||||||||||||||||||
It seems to me that you asked the wrong question in the | ||||||||||||||||||
Because marijuana is now illegal, it is sold only by criminals (
criminals who often sell other, much more dangerous drugs like
cocaine and methamphetamine ). And they often offer free samples of
the more dangerous drugs to their marijuana customers. Thus the
so-called "gateway effect." | ||||||||||||||||||
In a regulated market, this would not happen. Do the readers know of
anyone who has been offered a free bottle of whiskey, rum or vodka
when legally buying beer or wine? I don't either. | ||||||||||||||||||
If we regulate, control, and tax the sale and production of
marijuana, we close the gateway to hard drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kirk Muse | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Anthony Diotaiuto Update | ||||||||||||||||||
By Radley Balko | ||||||||||||||||||
Diotaiuto, you may remember, was the 23-year old Florida man shot
and killed by Sunrise police in a drug raid last August. I've spoke
with a couple of people close to the case, and from what I can
gather, the police account of the raid is coming apart at the seams.
Cops now concede they found barely over an ounce of marijuana, not
more than two, as originally reported. They're also backing down -
if only a little - from the story that Diotaiuto pointed a gun at
the SWAT team. | ||||||||||||||||||
Here, some lingering questions about the raid, and some possible
answers: | ||||||||||||||||||
Why does Sunrise, Florida have its own SWAT team? | ||||||||||||||||||
Sunrise is a town of 100,000. There were exactly three murders in
the city in 2003, the last year for which statistics are available.
It's a tourist/retirement area with very little violent crime. So
why the SWAT team? The answer comes in a paper I'm working on at the
moment, and hope to have out in the next few months. It's because
the federal government is showering police departments all over the
country with military gear, funding, and combat training if they
start up paramilitary units within their forces. Department
officials don't want to turn down free stuff (especially cool stuff
like armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers, night vision
equipment, bayonets, and military-grade fully automatic weapons). So
they start SWAT teams. The number of SWAT teams soared between 1980
and the mid 1990s, skyrocketed between 1995 and 2000, and has
absolutely exploded since 2000. Because towns like Sunrise don't
have much violent crime, and don't want SWAT teams to sit idle, they
start using them for everyday policing task, like serving drug
warrants. Which brings us to our next question.... | ||||||||||||||||||
Why was a SWAT team deployed to serve a marijuana search warrant on someone with no history of violence, and no real criminal record? | ||||||||||||||||||
Diotaiuto had one prior conviction of marijuana possession seven years ago, when he was 16. Sunrise police say Diotaiuto had a valid conceal-carry permit, and cite said permit as their reason for suspecting he was dangerous, thus necessitating the SWAT team. | ||||||||||||||||||
Um, no. Violent drug dealers don't bother to apply for conceal-carry
permits. They flout the law, remember? In Florida, a conceal-carry
permit requires paperwork, fingerprinting, a criminal background
check, a fee, and enrolment in a firearms safety class. If
anything, the fact that Diotaiuto had a valid permit shows he was in
all likelihood not a big-time drug dealer, and was more likely a
recreational marijuana user. If possession of legal, registered
firearms is enough to raise a red flag with cops, and warrant
storm-trooper raids of one's home, the Second Amendment means
nothing. | ||||||||||||||||||
Diotaiuto also worked two part-time jobs while attending community
college, and just sold his car to help make a down payment on a
modest house for his mother. Not exactly the profile of a kingpin.
Cops also could easily have grabbed him en route to his jobs, his
classes, or his church, which he attended every Sunday. Of course,
nabbing him that way would rob them of the fun of dressing up in
commando gear, busting down doors, and clutching special-ops
military weaponry. | ||||||||||||||||||
Did cops knock and announce themselves before entering? Did they
give Diotaiuto a chance to answer the door before tearing the door
down, as required by law? | ||||||||||||||||||
Unlikely. Several neighbors watched the raid the moment SWAT
personnel converged on the home say they heard no announcement.
Police knew that Diotaiuto had just returned home from his
late-night job as a bartender. They had good reason to believe he'd
be exhausted, meaning they should have given him plenty of time to
answer the door after announcing themselves (Florida law is unclear
on just how much time is needed, but the Florida Supreme Court has
ruled that six seconds is not enough time. The U.S. Supreme Court
has ruled that 20-30 seconds is sufficient). | ||||||||||||||||||
But the cops' story doesn't add up. Police say they found Diotaiuto
awake in his living room, and that upon seeing them, he fled to his
bed room and grabbed a loaded handgun. | ||||||||||||||||||
But if the police had properly knocked and announced themselves, why
would Diotaiuto have waited until after they entered his living room
before fleeing to the bedroom to grab a gun? If his aim was to
engage the cops in a shootout, it seems he would have armed himself
the moment they knocked on his door and identified themselves as
cops. The house was small. If he was in his living room, which is
near the front door, a proper knock-and-announce almost certainly
would have alerted him to the cops' presence. | ||||||||||||||||||
Which brings us to the next question... | ||||||||||||||||||
Did Diotaiuto point his gun at police? | ||||||||||||||||||
This was the original story put out by the police department. It
then changed to they think he pointed a gun at them, to "a gun was
found near the body." | ||||||||||||||||||
Diotaiuto was found in his bedroom closet, his body riddled with the
holes from ten bullets. | ||||||||||||||||||
It doesn't make sense for Diotaiuto to have armed himself and
pointed a gun at the intruders if he indeed knew it was police who
were invading his home. If Diotaiuto were hiding a dead body, or
even a couple of kilos of cocaine or heroin, one might see how he
would conclude that he's better off taking on a SWAT team with his
handgun then he is handing himself over. But an ounce of marijuana?
Who goes down firing over an ounce of weed? | ||||||||||||||||||
If it is indeed true that Diotaiuto rushed to arm himself (and yes,
that's still open for debate), the far more likely scenario is that
the police didn't properly announce themselves. More likely,
Diotaiuto heard someone break open his door, possibly deploy a
flash-bang grenade (it isn't yet clear if the SWAT team used a
diversionary device), and grabbed his handgun because he feared for
his life. | ||||||||||||||||||
The investigative committee has yet to issue its report. If this
case proceeds like the dozens others just like it all around the
country, the committee will likely paradoxically conclude that the
police acted properly, and that the suspect died tragically and
unnecessarily. Of course, if police properly followed procedure, and
said procedure resulted in a the needless death of a nonviolent
citizen, logic would suggest there's something wrong with the
procedure. Logic, unfortunately, is in short supply when it comes to
drug prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
In all likelihood, Diotaiuto's family will sue. They won't win any money from the cops who killed him, and judging from similar cases across the country, odds are about even that they'll get any money from the city. What's almost certain, however, is that the policy will remain unchanged. Communities like Sunrise will continue to deploy SWAT teams to serve routine drug warrants, needless provoking confrontation, and escalating the potential for violence. Those raids will inevitably continue to go awry, and cops, small-time dope dealers, and complete innocents will continue to needlessly die. A committee will investigate. And it'll all happen all over again. | ||||||||||||||||||
And all of that won't do a damn thing to diminish the drug supply. | ||||||||||||||||||
Policy analyst and writer Radley Balko operates The Agitator - http://www.theagitator.com - where this piece originally appeared. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Against stupidity the very gods fight in vain." -Friedrich Schiller | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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. | ||||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: | ||||||||||||||||||
Please utilize the following URLs | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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 () | ||||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE | ||||||||||||||||||
-OR- | ||||||||||||||||||
Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to: | ||||||||||||||||||
The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
 | current issue | this issue |