| Jan. 27, 2006 #434 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) STUDIES LINK PSYCHOSIS, TEENAGE MARIJUANA USE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some Adolescents Carry Genetic Risk | ||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers are offering new ammunition to worried parents trying to
dissuade their teens from smoking marijuana: Evidence is mounting that
for some adolescents whose genes put them at added risk, heavy
marijuana use could increase the chances of developing severe mental
illness -- psychosis or schizophrenia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This week, the marijuana-psychosis link gained ground when two major
medical journals reviewed the research to date and concluded that it
was persuasive. In PLOS Medicine, an Australian public health policy
specialist wrote that genetically vulnerable teens who smoke marijuana
more than once a week "appear at greater risk of psychosis," while the
British medical journal BMJ cited estimates that marijuana use could
contribute to about 10 percent of cases of psychosis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new research has little hint of "Reefer Madness" alarmism. Rather, a half-dozen long, careful studies published in the last several years have tried to determine whether marijuana-smoking is a cause rather than an effect of mental illness. And groundbreaking research has begun to try to pinpoint which genes and brain chemicals could do the damage. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The conclusions remain controversial, in part because it would be
unethical to randomly assign teens to smoke or not smoke marijuana --
which would be necessary to perform a gold-standard study to
definitively show that adolescent marijuana use causes mental illness.
It could be the other way around, or some other factor could put teens
at risk of both. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) TONS OF POT FOUND IN SOPHISTICATED CROSS-BORDER TUNNEL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAN DIEGO - More than 2 tons of marijuana were found inside one of the
longest and most sophisticated cross-border tunnels ever discovered,
officials said Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The size and scale of the tunnel - the 21st discovered in more than
four years - stunned authorities, who said that the passageway revealed
the lengths smugglers will go to evade detection. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The tunnel began near the airport in Tijuana, Mexico, and ended 2,400 feet away in a San Diego warehouse, said Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego. It was unclear how long the tunnel had been in operation, Unzueta said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At least 60 feet below U.S. soil, authorities found a tunnel floor
lined with cement, lights that ran down one of the hard soil walls, and
air piped down from the surface, he said. An adult could stand in the
5-foot-high shaft. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It was like being in a cavern or a cave," Unzueta said in an
interview. "It's just huge, absolutely incredible." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) MEXICO: SMUGGLERS, NOT MILITARY, CROSSED U.S. BORDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY - The men dressed in military garb who crossed the border and confronted Texas law officers this week were drug smugglers, not Mexican soldiers, officials said Wednesday, illustrating Mexico's thorny problem with criminals who masquerade as security forces. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Photos of what appeared to be Mexican troops in U.S. territory during
the incident Monday shocked many Americans, although Mexico quickly
denied its military was involved. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But to most Mexicans it just offered further proof that drug
traffickers run rampant around the border area in military-style
vehicles, wearing uniforms and, in some cases, using military
firepower. | ||||||||||||||||||||
``It is known that these are drug traffickers using military uniforms and they were not even regulation military uniforms,'' Mexican presidential press secretary Ruben Aguilar told reporters. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A U.S. law enforcement official said the FBI and other agencies found no evidence the uniformed men were Mexican soldiers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Both countries said they were investigating the case, which comes at a
time of rising anger over border security, with Washington considering
extending a wall along its 2,000-mile-long frontier with Mexico -- an
idea Mexicans bitterly resent. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) A SNIFF FOR SAFE SCHOOLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Random Checks Using Dog Aims To Keep Drugs, Guns Off Campuses In Fort
Mill | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tosca, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, trots around cars parked in the
Fort Mill High School student lot, her nose pushed against the sides of
the vehicles. | ||||||||||||||||||||
She holds back at one sedan, circling by the door. Then, after a few more good sniffs, she looks up at her handler and sits down. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That's her alert signal. Tosca has been trained to recognize the scents
of gunpowder and all sorts of drugs -- and she smelled something
suspicious here. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Forty-one school districts across the Carolinas and other states pay
R.A.I.D Corps Inc., a Spartanburg-based private drug inspection company
that owns Tosca, to check their buildings. Fort Mill started using
R.A.I.D. in the 2004-05 school year, paying about $400 per school per
search -- a total of $11,500 over the school year -- to randomly check
for illegal substances in the high school and both middle schools. York
principals will consider adding the service at a meeting in February,
new Superintendent Russell Booker said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Having that added piece of security is well worth the money that
you're spending," said Booker, who saw the company in action when he
was a principal in a Spartanburg district. "It's another preventative
measure to try to keep those things out of your school that don't need
to be there." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tosca zoomed through the row of 41 cars in 15 minutes, alerting four
times. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Car No. 1: Maybe some burns from marijuana smoked in the car at some
time, but no drugs. Car No. 2: No drugs found, but there could've been
something in the dried-up leaf bits on the carpet floor. Car No. 3: No
drugs found. Car No. 4: No drugs, but another serious offense - -- a
bottle of gin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tosca doesn't alert on alcohol, but that doesn't mean she was wrong
about drugs in any of those cars, Raines said. She may have picked up
on marijuana seeds that burned into upholstery, or a lingering scent
from a drug user who rode in the car, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
With all the talk about meth lately, it's like crack isn't a problem
any more. The Village Voice, however, took a look at the crack
market in New York City and found that crack culture still exists,
and that whatever reduction it has undergone wasn't due to get-tough
anti-crack laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Do parents want tough drug-testing programs at schools? At least one
group of parent aren't so sure, and they were disturbed enough to
unseat school board members who allegedly formulated such a plan
behind closed doors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal drug laws do not trump an assisted suicide law implemented in Oregon; another study says methamphetamine-related problems are overwhelming emergency rooms; and Fred Gardner takes a tough look at a new prescription drug which plays with people's cannabinoid receptors, but is touted by investment strategists as a blockbuster. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) ANATOMY OF A DRUG CRAZE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Why Tough Laws Can't Claim Credit For Beating Back Crack | ||||||||||||||||||||
The abandoned trailer in Bushwick, Brooklyn, has only been a serious
crack hangout for a few years. Inside, perched on crates, car seats,
and debris, a handful of people hang out and get high. One clean-cut
twentysomething who calls himself Scotty ( "as in beam me up," he
explains ) smokes a couple of rocks before heading off to work.
Maria, a skinny 27-year-old dressed in sweats, convinces her friend
to "hook her up." Another woman furiously cleans out her pipe. With
the exception of Jessie, a homeless 37-year-old, all started smoking
crack after 1990, when what drug experts call "the crack era"
officially ended. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There is no shortage of spots like the trailer and no shortage of
crack users to hang out in them. Yet there is a popular | ||||||||||||||||||||
With the myth of crack's demise comes another dubious notion: that
furious legal attacks, including the Rockefeller drug laws, a
ballistic police response, and crack-specific legislation, have
brought the epidemic to its knees. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Just around the corner from where Marie and "Scotty" get high, for
instance, a local landlord named Christopher Guzzardo is reminiscing
about the bad old days. What cleaned up Bushwick, according to
Guzzardo, who owns several buildings in the neighborhood, was
forceful policing. "They had klieg lights, helicopters, mounted
police," remembers Guzzardo. "It was like a movie." | ||||||||||||||||||||
No question, law enforcement on all levels was tough on crack. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
But while tough sentencing laws were effective in filling the
prisons, drug experts say they had little to do with crack's
decline. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In fact, those imprisoned on crack charges were more likely to be
arrested again than those given probation, according to a recent
study of drug users and sellers in Manhattan. Even worse, some
scholars say, because dealers didn't want to risk employing those
who could be tried as adults, they brought kids as young as seven
and eight into the dangerous crack economy. "The extreme penalties
led to mid-level crack dealers using children, and that got a lot of
teenagers using crack," explains drug researcher Don Des Jarlais.
And that, in turn, led to the murders and violence that has come to
be associated with the drug. "If the punishment hadn't been so
extreme, you wouldn't have so much youth violence." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) DEBATED DRUG-TESTING POLICY IN LIMBO PENDING ADDITIONAL (Top)EXPLORATION | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alexander school board members voted unanimously Thursday to rescind
a controversial drug-testing policy until research can be completed
for a possible new drug-prevention policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Superintendent Robert Bray recommended the school board rescind the
policy and conduct a survey of taxpayers in the district to see what
they thought would be the best policy for drug prevention in
Alexander schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The board will seek the advice of Brian Quick, professor of
communication studies at Ohio University, during the February board
meeting to see what information the board will need to make a good
decision on a new policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
During the board meeting Thursday, two new members, Gordon Brooks
and Mike Chapman, were sworn into the Alexander school board. Brooks
and Chapman won their positions on the board during the November
elections, unseating Synthia Clary and Steve Thomas, who both voted
to implement the original drug-testing policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Many Alexander district parents came to the board meeting last week
to share their ideas on how they would like the "new" school board
to be run. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) HIGH COURT UPHOLDS OREGON LAW BACKING DOCTOR-ASSISTED SUICIDE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Reigniting a national debate over right-to-die issues,
the Supreme Court barred the Justice Department from interfering
with Oregon's law allowing physicians to help terminally ill
patients end their lives. Voting 6-3, with Chief Justice John
Roberts joining conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence
Thomas in dissent, the court ruled that the administration exceeded
its authority under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act when it
threatened to penalize doctors who prescribed life-ending drugs
under the Oregon law, the only one of its kind in the country. The
Justice Department said it was "disappointed" with the ruling.
Advocates of the law said they expect the ruling to set off
responses both in Congress and in states, such as California and
Vermont, where similar measures are pending. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) STUDIES SAY EMERGENCY METH CASES PUTTING HOSPITALS IN A FIX (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A sharp increase in the number of people arriving in emergency rooms
with methamphetamine-related problems is straining local hospital
budgets and treatment facilities across the country, particularly in
the Midwest, according to two surveys to be released in Washington
today. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The studies, conducted late last year by the National Association of
Counties, are another indicator of the toll the drug has taken on
local communities, particularly in rural areas where social service
networks are ill-equipped to deal with the consequences. In July,
the association reported that an overwhelming number of sheriffs
polled nationwide declared methamphetamine their No. 1 law
enforcement problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the most recent survey, conducted late last year, 73 percent of
the 200 county and regional hospitals polled said they had seen an
increase in the number of people visiting emergency rooms for
methamphetamine-related problems over the last five years; 68
percent reported a continued increase in the last three years, and
45 percent in the last year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The problem was particularly intense in the middle of the country:
70 percent of hospitals in the Midwest and 80 percent in the Upper
Midwest said methamphetamine accounted for 10 percent of their
patients. Nationwide, 14 percent of the hospitals said such cases
made up 20 percent of their emergency room visits. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) COLUMN: COMES NOW ACOMPLIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Even before Eli Lilly began selling Prozac in December, 1988, the
company was selling the concept of "clinical depression" ( the
alleged disease that Prozac allegedly cures, or helps people cope
with. Lilly also began educating doctors and the public about
"selective serotonin reuptake inhibition," the mechanism by which
Prozac allegedly works. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third-largest drug company, is pursuing a similar strategy as it awaits approval to market a drug called Acomplia to treat a condition called "metabolic syndrome." In recent years Sanofi has been educating doctors and the public about "metabolic syndrome" ( high glucose levels, obesity, and other risk factors for diabetes ) and Acomplia's mechanism of action, which involves blocking the body's own ( endo- ) cannabinoid system. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Acomplia is the drug formerly known as Rimonabant. Before that it
was known as SR141716, the SR standing for "Sanofi Recherche." It
was developed in 1995 as an "antagonist" drug for use by researchers
studying the endocannabinoid system. ( By administering a drug that
blocks specific receptors, scientists can infer the receptors'
functions. ) Sanofi soon realized that its cannabinoid antagonist
could be marketed as a weight-loss drug, and undertook a series of
clinical trials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
As usual, there's no justice in the drug war. Police in Florida were
cleared of killing an unarmed man during a botched drug raid, even
though the details of the killing appeared to be quickly covered up.
The drug war doesn't offer much security either, as reports that
military personnel on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border are more
likely to come in contact with each other. The money, however, still
flows freely, even if the police catch more each week. Also this
week, local government in two states are considering "meth offenders
lists" that would function like sex offenders lists. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) JUPITER OFFICER CLEARED IN KILLING OF SUSPECTED DRUG DEALER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An undercover Jupiter police officer who fatally shot a suspected
drug dealer last summer was cleared Wednesday of any wrongdoing,
despite problems with the handling of evidence and a lack of initial
cooperation from a federal law enforcement agency. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office declined to prosecute
Officer Paul Bruno for shooting Donovan Brooks, 40, in a West Palm
Beach motel parking lot on Aug. 5 during a "take down" in which
federal and local agents and officers lured Brooks from New Jersey
to buy $80,000 of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bruno fired at Brooks after he feared Brooks would shoot him and another undercover agent when he reached for his waistband as Bruno tried to arrest him. Bruno later told investigators he didn't see anything in Brooks' hands or waistband that looked like a weapon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Brooks, as it turned out, was unarmed, investigators found. He also
didn't have a known history of carrying weapons or being involved in
violence, they said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors at first considered bringing Bruno in front of a grand
jury to determine whether the shooting was justified after finding
that he and other agents acted "contrary to procedures" established
for investigating police shootings. Investigators concluded at the
time that it was impossible to figure out "with confidence" what
happened just before Bruno shot Brooks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) WAR ON DRUGS SPARKS INCURSIONS, OFFICIALS SAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An increased Mexican military presence along the border over the
past decade could be making it more likely that Mexican and U.S.
authorities are crossing paths, according to several border law
enforcement experts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The military in recent years is being drawn into the war on drugs,"
said David Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute, based at
the University of San Diego. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Victor Clark, a Tijuana-based human rights activist who follows drug
trends, said "there is more militarization along the border because
the U.S. is pressuring to have more there." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) U.S. AGENTS CATCHING CASH AT BORDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials Intercept Currency Heading South After Narcotics Go North | ||||||||||||||||||||
LAREDO - For Mexican smuggling organizations, the border is a two-way street. Drugs, people and other contraband move north. The money moves south. In the last three years, customs agents have seized more than $20 million in currency at the eight ports of entry from Brownsville to Del Rio - roughly one-fifth of the value of the bulk cash seizures the agency made nationally. While U.S. drug agents have long concentrated their efforts on stopping drugs at the border, they're increasingly going after the money, hitting the drug cartels in the pocketbook and providing invaluable intelligence of the trafficking networks. And with stricter controls on bank accounts and wire transfers, trafficking organizations are running piles of cash into Mexico, in cars, trucks, boats, and airplanes and even strapped to the bodies of couriers, federal officials said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) NAMES OF METH DISTRIBUTORS WOULD GO TO ONLINE DATABASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The names of distributors and manufacturers of methamphetamine may become more easily learned by the public if a bill requiring their names to be entered into an online database becomes law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday, House Republican leaders offered legislation creating an
online registry designed to further deter meth distributors and
manufacturers and protect property owners. The registry, proposed by
House Bill 3121, would contain the names of people convicted and
sentenced for the crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||
House Speaker Todd Hiett, R-Kellyville, said he hopes the Web site would help keep the public safe and discourage continued meth use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This registry will allow citizens to protect themselves, and allow users to heal themselves," he said. Offenders would be removed from the registry if they go seven years without another meth conviction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) EDITORIAL: METH OFFENDER REGISTRY HELPS TO PROTECT PUBLIC (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Should you have the right to know if a convicted sex offender lives
in your neighborhood? In the 1990s, the reaction to that provocative
question formed the basis of Tennessee law that created a Web site,
listing the names and addresses of sex offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Now, Tennessee law enforcement officials are trying a similar tactic
against those who manufacture methamphetamine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee's Methamphetamine Offender Registry, located at
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/methor/, allows Internet users to
enter = a name or county and retrieve those convicted of meth drug
offenses since March 30, 2005. Like the state's sex offender
registry, the idea behind the meth list is to allow neighbors and
apartment and other property owners to know if an individual has a
history of this type of criminal behavior. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Given the potential hazards of meth manufacture, which include
explosions and toxic fumes that can sear the lungs and make an
apartment or house virtually uninhabitable afterward, such
information is as welcome as it is warranted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The global advance to demonize marijuana and demoralize consumers, by
whatever means necessary, brings unbelievable tactics and theatrics
by politicians at every turn. Watch as disturbing trends continue to
develop and take nothing for granted - like long established medical
marijuana programs, or being able to smoke pot and raise kids, or
progress itself, as our stories reveal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The beleaguered 10th anniversary of California's Proposition 215 was
further marred when San Bernardino and San Diego County politicians
filed a court action to have the state law ruled out of existence,
forcing battle weary activists to try and intervene in the latest
power struggle between state-federal law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although the pro-Bush Conservatives only won a minority government
in the recent Canadian federal election, award-winning columnist Dan
Gardner fears the worst. In the midst of the transition, the timing
of Steve Kubby and his family's deportation from British Columbia to
California, made it impossible for activists to voice their concerns
to anyone in charge. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Parents who choose to use marijuana in their home with little
discretion, as they are permitted with alcohol, tobacco and
prescriptions, may find themselves fighting to keep their children,
and learning the hard way about Big Brother. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis may have escaped being reclassified back to class B in the
UK, but drug war mongers plan to keep the pressure on so at some
point in the future, junk science will prevail and progress
destroyed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) COUNTY FINDS ALLY AGAINST MEDICAL POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
While activists yesterday begged the county to drop its suit
challenging the state's medical marijuana laws, the Board of
Supervisors received unexpected support from colleagues to the
north. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is joining San Diego
County in its suit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
San Diego County filed suit in federal court Friday seeking to
overturn Proposition 215, the voter-approved Compassionate Use Act,
which allows possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
in California. The county also wants the court to void a later law
passed by the state Legislature that requires counties to create and
maintain a database of medical marijuana users and issue
identification cards. The American Civil Liberties Union also jumped
into the fray yesterday, filing a motion to intervene in federal
court, as promised, on behalf of patients who use marijuana to
alleviate symptoms. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST FORCED TO LEAVE COUNTRY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Vancouver -- The Canada Border Services Agency has informed medical
marijuana activist Steve Kubby and his family that they must leave
the country by Thursday, or face a forcible removal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Kubby said his wife will travel separately with their children,
so their daughters will not have to see him taken into custody if he
is arrested upon arrival in California. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) PARENTS ACCUSED OF USING MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials took an 8-year-old girl and a 9-month-old boy into
protective custody, and police arrested their parents on accusations
that they used marijuana in the children's presence, Salem police
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cokeley told police that she and Tomasini had been using marijuana
three to five times per day and that she had breast-fed her youngest
child for the past eight months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Each was charged with two counts of criminal mistreatment, two
counts of endangering the welfare of a child and possession of less
than an ounce of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The home was declared a public nuisance and a health hazard,
Hoffmeister said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) FIGURES SHOW MASSIVE LEAP IN 'CANNABIS CASUALTIES' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE number of people detained in hospital for mental and behavioural problems due to cannabis has more than trebled in the Lothians. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Statistics set to be released by the Scottish Executive in a parliamentary answer will show that the number of cannabis-related casualties soared from 45 to 136 - the highest rise in Scotland. | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, it is unclear whether the rise is due to more people with
mental health problems admitting they smoke cannabis, following its
reclassification to class C. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. conservatives scored big this week in Canada when the U.S.
Republican Party cat's-paw, Stephen Harper, won in the Canadian
national elections. Harper's Conservative Party promises to "get
tough" on "meth" and "grow ops", meaning of course, pot-smokers will
be scapegoated, arrested, and jailed in increasing numbers. A
conveniently timed shooting in Ontario on the eve of the election
provided Conservatives with the propaganda springboard needed to
blame it all on liberal drug laws, and voters swallowed the tale
hook, line, and sinker. Expect this Anschluss in little Canada,
which had bravely held out for so long against creeping U.S.
fascism, to herald a bold new era of jailing pot smokers and
for-profit prisons. But good times are ahead for Canadian police,
prosecutors and the prison industry, as Harper's conservatives
lustily devour traditional Canadian civil rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Colombia, some 3,000 armed soldiers will attempt to protect 1,000
coca-pluckers as they scour the Sierra Macarena National Park for coca
plants. Optimistic officials have said they will only need three
months to get "every last coca plant," in the words of far-right
Colombian President Uribe. Going is expected to be slow, as the area is
tropical rainforest, and "looking for mines" will slow troops and coca-
plucking workers considerably. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Bolivia, former coca grower and now President, Evo Morales, was
sworn in this week. Morales has promised to reverse U.S.-sponsored
coca eradication programs, while at the same time disallowing
cocaine. "We say no to 'zero coca,' but we are promoting 'zero
cocaine.'" The U.S. government will be invited "to leave" Bolivia.
"We are no longer going to accept the requirements that the United
States has placed on us," said Dionicio Nunez, a leader in Morales'
"MAS" Party. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Talisay City Jail in the Philippines is filled not with robbers, murderers or rapists, but instead is packed with people facing petty "drug charges," a report in the Freeman newspaper admitted. "About 70 percent of all inmates at the jail face drug charges, while the rest are being accused of rape, murder or robbery." Government officials, ever anxious to extend their powers as far as they can, are predictably begging for more money for more jails cells. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, we leave you with a frank piece by Danny
Kushlick in the UK Guardian newspaper on the topic of drug
"prohibition". That's right, they actually used the "P" word,
admitting that drug prohibition had failed, and is an "illusion."
All that talk about re-classifying cannabis in the UK last week was
merely a diversion. "The debate on reclassifying cannabis has served
the government well in diverting attention from the miserable
failure of its entire drug policy... Global drug prohibition will be
history within 15 years -- its counterproductivity makes it
untenable in the long term." | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(19) HARPER HAS HIS JUSTICE PLATFORM LOCKED UP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Criminal justice policy is not, as some politicians and journalists seem to think, a peripheral subject of interest only to lawyers, criminals and victims. It is a vital part of social policy. Get it wrong and individuals, families, communities and societies suffer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And Canada is about to get it very wrong. The justice platform of the incoming Conservative government is -- aside from a very modest nod toward helping youths at risk -- all about punishment. Mandatory minimum sentences of five and 10 years for a long list of gun crimes. A presumption of dangerous-offender status for anyone convicted of three violent or sexual offences. Consecutive sentences for certain violent or sexual crimes. And on and on it goes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
These promises received no real scrutiny during the campaign. All
the public heard was that the Tories were calling for a "crackdown,"
and that sounded pretty good after the horrific Boxing Day shooting
in Toronto. | ||||||||||||||||||||
What went unnoticed is that the Tory platform is essentially a
condensed version of the policies that have dominated U.S. criminal
justice for the last 25 years. What Stephen Harper is proposing is
nothing less than a profound Americanization of the Canadian
criminal justice system. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Liberals will buckle. Most or all of the Tory justice platform
will pass. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But if the U.S. experience with these ideas is anything to go by, that won't be the end of it. It will just be the beginning. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Crime has been with us since Cain slew Abel and inevitably there
will be awful crimes such as the Boxing Day murder of Jane Creba in
the future. When they occur, people won't question the effectiveness
of mandatory minimum sentences. They never do. Instead, the
assumption will be that the sentences aren't tough enough. And up
they will go. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the U.S., this escalation has been going on for 25 years. As a result, the prison population has quadrupled to more than two million. One in four prisoners on the planet is American. A black man has almost a one-in-three chance of seeing the inside of a cell in his lifetime and criminal records are more common than high-school diplomas in many poor minority neighbourhoods. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Contrary to what David Frum wrote recently in the National Post,
this incarceration binge did not make the United States safer than
soft old Canada. (More on this in a later column.) But it did cost
Americans dearly. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(20) COLOMBIA TAKES DRUG WAR TO PLANT LEVEL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Workers Uproot Coca Crop In Park, Know To Drop At Sound | ||||||||||||||||||||
SIERRA MACARENA NATIONAL PARK, Colombia - The war on drugs doesn't
get more hands-on than this. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nearly a thousand government workers descended on this | ||||||||||||||||||||
About 3,000 soldiers provided security for the risky operation -- a
slow and costly program reflecting the difficulty of winning the
U.S.-funded war on drugs. Authorities said they expect the
eradication teams to finish the job in three months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Uribe vowed to remove "every last coca plant" from the park, because he said the rebels were getting rich trafficking cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We have a specialized military unit, advancing step by step,
looking for mines and making sure eradication crews can work
safely," National Police chief Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro said shortly
before bending over and uprooting the first coca plant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 40-men crews were also accompanied by a team of minesweepers and
bomb-sniffing dogs. The campaign is being overseen by 11 observers
from the United Nations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Aerial spraying, common elsewhere in Colombia, could complete the
job faster than the three months allotted for the task. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But despite urgings of the United States, Colombia has refused to
chemically fumigate any of its 49 national parks and protected
areas, 11 of which are believed to contain coca. Castro cited
environmental concerns, noting the parks contain dozens of species
that exist nowhere else on the planet. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(21) MORALES LIKELY TO CUT TIES TO U.S. ANTIDRUG EFFORTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Ex-Farmer Says He'll Fight Cocaine but Protect Coca | ||||||||||||||||||||
LA PAZ, Bolivia - As former coca grower Evo Morales prepares to take
the oath of office as Bolivia's new president today, a battle over
U.S.-funded antidrug efforts in this impoverished, cocaine-producing
country is taking shape. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Morales has promised to fight production of the drug but protect the
cultivation of its main ingredient, the coca leaf, which
traditionally is chewed to increase stamina and suppress hunger in
the high-altitude Andean country. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Coca is widely grown in Bolivia, even though it is illegal in most
of the country. Morales, 46, a former leader of the coca-growers
union, promised during the campaign that he would decriminalize coca
growing. "We say no to 'zero coca,' but we are promoting 'zero
cocaine,' " Morales said Thursday. "We are going to try to interdict
the narco-traffickers." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We are going to ask the United States to leave," said Nunez, a
former congressman with Morales' Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement
Toward Socialism) party and a leader of the country's coca growers.
"We are no longer going to accept the requirements that the United
States has placed on us." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new government also will likely end the forced eradication of
coca leaf, Nunez said. The program has been carried out largely in
the tropical Chapare lowlands. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Activist Kathryn Ledebur of the Bolivia-based Andean Information
Network said U.S. anti-coca efforts, which include advising Bolivian
troops and supplying helicopters and aircraft, have failed and
should be revised. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"They have not reduced coca cultivation and only created tons of
social conflict," she said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(22) CONGESTION HITS TALISAY CITY JAIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Talisay City Jail has more than 200 inmates, almost twice the
capacity the jail facility is allowed to accommodate, according to
warden Johnson Calub. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Calub told The Freeman that the Talisay City Rehabilitation and
Detention Center is supposed to house 150 inmates but with the
increasing number of prisoners, the jail facility's five cottages
are now accommodating at least 245 detainees. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Because of the growing number of detainees, Calub has requested the city government to construct more cottages, which will also be used for minor detainees. Currently, the jail has 21 minor inmates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
About 70 percent of all inmates at the jail face drug charges, while
the rest are being accused of rape, murder or robbery. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(23) CLARKE CLINGS TO THE GRAND ILLUSION OF PROHIBITION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Furore Over Pot Masked A UKP16bn Crime Bill For Demonising 'Hard
Drugs' | ||||||||||||||||||||
The debate on reclassifying cannabis has served the government well
in diverting attention from the miserable failure of its entire drug
policy. Like an accomplished conjuror, Charles Clarke has created an
illusion of concern over young people's mental health while
presiding over a policy that is creating mayhem from Bogota to
Brixton - drug prohibition. Far from engaging in a debate on the
efficacy of continuing a policy that costs the UK UKP16bn a year in
drug-related crime, he has become trapped in a meaningless furore
over the relative naughtiness of producing, supplying and possessing
dope. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Berlins was absolutely right to point out that cannabis is not
demonised in the same way that other drugs are, but then went on to
repeat the myths that demonise other so-called "hard" drugs. Indeed,
if you look at the drug classification system as a whole, it becomes
very clear that the drugs with the highest classifications are not
the ones that cause the most harm, such as alcohol and tobacco, but
those with the highest demonisation quotient. Not since Paul Betts'
Sorted campaign have we been told that ecstasy is "quite often
fatal". In fact, even in the unregulated illegal market ecstasy is
relatively safe, with a tiny number of deaths each year compared to
the number of doses taken. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And no, "pot" isn't stronger than it was in the 60s. There have
always been both strong and weak versions of cannabis, as recent
European research tells us. What has happened is that prohibition
has created a skunk monoculture where growers produce the variety
with the highest yield, potency and profit margin - thus denying
consumers the opportunity to buy weaker versions. As for
legalisation, of course it would "make the product less subject to
criminal influence". It is prohibition that gifts the entire market
to criminals and unregulated dealers. And mark my words,
legalisation will happen. Global drug prohibition will be history
within 15 years - - its counterproductivity makes it untenable in
the long term. Twenty billion pounds a year for another 10 years ...
you do the maths. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SSDP SUES THE GOVERNMENT | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://daregeneration.blogspot.com/2006/01/ssdp-sues-government.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LORETTA NALL'S SPEECH AT VFW | ||||||||||||||||||||
On January 23, 2006 Loretta Nall spoke at the Wetumpka, Alabama VFW Post Candidates Forum about her Gubernatorial Election Platform. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE PSYCHEDELIC PIONEERS | ||||||||||||||||||||
This documentary, showing the earliest days of LSD, originally aired
on The History Channel, but only in Canada. Here's the whole show.
Tune in, turn on and enjoy! | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
STEVE KUBBY ARRESTED AT SFO | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO -- Medical marijuana crusader Steve Kubby was arrested
Thursday night at San Francisco Airport after spending years as a
fugitive in Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CHANGING THE DRUG WAR DEBATE | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Kelly Hearn, AlterNet, January 26, 2006. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With a former coca farmer in charge of the country, Bolivia under Evo
Morales has the power to dramatically change the U.S.-led 'War on
Drugs.' | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
PRISONER OF PAIN | ||||||||||||||||||||
The same judicial system that prosecuted Richard Paey for obtaining too
much pain medication is now supplying him in prison with more than that
amount to ease his tremendous pain. | ||||||||||||||||||||
60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer reports on this case, in which an
accident victim's quest to medicate his pain ran afoul of drug laws,
this Sunday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/25/60minutes/main1238202.shtml | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
SIX MILLION AMERICANS IN DENIAL ABOUT DRUG ADDICTION | ||||||||||||||||||||
National Survey Finds Millions of Drug Users Not Aware of Their Need
to Seek Drug Treatment | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press06/012406.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
JOIN US FOR "HOW TO INCREASE DRUG POLICY REFORM IN YOUR LOCAL MEDIA" | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tue. Jan. 31 / 06, 09:00 p.m. ET, Presented by DrugSense and MAP | ||||||||||||||||||||
Join leading hearts and minds from the drug policy reform movement as
we discuss ways to write Letters to the Editor that get printed. We'll
also discuss ways to get notable OPEDS printed in your local and in-
state newspapers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE SEEKS SPECIAL ASSISTANT | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Alliance is looking to hire support staff in its New York city
office. The Special Assistant to the Executive Director serves as a
liaison between the Executive Director, staff and the Board of
Directors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/jobsfunding/jobs/execassistant012306.cfm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
JOB OPPORTUNITIES, MPP IN DC AND NEVADA | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Marijuana Policy Project is hiring for three positions in their
Washington, DC, office -- Executive Assistant, IT System Administrator
(contract position) and Organizing and Outreach Intern. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For more information visit http://www.mpp.org/jobs/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
HEED VOTERS ON MARIJUANA LAWS | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Kim Hanna | ||||||||||||||||||||
I remember legislative hearings on medical marijuana where Sen.
Moore was deriding, sneering and laughing at sick people because
they asked his help in getting medical marijuana. That was over five
years ago. Those same people are still waiting for the Massachusetts
State Legislature to act on medical marijuana legislation for the
most sick and vulnerable citizens we have, while Sen. Moore still
mocks them in your newspaper. Sen. Moore says, "Even if we were to
pass the bill, it would have no meaning," and that is false. A state
law for medical marijuana prevents arrest by local and state police
when the patient is enrolled in the state marijuana program. That's
what the Rhode island law does for sick people; it prevents local
arrest. It protects people from arrest for possessing or growing
marijuana. Since most arrests for marijuana are by local and state
police, sick people have protection, and it is a very important
state law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sen. Moore is wrong on marijuana research since the feds block 99
percent of research requests and provide low-grade marijuana for any
other tests that they approve. Research shows medical marijuana is
very effective. Just Google and find out. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sen. Moore took an oath to represent his district, and his district
has spoken with a 69 percent registered vote to allow medical
marijuana. He should speed the marijuana forward or resign his
position as a senator. The people have spoken. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kim Hanna | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Lost Cure | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Robert Rapplean | ||||||||||||||||||||
One would expect word of a cure for alcoholism to take the world's
medical community by storm. This expectation would only increase if
the same method also cured heroin addiction. Prepare yourself for
disappointment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some fifteen years ago, the Finns figured out that alcohol addiction
was caused by endorphins produced when under the influence.
Endorphins are part of your body's learning mechanism. You exercise,
you release endorphins, you learn that exercise is good.
Unfortunately this also means that alcoholics eventually learn that
drinking is irresistible. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Endorphins are a naturally produced chemical similar to morphine -
literally "endogenous morphine". Opium, morphine, and heroin all
work by imitating endorphin, sometimes by doing a better job than
endorphins themselves do. When we take heroin our body learns that
whatever neural paths we were using immediately previous to and
during the infusion of the drug are the good paths, and that we
should use those paths more often. The neurons fire, they get fed
endorphin analogs, the addiction grows. Do it often enough and the
addiction grows out of control. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The opposite of this is also true. If the neurons fire and they
aren't fed endorphin or its analogs, then the addiction weakens.
Pavlov demonstrated this effect in the 1890's, and today it's
referred to as extinction. This is where a drug named naltrexone
comes in. Naltrexone blocks the uptake of endorphins. There's a
trick to it, though, and that's where the problem comes in. The
neurons have to fire for this to happen. And not just any neurons -
it has to be the same neurons that were involved in creating the
addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This means that, for extinction to take place, the person has to
drink or shoot up. For better results, they should do so under the
same circumstances in which they became addicted. The very thought
that we should encourage alcoholics to drink, even to cure them, is
so thoroughly anathema to the alcoholism treatment community that,
ten years after this cure's discovery, with tens of thousands of
success stories in Finland, it's still almost entirely unknown in
the U.S. and other countries. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This predisposition has done even more damage. It's produced dozens
of studies that combine it with every other current method for
treating alcoholism, all of which are geared towards discouraging
the person from ever drinking another drop. These studies show that
using naltrexone to encourage abstinence is ineffectual. This is, of
course, true because if the addict doesn't drink then the neurons
won't fire and extinction will not occur. Detoxification clinics
(which would be all but put out of business by this treatment) have
used these studies to demonstrate naltrexone's all-around
ineffectiveness in treating alcoholism. | ||||||||||||||||||||
You can see what this would do for research into extinction for heroin. Can you imagine anyone in the U.S. telling their patient "Here's your pill, here's your heroin, now go home and shoot up"? Although studies performed in places like Russia have been promising, and studies in the U.S. show these results for those who disobey the conditions of the studies, there yet remains to be conclusive evidence of this method's effectiveness for opiates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
All of this stems from our society's moral requirement to villainize
drugs and their users. Deep down, we believe that no treatment for
addiction could be effective unless it's painful. This is reflected
in our habit of treating drug abuse with prison and penalties
instead of treatment and empathy. Let the record show that America's
14 million alcoholics have become the latest victims in the War on
Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Rapplean is a freelance writer and political analyst, and he
co-produces the Intellectual Icebergs podcast. He lives in Denver,
CO with his wife and their two children. To listen to an interview
Rapplean conducted with Dr. David Sinclair, and advocate for the
treatment method described above, download show 6 from | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We are all different; because of that, each of us has something
different and special to offer and each and every one of us can make
a difference by not being indifferent." - Henry Friedman, Chairman of
the Holocaust Education Centre, Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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