| Feb. 10, 2006 #436 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) TEEN GIRLS USING PILLS, SMOKING MORE THAN BOYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Government's Findings Counter Overall Decline | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Teenage girls, having caught up to their male counterparts in illegal
drug use and alcohol consumption, now have the dubious distinction of
surpassing boys in smoking and prescription drug abuse. In the past
two years, in fact, more young women than men started using marijuana,
alcohol and cigarettes, according to government findings being
released today. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The results are doubly disturbing, researchers said, because they run
counter to trends indicating an overall decline in teenage drug use
and because young women appear to suffer more serious health
consequences as a result. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's really sad the girls are winning," said Warren Seigel, chairman
of pediatrics at Brooklyn's Coney Island Hospital. "This isn't the
game they should be winning at." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Adolescent girls who smoke, drink or take drugs are at a higher risk
of depression, addiction and stunted growth. And because substance
abuse often goes hand in hand with risky sexual behavior, they are
more likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease or become
pregnant, warns the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, which will announce its findings in New York. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The new analysis is based on the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use
and Health, which interviewed members of 70,000 households. Conducted
annually by the federal government since 1971, the survey is a highly
regarded, detailed look at adult and teenage behaviors over three
decades. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) QUITTING DRUGS FOR FUN, PROFIT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Rewards Program; Cash, Coupon Incentives Help Addicts Stay Clean | ||||||||||||||||||||||
There are worse things you can do for money than stay off drugs. "And
I've done them, too," chuckled Allen Price, a 43-year-old
methamphetamine addict from Oakland, Calif. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
So when a friend told him about a 12-week program in San Francisco that
would pay him up to $40 per week just to stay clean, he decided it was
just what he needed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For five weeks since, he has trekked to a clinic several times a week
to submit a urine sample, and pick up a few dollars for testing
negative. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"What appealed to me was the positiveness of it," he said. "It is a
motivation. Stay off drugs and get some benefits out of it. Why not
give it a try?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The idea of paying people to stay clean has caught on around the
country amid a growing body of research indicating the practice can
help keep addicts off drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Smokers in a two-year study at the University of Florida can get
vouchers redeemable at Target, Wal-Mart or Amazon.com if they pass a
test on whether they have had a cigarette. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A study of 415 cocaine and methamphetamine users published last October
in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that they stayed in
treatment longer if they had a chance to win a prize. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) COLO. AT FRONT OF U.S. DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
White House Czar Says Marijuana Threatens Kids. John Walters Launched
His National Policy From The State Because Of Denver's Recent Vote
Legalizing Possession Of Small Amounts Of Pot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
While illicit drug use among teenagers has dropped 19 percent since 2001, John Walters, the nation's drug czar, said increasingly potent marijuana smoked by ever younger children is a new threat. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"This is not your father's marijuana or your father's marijuana
problem," Walters said at a news conference in Denver. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
While marijuana use among teens has declined since 2001, it remains by
far the most commonly used illicit drug and leads to harder drug
addiction, Walters said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Marijuana is more prevalent than all the other drugs combined for
teens," Walters said. "Of the five million 12- to 17-year-olds who used
marijuana, 1 million have progressed to addiction." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
He called for more aggressive random drug screening in schools and health-care centers to identify and treat young drug addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall, in the past five years illicit drug use has dropped among
eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders - accounting for 700,000 teens, Walters
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Walters was at the Fort Logan Mental Health Institute on Wednesday to
unveil a new national anti-drug policy focused on prevention, treatment
and disrupting the supply of illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) EXPERTS DEBATE PRIVACY, POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
State Chief Assistant Attorney General Spars With Privacy Lawyer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Alaska -- Alaskans who smoke pot proudly point to a clause in the state
constitution that the courts say allows them to keep up to 4 ounces in
their homes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But state Chief Assistant Attorney General Dean Guaneli said the
constitutional right to privacy was not designed to permit residents to
harbor drugs. Guaneli and Juneau civil rights attorney Doug Mertz
swapped barbs on the issue Thursday at the Bill Egan Forum luncheon at
the Baranof Hotel. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A bill in the Alaska Legislature this session aims to overturn a 1975
court decision that said Alaskans' right to privacy outweighs the
state's interest in criminalizing marijuana. Guaneli said the courts
ruled that an Alaskan has the right to keep private from the public
what he or she puts into his or her body. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Alaska voters amended the constitution in 1972 to explicitly guarantee
the right to privacy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"You might think the right to privacy in the Alaska Constitution floated out of the frontier free spirit in Alaska," Guaneli said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But according to newspaper articles he read from the era, Guaneli said, the amendment was a reaction to a new criminal justice system being created in the 1960s to fight organized crime. In 1968, federal legislation was passed to give states funding for criminal investigation tools. Undercover agents spying on suspects were using computers and recording devices for the first time in some districts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"All of the sudden people were nervous," Guaneli said. Sponsors of the
amendment proposed the change to the constitution to address the
public's fear over losing its privacy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Congress finally cut back the drug provision of the Higher Education Act, but didn't repeal it altogether, so some college students will still lose financial aid for drug convictions. Also last week, a group of pediatricians endorsed needle exchanges; the drug war continues to fail in Colombia; while the U.S. drug czar has unveiled his new plan for failure in the next fiscal year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID RULES LOOSENED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But Challenges Await Drug-Conviction Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Some college students or would-be students who were denied federal
financial aid for past drug convictions will regain eligibility
under a measure passed last week by Congress and expected to be
signed soon by President Bush. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But students convicted of a drug felony or misdemeanor in college
will still be disqualified from receiving federal aid for at least
one year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Now, the American Civil Liberties Union is preparing to challenge
the constitutionality of that law. And other groups opposed to the
drug penalty are pursuing reforms on the state level. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The measure passed last week by Congress scales back a 1998 law
denying federal financial aid to applicants who indicated they had
been convicted of a drug offense. Juvenile offenses don't count;
offenders can regain eligibility by completing certain drug
treatment programs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Groups fighting for a repeal of the drug penalty say the revised
version will help a small number of older students but doesn't go
far enough. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) PEDIATRICIANS GROUP BACKS NEEDLE EXCHANGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pediatricians should speak out in support of needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV among injection drug users, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a toughened policy statement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Doctors also should discuss HIV risk with their teenage patients
"with a nonjudgmental approach" and offer confidential help if local
laws allow, the group says in the statement appearing Monday in the
journal Pediatrics. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"If we can help young people avoid a chronic illness that we have no
cure for, I would hope people would embrace that idea," said the
lead author, Dr. Lisa Henry-Reid of Chicago's John H. Stroger Jr.
Hospital. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The previous version of the group's policy, dated 1994, said clean
needle programs should be "encouraged and expanded." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Half of new HIV infections in the United States are among people
younger than 25, Henry-Reid said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) CRITICS SAY U.S. WAR ON DRUGS IN COLOMBIA FAILING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Since 2000, the U.S. has poured more than $4 billion into Plan
Colombia, a program that has provided everything from police
training to Black Hawk helicopters to a nation that supplies 90
percent of the cocaine and much of the heroin used in the United
States. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. officials say that intensive fumigation of Colombia's
cocaine-producing crops has reduced cocaine production and, for the
first time in recent years, caused a squeeze in supplies and a jump
in the price of cocaine in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
William Wood, the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, said that stepped-up
drug interdiction along with the record number of Colombian
traffickers extradited to the United States for trial also has
contributed to Plan Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We think that the counterdrug program is being effective," Wood
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A November 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office, the
investigative arm of Congress, has questioned the reliability of
U.S. government data on cocaine trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
John Walsh, senior associate for drug policy at the Washington
Office on Latin America, a liberal think tank, said that although
Washington has intensified the drug war, the long-term trend in the
price of cocaine has been downward, indicating supply has not been
reduced. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"They are putting the best face they can on the numbers because Plan
Colombia has run it course," Walsh said. "Plan Colombia was supposed
to have a major impact on supply, prices and availability of
cocaine, and it hasn't panned out." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) NEW FEDERAL DRUG PLAN UNVEILED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug Czar Picks City for Release, Calling It Hub for Traffickers | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration rolled out in Denver on Wednesday its 2006
anti-drug campaign, highlighted by increased law enforcement and
treatment solutions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
To the latter end, John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, appeared at the Synergy Youth Drug Treatment Center to talk about the new 40-page national drug-control strategy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Walters met with several recovering addicts at the center before
speaking in broad terms about the plan, which includes using federal
grants to increase efforts to randomly screen high school students
for drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Walters' office said about one school district a week joins the drug-screening effort. According to The Associated Press, 350 districts around the country are participating. No schools in Colorado were identified in the report as grant recipients. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We are at the cusp of a time when we're not saying, 'Why should we do it?' but 'Why didn't we do it earlier,' " Walters said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Flanked by Gov. Bill Owens, Attorney General John Suthers and Denver
District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, Walters denied he picked Denver
to unveil the plan because city voters passed an ordinance last year
to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Last week: Another study shows that getting tough on drug offenders
is ineffective; Texas law enforcement agencies are learning to live
without federal anti-drug grants; the drug war drags down the court
system in San Francisco; and high tech solutions aren't stopping any
more drug traffic than the old fashioned methods. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) COLUMN: TIME IN AND TIME OUT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Maybe it's time to get soft on crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
That's because many criminals are more likely to go astray once they get out of prison if they faced longer sentences and more punitive conditions in the slammer, claim economists M. Keith Chen of Yale University and Jesse M. Shapiro of the University of Chicago. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Harsher prison conditions are associated with significantly more
post-release crime," they report in their updated working paper
posted on the university Web sites, a finding that suggests doing
hard time often may only produce more hard-core crooks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For their study, Shapiro and Chen looked at convicts with virtually
identical criminal histories and examined the "security risk" score
each federal prisoner is given before entering prison. The rating,
which ranges from zero to 36, is based on the prisoner's rap sheet,
predisposition to violence and other factors. ( The score determines
whether an inmate is assigned to a "minimum-," "low-," "medium-" or
"maximum-" security prison. ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The researchers focused on inmates who had ratings within a few points of each other but were assigned to different security levels because they were just under or over a cutoff. Chen and Shapiro reasoned that roughly similar criminals should have roughly equal probabilities of committing crimes once they were released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Scratch that theory: Offenders who scored barely under the cutoff
point and served time in a minimum-security environment were only
half as likely to commit crimes in the three years after release as
those unfortunates who scored just high enough to be sentenced to
the next-higher security class. The same general pattern appeared to
hold true at other cutoffs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) AREA LAW AUTHORITIES PLAN DRUG WAR STRATEGY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Funding To Expire For Drug Task Force | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Due to changes in the federal funding structure, Anderson County, the City of Palestine and others throughout the state are in the process of developing a new strategy in waging the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As of March 31, the federal Byrne Grant which has been the primary
source of funding for the Dogwood Trails Narcotics Task Force
expires. Participants in the multi-jurisdictional task force include
Anderson County; City of Palestine; Houston County; and Cherokee
County. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
While the participating city and county entities have historically
contributed either an officer's salary or cash, the Dogwood Trails
Narcotics Task Force has been chiefly funded through the Byrne
Grant. Although the federal share has steadily dwindled in recent
years, the local task force received a total of $565,901 during its
2004-05 fiscal year, with $416,483 coming from the Byrne Grant and
the remainder from local sources. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE SAN FRANCISCO HALL OF JUSTICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Seventy percent of the cases handled by the district attorney's
office are for possession or sale of illicit drugs--mostly crack
cocaine--and another 20 percent involve attempts by poor, desperate
people to get money for drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On a typical morning in Department 10, one of the four municipal courts on the first floor, 26 people wait patiently as the proceedings begin at 9:20 a.m. None appear to be affluent. Guessing from their demeanor and attire, six are regularly employed, including a muni driver and his wife. The rest are lumpen. There's a tall white man with dyed black hair, a Carl Perkins impersonator. Two Samoans, four Latinos, a white woman dozing, a white-haired Greek gent in his sixties. Everybody else is African American. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
At the end of the day I debriefed the assistant DA--a self-described
"progressive" hired by Terence Hallinan--who handled all those
cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
FG: One third of the cops pay is overtime. That's a big story. And
the people of San Francisco do not know it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ADA: As you saw today, they don't always earn it. A lot of times they get a subpoeana returned and they drop a card upstairs to get paid - -they have an expression, "drop a card." I believe that happened today. I know that they were under subpoena and didn't appear. That I know. At least one of the officers who didn't appear had a partner sign in for him. I asked his partner, " Where's Joe?" He said, "He can't be here today he had me sign in for him." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
FG: Sign in so he could collect his overtime pay? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ADA: I can't think of any other reason. And that's the core of what's wrong here. That's where the real reform needs to happen, but nobody says it The cops have a financial interest in not ending the war on drugs. A lot of them make substantially more in overtime than they make on their base salary. They even have a word for these cards they drop -they call them "salmon." The cards are kind of salmon colored. The cops say, "I gotta get my salmon." Meaning: "I gotta get a big stack of these overtime cards I can drop upstairs. " | ||||||||||||||||||||||
( The Assistant DA flicks open a computer print-out ): Look at the cases: drugs, drugs, drugs These are the prelims I had scheduled today. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
FG: Do you know what drugs and what quantities are involved? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ADA: Very small quantities, typically. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) RADAR LITTLE HELP IN BORDER TUNNEL HUNT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
SAN DIEGO ( AP ) - A U.S. government effort to find drug-smuggling
tunnels underneath the Mexican border with ground-penetrating radar
and other high-tech gear has had little success. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Human intelligence has proven to be the most effective method of finding the passageways. A case in point: The longest tunnel ever found along the border was discovered last week after a tip. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Homeland Security Department said Monday that a Mexican man,
Carlos Cardenas Calvillo, was arrested in connection with the
2,400-foot tunnel, which went as deep as 90 feet and was about 5
feet in height and 5 feet wide. He appeared in federal court Monday
on charges of conspiracy to import more than a ton of marijuana. A
bail hearing was set for Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The problem is the technology picks up some kind of anomaly or
variation of soil," said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We go in with big backhoes and
bulldozers, we spend all day doing it, and all we hit is rock or
water tables." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The week begins with the usual problem faced by dope dealers -
collecting bad debts - but this time it's the Canadian government
playing heavy with legal exemptees who purchase the only sanctioned
supply available at $150 an ounce. Although the usual methods of
collection are skipped in favor of civil penalties, it still means
suffering for the patients. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On the home base, in the never ending federal-state rights battle
over Prop. 215, Santa Cruz city officials have stepped up to the
plate by asking a federal judge to approve the distribution of
medical marijuana directly to qualified patients through a new
Office of Compassionate Use. On the recreational side, a new ballot
initiative to tax and regulate up to an ounce of marijuana has begun
in Nevada, and proponents believe it will fare much better than the
2002 campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It is too hard to ignore the economic benefits of growing locally
versus importing hemp in Humboldt County, California, so the plant
is receiving some serious attention where legalizing the industrial
crop passed the state Assembly via Assembly Bill 1147. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Say what? An article that plainly spells out one aspect of the unfairness of cannabis prohibition in a world gone mad, adds another small voice to the wilderness of the political landscape that is determined to keep science and logic out of the picture. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS NOT PAYING THEIR POT BILLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Health Canada Currently Owed Nearly $169,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA ( CP ) -- Like any dope dealer, Health Canada has its share
of marijuana customers who just don't pay their bills. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But unlike street pushers, the department avoids tire irons and
switchblades to recover its bad debts in favour of stern letters and
collection agencies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Spokesman Chris Williams says these patients now receive reminder
letters and telephone calls from civil servants in the department's
corporate services branch, and are given an opportunity to set up a
repayment schedule. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"If all that is rejected, the supply would be halted," he said in an
interview. So far, 19 users have been cut off from further shipments
because of non-payment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) CALIF. CITY SEEKS RIGHT TO DISTRIBUTE POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The city of Santa Cruz has asked a federal judge to approve its plan to distribute medical marijuana directly to sick and dying patients through a new Office of Compassionate Use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The city, along with the American Civil Liberties Union and the
advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance, filed a federal complaint
Tuesday urging the government to allow the newly created city
department to provide the drug to patients. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
City officials said they will not distribute marijuana unless Santa
Cruz wins the legal battle. Several California cities and counties
already have programs to dispense medical marijuana to thousands of
registered users. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
California law has allowed medical marijuana use since voters
approved Proposition 215 in 1996, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
over the summer that the federal government can continue to
prosecute users. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
California is one of 12 states where medical marijuana is legal. The
court complaint argues that the U.S. Constitution leaves it up to
states -- not the federal government -- to decide whether cities can
distribute marijuana to sick patients. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) MARIJUANA CAMPAIGN STARTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana opened its office in
Las Vegas on Monday, officially kicking off its second statewide
campaign to legalize possession of the weed by adults. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The group's goal is to get voters to approve a measure in November
that would legalize possession of up to one ounce of pot for anyone
21 and older in Nevada. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) HEMP TO TURN KING COTTON? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
EUREKA -- A new bill to legalize industrial hemp passed the state
Assembly this week, and some believe it could provide Humboldt
County with significant economic benefit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Assembly Bill 1147 would make legal the growing of hemp, a material
that can be used to make everything from fabric and rope to soap and
jewelry. It still has to get by the state Senate and gain the
signature of the governor, but even then farmers can't just start
growing the marijuana cousin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Because it contains trace amounts of THC -- the psychoactive
chemical in marijuana -- it still falls under the jurisdiction of
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But some people here -- conservatives and liberals alike -- think the legalization of the plant could help Humboldt County's economy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) FOR POT SMOKERS, IT'S JUST NOT FAIR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It is 2006 and you'd think American society would have a more rational understanding of how marijuana affects people. We laugh and scoff at old anti-pot movies like "Reefer Madness" because of their ridiculous portrayals of how people behave after smoking marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, large segments of the American public have regularly
consumed marijuana for decades, yet society has not devolved into
anarchy. The streets are not filled with marijuana-crazed zombies
stumbling about moaning, drooling and giggling as they stuff their
faces with Cheetos and Snickers bars. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
And here is where it gets really unfair: A raging alcoholic has nothing to worry about regarding drug screening. From the perspective of an employer, however, one would think it would be preferable to hire the person who is guilty of the occasional bong hit instead of the person who comes to work hung over everyday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In the border town of Nuevo Laredo, gunmen opened fire on a
newspaper office this week in escalating violence blamed on "drug
cartels", although no arrests have been made so far. The El Manana
newspaper in Nuevo Laredo, on a front-page editorial Tuesday, called
for a different approach. "We propose that the substantial tax
dollars being spent in the alleged war against drug trafficking be
redirected to awareness, education and culture campaigns. To view
this as a health problem. Even to legalize some drugs that are not
so addictive or dangerous in order to exert control." Expect that
part about "to legalize some drugs" to be denounced by | ||||||||||||||||||||||
British media was aghast that "30,000 KID DRUGGIES" were "ON
HEROIN," as one headline played it. The "shocking" numbers were
extrapolated from school surveys where children are asked to reveal
details of their own drug-taking behavior. The margin of error for
the survey was not revealed. In lightning-swift response, Mothers
Against Drugs, a prohibitionist parent organization predictably
asserted, "The Government needs to act quickly." Act, presumably by
ratcheting up the jail time and punishments in existing (and
ineffectual) drug prohibition laws. A media storm was set off last
week in the UK after an 11-year-old allegedly "collapsed" at school
after taking heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Western governments in Afghanistan must of necessity tread lightly when it comes to drugs because even Afghan cabinet ministers "are deeply implicated in the drugs trade," according to Habibullah Qaderi, the Afghan anti-narcotics minister. There is much "trafficking through different parts of the country" he admitted. "Sometimes they give protection to traffickers," added the minister, according to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. "In Afghanistan, corruption is a low-risk enterprise in a high-risk environment." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) BORDER CITY CHAOS BOILS WITH NEWSPAPER ATTACK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nuevo Laredo Reporter Seriously Wounded As Assailants Open Fire | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As bullets rang out in the Nuevo Laredo newsroom and a grenade
exploded, reporters and editors fell to the floor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
No arrests were reported. Mr. Cantu said newspaper editors were
investigating to determine a possible motive for the shooting. "But
even if we find out why, I'm not so sure we would print it," Mr.
Cantu said. "We live here under a code of self-censorship, and even
under those rules we're vulnerable. "Nuevo Laredo continues to be
the battleground for drug cartels. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In its Tuesday morning editions, Nuevo Laredo's newspaper El Manana
published a front-page editorial calling Monday's attack an act of
terrorism. Here are excerpts: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
We propose that the substantial tax dollars being spent in the alleged war against drug trafficking be redirected to awareness, education and culture campaigns. To view this as a health problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Even to legalize some drugs that are not so addictive or dangerous
in order to exert control. Who was responsible for this? We don't
know; it could have been anyone ... Oftentimes the media are used to
get back at rival gangs - to implicate these rivals and to put
pressure on the so-called authorities to go after the rival. This is
a form of terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) 30,000 KID DRUGGIES ON HEROIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ABOUT 30,000 children are hooked on heroin in Britain, a Government
study reveals. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It shows that the number of under-15s using the drug is much higher
than previously thought. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Gaille McCann, of Mothers Against Drugs, said: "The Government needs
to act quickly." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) OVER 20,000 CHILDREN ARE HOOKED ON HEROIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Up to 35,000 children under 16 are using heroin, according to
official figures. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The alarming scale of heroin abuse by children is revealed just a
week after an 11-year-old girl collapsed at her primary school desk
in Glasgow after smoking the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Until now, figures on heroin addiction among children were based on
research collated from just two cities, Glasgow and Newcastle upon
Tyne, where 90 heroin addicts under 13 were discovered. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But new Government figures, based on a nationwide survey, show that the problem is much more widespread than originally thought. One leading academic on child drug abuse said last night that the number of schoolchildren using heroin could be as high as 60,000. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Doctors said the figure showed that heroin was a ticking "health time bomb" and parents called for urgent action by the Government. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) DRUG TRADE 'REACHES TO AFGHAN CABINET' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Some cabinet ministers in Afghanistan are deeply implicated in the
drugs trade and could be diverting foreign aid into trafficking, the
country's anti-narcotics minister said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The admission will dismay Western governments, which last week
pledged $10.5 billion (UKP6 billion) in aid, including UKP505
million from Britain, to help to fight poverty, improve security and
crack down on the drugs trade. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"I don't deny that," said Habibullah Qaderi in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, when asked whether corruption linked to the UKP2.7 billion-a-year drugs trade went right up to the cabinet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Such high-level criminality, he said, would help account for why "a
lot of trafficking through different parts of the country" was being
conducted with apparent impunity. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Even in provincial town such as Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand,
ostentatious homes stand in stark contrast to the poverty around
them and are known locally as the houses of "smugglers" - a
euphemism for drug traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Western aid officials and several European diplomats named the same high-ranking politicians and officials, including one with close links to Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's President, as drug lords. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Ali Ahmad Jalali, who resigned as Afghanistan's | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"In Afghanistan, corruption is a low-risk enterprise in a high-risk
environment. Because of the lack of investigative capacity it is
very difficult to get evidence. You always end up arresting foot
soldiers." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
THE PRESIDENT'S NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY | ||||||||||||||||||||||
February 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/policy/ndcs06/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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HUMANISTS ENTER FRAY OVER DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2006 National Drug Control Strategy, released today, is largely a
continuation of previous approaches. "Current drug laws have caused
unnecessary strain on the criminal justice system and have led to
disproportionate and selective enforcement and sentencing," stated Mel
Lipman, president of the American Humanist Association. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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DOWN FROM THE HIGH | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Do Bush's drug warriors have a time machine? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Jacob Sullum | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Loss of State-Based Financial Aid Eligibility for Students Affected by
the Federal Higher Education Act Drug Provision | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.raiseyourvoice.com/statereport/fallingthrough.pdf | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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BOLIVIA PROMOTES MARKET FOR 'LEGAL' COCA PRODUCTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
by Sarah Bush | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Bolivian president Evo Morales has pledged to boost production of the
coca leaf, which is mostly used to make cocaine but also has legitimate
uses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5198565 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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UK PHASE 2 REPORT: DIAGNOSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
John Birt, advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, offers recommendations
on reducing drug-related harm in the UK. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2006/02/08/Drugs.pdf | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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AN ARGUMENT AGAINST INCREASING THE MAXIMUM PENALTY FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Raising state criminal penalties for possessing marijuana will have a disproportionate impact on Virginians under age 30, and would divert law enforcement resources from other priorities, according to a study released this week by Virginia NORML and the NORML Foundation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.norml.org/pdf_files/state_penalties/VA_NORML_Maximum_Penalty.pdf | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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SOROS INFILTRATES CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Cliff Kincaid (02/07/2006) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Calvina Fay of the Drug Free America Foundation has pulled out as a
speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which
begins in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, because a "mini-debate" she
was scheduled to appear in had been stacked against her. As it now
stands, the event will feature two advocates of drug legalization, both
of them funded by leftist billionaire and anti-Bush activist George
Soros. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WRITE A LETTER - UNITED STATES STUDENTS SCORE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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JOIN US FOR "HOW TO INCREASE DRUG POLICY REFORM IN YOUR LOCAL MEDIA" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Thu. Feb. 16 / 06, 08:00 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA HAS LONG HISTORY OF MEDICAL USE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Michael D. Cutler | ||||||||||||||||||||||
To the editor: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I write in reply to your editorial on "Pot bill needs careful
review" as an attorney who has worked defending citizens from
detention in the mental health and criminal justice system for more
than 30 years and as the parent of a teenager. Health care, its
ballooning cost, and the growth of the uninsured is a national
scandal that few defend. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana has a 5,000-year history of medicinal use that has been recognized by numerous professional health-care organizations, including the National Institute of Medicine, as having value to at least seriously ill patients suffering chronic pain. The federal government obstructed human medical marijuana research for decades, and its alleged misconduct remains the subject of active litigation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Given this historical and scientific basis for state action to
relieve patients from the choice of access to effective medicine or
risking arrest, your editor's characterization of Rhode Island's
legislative action as a "fad" is reprehensible. Furthermore, citing
the Essex County DA as a "law enforcement professional" to lend some
credence to his "gateway" theology ( no science supports his belief
) concerning marijuana use is simply incompetent journalism:
Health-care professionals and addiction researchers have discredited
this "theory," including, again, no less an authority than the
National Institute of Medicine. The conflict between state and
federal law is not a reason to maintain Massachusetts patients' fear
of both state and federal interference with their health care. The
state attorney generals in the states sheltering doctor-approved
patients from local law enforcement unanimously support the freedom
of their state patient certification programs to function in the
face of contrary federal law. Furthermore, the licensure of
medicinal cultivation is a step toward controlling distribution, not
expanding access to nonpatients. If the government had facilitated
rather than frustrated medical marijuana research, distribution by
pharmacists might make more sense, but the undisputed fact of
marijuana's impact is the absence of a toxic dose, unlike virtually
all patent medicines for serious pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As for your editor's need for "conclusive evidence" that nothing
else works, we already license the distribution of multiple medical
substances for the same symptom, which medications have a potential
for far greater harm ( and death ) than the symptom the substance is
intended to relieve. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, as for whether a legalization groundswell exists, it all
depends on how you measure the grass roots. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If you ask parents and other voters how our current drug policy of punitive prohibition is working, if you ask whether their children or their neighborhoods are safer or healthier than when legislatures began promoting punishment over treatment 30 years ago, I suspect the answer will be clear and virtually unanimous: Prohibition has failed, and it's time to move on to more-effective policies that support treatment on demand and reserve detention for people who have harmed others or present an imminent risk of doing so. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Michael D. Cutler | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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THE PEOPLE'S WILL ON POT, ITS USE AND THE LAWS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Rick Steeb | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In "Who's buying pot from dispensaries?" ( Letters, Jan. 21), Robert
Brown bemoans "illegal drug distribution" of medicinal marijuana in
neighborhoods. I suggest he go and "notice the traffic" at any
liquor store and ponder reality. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As a glaucoma patient who frequents cannabis dispensaries, I have no
outwardly visible handicaps to assure "concerned citizens" that I
"deserve permission" to buy cannabis. Besides, perfectly healthy
caretakers often visit dispensaries to get medicine for patients
suffering agonies I wouldn't wish upon Osama bin Laden. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes, "marijuana" use and possession remain illegal under federal
law, which is outrageous and unjust. Let's make tyranny illegal
instead. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Rick Steeb | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense Helps Put Federal Propagandists Out Of Business | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Ten years ago, the founders of DrugSense and the Media Awareness
Project had a brilliant idea: spread the news of the drug war far
and wide, and let those with knowledge respond. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Since then, we've archived and distributed more than 160,000 stories
about the drug war. We've helped other organizations to use that
amazing resource to support reform efforts. To see a sample of the
stories we made available just in the past few days, see
http://drugnews.org/ . | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It was such a brilliant idea, it only took about eight years for
federally-funded drug warriors to make their own lame copy. In
January of 2004, a government propaganda site called Drugstory.org
debuted a service called "In The News" - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It was something like the MAP DrugNews service, but roughly
one-tenth as useful. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"In The News" collected stories about the drug war from mainstream
U.S. newspapers, summarized the stories, and then offered a weekly
email with links to subscribers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I write of "In The News" in the past tense because it hasn't
distributed any stories since the end of 2005. I sent a note to the
site's webmaster yesterday to see when the service would be resumed.
I haven't received an answer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The drug news distribution war is over, and it appears the reformers
at MAP won. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I knew we had a superior product, but with all the resources
available to prohibitionists, including direct access to the wallets
of American taxpayers, I figured they'd make it longer than two
lackluster years. But, their own unwillingness to recognize their
utter redundancy likely doomed the project. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
While MAP tries to be comprehensive in its coverage, "In The News"
was much more, well, let's say selective (others might prefer the
word censorial) when it came to choosing the news it wanted its
subscribers to see. The service carried lots of bad news about
drugs, but hardly any stories that challenged the basic premises of
the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"In The News" didn't offer stories about innocent people being
killed in botched drug raids. Stories about medical marijuana told
strictly from the patients' perspective were ignored. Coverage of
government studies illustrating the devastation of drug use were
pushed, but studies indicating the failure of the drug war were
overlooked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Here at MAP, we distribute all the news relevant to the drug war and
let our readers judge value. When the National Institute of Drug
Abuse gets excited about a possible link between marijuana and
psychosis, we share the news. Now, of course, we will also share the
news when other experts challenge such findings, but that's the
point. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The prohibitionists want you to have only half the story - they
aren't interested in any facts that don't support their position.
Since we offer a much better service, "In The News" failed well
before it started. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MAP understands when all the facts are out, prohibition doesn't have
a leg to stand on. However, we always need help to continue getting
those facts out. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Unlike "In The News" and its rather dense federal sponsors, we can't
just appropriate more funds from public coffers. We depend on
volunteer work and generous donors to keep going. Please consider
giving today - http://drugsense.org/donate/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If you pay taxes in the United States, you didn't have a choice with
regard to "In The News." You financed that and all the other
destructive madness of the war on drugs. Share a little with us
voluntarily today, and we can help to make the drug war a bad
memory, like "In The News." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly. A new edition of
his book "Maximizing Harm" will be released in April. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"In the mountains of truth you never climb in vain." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection
and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International
content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (),
Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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