| June 9, 2006 #452 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) U.S. PRISONS CALLED RISK TO LIVES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Report Lists Overcrowding, Few Constructive Activities As Conditions
That Cause Inmate Violence | ||||||||||||||||||
Overcrowding, cruel conditions and a lack of constructive activities
for inmates fuel violence in America's prisons and threaten public
safety because most inmates return to their communities ill-prepared
for daily life, according to a report to be presented to Congress
today. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Few conditions compromise safety more than idleness," says the report
by the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, a
nonpartisan group that has studied conditions inside the nation's
correctional facilities for the past year. "But because lawmakers have
reduced funding for programming, prisoners today are largely inactive
and unproductive. Highly structured programs are proven to reduce
misconduct in correctional facilities and also to lower recidivism
rates after release." | ||||||||||||||||||
The report highlights issues that have emerged in Maryland as state
officials struggle to control prison violence that records show has
turned increasingly deadly in recent years. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It sort of validates what we've been saying," said Frank C. Sizer Jr.,
the state's prison chief. "You can't continue to lock people up and not
do anything with them and put them back into society with no tools to
be able to cope." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) VIGIL TO HONOR CHILDREN LOST TO DRUG ABUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The telephone call that forever changed Therese Pelicano's life came in
the middle of the night two years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The police have called, and Dominic is gone," Ms. Pelicano recalls her
ex-husband saying to her on the phone about their 23-year-old son.
"It's like your life stops," the Damascus resident says of her son's
fatal heroin overdose May 11, 2004. "I didn't believe it, and I just
wanted to see him. It's hard even now. It has been two years, and a
part of me now doesn't believe it." | ||||||||||||||||||
Ms. Pelicano, 51, is among an estimated 600 parents from across the
country who will attend the "Vigil for a Lost Promise" tonight in
Arlington, where victims of drug abuse will be honored by their
families during a candlelight ceremony. | ||||||||||||||||||
For the first time, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is teaming
up with other agencies and drug prevention groups to hold the vigil,
which will feature music, photographs and speeches. It is scheduled for
6:30 p.m. at 700 Army Navy Drive in Arlington. | ||||||||||||||||||
Catherine Harnett, chief of DEA's Demand Reduction Office, said the
issue of drug abuse is often reduced to statistics. "One of the
purposes of the vigil is to really bring to light the fact that ...
drug abuse is a problem that is not limited to any particular
socioeconomic class or neighborhood," she said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) MONTEL WILLIAMS URGES OK FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TRENTON -- TV personality Montel Williams, who says he daily breaks the
law by medicating himself with marijuana, presaged emotionally charged
testimony expected today when New Jersey, for the first time, considers
allowing prescribed pot. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I break the law every day. I will continue to break the law every
day," a sometimes teary Williams told reporters at a State House news
conference where the Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, which supports
medical marijuana, issued results of a poll it commissioned which
showed support for their positions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Today the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will hear testimony, but not vote, on a proposal to allow seriously ill patients to possess one ounce of marijuana and six marijuana plants, if their doctor recommends it. The state would oversee the program and issue registration cards. In the poll, provided those specific descriptions of the rules, 71 percent of registered voters approved. | ||||||||||||||||||
One sponsor is Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Linden, who is a former
prosecutor. "These people are not a threat to society," he said of the
ill who seek salves for their pain. "We owe it to them to adopt a
policy that places a premium on compassion and relief." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug-Free Schools Coalition will also testify today. It followed
Williams' appearance at the State House Wednesday to point to poll
results that conflicted with those from the Drug Policy Alliance and
showed public support for the idea waning. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Marijuana is intoxicating. There's no surprise that sincere people
report feeling better after taking it. They may be feeling better, but
they're not getting better," said Catharina Evans, whose father is a
cancer survivor. | ||||||||||||||||||
Evans acknowledged, in response to a question, that there are a number of drugs prescribed as painkillers that don't cure illnesses. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) MEXICO'S FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE FOCUSES ON DRUG CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Poll Shows Calderon, Lopez Obrador Tied With 36% of Voters | ||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's leading presidential candidates, in the final
debate of their campaigns, promised Tuesday to crack down on drug
trafficking by increasing the use of the military, creating special
courts to fight organized crime, and extraditing drug kingpins to the
U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon of the ruling National Action
Party, or PAN, said he would create a "special agency against drug
trafficking" that would be closely monitored to avoid corruption. He
promised "an iron hand," along with extraditions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, said he would lift limits on the use of the army in the drug fight. He also stressed job creation as an anti-crime measure, saying, "The fundamental solution is combating poverty." | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Calderon, a former senator, and Mr. Lopez Obrador, the former mayor
of Mexico City, each had the support of 36 percent of surveyed voters
going into the debate, according to a Tuesday poll by the newspaper El
Universal. | ||||||||||||||||||
Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI - the
third-place candidate, with 24 percent in the poll - took both the
leading contenders to task Tuesday for the growth in crime nationwide
and in Mexico City, where their parties rule. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Only two crimes out of every hundred are punished," said Mr. Madrazo,
citing specifically the explosion in drug peddlers. "That's called
impunity." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As if they haven't already pushed enough death and destruction, some
prohibitionist congressmen still don't understand that using
uncontrollable fungus to attack drug crops isn't a good idea. In a
similar vein, the commitment of drug warriors to misery has been
strong for most of the 25 years since AIDS was first identified, and
thanks to their resolve, there are still a few states left in the
U.S. that don't allow needle exchange programs. New Jersey is one of
the states, and a local newspaper there is saying enough is enough;
a Massachusetts state senator is bringing the same message out of
the legislature there. | ||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, an interesting analysis of how a pain doctor avoided a conviction in a recent trial; and a North Carolina congressman wants to hold drug sellers liable for the actions of drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) DRUG WARRIORS PUSH EYE-EATING FUNGUS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Why are members of Congress advocating the use of a dangerous
crop-killer in Columbia? | ||||||||||||||||||
On April 16, the New York Times ran a full-page ad from contact lens producer Bausch and Lomb, announcing the recall of its "ReNu with MoistureLoc" rewetting solution, and warning the 30 million American wearers of soft contact lenses about Fusarium keratitis. This infection, first detected in Asia, has rapidly spread across the United States. It is caused by a mold-like fungus that can penetrate the cornea of soft contact lens wearers, causing redness and pain that can lead to blindness--requiring a corneal replacement. | ||||||||||||||||||
That same week, the House of Representatives passed a provision to a
bill requiring that the very same fungus be sprayed in "a major
drug-producing country," such as Colombia. The bill's sponsor was
Rep. Mark Souder ( R-Ind. ) and its most vocal supporter was his
colleague Dan Burton ( R-Ind. ), who has been promoting the fungus
for almost a decade as key to winning the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Colombian government has come out against it. And those entities
of the U.S. government that have studied the use of Fusarium for
more than 30 years don't recommend it either: The Office of National
Drug Control Policy, also known as the Drug Czar's office, CIA, DEA,
the State Department and the USDA have all concluded that the fungus
is unsafe for humans and the environment. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Fusarium species are capable of evolving rapidly. Mutagenicity is
by far the most disturbing factor in attempting to use a Fusarium
species as a bioherbicide," wrote David Struhs, then secretary of
Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, in a 1999 letter
rejecting the use of the fungus against Florida's outdoor marijuana
crop. "It is difficult, if not impossible, to control the spread of
Fusarium species." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) EDITORIAL: NO CURE OR COMMON SENSE AFTER 25 YEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Twenty-five years ago, the first cases of AIDS were first reported.
In the early years of the epidemic, little was known about the
disease. At first, it appeared restricted to the gay community. The
disease did not just strike gay men. It spread to men, women and
children. It destroyed a person's immune system. It was fatal. There
was and is -- no cure. | ||||||||||||||||||
Today, thousands of people live full lives with HIV, which can
develop into AIDS. While researchers have not found a vaccine to
immunize against AIDS, new drugs have given affected people a chance
for a full life. While we cannot yet cure AIDS, we can slow the
spread of the disease. The best way is through education. But
education is not enough. New Jersey is one of only two states that
does not permit the exchange of clean syringes without | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) SENATE OKS SYRINGE SALES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The state Senate passed a bill yesterday to legalize purchase of hypodermic needles over the counter, setting up a battle with Governor Mitt Romney, who has said he opposes the legislation. | ||||||||||||||||||
Massachusetts would become the 48th state to legalize | ||||||||||||||||||
Supporters say the bill would save the state healthcare costs and
lives. | ||||||||||||||||||
New Jersey and Delaware are the only other states where | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is not about enabling drug addicts," said Senator Steven A.
Tolman. "This is unequivocally about [stopping] dreaded diseases
through the use of intravenous drugs and dirty needles. It is
something that I know we had to do." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) "THE DOCTOR WASN'T CRUEL ENOUGH" (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
How one physician escaped the panic over prescription drugs | ||||||||||||||||||
When Dr. Paul Heberle was arrested last April, dozens of chronic pain patients were left in agony. One of Heberle's patients called no fewer than 37 doctors seeking care--all of whom refused to see him once he revealed the name of his prior provider. Finally, Robert Holmes, a 40-year-old man who suffers from a lung injury and requires supplemental oxygen to breathe, resorted to visiting a methadone clinic for drug addicts. He was turned away there, too. More than twenty others reported similar experiences at a meeting of patients affected by the arrest. Six would later attempt suicide. | ||||||||||||||||||
For many patients, the situation was devastatingly familiar. Heberle had agreed to care for many of them after their previous physician was arrested and then convicted on some of the same charges that Heberle now faced: illegal prescribing of narcotics. That doctor, David Klees, got 12 to 24 years in prison. This time, however, the government would find it wasn't so easy to railroad a pain doctor. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the last five years--since a media panic over prescription drug
abuse began with law-enforcement-driven reports of an "Oxycontin
epidemic"--dozens of doctors have been prosecuted for | ||||||||||||||||||
Overwhelmingly, these cases have resulted in convictions with heavy
prison terms--or plea bargains with shorter sentences that
nonetheless drove the doctors out of medicine. Advocates for pain
patients report that, as a result, relief has been increasingly hard
to find. | ||||||||||||||||||
Fortunately, Heberle had an ally that Klees didn't: Siobhan Reynolds
and her Pain Relief Network. As the DEA and local prosecutors went
as far as creating a poster with Dr. Heberle's picture and the words
"overprescribing controlled substances" and "Medicaid fraud" on it,
Reynolds visited Erie, PA, to organize Heberle's patients and, for
once, get their side of the story into the media. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) FATHER WANTS DRUG DEALERS TO PAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Bill Would Hold Peddlers Liable For Users' Habit | ||||||||||||||||||
RALEIGH, N.C. - Illicit drug dealers should be liable for the
spoiled lives of drug users, a father of a dead addict told
lawmakers Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now, Keith Thompson, with the help of state Sen. Julia Boseman, has proposed a bill that would allow families, employers, acquaintances or even individual narcotic users to sue dealers for economic, mental and physical damages. Under the bill, a dealer doesn't have to be responsible for the damages. Virtually any person or group - even the state - could file suit against any convicted peddler. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Drug dealers are parasites in our community," Thompson told a
Senate committee Thursday, introducing the bill. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thompson said his daughter, Blaire, had struggled with a heroin
addiction for years. But after going 90 days without feeding her
habit in 2004, she began talking about quitting her job as a
kindergarten teacher to write a book about the danger of illegal
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, Blaire's dealer called one morning to offer another fix.
She overdosed on heroin that night. She was 26. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Lots of cops arrested for drugs this week. Most notable is the
biggest drug bust in Minneapolis history, in which the accused is a
retired police officer from St. Paul. The working officer from
Indiana who happened to be hanging at a dealer's house when the FBI
raided it is almost as interesting. | ||||||||||||||||||
Also, reform-oriented Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson convinced
other American mayors to support a resolution against mandatory
minimums for drug offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) RETIRED ST. PAUL COP SURRENDERS HIMSELF IN BIG DRUG BUST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Former St. Paul Officer Turned Himself In After Minneapolis
Police Seized About 22 Pounds Of Cocaine And 8 Pounds Of
Methamphetamine | ||||||||||||||||||
Retired St. Paul police officer Clemmie H. Tucker turned himself in
to Minneapolis police Wednesday afternoon in a drug case involving
$4 million worth of cocaine and methamphetamine. | ||||||||||||||||||
"There's nothing to compare it to," Capt. Rich Stanek said about the
size of the seizure. "This is one of the largest, if not the
largest," narcotics seizure for Minneapolis police. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) E.C. POLICE VETERAN SUSPENDED AFTER DISCOVERED AT HOME RAIDED (Top)FOR DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||
Chief Vows To Continue Cleaning Up Department | ||||||||||||||||||
EAST CHICAGO | East Chicago police Sgt. Roosevelt Howard is on
administrative leave because the FBI discovered him at a home in
which agents were executing a search warrant for narcotics, city
police said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Following widespread speculation regarding why Howard was suspended
last week, Police Chief Angelo Machuca said in a written statement
Thursday that Howard is on paid administrative leave pending an
internal investigation into his brush with the FBI. "I have
committed to clean up this department, and I will continue to stand
to that commitment," Machuca's statement says. | ||||||||||||||||||
Howard was not arrested or charged with a crime and could not be
reached for comment. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under former Mayor Robert Pastrick, Howard was a police commander,
the third-highest ranking position in the department behind the
chief and deputy chiefs. Mayor George Pabey demoted the 18-year
veteran to his former rank of sergeant in 2005, Police Department
attorney Tom Ryan said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) COP ADMITS ROBBING DRUG DEALERS, WILL TESTIFY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A police officer near the center of a ring of cops accused of
robbing drug dealers on Chicago's South Side has pleaded guilty and
agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. | ||||||||||||||||||
Corey Flagg, 35, a member of an allegedly rogue Englewood District
tactical unit, entered a guilty plea to drug conspiracy charges
Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman. | ||||||||||||||||||
Flagg allegedly was recruited along with others by Officer Broderick
Jones, also charged in the case, "to conduct vehicle stops and home
invasions of drug dealers in order to illegally obtain drugs, money
and weapons from those drug dealers," the plea agreement says. Flagg
could have faced up to life in prison, but he would now be sentenced
to about 10 years and 6 months in prison for his help. | ||||||||||||||||||
His lawyer, Jeffrey Steinback, said he expects that cooperation will
include Flagg testifying against his former partners. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) CONFERENCE OF MAYORS BACKS ROCKY'S MEASURES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Heeding Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, the U.S. Conference of
Mayors is urging Congress and the Bush administration to oppose
criminalizing undocumented workers and to launch policies that help
cities reduce the need for fossil fuel. The mayors this week also
endorsed other Anderson-backed measures - including a call to end
mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders and to send
peacekeeping troops to Darfur. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
We begin this week with a look North (even for this Canadian editor)
to Alaska, where the ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the state for
attempting to supercede a 30-year old Alaska Supreme Court ruling
that decriminalized the personal use of cannabis. The suit was
initiated after Gov. Frank Murkowski signed a cannabis | ||||||||||||||||||
Our second story reports on the 20th annual Columbus, Ohio Hempfest,
which took place last weekend at Ohio State University. The
SSDP-sponsored event featured over 50 vendors, and was attended by
1000s of happy hempsters calling for an end to the war on
responsible adult cannabis use. Next, the sad news that as Alabama
gubernatorial candidate (and U.S. Marijuana Party founder) Loretta
Nall's name will not appear on the November ballot, as she fell
short of the 41,300 signatures needed to get a third party candidate
included on the ballot. Never deterred, Loretta plans to run as a
write-in candidate. For more info, please check out | ||||||||||||||||||
Next, news that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) seized 22.5
tonnes of hashish 320kms off the coast of Angola. This was the
RCMP's first drug operation in international waters, and has
resulted in the arrest of three alleged members of Montreal's
notorious West End gang. Lastly this week, an interview with the
ex-wife of the U.K.'s most famous cannabis smuggler, Howard Marks
(otherwise known as Mr. Nice). Judy Marks has just finished a book
called "Mr. Nice and Mrs. Marks - Adventures With Howard", which
details the couples 30 years relationship and their adventures in
the drug smuggling underworld. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) ACLU SUES ALASKA OVER STATE'S NEW MARIJUANA LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state of Alaska today
over a new law penalizing marijuana possession for personal use in
the home. | ||||||||||||||||||
The civil liberties group alleges the new law is an unconstitutional
invasion of privacy. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Is marijuana so dangerous that it justifies restricting a fundamental right? The state thinks it's yes, we think it's no," said Michael Macleod-Ball, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska. | ||||||||||||||||||
The lawsuit also claims the law allows prosecution of people who use
marijuana for medical purposes, which the Alaska Department of Law
disputes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) FLOWER CHILDREN OF ALL AGES STILL BLOSSOM AT OSU'S HEMPFEST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
For more than 35 years, David "Shake" Shakin has kept the faith. | ||||||||||||||||||
While many "flower children" of the 1960s and early 1970s have
dropped out of the peace movement and joined the establishment,
Shakin remains a true believer. | ||||||||||||||||||
His hair is white, but he still wears a beard. He calls an artists
commune outside Athens, Ga., home. And he supports himself by
traveling the country selling hand-made Indonesian jewelry at music
and community festivals. | ||||||||||||||||||
Shakin, 55, brought his jewelry business to Hempfest yesterday on the Ohio State University campus. He was among about 50 vendors that set up tables and booths at the 20 th annual pro-marijuana event. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) LIBERTARIAN NOMINEE LORETTA NALL FAILS TO GET ENOUGH SIGNATURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The colorful Libertarian Party nominee for governor, Loretta Nall,
said Monday she will run as a write-in candidate after failing to
get enough signatures to get her name on the general election
ballot. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm not dropping out," Nall said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday is the deadline for third-party candidates to turn in
voters' signatures to the secretary of state to get ballot access
for Nov. 7. Nall needed 41,300 signatures to get on the general
election ballot. She said she and her supporters collected between
10,000 and 15,000 signatures, which she plans to turn in Tuesday to
make a point about Alabama having one of the nation's toughest
ballot access laws for third parties. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In almost any other state, that would have been enough to get
ballot access," she said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nall, who founded the U.S. Marijuana Party after her misdemeanor
arrest for marijuana in 2002, has already proven to be a colorful
addition to the gubernatorial contest even without ballot access.
Her Web site discussions about why she doesn't wear panties and her
animated fundraising gimmick, "Stripping for Cash," have attracted
about as much attention on the Internet as the mainstream
candidates. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) RCMP HAULS IN HASHISH CACHE IN HIGH-SEAS STING OPERATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It was a sting operation on the high seas that was daring even for
seasoned Canadian police. | ||||||||||||||||||
One day last month, a boat sailed secretively onto the waters off the coast of Africa to deliver an illicit cargo: nearly 1,000 bags of hashish from Pakistan destined for Canada, police said. | ||||||||||||||||||
About 320 kilometres off the coast of Angola, the boat met with
another vessel that was to pick up the drugs and deliver them to
Montreal. Unbeknownst to the suppliers, however, the pickup vessel
was filled with 50 undercover Mounties. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday, the RCMP in Montreal unveiled details of a swashbuckling
maritime police operation that netted them 22.5 tonnes of hashish.
Police said it was the first time Mounties headed out onto
international waters to intercept drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) MARKS' FORMER WIFE TELLS HER INCREDIBLE STORY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
HOWARD Marks' ex-wife last night revealed how she fell out of love
with the world's most notorious marijuana smuggler when he went
straight. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking for the first time since she split with the 61-year-old Welsh criminal mastermind, Judy Marks claimed her former husband's love of the spotlight as a celebrity ex-con drove them to divorce rather than the extreme highs and lows of their life on the run. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Bridgend man - who penned his autobiography Mr Nice - seduced
her when she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl. The couple ended up
juggling a multi-million pound trafficking empire with marriage and
children. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I fell for Howard because of his wonderful blue eyes and the
sensual way he would roll a joint," said Judy, 51, from her
sea-front apartment in Majorca. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
After a spate of deaths in the U.S. which were attributed to heroin
spiked with the powerful synthetic opiate, fentanyl, a drug lab in
Mexico was taken down by U.S. anti-drug agents this week. While U.S.
Drug Enforcement agents shut down one fentanyl lab near Guadalajara,
they warned that more fentanyl-laced heroin could still be out
there. "There may be more than one source," Walters said. There
always is. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bahamian government officials were upset this week after the U.S.
announced a squadron of Army drug interdiction helicopters based in
the Bahamas would be taken away. "The traffickers obviously would
see that as a signal to increase their activity," fretted Joshua
Sears, Bahamian ambassador to the United States. Drug-war jingoes in
the U.S., reacted predictably. A letter signed by prominent U.S.
Congressional prohibitionists, among them Indiana Republican
Congressmen Mark E. Souder, and Dan Burton, urged the U.S. not
withdraw the anti-drug copters and their support crews from the
Bahamas. | ||||||||||||||||||
If draft regulations of new drug possession thresholds in the U.K.
proposed by the Home Office are put into effect, many more users of
cannabis and other drugs would be swept into prison for years, say
observers. Thresholds for presumption of dealing could be as low as
five grams for cannabis, or five MDMA tablets. In theory, one could
be jailed for 14 years simply for possessing 10 cannabis cigarettes
under the new, proposed limits. | ||||||||||||||||||
The more often drug users visit the supervised injection center in
Vancouver, Canada, the more likely they are to enrol in a detox
program, says a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Noted study co-author Dr. Thomas Kerr, "If you use the site at least
weekly, you are two times as likely than others to enter detox." The
Insite supervised injection center in Vancouver is the first such
center to open door in North America. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(19) DRUG LAB IN MEXICO SHUT DOWN AFTER DEATHS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CHICAGO - U.S. agents, working in cooperation with the Mexican government, have closed down a lab in Mexico that might be the main source of a powerful painkiller that has killed at least 100 heroin users in eight states, the federal drug chief said Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy, said it's still not clear whether the painkiller,
fentanyl, was mixed with heroin at the lab in Mexico or after it
entered the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
"There may be more than one source," Walters said. "We think this is
the principal source." | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is testing samples of
fentanyl seized in a May 28 raid of a suspected | ||||||||||||||||||
Five Mexican citizens were arrested during the May bust, including
one Walters described as the chemist. | ||||||||||||||||||
Walters said that the dealers may have started using fentanyl because they were looking for a competitive advantage on the street but that inept mixing of the drug combination made it deadly. | ||||||||||||||||||
He also warned that millions of deadly doses of the fentanyl-laced
heroin might still be on the streets. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) LAWMAKERS, BAHAMIANS QUESTION END OF ARMY AIR SUPPORT IN DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MIAMI -- The proposed withdrawal of Army air support from a
U.S.-Bahamas anti-drug effort could entice cocaine and marijuana
smugglers to return to the vast island chain and may undo more than
two decades of progress, key U.S. lawmakers and Bahamian officials
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It would clearly have negative consequences for the region as a
whole," Joshua Sears, the Bahamas' ambassador to the United States,
said Thursday in a telephone interview. "The traffickers obviously
would see that as a signal to increase their activity." | ||||||||||||||||||
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, citing war needs elsewhere, said in a letter last month that he intends to withdraw seven Army Blackhawk helicopters and their crews from Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos - known as OPBAT for short - by Oct. 1, 2007. The Associated Press reported the letter's contents Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Five U.S. House members, including two Republican committee
chairmen, said it would be a mistake to withdraw the helicopters and
urged Rumsfeld in a May 25 letter to reconsider. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The congressional letter was signed by Reps. Henry Hyde, R-Ill.,
chairman of the International Relations Committee, and Tom Davis,
R-Va., chairman of the Government Reform Committee; Indiana GOP
Reps. Mark E. Souder, chairman of an anti-narcotics subcommittee,
and Dan Burton, head of a western hemisphere subcommittee; and Rep.
Mark Kirk, R-Ill. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) REVEALED: HOW 10 JOINTS COULD LEAD TO 14 YEARS FOR DEALING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Prosecutions to Soar Under Plan to Slash Limits for | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug users caught with as few as five ecstasy tablets or five grams
of cannabis - enough for about 10 joints - will be prosecuted as
dealers under new regulations drawn up by the Home Office, the
Guardian has learned. The plan to slash the limit for cannabis
possession for personal use would mean that anyone found with more
could face a prison sentence of up to 14 years. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Home Office has written to the government's own drug experts,
the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, telling them that
ministers are also minded to set the threshold for possession for
heroin and cocaine at two grams. | ||||||||||||||||||
Although home secretary John Reid has yet to take a final decision,
draft regulations seen by the Guardian - to be introduced into
parliament shortly under last year's drugs act - will mean that
those found with more than these specified amounts will be charged
with possession with intent to supply. Under the act, dealers of
cocaine and heroin face a maximum of life imprisonment. | ||||||||||||||||||
The plan to set the cannabis threshold at 5g marks a sharp reversal
from David Blunkett's decision 18 months ago to ensure that cannabis
possession was usually dealt with by confiscation and an informal
warning. | ||||||||||||||||||
The proposed thresholds are so low that the advisory committee,
which discussed the issue on May 25, is believed to have warned the
Home Office that they will cause policing problems. The committee
suggested the cannabis threshold should be set at 28g, or 1oz. The
experts also told ministers that the five tablet limit for ecstasy
was low given that they can be bought for 50p each in some areas and
some users take up to 10 in one session. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Home Office letter to the ACMD, seen by the Guardian, says that
ministers are setting thresholds at this stage only for the drugs
that cause the most harm or which are most prevalent - heroin,
crack, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis. It adds that the
proposed levels for all the drugs - except amphetamines - are
considerably lower than those originally proposed because most
respondents to a consultation on the proposals considered the limits
excessive. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) SAFE INJECTION LEADS TO DETOX, STUDY FINDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Frequent Visits To Counsellors Big Help | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- The more a drug user visits Vancouver's experimental
supervised-injection site, the more likely that user is to go into
detox, suggests a study published Wednesday in the New England
Journal of Medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If you use the site at least weekly, you are two times as likely
than others to enter detox," said co-author Dr. Thomas Kerr from the
Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Research. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We weren't surprised that the site had resulted in less public
disorder or syringe sharing, but we were kind of astounded actually
that the more you use this facility, the more likely you are to
enter treatment." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NORML'S DAILY AUDIOSTASH ONLINE | ||||||||||||||||||
The Daily AudioStash will be available via Podcast and direct MP3
download every weekday at 4:20PM EST via www.norml.org | ||||||||||||||||||
Hosted by NORML News presenter Chris Goldstein | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CONFRONTING CONFINEMENT | ||||||||||||||||||
Report of the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
www.KPFT.org | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES NEWS | ||||||||||||||||||
06/08/2006 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
TURNING THE CORNER IN BALTIMORE | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug War Chronicle Feature | ||||||||||||||||||
06/09/2006 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
NORML CONFERENCE AUDIO ONLINE | ||||||||||||||||||
Hear selected speeches and interviews from the NORML 2006 Conference. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
JOIN A MEDIA ACTIVISM ROUNDTABLE ONLINE | ||||||||||||||||||
Gather with 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. We'll also educate on how to increase drug policy coverage in your local radio markets. | ||||||||||||||||||
Special focus in the month of June will be on possible drug law changes in Mexico; the Drug Czar's misinformation on cocaine interdiction efforts in Colombia and the FDA's comments on marijuana's medical efficacy and resulting media comment. | ||||||||||||||||||
The conferences will be held throughout the month of June on Tuesday
evenings starting at 9 p.m. Eastern, 8 p.m. Central, 7 p.m. Mountain
and 6 p.m. Pacific in the DrugSense Virtual Conference Room. SEE:
http://mapinc.org/resource/paltalk.htm for details on how you can
participate. Discussion is conducted by voice (microphone and
speakers all that is needed - however, you may listen if you don't
have a microphone) and also by text messaging. | ||||||||||||||||||
Your host for the session is MAP's Media Activism Facilitator Steve
Heath. Questions about the meeting should be emailed only to him at
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA HELPED CRITICALLY ILL YOUTH | ||||||||||||||||||
By Don McGrath | ||||||||||||||||||
Regarding the recent article "Trenton is the next battleground in marijuana fight," the two quoted opponents of legalizing marijuana for medical use rely on arguments that are simply false. | ||||||||||||||||||
While both Terrence Farley and David Evans maintain that this bill
is actually a ploy to legalize marijuana for recreational use
throughout the state, that is clearly not the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
The bill in the N.J. Senate restricts use to seriously ill patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
They also argue that only FDA tested and approved drugs should be
allowed for patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
A few years ago, my youngest son was diagnosed with cancer at one of
the leading hospitals in New York. | ||||||||||||||||||
After trying all available, but ineffective, FDA-approved
medications to relieve the pain and nausea of his cancer and
associated chemotherapy, his medical team recommended "off the
record" that he use marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
He did, it was effective and it extended his life by 18 months
before he died in 2004. | ||||||||||||||||||
While that was not an FDA-approved test, it certainly was not a
"hoax." | ||||||||||||||||||
Farley's and Evan's position that only FDA-approved drugs are
acceptable as medicine would change quickly if they had a child with
the same diagnosis. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's unfortunate that only a bad dose of reality would likely open either of their very closed minds to marijuana as a medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||
DON McGRATH | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Book Review: Burning Rainbow Farm | ||||||||||||||||||
By Richard Lake | ||||||||||||||||||
"Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke," by
Dean Kuipers (2006, Bloomsbury Press, $24.95 HB) | ||||||||||||||||||
When I received my review copy of the book "Burning Rainbow Farm" I
didn't know what to expect. Having talked with the author, Dean
Kuipers, a few times over the years since that Friday morning,
August 31, 2001 when Tom Crosslin burned Rainbow Farm to the ground,
I had wondered about the book. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the years before that fateful Labor Day weekend I had visited Rainbow Farm events at the invitation of Rainbow Farm's long time business manager and webmaster, Doug Leinbach 'TP Doug.' I was able to speak from the stage, and given a back stage pass. I renewed a number of old friendships, some going back to the '70s, and made new friends. Tom Crosslin would take me aside to talk about the ups and downs of his efforts, which are well covered in the book. When the sound level of the bands would get to me, I was encouraged to enjoy myself on the porch of the farmhouse. One evening Nora Callahan of The November Coalition and I used Doug's computer in the basement for an internet chat session with folks from several countries. | ||||||||||||||||||
The events were always fun, and full of hope and support for
marijuana law reform. | ||||||||||||||||||
Reading the book the first thing I did was look for the names of
friends, and what was written about them. Yes, there was the
memorable quote from Gatewood Galbraith: | ||||||||||||||||||
"'I have one question to ask you.... and here it is: Did my father's
generation hit the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima so'd I'd have to
piss in a cup to hold a job in America?!' | ||||||||||||||||||
"Hell no, came the roar." | ||||||||||||||||||
You may recognize the names of other activists who are mentioned,
for example: Adam Brook, Tommy Chong, Chris Conrad, Stephen Gaskin,
Steve Hager, Jack Herer, Gideon Israel, Marvin Marvin, Ben Masel,
Elvy Musikka, Chad Rea, John Sinclair, and Keith Stroup. But this
book is not about them. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is about the life and death of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm. And
about the life of others involved in the management of Rainbow Farm;
Doug Leinbach, Max Robinson, Derrik DeCraene, Moe Yonkers and
others. Biographies best describe the detail in Burning Rainbow Farm
for these folks. | ||||||||||||||||||
And about Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Teter, who never
visited a Rainbow Farm event. He was responsible for the trouble,
the searches, and the eventual death of Tom and Rollie. | ||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps for some the history leading to the deaths of Tom and Rollie will be more than they wish to know. But it is a part of the history of marijuana law reform that should be a 'must read' for everyone. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 1999 Greg Schmid, a Saginaw attorney, wrote an initiative, the
Personal Responsibility Amendment (PRA), to amend the Michigan
constitution to, as the book says, "establish pot as a legal
medicine, relegalize the hemp industry, decriminalized small time
possession and strip the cops of the corrupting "collars for
dollars" incentive driving drug asset forfeiture." When no national
organization or funder would support PRA, which was ahead of it's
time, Rainbow Farm stepped forward and became a center for PRA
training, activity and support. Greg became the Michigan NORML state
coordinator, in charge of Michigan NORML. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thus Michigan NORML became a leader in reform efforts, passing
medical marijuana initiatives in several cities, and now working to
pass initiatives in several more, as can be seen at this webpage
http://www.drugsense.org/caip | ||||||||||||||||||
There are many sources from which you may purchase the 373 page hard
cover book. I recommend purchasing it through Michigan NORML so that
their continuing reform efforts are supported. I like to think Tom
and Rollie would approve. Details are at | ||||||||||||||||||
If you would like a signed copy of the book, which is dedicated in
part to Rollie's son Robert, Michigan NORML will provide, for an
extra $5, which will go to Robert. | ||||||||||||||||||
Richard Lake is the senior editor for the Media Awareness Project of
DrugSense. At the encouragement of Doug Leinbach he led the effort
to create the Rainbow Farm Memorial Website, based in part on the
original website, and list masters the Rainbow Farm TRIBE email
announcement list. See http://www.rainbowfarmcamp.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home." | ||||||||||||||||||
-- Edward R. Murrow | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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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 (). Analysis comments
represent the personal views of editors, and not necessarily the
views of DrugSense. | ||||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||
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