| June 16, 2006 #453 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) THE DON'T-BOTHER-TO-KNOCK RULE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court yesterday substantially diminished Americans' right to privacy in their own homes. The rule that police officers must "knock and announce" themselves before entering a private home is a venerable one, and a well-established part of Fourth Amendment law. But President Bush's two recent Supreme Court appointments have now provided the votes for a 5-4 decision eviscerating this rule. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
This decision should offend anyone, liberal or conservative, who
worries about the privacy rights of ordinary Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The case arose out of the search of Booker T. Hudson's home in Detroit
in 1998. The police announced themselves but did not knock, and after
waiting a few seconds, entered his home and seized drugs and a gun.
There is no dispute that the search violated the knock-and-announce
rule. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The question in the case was what to do about it. Mr. Hudson wanted the evidence excluded at his trial. That is precisely what should have happened. Since 1914, the Supreme Court has held that, except in rare circumstances, evidence seized in violation of the Constitution cannot be used. The exclusionary rule has sometimes been criticized for allowing criminals to go free just because of police error. But as the court itself recognized in that 1914 case, if this type of evidence were admissible, the Fourth Amendment "might as well be stricken." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) OFFICIALS SEEKING SOURCE OF LETHAL HEROIN MIXTURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
CHICAGO - The police and health authorities are struggling to track down the source of a doctored, intensely powerful heroin that has killed at least 130 people in and around Chicago and Detroit and sent hundreds more to hospitals in cities from St. Louis to Philadelphia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the labyrinthine and often paranoid world of illicit drugs, tales of
killer heroin have come and gone before. But this time is different,
law enforcement and health officials say. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The pattern of cases is broader, involving many markets at once, suggesting, they say, a larger and more sophisticated distribution network. The additive has been traced to laboratories in Mexico, which has traditionally supplied much of the Midwest heroin, raising fears that other hybrid pharmaceutical street drugs might emerge. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The biggest new thing is the high mortality rate," said Dr. Carl
Schmidt, the chief medical examiner for Wayne County, Mich., which
includes Detroit and suburbs. The county has had more than 70 deaths
since September related to the altered heroin mixture, Dr. Schmidt
said, including those of three people found together in a car in April.
The three were overcome so quickly that no one could get out to summon
help. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) VPD WON'T ATTEND DRUG OVERDOSES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Police Board Decision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In a bid to reduce overdose deaths, Vancouver police will no longer
attend drug overdose incidents with paramedics. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug users will not have to fear arrest if they are in trouble, say
police, although officers will still accompany paramedics to
"suspicious" incidents. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The idea is to encourage drug users to act quickly to get help if they
overdose. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The policy is based on research from Australia that showed drug overdose deaths decrease when police stop laying charges for drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The department has used this as an interim overdose policy for the past
two years, but made it official at its police board meeting yesterday
afternoon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) GREEN THUMBS UP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connecticut's Green Party Revs Up With Cliff Thornton's Bid for the
Governor's Chair on a Drug Decriminalization Platform | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derek Slap, spokesman for John DeStefano's bid for governor, said he hadn't paid much attention to Cliff Thornton's campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The New Haven mayor is considered more progressive than Stamford Mayor
Dan Malloy his rival for the Democratic Party's gubernatorial
nomination and I thought DeStefano's campaign might be watching
Thornton, the Green Party candidate for governor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Slap noted, positively, that Thornton is the first African-American to
run for governor in the state, and said that after looking at
Thornton's website, he had a sense of deja vu. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"On the major planks here, I think there are a lot of similarities between what the Green Party cares about and what John DeStefano cares about," Slap said, noting that the campaigns line up on health care, election reform, death-penalty opposition and medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But Hartford native and Glastonbury resident Thornton, a long-time drug
legalization advocate and first-time political candidate, saw a clear
distinction between his campaign and the campaigns of DeStefano and
Malloy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"I'm not insane. They're insane," Thornton said. Their insanity, he
said, stems from support of drug prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Is the drug war saving the children? Not in Levittown, Pennsylvania,
where a high school class president was unable to attend his
graduation ceremony due to death threats from gang members. He still
delivered a speech from an undisclosed location, in which his
memories included drug dogs. Nor are the children being saved in
Stuart, Florida, where police say it is more common for adults to
recruit kids to sell drugs. At the same time in Florida, more and
more autopsies show cocaine use by the deceased. Also last week, a
California county rejects a needle exchange program, much to the
chagrin of local doctors. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) AFTER GANG THREAT, IT'S CAP, GOWN AND LOCKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
LEVITTOWN, Pa., - For the 415 seniors at Harry S. Truman High School, graduation day offered one final lesson -- unplanned and most unwelcome -- about gangs, violence and intimidation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Members of the Bloods street gang reportedly threatened to kill the
school's class president, who was a star athlete and honor student.
Besides that, given the outbreak of gang-related shootings here in
recent months, the threat transformed the commencement ceremony in
this Philadelphia suburb into an odd pageant of anxiety and
security. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 4,500 friends, relatives and spectators who came to the ceremony
had to pass through metal detectors before they could enter the
stadium, which was decorated with banners, bunting and sprays of
yellow carnations. Undercover police detectives milled through the
crowd. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yet when the ceremonies began Friday afternoon, the class of '06 was
missing its president, Tyrone Lewis, whom the police had banned from
the ceremony because they believed that he, and his family, were in
danger from the Bloods. Mr. Lewis's sister had agreed to testify
against gang members in a New Jersey murder trial, and Mr. Lewis was
recently shot at by three men who the police said they believed
belonged to the gang. Also absent from the ceremony was Ahman
Fralin, 18, a senior who has been hospitalized, and paralyzed from
the neck down since April, when he was shot in the spine as he sat
beside Mr. Lewis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Despite protests from Mr. Lewis's mother, he delivered his speech
from a secret spot as the crowd watched on a large television
screen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
After being welcomed with raucous applause by the crowd watching on
the screen in the stadium, Mr. Lewis, 18, made only passing
reference to the circumstances that made him an exile at his own
graduation. He asked the crowd to pray for Mr. Fralin and suggested
that the police "lockdown" surrounding the graduation ceremony
should come as little surprise in an age when police dogs search
school lockers for drugs and students have their knapsacks checked
for guns each morning. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"We've had some crazy days, but we've also had inspiring days as
well," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) STUART POLICE: ADULTS USING KIDS TO SELL DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
STUART -- The drug dealer was only 14. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
And he wasn't afraid of being busted when he sold three cocaine rocks to an undercover police detective in East Stuart on Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"He says he can do the time straight up and be out in time to still
have fun on summer vacation," Stuart police spokesman Sgt. Marty
Jacobson said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
That's just what his adult handlers counted on, as they laid low in the wake of a recent bust of a major Treasure Coast cocaine ring, police said. Intelligence shows the adults are looking for more youthful offenders to fill the void and dissipate the heat. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) COCAINE FOUND ON MORE AREA AUTOPSIES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cocaine was present in more Gainesville autopsy results in 2005 than at any other time since the drug was first tracked 18 years ago, according to an annual report from the state's medical examiners. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2005 findings for the Gainesville area mirrored results for the
state, the report released this month showed. There were 1,943
deaths involving cocaine in both lethal and nonlethal levels, up
from 1,702 in 2004 and 664 in 1987. The number of deaths where the
person tested positive for cocaine increased in 15 of the 24 medical
examiner districts around the state last year, including
Gainesville, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg, Orlando, St. Augustine
and Miami. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"It is widely available. It is of high purity and it is relatively
inexpensive," said University of Florida toxicologist Bruce
Goldberger about cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DOCTOR GROUP NEEDLES BOARD OVER PROPOSAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Physicians are criticizing Shasta County supervisors' rejection this
week of a needle exchange program requested by the Department of
Public Health. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Ron Reece, past president of the North Valley Medical
Association, said the supervisors "missed an opportunity" to reduce
the spread of hepatitis and HIV and try to rescue drug users from
their addictions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"I was disappointed," Reece said of the board's 3-2 vote Tuesday to
reject a needle exchange as well as a plan to allow pharmacists to
sell needles without a prescription. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
A new government report calls prisons in the U.S. dangerous to
inmates and society at large. Overcrowding is cited as one reason,
and the drug war is a cause of overcrowding. The drug war also
showed up in more allegations of corruption by local police and
prison workers, as well as border patrol agents. And, in Illinois,
the Governor sent out an excited press release saying a statewide
anti-meth program had seized "more than 213,000 grams" of meth in
its first year. Several newspapers in the state, from the Chicago
Tribune to the Journal-Gazette of Mattoon, ran the information from
the press release, and none dared to convert the metric weight
estimate to its more common designation: about two kilograms.
Doesn't sound nearly as impressive for a whole year's worth of work,
does it? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) 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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(10) PRISON GUARD SENTENCED FOR TRYING TO SMUGGLE DRUGS INTO PRISON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MISSOULA -- A former Montana State Prison guard was sentenced Friday
to three years and one month in prison for trying to smuggle
marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine into the prison. District
Judge Donald Molloy also ordered Michael Short, 50, of Anaconda, to
forfeit $4,500 in cash, his pickup truck and two guns. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short pleaded guilty to attempted possession with intent to
distribute marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine, and to being a
drug user in possession of a firearm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors said they learned from a confidential informant that
Short had been smuggling contraband, such as tobacco, into the
prison and that he intended to start smuggling illegal drugs into
the facility. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short was arrested in July 2005, after the second of two sting
operations in which he agreed to smuggle drugs into the prison in
exchange for money. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) BORDER PATROL OFFICER ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
JACKSONVILLE - A federal Border Patrol officer has been arrested on
a charge of marijuana distribution, officials said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tony "Hollywood" Henderson, 45, of Macclenny, was arrested Wednesday
on a criminal complaint that alleges he arranged for a marijuana
transaction over the telephone, setting the price of the drugs and
arranging for a transaction at his home. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
If convicted, Henderson faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The government also wants to seize Henderson's home. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) LAWMEN PAINT UGLY PICTURE, STAY SILENT ON WHAT'S NEXT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
LUMBERTON - The accused were former Robeson County deputies, but
when U.S. Attorney Frank Whitney read the federal charges, they
sounded like the Sopranos. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Whitney mentioned Cosa Nostra as he listed their alleged crimes -
racketeering, arson, assault, theft, drug distribution and money
laundering. Whitney declined to label Roger Hugh Taylor, Charles
Thomas Strickland and Steven Ray Lovin as rogue cops, but the
implication was clear. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 29-page federal grand jury indictment is less forgiving. It says
the men used the Sheriff's Office for a decade to commit crimes for
profit and power, using threats of physical violence and arson to
make their point. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"From a personal standpoint, I know all of them," District Attorney Johnson Britt said. "I have worked on cases with them. It is a very hard thing to accept in terms of what they are accused of. But in going back and reviewing what is alleged, we wouldn't be standing here if there wasn't evidence to support the allegations." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Agents with the SBI and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal
Investigation Division and Highway Patrol officers arrested the
former members of the Sheriff's Office Drug Enforcement Division on
Friday. The press conference culminated years of rumors concerning
alleged corruption at the Sheriff's Office | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The indictment says the crimes occurred from 1995 to 2004. The
allegations include the use of marijuana as payment for committing
arson, buying a Harley Davidson motorcycle with money from illegal
activity and providing drugs to informants. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lovin alone is accused of stealing money during six highway stops on
Interstate 95. Thousands of dollars were seized during those stops,
Whitney said, but he would not give an exact amount. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) STATE METH UNITS MAKE 653 ARRESTS IN FIRST YEAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois' special units for tracking down
methamphetamine have made 653 arrests and seized more than 213,000
grams of drugs in their first year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
State officials played up these statistics as proof that Illinois is
getting a handle on the methamphetamine problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The dangers associated with meth go well beyond the user -- the process of making the drug puts families, neighbors and even entire communities at risk," said Gov. Rod Blagojevich in a prepared statement. "The results from the first year are very encouraging, which shows that the response teams are making a difference." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In May 2005, the state was divided into multi-county districts, each
with a Meth Response Team. These units are focused on providing
relief to local law enforcement blitzed by increased meth-related
crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
We begin this week with a highly critical report on Canada's federal
medical cannabis program by the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS). The
federally-funded examination of the legal, ethical and human rights
concerns of AIDS sufferers wishing to use cannabis as a treatment
suggests that despite the existence of federal program, over 85% of
people living with HIV/AIDS contacted by CAS for this study access
their cannabis through the black market, and that less than 200
critically and chronically ill Canadians chose to receive their
medicine through Health Canada. CAS makes a number of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Next, great news from Israel's Hebrew University, where doctoral student Yahoshua Maor has just won the Kaye Innovation Award for proving that low doses of a minor cannabinoid called cannabigerol (CBG) lowers blood pressure in rats. A fellow student also proved that CBG relaxes blood vessels and reduces inflammation, suggesting that CBG may be an effective treatment for diabetes and a number of other medical conditions. Our third story this week is a must-read account of the recent Missouri medicinal cannabis hearings, with a focus on the tragic-heroic life of activist Jacqueline Patterson. Jacqueline, a 27 year-old mother of four who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, has been an advocate for cannabis legalization since the death of her husband in 2004, and this article is a sad and engaging look at the events that led to her testimony before the Missouri House in support of legalizing access to medical cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our next two stories are reviews of a couple drug war tragedies. The first is a Niles Daily Star article on Dean Kuipers new book titled "Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke", which looks at the events that led to the shooting deaths of cannabis legalization activists and Rainbow Farm founders Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm by FBI agents in September of 2001. The next article is a New York Times review of a new documentary titled "AKA Tommy Chong". The movie examines the February 2003 arrest of actor and cannabis comedian Tommy Chong as a result of DEA raids initiated against the producers and distributors of cannabis-related paraphernalia. Chong pled guilty to trafficking of illegal drug paraphernalia, and spent 9 months in a California prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MEDICAL MARIJUANA STILL NOT WIDELY AVAILABLE: REPORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The federal government's medical marijuana program doesn't work, the Canadian AIDS Society said in a report released Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The group's report suggests few users of medical marijuana obtain
the drug through official channels. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Over 85 per cent of the people we consulted who used cannabis are
currently relying on illegal sources for their supply of cannabis,"
said Lynne Bell-Isle, who worked on the 18-month project for the
society. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Only 1.7 per cent of respondents we spoke to obtained their
cannabis from the government." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The federal government grows some marijuana through a private
contractor, but fewer than 200 people are currently registered to
receive marijuana through the program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The report said there are several barriers to accessing the federal
program, including: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lack of awareness of the program's existence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Difficulty finding doctors to support a patient's application for
access. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The barriers provide an incentive to turn to the black market, the
report's authors said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other patients are licensed to grow small amounts of marijuana for
their own use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The group noted Ottawa has invested nearly $6 million in the
contract to grow medical marijuana. It calls on Canada's auditor
general to investigate the program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) ISRAELI RESEARCHER LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE WITH CANNABIS COMPONENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
A new method for lowering blood pressure with a compound that
synthesizes a cannabis (hashish or marijuana) plant component has
been developed by a Hebrew University doctoral student in
pharmacology. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
For his work on the cardiovascular activity of cannabinoids
(chemical compounds derived from cannabis), Yehoshua Maor has been
named one of the winners of this year's Kaye Innovation Awards, to
be presented on Tuesday during the university's 69th annual board of
governors meetings. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Working under the supervision of Prof. Raphael Mechoulam at the HU School of Pharmacy, Maor - a native of Brazil who immigrated to Israel in 1998 - has created a synthetic version of a minor cannabis constituent named cannabigerol, which is devoid of psychotropic activity. In laboratory experiments with rats, in collaboration with Prof. Michal Horowitz, it was found that this novel compound reduced blood pressure when administered in relatively low doses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) HIGH ABOVE THE LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
She has cerebral palsy, four kids and loads of debt. Meet the
unofficial spokeswoman for marijuana legalization | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"I came here today to ummmm, to ummm, to ummm, to ask you to put
yourself in my shoes," she says, reading from a speech scribbled the
day before in a spiral notebook. She asks the representatives to
imagine growing up with cerebral palsy and being made fun of for
having a limp, a right hand that doesn't work and a stutter. Even
without the stutter, her voice sounds on the verge of tears or
panic. Her nervousness aggravates the stutter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Patterson takes them through the horrific details of her adult life.
The rape. The time she broke her neck. Her husband's suicide. She's
now a widowed mother of four. The politicians have put down their
newspapers. The one with the breakfast sandwich listens intently. A
woman in the gallery cries quietly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Then things turn ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) 'BURNING RAINBOW FARM' BOOK RELEASED TODAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
On Labor Day weekend 2001, a week before it would be obscured by the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an American civil liberties battle
brewed in a small, blue-collar town in his native southwest Michigan
unbeknownst to Dean Kuipers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kuipers grew up in Mattawan and remembers football scrimmages in
Dowagiac. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
From Kalamazoo College, he went straight to New York and music
journalism. Despite living in California, Kuipers subscribed to the
Sunday Kalamazoo Gazette to keep connected with home. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
And when he opened his newspaper and began reading the Rainbow Farm account, he was "shocked. I kept scratching my head," although he found the two central figures "fascinating. I wanted to go back and look at who those guys were," so he did - for four years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The result, "Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in
Smoke," published today by Bloomsbury ($24.95, 304 pages), attempts
to tell the stories of marijuana activists Tom Crosslin and Rolland
Rohm, shot and killed by the FBI and state police during a standoff
at their 34-acre Newberg Township farm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) 'A/K/A TOMMY CHONG,' A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE COMEDIAN AND THE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On Feb. 24, 2003, the nation's newspaper headlines provided a
snapshot of the way we live now. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
was in China that day, talking to the country's leaders about North
Korea and the looming war in Iraq. A United Nations representative
to Afghanistan was issuing dire warnings about that country's
fragile peace. The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, was
threatening to arrest the leaders of a national strike; meanwhile,
representatives from the Ivory Coast were in Paris trying to
negotiate peace. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
That same morning, in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood Pacific Palisades, more than a dozen members of the Drug Enforcement Administration were giving the comedian Tommy Chong (ne Thomas B. Kin Chong) and his wife, Shelby, a very rude awakening. A nationwide federal investigation, code-named Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter, had just gone public and, as recounted in the documentary "a/k/a Tommy Chong," was about to rock the couple's world. More than 100 homes and businesses were raided that day, and 55 people were named in indictments, charged with trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia -- meaning, for the most part, what teenagers, hippies, rappers, Deadheads, cancer patients and many millions of other regular pot smokers commonly refer to as bongs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears ready to axe the
Vancouver safe injection center Insite. Although "medical evidence
is overwhelming that this three-year experiment ... is a success,"
don't expect Harper to decide based on what's best for Canadians, or
what Canadians want. Harper's got more important reasons for making
decisions: he must please Americans, first. "The prime minister's
new best friends in the White House consider Insite the equivalent
of assisted suicide," noted Allen Garr of the Vancouver Courier.
"Harper may consider there is more to be gained internationally than
there is to be lost at home by shutting Insite down." Canada's Prime
Minister knows who is his real boss: the Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the South American nation of Bolivia, Present Morales is walking
a fine line. Declaring "yes" to coca but "no" to cocaine, the
Morales administration is continuing to eradicate cocaine production
facilities in his nations, while at the same time allowing coca to
be grown. And while Morales is seeking legal, international markets
for Bolivian coca leaf, there is a problem: the Americans love their
prohibition of coca, and won't have it any other way. D.C. hard
liners in the Bush regime say they won't allow Bolivia to sell coca
leaf to European nations, even if that's what's both Europe and
Bolivia want. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In Mexico, elections are coming up in July, and pressure from the
U.S. is becoming an issue there, too. In late April, after U.S.
media described a drug-law reform bill endorsed by President Fox as
legalizing drugs and U.S. politicians forbade it, Fox immediately
backed down and vetoed a bill he previously said he'd sign.
According to Associated Press reports this week, the Mexican
legislature, decrying escalating drug-related violence, is "working
to revive their bill decriminalizing the possession of small amounts
of marijuana, cocaine and heroin, and hope to override a veto if
necessary." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
And in Afghanistan, a showdown is looming between U.S. and British
occupiers there about how to deal with what is shaping up to be
another record season of bumper opium crops in the province of
Helmand. Gung ho American prohibitionists, never shy of a deploying
the Silver Bullet and the quick technical fix, want to spray Afghan
opium fields with plant poison, just like in Colombia. The British
on the other hand, believe such tactics would "drive farmers into
the hands of the insurgents," just like in Colombia. U.S.-financed
anti-drug spraying in Colombia is credited with rainforest
destruction as well as the destruction of food crops, while coca
production remains unscathed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(19) HARPER UNDER GUN TO KILL INSITE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
It is inconceivable that Stephen Harper will not approve the
continuation of Vancouver's supervised injection site. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The medical evidence is overwhelming that this three-year
experiment, where drug addicts are provided a clean, safe place to
inject illegal drugs, is a success. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
There have been more than 20 peer review articles in the most
prestigious medical journals that support the notion the site is
working. According to the primary funding agency, Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority, it is the most examined experiment of its sort in
the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The prime minister's new best friends in the White House consider
Insite the equivalent of assisted suicide. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plans to include an American city in the NAOMI project along with
Vancouver and Montreal, to test the results of a heroin maintenance
program, were killed before they were even started. The White House
drug czar has been pressuring Canadian governments for some time to
continue with the failed policy of the War on Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Harper may consider there is more to be gained internationally than
there is to be lost at home by shutting Insite down. Softwood lumber
could rear its head again. Then there is the threat to tighten
movements across our common border and cut the flow of tourist
dollars. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
He is expected in Vancouver in the next few days to welcome
delegates to the World Urban Forum. It is not inconceivable he will
be asked about Insite at that time. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) BOLIVIA SHIFTS TACTICS IN ITS WAR ON COCAINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
President Focuses on Eradicating Means of Making Drug, and Not on
Coca Farming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Puerto Villarroel, Bolivia -- As Bolivian soldiers torch a pit filled with chemicals and coca leaves used to make cocaine, a fireball shoots toward a jungle canopy. The anti-narcotic task force destroys seven such holes daily in a region known as the Chapare. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Since Bolivia's new president, Evo Morales, assumed power in
January, he has continued his nation's war on drugs in the Chapare
near Bolivia's third-largest city, Cochabamba. But he also has
antagonized the United States by shifting the focus away from the
subsistence farmers who grow coca leaf -- the raw ingredient of
cocaine -- to destroying pits and laboratories and confiscating
chemicals needed to manufacture cocaine. Coca has been the lifeline
for many Chapare farmers, many of whom had been tin miners until the
collapse of metal prices in the 1980s. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Why is coca legal for Coca-Cola but not for native peoples and
peasants?" Morales asked members of the European Parliament in a
speech last month. Some non-narcotic chemicals extracted from coca
are used to flavor the soft drink. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Even though Morales appears to have support from some European Union members to end the ban, he faces a herculean task in convincing the United States. Anne Patterson, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics, says Washington will veto any attempt to amend international law. "The U.S. is not going to support the idea," she said last month on a visit to La Paz, Bolivia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. officials also point out that Bolivia's anti-drug law permits
only 29,652 acres of coca to be grown in the Yungas region north of
La Paz for traditional use such as tea and mastication. But
Washington says 65,482 acres are currently in production, with the
excess crop destined for the cocaine trade. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Like his predecessor, Carlos Mesa, Morales believes forced
eradication is a formula for social conflict and human rights
abuses, and he has ordered the military to focus on drug
traffickers. In the past, violent confrontations between farmers and
soldiers have often resulted in death and injury. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) MEXICO GRAPPLES WITH WAVE OF DRUG VIOLENCE, PRESSURE FROM U.S. (Top)ON HOW TO FIGHT IT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- Mexican lawmakers are working to revive their bill
decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana,
cocaine and heroin, and hope to override a veto if necessary, saying
the reform will help curb drug-related violence that has killed more
than 600 people this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
President Vicente Fox called on Congress to drop decriminalization
from the drug-law overhaul after intense lobbying from the U.S.
State Department and mayors of several U.S. border cities, who
called it a disaster that would encourage hordes of young Americans
to cross the border for "drug tourism." Mexico's Roman Catholic
Church also opposes it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
With the July 2 election looming and lawmakers limited to one term,
any reform could be stalled until after a new president is
inaugurated in December. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But the issue isn't going away, and with every new battle over drugs
in Mexico City, Acapulco or the violent northern border cities,
public pressure grows for reforms to laws that many say police can't
enforce. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Consumption and addiction are public health issues, while drug
dealing is a criminal problem," said Rep. Eliana Garcia, who worked
with the federal attorney general's office as well as the health and
public safety departments to draft the original bill. "When you mix
them you get corruption." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The president's spokesman initially said Fox would sign it, but he
rebuffed it after the uproar broke out. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) UK FEARS RECORD AFGHAN HEROIN OUTPUT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Afghanistan province being patrolled by British troops will
produce at least one third of the world's heroin this year,
according to drug experts who are forecasting a harvest that is both
a record for the country and embarrassing for the western funded war
on narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
British officials are bracing themselves for the result of an annual
UN poppy survey due later this summer. Early indications show an
increase on Helmand's 1999 record of 45,000 hectares (112,500 acres)
and a near-doubling of last year's crop. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's going to be massive," said one British drugs official. "My
guess is it's going to be the biggest ever." UN, American and Afghan
officials agreed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"It could be over 50,000 hectares, or over 50% of the total [Afghan]
crop," said General Muhammad Daud, the deputy interior minister for
counter-narcotics. Helmand's bumper harvest highlights the dramatic
failure of western counter-narcotics efforts that have cost at least
$2bn (about UKP1.09bn) since 2001. It could undo progress made last
year, when poppy cultivation dropped 21% after President Hamid Karzai's
call for a "jihad" on drugs. And it spells particularly bad news for
Britain, which is leading the anti-narcotics campaign and has deployed
3,300 soldiers to the large and lawless province. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sour relations with the drugs minister are not the only problem facing British officials in tackling this year's bumper crop. American congressmen are ratcheting up pressure to start poppy eradication using pesticide-spraying planes, a controversial tactic. Aerial spraying has been used extensively against coca plantations in Colombia but is trenchantly opposed by British and Afghans officials, who say it would be disastrous in Afghanistan. "It could drive farmers into the hands of the insurgents," said one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
But an American official predicted that without a dramatic drop in
next year's crop, spraying could lead to a UK-US rift by 2008.
"Spraying will continue to be a cloud on the horizon and it will get
darker," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
NEW REPORT DISPROVES MYTH OF METHAMPHETAMINE "EPIDEMIC" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Sentencing Project has released a new major study disproving the
popular belief that there exists a growing methamphetamine "epidemic"
within the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
www.KPFT.org | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MEDICINAL CANNABIS MAY SOON BE A TREATMENT OPTION IN NEW ZEALAND | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sufferers of some serious illnesses may soon have the option of being
prescribed cannabis to help alleviate their symptoms, the Green Party
says. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Associate Health Spokesperson Metiria Turei's Misuse of Drugs
(Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Private Members' Bill was selected from
the Parliamentary ballot today. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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AMONG WHITES, IMPRISONING DRUG USERS A MINORITY OPINION, SURVEY FINDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three out of four white Americans believe drug users should get
treatment, not prison time, a nationally representative survey has
found. The minority of whites who support sending dopers to prison
are more likely to make moral judgments about drug users, more
likely to blame addicts for their addiction, more likely to deny
that racism is a problem in the US, and more likely to believe --
incorrectly -- that blacks are more likely to use cocaine than
whites. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LABOUR LIKES TO HIDE ITS DIRTY LAUNDRY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Criticism of existing initiatives in response to the drugs problem
could undermine the morale and commitment of staff involved in such
initiatives." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Philip Johnston | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/06/12/do1202.xml | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
ZARQAWI AND THE DRUG WAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
by Jacob G. Hornberger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
STUPID DRUG STORY OF THE WEEK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
USA Today takes the prize. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Jack Shafer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
REMOVING DRUG CARTELS FRUITLESS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Clifford Schafer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
It is obvious Tribune columnist Bill Richardson has never read the most
basic research on the war on drugs. Taking out the cartels will be just
as futile as taking out Al Capone. Yes, it makes us feel good, but it
doesn't change the price of drugs on the street. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
We have busted Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder, the Cali Cartel, the
Medellin Cartel, and Manuel Noriega, just to name a few. Not a single
bust made any real difference - with the exception of Noriega. In his
case, the flow of cocaine through Panama actually doubled after he was
busted. We would have done better to leave him alone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
President Richard Nixon had the same idea. He formed teams to go into
cities, do extensive investigation and then bust every drug dealer in
town. They did it several places and the results were always the same.
For about two weeks, the city was dry of drugs. Then new suppliers
began to move in and, by the end of 30 days, things were entirely back
to "normal" - except that the police no longer knew who the drug
dealers were. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The moral of the story is that there is an endless supply of people
willing to pursue the riches of the illegal drug trade. Busting one
cartel simply creates more room for two or three new cartels. We have
been there before and proven conclusively that it doesn't work.
According to the Rand Corp., of all the methods we could use to deal
with drugs, that is the least cost-effective. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clifford Schaffer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - MAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Robert Sharpe for his 20 letters published during
May, bringing the total number of published letters archived by MAP to
1,519. Robert writes as a volunteer for Common Sense for Drug Policy
(www.csdp.org). Robert tells us that he is spending about an hour a
day, most days, after work sending out letters. Robert has provided us
with his tips for letter writing success at | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
You may read Robert's published letters at | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
GIAMBRA IS RIGHT; NEW APPROACH NEEDED TO DRUG WAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Nicolas Eyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
After more than 35 years of fighting the current war on drugs, the
latest excuse for drugs being cheaper, purer and more available than
ever is that the police aren't filling out the paperwork correctly.
("How effective is drug war?" May 24) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Nelson Rockefeller told us that we could put a stop to this drug business if only we had tough laws. The threat of life in prison would cause smaller dealers to turn in those above them in exchange for lighter sentences, and soon all the dealers would be in prison. We filled the prisons, but it had no effect on drug dealing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Then we heard that if only we had more prison space, we could lock these drug dealers up, and that would be the end of the drug trade. Under Gov. Mario Cuomo, New York tripled the size of its prison system. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Today those prisons are overcrowded, mostly with nonviolent drug
offenders, and there isn't a maximum-security prison in the state that
manages to keep drugs away from the inmates. The problem is so common
that President Bill Clinton proposed a law that would mandate drug
testing for inmates before they could be released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Now we hear that the police still haven't got the hang of the paperwork. How many more years can we afford to have our cities destroyed, our children exposed to these dangerous substances, our families broken up, our court system clogged, our tax dollars wasted and our civil rights eroded to fight the failed war on drugs? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
We've spent billions of dollars on drug prohibition in New York State.
What's the result? Drugs went from being a small problem confined, for
the most part, to a few jazz musicians and some experimenting college
students, to a common commodity in our schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Erie County Executive Joel Giambra made a wise suggestion when he said
we should look into the idea of drug legalization. After all,
everything we come into contact with in America is regulated and
controlled. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The chair you are sitting on passed inspection and met some standards. As did the car you drive, the food you eat, the TV you watch. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Everything is regulated - everything that is, but potentially highly
dangerous drugs, which we have, by declaring them illegal, surrendered
our ability to regulate. We have turned control of these substances
over to organized crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legalization doesn't mean we should put barrels of crack cocaine on the
sidewalk for people to help themselves from. It doesn't mean there
would be heroin vending machines in our schools. It doesn't mean
airline pilots should fly stoned. On the contrary. It means regulation
and control. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
We owe it to ourselves to look at alternatives to this obviously failed
policy we've lived with for more than 35 years. We need to understand
that more of the same is just not going to work. Plan A has failed;
Buffalo needs to find a Plan B. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the
noblest causes." - Thomas Paine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 (). Analysis comments
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