| Sept. 8, 2006 #465 | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) DRUG USE IN MIDDLE AGE INCREASES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Baby boomers' use of marijuana and other drugs is raising usage rates
among older adults, while drug use among teenagers is declining,
according to a national survey released Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||
Overall, drug use among Americans rose slightly from 2004 to 2005,
fueled by small increases in cocaine and prescription drug abuse by
young adults ages 18-25 and by rising drug use -- mostly marijuana --
among adults 50-59, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health said.
The survey said 8.1 percent of Americans 12 and older were illicit drug
users in 2005, up from 7.9 percent in 2004 but down from 8.3 percent in
2002. | ||||||||||||||||
The use of illicit drugs among baby boomers 50-59 rose 63 percent from
2002 to 2005, according to the survey, which was sponsored by the
federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The
survey questioned 68,308 people 12 and older about their substance
abuse, smoking and drinking habits. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Federal anti-drug officials say the survey indicates that while some
baby boomers who were in their teens and 20s when drug use rates peaked
in the 1970s are taking their drug habits well into middle age, today's
youths aren't embracing drugs as enthusiastically. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) 4 COPS MAY HAVE RUINED 100 CASES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Authorities are expected to arrest four Chicago Police officers today
in a corruption investigation that could lead Cook County prosecutors
to drop more than 100 criminal cases because they were tainted by the
allegedly crooked cops. | ||||||||||||||||
The officers are members of the department's elite Special Operations Section, a citywide unit that seizes guns and drugs in crime hot spots. | ||||||||||||||||
At least four other officers, including a woman, have been stripped of their power to carry guns and make arrests, sources said. | ||||||||||||||||
The officers are accused of raiding homes and stealing valuables -- sometimes from drug dealers and sometimes from ordinary citizens. | ||||||||||||||||
The officers facing arrest today include the alleged ringleader, a 43-
year-old man who won the Superintendent's Award for Valor, sources
said. The others are men between ages 28 and 32. | ||||||||||||||||
All four have been sued in federal court in cases alleging they conducted searches without warrants. The city has settled with the plaintiffs in most of those cases, which date to 2001, records show. The payouts have ranged from about $10,000 to about $50,000 per case. | ||||||||||||||||
In some cases, the officers were accused of stealing cash, jewelry and
framing people with crimes they did not commit. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) MEXICAN GUNMEN ROLL HUMAN HEADS ONTO BAR FLOOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Gunmen barged into a bar in central Mexico early Wednesday and tossed
five human heads on the dance floor after ordering customers to get
down on the floor -- a chilling show of brutality in a nation plagued
by growing drug violence. | ||||||||||||||||
The Internet site of the Mexican newspaper Reforma carried a gruesome
photo of heads scattered across a white tile floor smeared with blood.
Next to the heads was a note written on a piece of cardboard reading:
``The family doesn't kill for money. It doesn't kill women. It doesn't
kill innocent people, only those who deserve to die. Everyone knows
that. This is divine justice.'' | ||||||||||||||||
Heavily armed men fired their guns in the air as they entered the bar along a highway about 1:30 a.m. in the city of Uruapan in central Michoacan state, said Magdalena Guzman, spokeswoman for the state prosecutor's office. They ordered patrons to the ground before tossing the heads out of plastic bags and onto the center of the dance floor. | ||||||||||||||||
No arrests had been made and investigators believed the beheadings were linked to organized crime, possibly drug smugglers, Guzman said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
''No one who was at the bar wants to talk because they are afraid,''
Guzman said. ``They were stunned.'' | ||||||||||||||||
Arrests of major drug cartel leaders have sparked an increasingly
brutal and ruthless drug war in Mexico as gangs battle for control of
lucrative routes. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) FDA OVERTURNS ITS POLICY ON MORPHINE-BASED DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday overturned a two-year-
old policy that many pain specialists said was limiting their ability
to properly treat chronically ill patients in need of powerful
morphine-based painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||
While defending its efforts to aggressively investigate doctors who
officials conclude are writing painkiller prescriptions for no
"legitimate medical purpose," the agency agreed with the protesting
experts that it had gone too far in limiting how doctors prescribe the
widely used medications. | ||||||||||||||||
The unusual turnaround was welcomed by relieved doctors, who said it
will help restore "balance" in government policy between the needs of
pain patients and the effort to control prescription drug abuse and
diversion. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said the agency had been wrong in limiting the multiple prescriptions and had made the tough decision to reverse course. She said the DEA received more than 600 comments from doctors, patients and others about its policies on painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
California's state capital city will finally be joining its 16
counties which have nonprescription syringe access at pharmacies.
Last year the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors rejected a
similar proposal which forced the city of Sacramento to "come to
bat." | ||||||||||||||||
A Pennsylvania junior high principal has initiated a bribery program
to get students to 'voluntarily' submit to drug testing. The
article did not disclose the funding source for the program and
claims the 'volunteers' will not be disciplined if they turn in a
positive test. | ||||||||||||||||
Finishing on a positive note are excerpts from two opinion pieces
covering point-by-point arguments against prohibition. A California
writer does an excellent job of summarizing the history of marijuana
laws and how they relate to alcohol prohibition. A column written by
a Texas physician could well be used as an anti-prohibition text
book. Dr. Frank smartly walks through every supporting argument in
exactly 420 words. | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) SACRAMENTO APPROVES SYRINGE SALES WITHOUT PRESCRIPTIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Nearly a year after a countywide plan failed, the Sacramento City
Council on Tuesday authorized pharmacies -- within city limits -- to
sell up to 10 syringes without a prescription. | ||||||||||||||||
"Hepatitis C and HIV are on the rise in Sacramento, and we can take
a public stand and create a program to combat the spread of disease
and save lives," said Councilman Ray Tretheway, after the council
adopted the needle plan. | ||||||||||||||||
The council approved the measure on a 6-2 vote, over objections from
law enforcement officials and council members Sandy Sheedy and
Robbie Waters that drug users would discard even more needles. Mayor
Heather Fargo was absent, although she supported the measure in an
earlier vote. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The county health department estimates that there are 15,000 daily
intravenous drug users in the county. | ||||||||||||||||
Those users have a 90 percent chance of acquiring hepatitis C within
one year because of used and shared syringes. | ||||||||||||||||
Use of contaminated syringes also is linked to 19 percent of all
AIDS cases in California, according to the California Department of
Health Services. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
In 2004, the Legislature passed a law allowing pharmacies to sell 10
needles without a prescription to adults, but the practice first has
to be approved by the local government where the pharmacy is
located. | ||||||||||||||||
As the county supervisors debated the issue last year, city councils
in Rancho Cordova, Galt, Elk Grove and Folsom all voted to oppose
needle sales without a prescription. | ||||||||||||||||
The county ultimately rejected the idea on a 3-2 vote, while 16
other counties in California have approved syringe sales, including
Yolo, Yuba and Solano. | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) PROGRAM FEATURES VOLUNTARY DRUG TESTS FOR 7TH GRADERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
TOWANDA -- The Towanda School District is launching a voluntary
drug-testing program for seventh-graders, which will reward students
for testing drug-free. | ||||||||||||||||
Students who test drug-free will receive discounts from local
merchants and/or free passes to school sporting events and dances,
according to written information supplied by Steven Gobble,
principal of Towanda Junior/Senior High School. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Also, the students' parents will be notified by mail of the results
of the drug tests. If the result is positive, additional materials
will be sent to the child's parents to help them "best deal with the
situation, including information about drug and alcohol counseling
opportunities," Gobble said. | ||||||||||||||||
In addition, if the student tests positive for drugs, he or she
would be referred to a Student Assistance Program counselor, Gobble
said. The referral will "ensure that the student receives the
necessary help and resources needed to deal with the immediate
situation," Gobble said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The school will not discipline any student who has received a
positive drug test, and their names will not be turned over to the
police, Gobble said. | ||||||||||||||||
The student who tests positive would not be allowed to re-join the
program until he had successfully passed two consecutive drug
tests. | ||||||||||||||||
Other school districts in the United States have implemented similar
programs, Gobble said. | ||||||||||||||||
While the discounts that will be offered to students have not yet
been determined, they might include discounts on food, snacks, video
games and movie tickets, Gobble indicated. | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) OPED: PARALLELS BETWEEN PROHIBITION AND TODAY'S POT LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
After reading the Aug. 28 opinion piece on illegals coming to the
Napa Valley to grow marijuana, and as a student of American history,
I wondered if there were lessons to learn from America's
prohibitions during the last century. | ||||||||||||||||
It seems there is a direct parallel between the prohibition of pot
and alcohol prohibition, and it is based on a principal tenet of
capitalism: If there is a need, someone fills it. | ||||||||||||||||
When alcohol disappeared from shelves from 1920 to 1933, booze came from myriad sources. People produced it in small, compact stills in sheds, basements, attics and in the woods. It was smuggled from Canada, Mexico and Europe. Some of the largest names in distilling today entered the business or grew wealthy during the prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||
For 60 years, the prohibition of cannabis has been enforced with the
same results: closet growers across the United States produce some
of the finest illegal hydroponic bud in the world; smuggling from
Canada and Mexico continues unabated. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Our drug laws do not reflect well upon current policies and their
defenders. It becomes obvious after you have read historical records
that bring to light the motivations and judgments of lawmakers who
encouraged and assisted with the criminal prohibition of marijuana
in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||
We must ask what role science, medicine and critical analysis
played. | ||||||||||||||||
My thanks to Charles H. Whitebread, Professor of Law at The
University of Southern California Law School. | ||||||||||||||||
(Hilsabeck lives in Napa.) | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) COLUMN: REGULATION, TAXATION COULD BRING DRUG WOES UNDER CONTROL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
How long are we going to continue fostering, encouraging,
supplementing and rewarding the fabulously lucrative illegal drug
industry by continuously pouring more and more money, facilities and
effort into the fatally flawed war on drugs? | ||||||||||||||||
This archaic, futile program is producing felons and jailbirds at an
unprecedented rate, even exceeding those produced during Prohibition
(which helped spawn the Mafia and Las Vegas). U.S. drug policy
produces stupendous profit incentives even for those not ordinarily
into illegal activities. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Our current drug policy results in untold numbers of destroyed lives
and families, as well as adding enormous stress and costs to our
already overburdened emergency medical, police and social
facilities. | ||||||||||||||||
Were these drugs to be taxed and regulated, the profit motive for
black market dealers would be reduced and federal revenue increased.
Sterilization techniques and dosage standardization could be
developed. Crime like burglary, murder, gang activity and organized
crime would be reduced. Our prisons would no longer be overflowing
with people incarcerated on drug charges. | ||||||||||||||||
I am aware that to some the idea of drug legalization is sacrilege, but do they have another answer? If so, I would love to hear about | ||||||||||||||||
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Dr. Donald A. Frank is an Amarillo physician. | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Editors of a Huntington, West Virginia paper brought a little
reality to "the largest one-day sweep in the city this year."
Although the number of law enforcement agencies involved was
certainly incredible, the editorial points out that the 'cuffs' were
not that impressive. They strongly suggested that law enforcement
prove the effectiveness of such sweeps and closed by claiming
long-term solutions are necessary | ||||||||||||||||
Author of "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in
America," Radley Balko and attorney Joel Berger landed excellent
real estate in the Wall Street Journal. They were allowed nearly
1,000 words to describe the over-militarization of U.S. law
enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||
From excellent real estate to excellent coverage, LEAP is working
through the state of Connecticut and the Hartford Advocate
published a fantastic article about them. The thorough article
included their history, mission, web site address and extensive
quotes. | ||||||||||||||||
Closing with the "funny if it weren't true" category - California
narcotics officers located and bundled thousands of cannabis plants
only to have them stolen that very night. Pretty nice Labor Day
present for those growers, eh?! | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) EDITORIAL: CITY'S DRUG FIGHT MUST GO BEYOND ONE-DAY SWEEPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Huntington's drug-dealing community got a dose of shock and awe on Tuesday when the Huntington Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the FBI, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marshall University Police Department and the Cabell County Prosecutor's Office cooperated on a sweep that saw 80 people arrested in the largest one-day sweep in the city this year. | ||||||||||||||||
About 110 law enforcement officers, troopers and agents | ||||||||||||||||
The daylong series of raids focused on residences throughout
Huntington, where police say they confiscated large amounts of crack
cocaine, guns and other items. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The sweep was not as big as the early accounts indicated, however. | ||||||||||||||||
Public documents indicate only 30 of the 80 arrests were directly
related to drug crimes. | ||||||||||||||||
Records show 35 of the arrests were for other charges such as
worthless checks and attempted murder. Information was not available
on the other warrants. And at least 29 of the 80 people were already
in jail or prison on other charges when they were served with
warrants. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The real breakthrough in the drug fight will come when the demand
drops so much that Detroit crack dealers will find Huntington not
worth their time. This is the only real long-term solution to the
problem, and it's the hardest one to solve. | ||||||||||||||||
Until then, law enforcement and the courts will have to do their
parts to make this area unsafe for drug dealers, and they will have
to provide more than one-day sweeps to show that their efforts are
effective. | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) OPED: RULE OF LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Wrong Door | ||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court ruled this June that evidence seized in an
illegally performed "no-knock" police raid can still be used against
a defendant. Though disturbing in its own right, Hudson v. Michigan
touched on only a small part of a larger problem -- the trend toward
paramilitary tactics in domestic policing. | ||||||||||||||||
Criminologist Peter Kraska estimates that the number of SWAT team
"call-outs" soared past 40,000 in 2001 (the latest year for which
figures are available) from about 3,000 in 1981. The vast majority
are employed for routine police work -- such as serving drug
warrants -- not the types of situations for which SWAT teams were
originally established. And because drug policing often involves
tips from confidential informants -- many of whom are drug dealers
themselves, or convicts looking for leniency -- it's rife with bad
information. As a result, hundreds of innocent families and
civilians have been wrongly subjected to violent, forced-entry
raids. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
New York City provides perhaps the most egregious example of public officials' reluctance to rein in the excessive use of paramilitary tactics. Throughout the 1990s, the city's newspapers reported a troubling, continuing pattern of "wrong door" drug raids. | ||||||||||||||||
In many cases, tactical teams raided homes based solely on
uncorroborated tips from unproven informants. Members of the city's
Civilian Complaint Review Board cautioned that they were seeing
increasing complaints of botched raids, but limited jurisdiction and
bureaucratic turf wars prevented them from doing anything about it.
The principal result of the CCRB's warnings was the creation of a
special police unit for the sole purpose of fixing locks, doors and
windows in cases where forced-entry searches were performed on the
wrong premises. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
A few cities, such as New Haven, Conn., and San Jose, Calif.,
restrict the use of SWAT teams to cases where a suspect presents an
immediate threat. Denver dramatically cut back the number of
"no-knock" raids conducted after a SWAT team shot and killed an
innocent man in a botched raid in 1999, and follow-up | ||||||||||||||||
But these examples are few and far between. | ||||||||||||||||
Most of the country is moving toward more militarization, more
aggressive drug policing -- and less accountability when things go
wrong. | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) VICE SQUAD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
You Know the Drug War Is Going Badly When Law Enforcement Turns
Against It | ||||||||||||||||
The idea that America's 35-year-old war on drugs has serious
problems isn't new. Multiple long-standing organizations ranging
from NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws) to Libertarian think tank the Cato Institute have advocated
drug legalization for decades. | ||||||||||||||||
The debate has even permeated American popular culture to a degree,
with films like Traffic and Maria Full of Grace exploring the human
impact of drug prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||
The message that drug policy reform group LEAP is bringing to
Connecticut in a series of speaking engagements in September - that
the drug war is unwinnable and indefensible - is neither novel nor
unique. It's the people making the argument, not the argument
itself, that's noteworthy. The members of LEAP, which stands for Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition, are retired and active police
officers and government agents who helped shape and enforce
America's drug laws. These are veterans of the front lines of the
war on drugs who are now speaking against it. | ||||||||||||||||
"[What better group] to challenge the efficacy of the policy than
the people tasked with promulgating that policy?" LEAP member Mike
Smithson asked. | ||||||||||||||||
Smithson said he believes LEAP's message is supported by the majority of Americans, but needs the authority that the police and other law enforcement veterans in LEAP offer for it to resonate. | ||||||||||||||||
"We believe that most of America is opposed to this prohibition, but
are afraid to say it," Smithson said. | ||||||||||||||||
The group is largely the brainchild of retired New York State Police Captain Peter Christ. While Christ doubted the effectiveness of drug laws during his time as a cop, he still enforced the law. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Christ was careful to distinguish between being against the war on
drugs and supporting drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
"There's a drug problem, the use and abuse of these dangerous
substances, which I am not minimizing. It's a serious problem we
have to deal with as a society," Christ said. "Then there is a crime
and violence problem attached to the drug problem the same way we
had it attached to alcohol prohibition." | ||||||||||||||||
Christ believes the war on drugs enables rather than fights the drug
problem. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Eric E. Sterling was Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary from 1979 until 1989 and is now a LEAP speaker. Sterling, who helped write many of the drug laws passed by Congress in the 1980s, now says that much of the drug legislation in the '80s resulted from misguided political opportunity seeking. | ||||||||||||||||
"I began to see the way in which criminal justice and drug policy were taking a backseat to political opportunity," Sterling said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"At another level, in the criminal justice system itself, the drug laws are enforced through lies and perjury," Sterling said. | ||||||||||||||||
The dishonesty underlying the prosecution of the drug war, Sterling
said, has influenced the rest of our legal system. | ||||||||||||||||
"In courts, judges and prosecutors blind themselves to the lies that
are routinely told in support of drug cases. When cases go to trial
and drug suspects testify against friends and partners to get
reduced sentences, lying again is frequent," Sterling said.
"Witnesses know that unless their performance is adequate, they're
not going to get the plea bargain deal they're hoping for. This is
routine. The habit of perjury has become ingrained and routine in
the criminal justice system. Judges and attorneys have become
inured to fraud in the courts." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
LEAP speakers will be giving presentations at Connecticut Rotary
clubs and other state civic organizations throughout September.
Their itinerary is still being finalized. | ||||||||||||||||
See http://www.leap.cc/events/ for a full schedule. | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) SIEZED POT PLANTS STOLEN AT NIGHT | ||||||||||||||||
Bundles containing 1,200 marijuana plants cut down by narcotics
agents hours earlier were stolen, possibly by the illicit growers,
from a site in the Mount Tamalpais watershed in the middle of the
night, water district officials said. | ||||||||||||||||
Narcotics agents valued the stolen haul, part of 20,000 plants
discovered at several Marin County pot gardens earlier in the week,
at roughly $3 million. | ||||||||||||||||
The stolen plants had been cut, bundled and were ready to be taken
out from the remote location by helicopter. | ||||||||||||||||
The bust sites and plants were being guarded by law enforcement
overnight, but because individual gardens were scattered over
several remote locations, some areas went unattended, officials
said. | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Supporters from around the world observed the fifth anniversary of the fatal shootings of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm during a standoff with government agents at Rainbow Farm over Labor Day weekend in 2001. They are gone, but will never be forgotten. | ||||||||||||||||
On a brighter note, chalk up a victory for our letter writers in the war on propaganda. Canadian police were forced to publicly retract one of their favorite urban myths, that marijuana is traded pound-for-pound with cocaine from the USA, when a newspaper actually took the time to follow up on assertions made in letters to the editor that the police are full of hooey when they state such "facts". The retraction was then printed. Great work all around! | ||||||||||||||||
The Bermuda National Drug Control Minister cited "global resistance"
as the reason he faced stiff opposition to send small time
non-violent cannabis users to rehab rather than punish them, so he
decided to ramp up drug testing instead. Pretty obvious who is
really in charge there. | ||||||||||||||||
GW Pharmaceuticals investors along with possibly eighty-five
thousand people who have MS in the UK, could benefit now that
Sativex has been filed for approval by British regulators, meaning
it can be given on a named-patient basis. Cannabis-based medicine is
slowly gaining worldwide acceptance while activists wait to see what
this means for the future of herbal cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) RAINBOW FARM DEATHS REMEMBERED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Supporters Mark Fifth Anniversary of Campground Standoff. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Crosslin and Rohm owned and operated the famous Rainbow Farm Campground and avidly supported the movement to legalize marijuana in the United States, organizing several festivals and concerts. | ||||||||||||||||
But the festivals featured rampant illegal drug use and sales,
according to police. This led to undercover surveillance, police
raids and criminal drug charges that could have landed Crosslin in
prison for more than 20 years and Rohm for 15. | ||||||||||||||||
A lethal five-day standoff occurred after Crosslin failed to appear
in court, and neighbors said the two men were carrying weapons and
setting fire to buildings on the property. | ||||||||||||||||
After a helicopter from South Bend's WNDU-TV received rifle fire
while flying over the 37-acre campground, FBI officials and Michigan
State Police blocked off the property and maintained 24-hour
surveillance. Both men were eventually killed by police | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) RCMP RETRACT 'POUND FOR POUND' ASSERTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Police made an honest mistake by telling The Reminder that marijuana
is sometimes traded pound for pound with cocaine, according to the
RCMP National Headquarters. | ||||||||||||||||
Paul Nadeau, the Mounties' national drug enforcement director, said
police have no evidence to support this recently-reported "urban
myth." | ||||||||||||||||
"Personally, I have never heard of one instance where we've been able to corroborate that," he said from his Ottawa office. | ||||||||||||||||
Nadeau said the fallacy is so widespread that it's believed by
criminals, lawyers and some of the many thousands of police
officers -- RCMP and otherwise -- across the nation. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The pound-for-pound statement was included as part of an Aug. 9 Reminder article outlining how today's marijuana is much more potent -- and of greater concern to police -- than the pot of yesteryear. | ||||||||||||||||
Within days of the story running, members of the pro-marijuana lobby
from across Canada fired off e-mails and letters to the editor
ridiculing the claim. They read the article online. | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) HEAVY OPPOSITION STALLS BID TO DECLASSIFY CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
National Drug Control Minister Wayne Perinchief has been defeated in
his bid to downgrade cannabis offences. | ||||||||||||||||
He had hoped to win Cabinet approval for a law change which would
see small-scale first-time cannabis users dealt with outside the
courts and helped to rehabilitate. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
He had floated the plan in April but has now had to re-think in
light of strong opposition. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Asked if the opposition was at the Cabinet level, he said: "There
was global resistance. I am disappointed." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The Minister hopes Bermuda's widespread drug problem can be targeted
through random testing in the workplace and he hopes to have Police,
Customs, the civil service and Prison officers all signed up to
random testing by the end of the year. | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) CANNABIS DRUG FILED FOR APPROVAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The first cannabis-based medication for MS has been filed for
approval by British regulators. | ||||||||||||||||
GW Pharmaceuticals' Sativex, an under-the-tongue spray, can now be
given on a named-patient basis. | ||||||||||||||||
But the company is applying to regulators across Europe for a
licence to make it more widely available. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Sativex was first approved in Canada in April 2005. It received
approval for use by individual MS patients in the UK the following
month. | ||||||||||||||||
GW Pharmaceuticals has now filed licence applications in the UK,
Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In Canada this week, the conservative government led by Stephen
Harper unexpectedly gave a 16-month extension to the supervised
injection center in Vancouver's troubled downtown eastside. The
timing of the announcement (before a long weekend) led to
speculation Harper was attempting to lessen the political impact of
the news, when it was "sneak[ed] ... under the door on Friday." The
reprieve is expected to save lives, because medical personnel are
present in the center, to revive drug users in case of overdose. The
center, called Insite, has been credited with preventing hundreds of
fatal overdoses already. | ||||||||||||||||
And from Afghanistan this week it was officially, "very bad news,"
according to U.N. mouthpiece Antonio Maria Costa. The U.N. Drug
Report released last week showed a bumper, record crop of opium,
estimated to supply some 92% of the world's illicit opiates, like
heroin. Curiously, if reports are to be believed, the opium is
really only a problem in the Taliban-controlled south. (Opium grown
by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan is, apparently, not a
problem). | ||||||||||||||||
In Taiwan, the Prosecutor's Office launched an "experimental" program in which "drug addicts" who enrol in a methadone program would not be indicted. Addicts must make a daily visit to a methadone distribution clinic, when they consume the methadone in a drink. "A dose of Methadone costs NT$70 at present, far cheaper than heroin, which costs more than NT$10,000 per small dose." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(17) TORIES GIVE INSITE A 16-MONTH REPRIEVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Supporters of Vancouver's safe injection site welcomed an
announcement that the facility will continue operating. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Instead, the Tories gave it a 16-month extension, saying more
research is needed to determine whether the site contributes to
lowering drug use and fighting addiction. | ||||||||||||||||
In Friday's release, Health Minister Tony Clement said no new sites
will be considered until such questions are answered. | ||||||||||||||||
Advocates say Vancouver needs more sites, while Victoria's mayor
also wants one. | ||||||||||||||||
Some questioned the timing of the announcement, which came late in
the day preceding the last long weekend of the summer. | ||||||||||||||||
"News that you're not especially proud of, you sneak it under the
door on Friday," University of Victoria professor emeritus Norman
Ruff said. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(18) 'VERY BAD' NEWS ON OPIUM WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
UN Drug Report Finds 'Staggering' Rise In Afghanistan Output | ||||||||||||||||
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan increased 59 percent this year, producing a record-breaking 6,100 metric tons of opium, in part because of efforts by the Taliban and other insurgents in the troubled south, according to a UN survey. | ||||||||||||||||
Antonio Maria Costa, the United Nations anti-drug chief, called the
crop "staggering." Afghanistan now produces 92 percent of the
world's opium supply. If security in the south does not improve,
entire provinces could fail. The southern part of the country is
"displaying the ominous hallmarks of incipient collapse," Costa
said Saturday. | ||||||||||||||||
"The news is very bad," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Insurgents, whether Al Qaeda or the Taliban, also protect drug
traffickers, even riding along with convoys in the south and west,
Costa said. In exchange, they demand money. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Afghanistan also had record opium yields. Production increased 49
percent from the year before. The estimated 6,100 tons even broke
the world record of 1999, when 5,764 tons of opium were produced
globally. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
President Hamid Karzai said he was disappointed by the increase in poppies. "Regrettably, over the last year, our efforts to fight narcotics have proved inadequate," Karzai said in a statement. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But that is the only good news in the south. In the southern
province of Helmand, where several districts have fallen under
Taliban control, opium cultivation increased 162 percent this year,
to 171,303 acres. That is 42 percent of the opium cultivation in the
country. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) ALTERNATIVE METHOD LAUNCHED TO HELP ADDICTS KICK HABIT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Tainan Prosecutor's Office has launched an experimental program
to offer suspended indictments to drug addicts on condition of
compulsory treatment, as part of efforts to reduce overall drug
dependency. | ||||||||||||||||
Starting Sept. 1, the prosecutor's office will cooperate with the
government-run Chianan Psychiatric Center in southern Tainan County
in carrying out the experimental program as part of a nationwide
drug hazard reduction campaign. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
A dose of Methadone costs NT$70 at present, far cheaper than heroin,
which costs more than NT$10,000 per small dose. After the country
begins production of Methadone next year, the cost will be cut down
to NT$20. | ||||||||||||||||
The Tainan Prosecutor's Office is the first local prosecution office
to adopt the experimental program. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Prospective participants must first report to the Tainan
Prosecutor's Office to have their legal charges suspended. The
Chianan Psychiatric Center will then offer them psychological
therapy and alternative treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
Under the alternative treatment, addicts have to make a daily visit
to the center to drink a dose of Methadone -- a substitute drug
that reduces dependency on more lethal drugs such as heroin and
reduces the risk of contracting diseases through hypodermic needle
infections. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A WHITE HOUSE DRUG DEAL GONE BAD | ||||||||||||||||
Sitting on the negative results of a study of anti-marijuana ads. | ||||||||||||||||
By Ryan Grim | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
AN EXIT STRATEGY FOR THE WAR ON DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||
By Neil Peirce, Stateline.org. Posted September 6, 2006. | ||||||||||||||||
Imprisoning millions of nonviolent drug users is a failed strategy --
but there are some solutions that actually work. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
INSITE TAKES ON CONSERVATIVES | ||||||||||||||||
During the early days of the last federal election, Stephen Harper blew into Vancouver and threatened a Conservative government would close down INSITE, scaring the pants off everyone. So what changed? | ||||||||||||||||
by Libby Davies | ||||||||||||||||
September 7, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.rabble.ca/politics.shtml?sh_itm=4b4a73c0349c187a0108f7ad5b0831fd | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WAGING WAR IN COLOMBIA'S NATIONAL PARKS | ||||||||||||||||
The recent escalation in coca cultivation in the Macarena has coincided
with the implementation of the U.S.-backed Plan Colombia, whose
targeting of coca crops in southern Colombia has led to a disbursement
of coca cultivation throughout the country. | ||||||||||||||||
by Garry Leech | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
AFGHANISTAN ANTI-DRUG POLICIES AID TALIBAN, SAYS REPORT | ||||||||||||||||
A new report by the Senlis Council, a U.K. think tank, finds that
counter-narcotics policies in Afghanistan over the last five years have
facilitated insurgency, laying the groundwork for the Taliban to return
to power. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
98 PERCENT OF ERADICATED MARIJUANA IS "DITCHWEED," DEA ADMITS | ||||||||||||||||
More than 98 percent of all of the marijuana plants seized by law enforcement in the United States is feral hemp not cultivated cannabis, according to newly released data by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program and the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT
at www.KPFT.org | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
STEVE KUBBY SPEAKS OUT ON MEDICAL RIGHTS | ||||||||||||||||
Recently, Steve Kubby was invited to speak at the 34th Annual Cancer
Control Society Convention. Since 1973, the Cancer Control Society
has brought life-saving information to thousands of patients and
their families. Over 50 speakers, 6 movies and 80 exhibits were
presented at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Hollywood, California
during the Labor Day Weekend. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
2005 NATIONAL SURVEY ON DRUG USE AND HEALTH | ||||||||||||||||
The latest data on prevalence and correlates of substance use, serious mental illness, related problems, and treatment in the U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DPA Employment Opportunities | ||||||||||||||||
Director, Public Affairs in New York City and Director, California
Capita l, in Sacramento, CA. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Drug Prohibition Is The Real Problem | ||||||||||||||||
By John Chase | ||||||||||||||||
Re: A plan to help young black males, editorial, Aug. 25. | ||||||||||||||||
The bill in the Florida House ( HB 21) speaks of drug abuse as one of the conditions affecting African-American men and boys. But it is primarily drug dealing that destroys neighborhoods and sends many of the subjects of this bill to prison. They are drawn to the excitement and easy money of dealing drugs, just as unskilled males were drawn to bootlegging during Prohibition ( of alcohol ). | ||||||||||||||||
Now, as then, the cause of the problems is not the drug; the cause
is the prohibition, especially the resulting profit. Marijuana, for
instance, retails for about 30 times what it would bring if it were
regulated like tobacco. Even at its peak, illegal imported alcohol
retailed for less than three times what it would have brought if
legal. | ||||||||||||||||
One of the hidden costs of drug dealing can be a few years in
prison, but even that has benefits. Prison enhances the social
status of the dealer and helps sharpen his skills to not get caught
the next time. | ||||||||||||||||
Those are the reasons unskilled African-Americans deal drugs rather
than flip burgers. This bill's proposed "Council on the Social
Status of African-American Men and Boys" must face that issue if it
is to be effective. | ||||||||||||||||
John Chase | ||||||||||||||||
Palm Harbor | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DRUGSENSE HOW-TO SERIES; HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD | ||||||||||||||||
By Mark Greer | ||||||||||||||||
No doubt you are a busy person. You have work, school, family, and a
host of other commitments. If you are like many people today, you
sometimes feel as if you have very little time to do the things you
want to do or even feel you should do. | ||||||||||||||||
At the same time, you agree that the War on (some) Drugs has become a
disastrous failure. Maybe a relative received a long sentence for minor
drug possession. Perhaps an injured friend has problems finding
adequate pain relief. A loyal employee you know might be required to
prove his innocence by taking a drug test. | ||||||||||||||||
You know you want to make a difference, but what can you do? | ||||||||||||||||
DrugSense has some answers. Here is how you can change the world in
just a few minutes per week. | ||||||||||||||||
* Help us Newshawk articles about drug policy. Newshawks are
individuals who find drug-policy-related articles in newspapers and
magazines, or on selected Websites, and forward those articles to us
using a special format. The more articles we have, the more powerful
our DrugNews Archive (http://www.drugnews.org/) becomes as a voice for
fairness and honesty. You can help build this incredible resource with
just a few minutes of Internet surfing. For more
information, please see | ||||||||||||||||
* Help us format articles for archival storage. The true power of the
DrugNews archive rests in its ability to store drug policy articles
long after they have disappeared from their source Websites. Putting
these articles in a uniform format and appending correct attributions
to them makes the archive a powerful research tool. This, too, helps
promote the truth about drugs and drug policy and will likely take no
more than a few hours of your time per week. You can give formatting as
much or as little time as you have, but rest peacefully in the
knowledge that you made a difference. Those who provide volunteer
formatting services are called Editors and are required to complete
a short web-based, self-paced training course. Please contact Jo-D
Harrison, , for more details. | ||||||||||||||||
* Donate to DrugSense. Some people have more money than they have time.
Monetary contributions can be a powerful force for social change.
DrugSense is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit that provides accurate
information about drug policy. You can see the myriad of services we
offer on a bare bones budget by exploring http://www.mapinc.org/
and http://www.DrugSense.org/. Your dollars go toward supporting
these integrated services designed to bring the truth to the media
about drug policy and end the War on Drugs.
Please visit http://www.DrugSense.org/donate/ and donate what you
can. You may also mail your check or money order to: | ||||||||||||||||
DrugSense | ||||||||||||||||
Remember, it's not what others do, it's what you do. You CAN change the world. You can help end the War on Drugs by helping DrugSense. | ||||||||||||||||
Mark Greer | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and
lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
-- Abraham Lincoln | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: | ||||||||||||||||
Please utilize the following URLs | ||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Jo-D Harrison (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and
analysis by Debra Harper (), International content
selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by
Matt Elrod ( ) | ||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||
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