| Dec. 29, 2006 #480 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Our last issue for 2006 of DrugSense Weekly is dedicated as a Year
in Review. Our Drugnews Archives now contains over 175,000 clippings
and we truly appreciate all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and
letter writing activists who dedicate their time and efforts to make
this possible. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) 'HERE WE ARE PRISONERS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico - The gunfire was deafening. Street corners all over the city were darkened by smoke from grenades and light artillery. | ||||||||||||||||||
The dead lay in pools of blood flowing into the gutters that drain into
the Rio Grande. | ||||||||||||||||||
Men with automatic assault rifles stood stoic after the carnage. Then,
one by one, they picked up the bodies of their victims, threw them into
the back of pickup trucks and headed out of downtown. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bystanders hid inside shops, behind trash bins - wherever they could
find refuge from the explosive showdown between members of rival drug
cartels. | ||||||||||||||||||
"(I watched as) the men threw the bodies into the back of the trucks
and SUVs," whispered Manuel, who was working at a parking garage that
day. "This city is controlled from the inside out by the cartels. ...
They are killing anyone who gets in their way." | ||||||||||||||||||
The April street violence, witnessed by several residents interviewed
by The Sun's sister newspaper, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin of
Ontario, was but one recent example of how Mexico's cartels are
fighting each other over the four major U.S. highway systems that
provide transit routes into the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) COURT OVERRULES CHURCH'S USE OF POT AS SACRAMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Says founders lack a 'sincere' religious belief | ||||||||||||||||||
A federal judge has ruled against the founders of a Southeastern
Arizona church that deifies marijuana and uses it as a sacrament,
saying they don't have a "sincere" religious belief. | ||||||||||||||||||
In her refusal to dismiss charges against Dan and Mary Quaintance, U.S.
District Judge Judith C. Herrera in Albuquerque wrote that evidence
indicates the pair "adopted their 'religious' belief in cannabis as a
sacrament and deity in order to justify their lifestyle choice to use
marijuana." | ||||||||||||||||||
Herrera's Dec. 22 order means the government's criminal case against
the Quaintances will proceed in the new year. The couple is scheduled
to go to trial on Jan. 16 on criminal charges of possessing more than
100 pounds of marijuana, as well as conspiracy charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
"She doesn't fully understand our doctrine," Dan Quaintance said
Tuesday of Herrera's decision. "This is very upsetting to the members
of our church. It was quite a holiday present." | ||||||||||||||||||
The Quaintances face up to 40 years each in prison if they are convicted as charged. They expect to appeal the decision. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) PHILLY'S DRUG DEALERS: YOUNGER ALL THE TIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As Deadly Year Nears the End, a Look at 2 of the Hundreds of Teens Who
Sell Dope | ||||||||||||||||||
DRESSED IN A black Dickies suit and black Timberlands, the chubby-faced
17-year-old crack dealer paced around the desolate lot working another
graveyard shift. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the darkness, a steady stream of addicts ambled toward him to make a
buy. Then he saw a familiar face: his close friend's mom. "I need a
nick," she mumbled to him. Without hesitation, he sold her a nickel bag
- $5 worth of crack. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I was surprised that she was a smoker," Mikey recalled, months after that night. Today he calls it "the deal I will never forget." | ||||||||||||||||||
"I was thinking that a real friend wouldn't sell to his mom," said Mikey. "If he found out, how would he feel? But that is life. If she won't get it from me, she will get it from somewhere else." | ||||||||||||||||||
On the toughest, meanest streets of Philadelphia, hundreds of
youngsters like Mikey live by the rule that money is thicker than
anything - even loyalty. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is one of the most appalling features of Philadelphia's deadly year of crime: The youngest drug dealers are getting younger. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) SENATOR SON OF SLAIN COLOMBIAN CARTEL FIGHTER PROPOSES DRUG LEGALIZATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Colombian senator and son of a presidential candidate assassinated by
deceased drug kingpin Pablo Escobar has called for a congressional
debate on the taboo subject of drug legalization. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The current repressive approach against drug trafficking hasn't worked
despite the huge amounts of blood we Colombians have shed," Sen. Juan
Manuel Galan, of the opposition Liberal Party, told The Associated
Press on Thursday. "It's time to look at different options, together
with other drug-production nations, as a way to break the back of the
drug traffickers." | ||||||||||||||||||
Any serious discussion of drug legalization has long been off-limits in
Colombia, in part because the United States leans heavily on the Andean
nation -- the world's largest supplier of cocaine -- to eliminate drug
trafficking at its source. Colombia has received more than US$4 billion
in mostly military U.S. aid since 2000 -- more than any country outside
the Middle East. | ||||||||||||||||||
Although politicians have backed legalization before, Galan's proposal
for a congressional debate on the issue carries additional weight
because of the high esteem in which Colombians hold his father, Luis
Carlos Galan, who was shot and killed while campaigning in 1990 for the
presidency. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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2006 IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Editorials are powerful tools as they generally express the opinion
of their newspaper and call attention to a problem or recommend an
action for their local communities. To start off on a positive note,
I've included some of the best drug policy reform editorials from
our archives. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) EDITORIAL: THE POLITICS OF POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration's habit of politicizing its scientific
agencies was on display again this week when the Food and Drug
Administration, for no compelling reason, unexpectedly issued a
brief, poorly documented statement disputing the therapeutic value
of marijuana. The statement was described as a response to numerous
inquiries from Capitol Hill, but its likely intent was to buttress a
crackdown on people who smoke marijuana for medical purposes and to
counteract state efforts to legalize the practice. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ordinarily, when the F.D.A. addresses a thorny issue, it convenes a
panel of experts who wade through the latest evidence and then
render an opinion as to whether a substance is safe and effective to
use. This time the agency simply issued a skimpy one-page statement
asserting that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical
use of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
That seems disingenuous. The government is actively discouraging
relevant research, according to scientists quoted by Gardiner Harris
in yesterday's Times. It's obviously easier and safer to issue a
brief, dismissive statement than to back research that might
undermine the administration's inflexible opposition to the medical
use of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) EDITORIAL: DEA SHOULD KEEP OUT OF STATE POLITICS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Fate of Marijuana Measure a Local Decision | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal agencies should stick to their knitting, as the saying goes.
They have no business using their muscle to influence state ballot
races. | ||||||||||||||||||
Not only could the federal government's vast resources distort the
tenor of debate within a state, it would also force out-of-state
taxpayers to underwrite political campaigns that have no impact on
them. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal officials are free to offer their opinions about the
legality or the wisdom of state political controversies, and that
bully pulpit can often sway public opinion. But when agencies
organize formal opposition to local or state ballot measures,
they're interfering in the local political process. And where would
it stop? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Letting federal agencies become political activists in one area
invites them to take sides on a host of others. That's why we hope
the DEA will abandon this campaign - and that next year, Congress
will enact legislation that would prevent any federal agency from
pursuing this sort of mischief. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) EDITORIAL: DON'T DRUG TEST OUR INNOCENT CHILDREN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Our View: Vista Unified, Federal Plans Invade Privacy Of Those Doing
Right To Catch Those Doing Wrong | ||||||||||||||||||
If parents want to test their kids for drugs, the kits are cheap and
available these days. But Vista Unified School District and other
public officials should stick to education. | ||||||||||||||||||
Board members of the Vista school district, which includes parts of
Oceanside, voted unanimously last week to begin random drug testing
of all those wise students at Rancho Buena Vista and Vista High who
take advantage of extracurricular activities. Perhaps there was not
a vice principal available to remind the board members that being
popular isn't everything. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
It just doesn't make sense. Research shows that kids are better able
to stay off drugs when they play sports or join clubs like the
debating society, the school newspaper or the chess club. Why would
officials want to discourage such participation by treating kids
like criminals ---- forcing insecure adolescents to give urine
samples? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mass drug testing crosses an old and noble line that has properly
corralled officials since the founding of the republic. What makes
the American system work so well is that government officials must
leave the people alone in most circumstances. Intervention in
people's lives requires some clear evidence that they are doing
something wrong. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But mass drug testing is an offense against liberty; no government,
federal or local, should subject a broad category of innocent
children to indignities in hopes of catching a few in destructive
behavior. What a terrible lesson for Vista's children. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) EDITORIAL: WAR ON THE CONSTITUTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Suspects Should Be Found Guilty Before Assets Seized | ||||||||||||||||||
Sylvester Stallone Anderson III may well turn out to be the menace
to society that Cumberland County authorities allege. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 20-year-old Carlisle resident has a long list of drug-related
state and federal charges pending against him that could put him
behind bars for a long time. But his guilt should have been
determined before authorities seized more than $22,000 from his bank
account. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Cumberland County district attorney's office and Judge Edward E.
Guido were perfectly within the law in going after Anderson's money,
and therein lies the problem. | ||||||||||||||||||
Pennsylvania law allows for a civil procedure separate from the
criminal case in which prosecutors can go after assets before guilt
is decided. | ||||||||||||||||||
And, unlike the "guilty beyond a reasonable debt" threshold needed
for a criminal conviction, assets can be ordered forfeited by a
judge if prosecutors show a "preponderance" of evidence that they
were used or acquired from dealing drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Bringing drug dealers to justice is a tough and dangerous job and we
respect the passion and dedication of authorities in trying to bring
them to justice. But in too many cases the War on Drugs has turned
into, as a local defense attorney once put it, a War on the
Constitution. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) EDITORIAL: GOVERNMENT HARASSES U.S. AGAIN | ||||||||||||||||||
The Department to Harass Law Abiding Businesses and Citizens to Make
it Look Like We're Doing Something ( DTHLABACTMILLWDS ) has come up
with a new law governing the sale of popular cold and allergy
medicines. | ||||||||||||||||||
Citizens in Washington can no longer purchase Sudafed, for example, without asking for it, as it's stored behind the pharmacy counter in the space formerly occupied by condoms. Also you have to show a photo ID as proof of being at least 18, sign your name and address to a sheet of paper open to police inspection, and you can buy no more than two boxes of Sudafed in any 24-hour period. The store has to keep a record of this or face an inquiry by the Department of Post Nasal Drip Security. Pharmacists who fail to keep complete records will be tortured by the Department of Homeland Insecurity. | ||||||||||||||||||
The problem as lawmakers see it is that various low-lifes use Sudafed and similar remedies to make a nasty drug called meth, so these cold medicines should be regulated. Lawbreakers, of course, will easily find some way around the law, just steal the stuff outright, or buy it over the Internet. In reality, only law abiding citizens will be bothered by the new law, but that's the point. It makes it look like the government is doing something to control the meth epidemic without actually having to catch and convict any criminals, which is a difficult and expensive proposition. | ||||||||||||||||||
This comes at a time when mom and pop meth manufacturers are under
increasing pressure from foreign competition. It's hard to make a
living out of the single-wide anymore when Mexican and Chinese
criminal versions of Wal-Mart are pouring tons of cheap meth into
this country and driving local manufacturers out of business. Meth
manufacturing is being out-sourced, costing thousands of illicit
American jobs. Pretty soon there won't be an honest or dishonest way
for an American to make a living, short of getting elected to the
Legislature or Congress. | ||||||||||||||||||
When moonshining used to be a problem, government agents kept an eye
on who was ordering large quantities of sugar, but Grandma never had
to sign for a 10-pound bag at the grocery store. If manufacturing
white lightnin' ever comes back in vogue, you can bet our modern
lawmakers will require that sugar be kept behind the counter,
quantities will be limited to only enough to bake five batches of
cookies at a time, and Grandma's mugshot will be kept on file as a
possible moonshiner. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, foreign moonshine will pour through our borders, guarded
by the U.S. Sieve Patrol. | ||||||||||||||||||
For citizens who find Sudafed's ingredient helpful in alleviating
the symptoms of colds or allergies, you can choose between having
your name, address and phone number on file for police perusal for
years, or doing without. | ||||||||||||||||||
Or, if you want a cheap, plentiful drug alternative with absolutely
no reporting requirements, buy some meth. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Leading this year-end section with an article about LEAP was an obvious choice as they allow the hope that not all police officers are "just following orders". Another retired officer chose to fight the drug war in a different way by publishing a video called "Never Get Busted Again". Not surprisingly it found more ink in Canadian and European newspapers than its originating country's media. | ||||||||||||||||||
Among the unintentional but always present victims of prohibition is
the very group hired to uphold these laws. The United Kingdom
Observer printed an incredibly detailed account revealing how far
some U.S. officials are willing to go in the name of our Drug War. A
report by the Cato Institute detailed the growth and tragedies of
SWAT teams, most commonly used to serve narcotics warrants, and
spurred tons of coverage by other newspapers. | ||||||||||||||||||
This section of our newsletter often laments America as the
most-incarcerated nation in the world, unfortunately, women are the
fastest-growing segment of our prison population. Even more
abhorrent is the price American minorities continue to pay for our
current flawed and failed "War on Drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) 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. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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] | ||||||||||||||||||
"I started talking about creating an organization of law enforcement people basically modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War. That was a group of people that you may not have agreed with their position against the war, but you couldn't dismiss them by saying they didn't know what they're talking about," Christ said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He hooked up with Jack Cole, a 26-year veteran of the New Jersey state police, to create an organization of his peers who advocated ending the drug war. With the help of three other retired police officers, Cole and Christ founded LEAP in 2002. From those beginnings, membership swelled to over 5,000 in four years. | ||||||||||||||||||
[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. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sterling said the policy set in the '80s has had a regrettable
effect on America's legal system and economy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) FORMER COP TO SELL VIDEO SHOWING DRUG USERS HOW TO AVOID POLICE (Top)DETECTION | ||||||||||||||||||
"Never get busted again." | ||||||||||||||||||
Law enforcement officers around East Texas were startled to find one
of their former brothers of the badge is scheduled to begin selling
a video describing how to avoid getting caught when stopped by
police looking for illegal substances. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Tyler Morning Telegraph has learned that Barry Cooper, a former
Gladewater and Big Sandy police officer, is scheduled to begin
selling his DVD "Never Get Busted Again," Tuesday with the launch of
a Web site and a full page advertisement in a national publication
targeted toward those interested in illicit drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Cooper, once "the best" drug officer in West Texas, according to his
former superiors, told the newspaper during an interview Wednesday
night that he believes marijuana should be legalized, and that the
imprisonment of those caught with the drug destroys their families
and fills up jails and prisons across the country with non-violent
offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
He added that methamphetamines, cocaine and crack should be
eradicated from the earth because they are dangerous drugs. But he
says marijuana is not. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Cooper believes marijuana should be legalized and regulated by the government which he says will cause the crime rate to drop. He points to Prohibition, America's failed experiment in outlawing alcoholic beverages. Prohibition merely empowered the criminals, he says, and that's just what's happening now with prohibited drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We have cops and other people getting killed, and I believe we
could end all of that," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the video would only show footage of how certain things interfered with a search and would not go into details, but the promotion says he will show the viewer how to beat the system. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Cooper said he does not agree with the current laws and hopes they
change through legislation and sees this as a way to truly combat
the nation's drug problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
"My main motivation in all of this is to teach Americans their civil
liberties, and what drives me in this is injustice and unfairness in
our system," he said. "I'm just teaching them how to not ruin their
lives by being put in a cage. I'm not creating the problem; it is
already there." | ||||||||||||||||||
Cooper said he knows there will be backlash from some, while others
will agree with him. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I challenge anyone who doesn't agree with me to a public debate to hear what I have to say and I bet some people will change their minds," he said. "But I'm sure some will think of me as the devil." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) THE HOUSE OF DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
When 12 bodies were found buried in the garden of a Mexican house,
it seemed like a case of drug-linked killings. But the trail led to
Washington and a cover-up that went right to the top. David Rose
reports from El Paso | ||||||||||||||||||
Janet Padilla's first inkling that something might be wrong came
when she phoned her husband at lunchtime. His mobile phone was
switched off. On 14 January, 2004, Luis had, as usual, left for work
at 6am, and when he did not answer the first call Janet made, after
taking the children to school, she assumed he was busy. Two weeks
later she would learn the truth. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Luis Padilla, 29, father of three, had been kidnapped, driven across the Mexican border from El Paso, Texas, to a house in Ciudad Juarez, the lawless city ruled by drug lords that lies across the Rio Grande. As his wife tried frantically to locate him, he was being stripped, tortured and buried in a mass grave in the garden - what the people of Juarez call a narco-fossa, a narco-smugglers' tomb. | ||||||||||||||||||
Just another casualty of Mexico's drug wars? Perhaps. But Padilla
had no connection with the drugs trade; he seems to have been the
victim of a case of mistaken identity. Now, as a result of documents
disclosed in three separate court cases, it is becoming clear that
his murder, along with at least 11 further brutal killings, at the
Juarez 'House of Death', is part of a gruesome scandal, a web of
connivance and cover-up stretching from the wild Texas borderland to
top Washington officials close to President Bush. | ||||||||||||||||||
These documents, which form a dossier several inches thick, are the main source for the facts in this article. They suggest that while the eyes of the world have been largely averted, America's 'war on drugs' has moved to a new phase of cynicism and amorality, in which the loss of human life has lost all importance - especially if the victims are Hispanic. The U.S. agencies and officials in this saga - all of which refused to comment, citing pending lawsuits - appear to have thought it more important to get information about drugs trafficking than to stop its perpetrators killing people. | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. media have virtually ignored this story. The Observer is the first newspaper to have spoken to Janet Padilla, and this is the first narrative account to appear in print. The story turns on one extraordinary fact: playing a central role in the House of Death was a U.S. government informant, Guillermo Ramirez Peyro, known as Lalo, who was paid more than $220,000 ( UKP110,000) by U.S. law enforcement bodies to work as a spy inside the Juarez cartel. In August 2003 Lalo bought the quicklime used to dissolve the flesh of the first victim, Mexican lawyer Fernando Reyes, and then helped to kill him; he recorded the murder secretly with a bug supplied by his handlers - agents from the Immigration and Customs Executive ( Ice ), part of the Department of Homeland Security. That first killing threw the Ice staff in El Paso into a panic. Their informant had helped to commit first-degree murder, and they feared they would have to end his contract and abort the operations for which he was being used. But the Department of Justice told them to proceed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Lalo claims to have facilitated numerous drug seizures and arrests.
But on 28 June, 2003, his loyalty came under suspicion when he was
arrested by the DEA in New Mexico, driving a truck he had brought
across the border containing 102lb of marijuana. He had not told his
handlers about this shipment and, in accordance with its normal
procedures, the DEA 'deactivated' him as a source. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ice took a different view. Agents in its El Paso office were trying to use Lalo to build a case against Santillan, and to nail a separate cigarette-smuggling investigation. At a meeting with federal prosecutors the week after Lalo's arrest, Ice tried to persuade assistant U.S. attorney Juanita Fielden that, if Lalo were closely monitored, he would continue to be effective. Fielden agreed. She says in an affidavit that she called the New Mexico prosecutor and got him to drop the charges. Lalo was released. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
When Lalo returned to El Paso on the day of Reyes's murder and told his Ice employers what had happened they were understandably worried. They knew that, if they were to continue using Lalo as an informant, they would need high-level authorisation. That afternoon and evening he was debriefed at length by his main handler, Special Agent Raul Bencomo, and his supervisor. Then he was allowed to go back to Juarez - - Santillan had given him $2,000 to pay two cartel members to dig Reyes's grave, cover his body with quicklime and bury | ||||||||||||||||||
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Meanwhile the El Paso Ice office reported the matter to headquarters
in Washington. The information went up the chain of command,
eventually reaching America's Deputy Assistant Attorney General,
John G. Malcolm. It passed through the office of Johnny Sutton, the
U.S. Attorney for Western Texas - a close associate of George W.
Bush. When Bush was Texas governor, Sutton spent five years as his
director of criminal justice policy. After Bush became President,
Sutton became legal policy co-ordinator in the White House
transition team, working with another Bush Texas colleague, Alberto
Gonzalez, the present U.S. Attorney General. | ||||||||||||||||||
Earlier this year Sutton was appointed chairman of the Attorney
General's advisory committee which, says the official website,
'plays a significant role in determining policies and programmes of
the department and in carrying out the national goals set by the
President and the Attorney General'. Sutton's position as U.S.
Attorney for Western Texas is further evidence of his long
friendship with the President - falling into his jurisdiction is
Midland, the town where Bush grew up, and Crawford, the site of
Bush's beloved ranch. | ||||||||||||||||||
'Sutton could and should have shut down the case, there and then,'
says Bill Weaver, a law professor at the University of Texas at El
Paso who has made a detailed study of the affair. 'He could have
told Ice and the lawyers "go with what you have, and let's try to
bring Santillan to justice". That neither he nor anyone else decided
to take that action invites an obvious inference: that because the
only people likely to get killed were Mexicans, they thought it
didn't much matter.' | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The House Of Death suddenly seemed set to become a major national
scandal. Bill Conroy, a reporter who works for an investigative
website, Narconews.com, was about to publish an article about it. On
24 February, Sandy Gonzalez, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA
office in El Paso, one of the most senior and highly decorated
Hispanic law enforcement officers in America, wrote to his Ice
counterpart, John Gaudioso. | ||||||||||||||||||
'I am writing to express to you my frustration and outrage at the
mishandling of investigation that has resulted in unnecessary loss
of human life,' he began, 'and endangered the lives of special
agents of the DEA and their immediate families. There is no excuse
for the events that culminated during the evening of 14 January...
and I have no choice but to hold you responsible.' Ice, Gonzalez
wrote, had gone to 'extreme lengths' to protect an informant who
was, in reality, a 'homicidal maniac... this situation is so bizarre
that, even as I'm writing to you, it is difficult for me to believe
it'. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Ice and its allies in the DoJ were covering up their actions,
helped by the U.S. media - aside from the Dallas Morning News, not
one major newspaper or TV network has covered the story. The first
signs came in the response to Gonzalez's letter to Gaudioso - not
from Ice, but from Johnny Sutton. | ||||||||||||||||||
He reacted not to the discovery of corpses at Calle Parsonieros, but
with concern Gonzalez might talk to the media. He communicated his
fears to a senior official in Washington - Catherine O'Neil,
director of the DoJ's Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Describing Gonzalez's letter as 'inflammatory,' she passed on
Sutton's fears to the then Attorney General, John Ashcroft, and to
Karen Tandy, the head of the DEA, another Texan lawyer. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(13) OPED: LOCAL SWAT TEAMS CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
You and your law-abiding neighbors in Ohio might be just one street
address away from a life-threatening, midnight raid by a local
paramilitary police unit. As these so-called SWAT squads
increasingly become America's favored search warrant delivery
service, bungled raids - including many to the wrong address - have
skyrocketed. In these assaults on private property, scores of
innocent citizens, police officers and nonviolent offenders have
died. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a recent CATO Institute report titled "Overkill: The Rise of
Paramilitary Police Raids in America," Radley Balko describes how
"Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing | ||||||||||||||||||
These raids - as many as 40,000 per year - terrorize nonviolent drug
offenders, bystanders and wrongly targeted civilians who are
awakened in the dead of night as teams of heavily armed paramilitary
units, dressed not as police officers but as soldiers, invade their
homes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(14) MOUNTAIN STATES SET PACE IN IMPRISONING WOMEN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NE Scaling Back | ||||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK --Oklahoma, Mississippi and the Mountain states have set
the pace in increasing the imprisonment of women, while several
Northeastern states are curtailing the practice, according to a new
report detailing sharp regional differences in the handling of
female offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report, to be released Sunday by the New York-based Women's
Prison Association, is touted as the most comprehensive | ||||||||||||||||||
Overall, the number of female state inmates serving sentences of more than a year grew by 757 percent between 1977 and 2004, nearly twice the 388 percent increase for men, the report said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The report concurred with previous analyses attributing much of the
nationwide increase in women's imprisonment to the war on drugs. The
proportion of women serving time for drug offenses has risen sharply
in recent years, while the proportion convicted of serious violent
crimes has dropped, it said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bob Anez, a Corrections Department spokesman in Montana, confirmed
that drug offenses -- especially related to methamphetamine -- were
a major factor in the high proportion of female inmates in the
state. Half the women imprisoned from January through March had
committed meth-related offenses, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(15) Editorial: DRUGS AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The mandatory sentencing laws that have swept this country since the
70's have clearly done more harm than good. The inmate population
has skyrocketed, driving prison costs to bankrupting levels, while
having no impact at all on the drug problem. By taking away judicial
discretion, the laws have led the country to write off first-time
offenders who might have deserved second chances and to imprison
addicts who could otherwise have been effectively and less
expensively handled through treatment programs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The laws have also discriminated against members of minority groups,
who are disproportionately singled out for harsher mandatory
sentences, often because of where they live. That issue has come
into sharp focus in New Jersey, where a panel of criminal justice
officials has recommended that the state revise a law that mandates
more severe sentences for people convicted of certain drug crimes
committed within 1,000 feet of school property. | ||||||||||||||||||
The law appears to have had no impact at all on the actual pattern
of drug dealing. But it has created a profoundly discriminatory
sentencing pattern, which treats minority defendants unfairly while
undermining confidence in the criminal justice system. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (16-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As we view 2006 in our cerebral rear view mirrors, the overall trends lean toward repression, suppression, stigmatization and propaganda crusades. Not encouraging, but hope lies between the lines and in the anomalies as our selections below reveal. | ||||||||||||||||||
The overwhelming, intimidating presence of militarized police at cannabis events in the epicenter of Australian counterculture, is part of the global trend of repression that extends to raids, rallies, concerts, school searches and other areas of life. | ||||||||||||||||||
UK news items fit the current trend of truthiness by using tactics
evolved from the original reefer madness campaign. Even an attempt
to bring some balance to the debate is confusing. | ||||||||||||||||||
The wobbly neocon Conservative government installed in Canada jumps
on the trend-train of intensified repression, and the anticipated
regime change back to the neocon Liberals in the next election
doesn't bring optimism to the picture either. | ||||||||||||||||||
Amid the alarming escalation of prohibition related violence in
Latin America throughout the year, the crusade brought soldiers to
Mexican fields to laboriously uproot new quick growing, pesticide
resistant, perpetual cannabis varieties that are much tougher to
destroy. Alrighty, let's see how they are doing next year at this
time. | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite policing the world cannabis trade by proxy and imprisoning
the most users, indoor grow rooms flourish in basements throughout
the USA along with lush outdoor plants, making it the most valuable
crop in the country. | ||||||||||||||||||
No country in the world is sane enough to look at those results and
abandon the war on cannabis, and until we hit any of the factors
that will bring life-as-we-know-it to a grinding halt, no country
probably will. Hope for 2007 and the future lies in the knowledge
that all the repression in the world is not going to stop humans
from trying to determine their own quality of life with either
cannabis or their votes. | ||||||||||||||||||
All the best to our supporters for a healthy, happy, prosperous new
year. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(16) NIMBIN POLICE SMOKED OUT AT THE MARDI GRASS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A RECORD number of riot police descended on the northern NSW hippie
town of Nimbin, but not even the packs of police on foot and
horseback could stop the pungent smoke billowing from all corners of
the town's Mardi Grass festival. | ||||||||||||||||||
About 6000 people poured into Nimbin -- a former dairy town
described by its own state MP, Thomas George, as a "slum" --
bringing their tents, Kombies, bongo drums and fairy wings along for
the weekend. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(17) COLUMN: CONFUSED ABOUT CANNABIS? YOU BET | ||||||||||||||||||
A headline on the health pages of this newspaper last week probably
summed up the views of many about drugs. "Confused about cannabis?"
it read. Well, I am, for one. It is possible to take a | ||||||||||||||||||
But why is it any more so than smoking a cigarette? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(18) POLICE CRACK DOWN ON MARIJUANA USERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Police forces across the GTA, taking their cue from the new federal
Conservative government, are again cracking down on the simple
possession of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Before the Liberals lost the January election, legislation was in
the works to make possession of small amounts of pot a minor
offence, much like a parking ticket. That prompted police forces to
ease up on marijuana users. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(19) MEXICO TROOPS FIND HYBRID MARIJUANA PLANT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Soldiers trying to seize control of one Mexico's top drug-producing
regions found the countryside teeming with a new hybrid marijuana
plant that can be cultivated year-round and cannot be killed with
pesticides. | ||||||||||||||||||
Soldiers fanned out across some of the new fields Tuesday, pulling
up plants by the root and burning them, as helicopter gunships
clattered overhead to give them cover from a raging drug war in the
western state of Michoacan. The plants' roots survive if they are
doused with herbicide, said army Gen. Manuel Garcia. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) POT IS CALLED BIGGEST CASH CROP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The $35-Billion Market Value Of U.S.-Grown Cannabis Tops That Of Such Heartland Staples As Corn And Hay, A Marijuana Activist Says. | ||||||||||||||||||
SACRAMENTO -- For years, activists in the marijuana legalization
movement have claimed that cannabis is America's biggest cash crop.
Now they're citing government statistics to prove it. | ||||||||||||||||||
A report released today by a marijuana public policy analyst
contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds
$35 billion - -- far more than the crop value of such heartland
staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal
cash crops. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (21-25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Here are some highlights from international drug news in 2006. | ||||||||||||||||||
The so-called "war" on drugs in Afghanistan "has failed" in the words
of Tom Koenigs, the UN's Secretary-General's representative there
reported. "Nobody can say that we have been successful if the poppy
production has increased," he noted in August, even before the record
2006 fall opium harvest was in. | ||||||||||||||||||
In South America, traditional coca farmers fought back by electing Evo
Morales to the Bolivian presidency. Inaugurated in January 2006,
Morales, a coca-farming Aymara Indian, seeks to follow a "no to
cocaine, but yes to coca" policy which has greatly irritated
prohibitionists back in Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||
In nearby Colombia, despite almost $5 billion in U.S. military hardware, spraying, advisors, and money, cocaine remains cheap and available in the U.S. and worldwide, indicating another total failure of U.S. prohibitionist drug policy. "Plan Colombia", begun in 2000 and lustily continued under the Bush regime, has only served to distribute coca farmers to "smaller and harder-to-reach plots." | ||||||||||||||||||
In September, a bloodless coup ousted Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra while he was off to give speeches at the U.N. The interim
Surayud government has made it a priority to investigate the death-
squad murders of over 2000 drug suspects under the Thaksin regime. The
death-squads, believed to be police themselves, were said to be using
blacklists of drug suspects and performed the extra-judicial executions
at the behest of the Thaksin government. | ||||||||||||||||||
And from Vancouver, Canada, North America's only supervised injection
site (Insite) struggles to operate in 2006 and beyond, amidst RCMP and
Conservative Party skullduggery. The medically-supervised injection
site "a symbol of resistance" to the U.S-led ideology of total
prohibition, got a reprieve when the Harper government allowed the site
to operate for another year, ostensibly to gather more information.
The kind of information the RCMP had decided to gather on the site was
revealed when a newspaper got hold of a secretive RCMP report on the
site, which had been requested by the Tories earlier in 2006. The
report - widely criticized for its brevity and lack of evidence, and
condemned by even the Vancouver police - claimed Insite encouraged
others to inject drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) WAR ON DRUGS 'HAS FAILED' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
"Nobody can say that we have been successful if the poppy production has increased," Tom Koenigs, the UN Secretary-General's special representative in Afghanistan, told a monthly press conference. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) BOLIVIA'S KNOT: NO TO COCAINE, BUT YES TO COCA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But after President Evo Morales's inauguration on Jan. 22, the army
conscripts assigned to eradicate coca leaves here as part of the United
States-financed war on drugs instead spend their days lolling at
isolated roadside bases, trying to keep cool under the blazing sun.
"We're waiting for orders from the president," said Capt. Cesar
Cautin, the commander of a group of 60 soldiers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Morales, 46, an Aymara Indian who grew up in poverty in the
highlands and became a coca grower in this verdant jungle region, has
not yet provided many details on his coca policy, except to say that
his government will "depenalize" coca cultivation and show zero
tolerance toward trafficking: in other words, "yes to coca, no to
cocaine." | ||||||||||||||||||
He has long opposed American eradication efforts and championed the coca leaf, which without significant processing has no mind-altering effects and is chewed here to mitigate hunger and increase stamina. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(23) COLOMBIA'S COCA SURVIVES U.S. PLAN TO UPROOT IT | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia -- The latest chapter in America's long war on drugs -
-- a six-year, $4.7 billion effort to slash Colombia's coca crop -- has
left the price, quality and availability of cocaine on American streets
virtually unchanged. | ||||||||||||||||||
The effort, begun in 2000 and known as Plan Colombia, had a specific goal of halving this country's coca crop in five years. That has not happened. Instead, drug policy experts say, coca, the essential ingredient for cocaine, has been redistributed to smaller and harder- to-reach plots, adding to the cost and difficulty of the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(24) IMPORTANT TO KNOW TRUTH ABOUT DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
New investigations are set to begin into the death of more than 2,500 people in the war on drugs launched by the Thaksin government. They are to determine how many of those killed were really drug dealers. Former senator Kraisak Choonhavan has also called on the Justice Ministry to look into suspected human rights violations in the restive South. He met the permanent secretary for justice and asked him to order the Department of Special Investigation to look into these cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Thaksin government launched the war on drugs in 2003 in response to
the growing addiction to methamphetamines among young Thais. The Royal
Thai Police Office instructed provincial officials to take drastic
action against drug dealers. As it was a war, performance was judged
by the number of drug dealers killed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
We support any attempts by the interim Surayud government to look into
these cases, which have tarnished the image of the country. Thai
people want to know how many of those killed in the war on drugs were
really drug dealers and how many were just scapegoats. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
It is important to unearth the truth so that corrective action can be
taken. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(25) RCMP PUTS INSITE IN ITS SIGHTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It comes as no surprise that the RCMP does not support Vancouver's
supervised injection site. The future of Insite has become
increasingly precarious since Prime Minister Stephen Harper came to
power. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Even before the release of the frequently anecdotal ramblings-authored
by RCMP Staff Sgt. Chuck Doucette-criticizing the site, the RCMP,
which was initially opposed to the idea, was unconvinced it was
succeeding. | ||||||||||||||||||
In an Oct. 31 letter to the Portland Hotel Community Services Society, which operates the site, Assistant RCMP Commissioner Raf Souccar made one point that should chill the hearts of Insite supporters. He said: "A need remains for further evidence-based research and evaluation of the SIS in order to determine the true scope of its impact." | ||||||||||||||||||
This may seem innocuous to the casual observer. But it echoes a line
from federal Tory Health Minister Tony Clement. It is code for: We
don't care how many dozen peer reviewed research articles favourable to
the site have turned up in major world medical journals. Allowing
addicts to use illegal drugs is wrong and we intend to do everything we
can to shut you down. | ||||||||||||||||||
This point of view from the RCMP and the Tories has raised the issue of
how decisions are made about scientific experiments, because Insite is
one. Insite supporters say decisions should be based on science not
politics. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But it has become a symbol of resistance, one small alternative to the
failed American policy called the War On Drugs which is embraced by the
RCMP and, it appears, Harper's Tories. And for that reason its future
remains uncertain. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WHY SMOKING MARIJUANA DOESN'T MAKE YOU A JUNKIE | ||||||||||||||||||
By Bruce Mirken, Marijuana Policy Project. Posted December 19, 2006. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
2006 IN REVIEW -- NORML'S TOP 10 EVENTS THAT SHAPED MARIJUANA POLICY | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
12/29/06 - Barry Cooper, former #1 narcotics agent releases new DVD:
"Never Get Busted Again" | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
12/22/06 - Rev. Alan Bean of Friends of Justice re: federal Informant
program. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
http://www.kpft.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES BULLETIN | ||||||||||||||||||
Volume XVI Number 3 - Winter 2006-7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
AN INTERVIEW WITH JERRY CAMERON OF LEAP | ||||||||||||||||||
"The Libertarian Perspective" | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
COUNTRY PROFILES ON OPIOID AVAILABILITY NOW AVAILABLE | ||||||||||||||||||
The Pain and Policy Studies Group (PPSG) website now offers Country
Profiles that provide standardized information about opioid
availability and key policy-related indicators for every country in
the world. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MAKE A DIFFERENCE | ||||||||||||||||||
You know you want to make a difference, but how? | ||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense has some answers. We are largely driven by volunteers who
devote as little as 15 minutes per week to activism. We have proven
that, over time, these efforts have led to more compassionate and
sensible policies. Real change. Change YOU can be part of simply from
your home computer. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DRUG WAR WORSE THAN IRAQ | ||||||||||||||||||
By Redford Givens | ||||||||||||||||||
It is unfathomable that the country is bonkers over 3,000 U.S.
soldiers killed in Iraq since 2003, while ignoring an insane drug
crusade at home that directly murders more than 30,000 ( overdoses )
every year. If all deaths caused by prohibition are added up, there
are more than 100,000 fatalities ( HIV, hepatitis C, etc. ) every
year. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug prohibition is responsible for these needless deaths because
history clearly shows that unintentional opiate overdose deaths were
extremely rare before drugs were outlawed. Most drug-related deaths
before the Harrison Narcotic Act were suicides. Nowadays, Drug Czar
John Walters tells us there are more than 30,000 accidental drug
deaths every year. Since the fighting began in Iraq more than
300,000 American citizens have been murdered by a lunatic drug
crusade. | ||||||||||||||||||
No one was robbing, whoring and murdering to get drugs when addicts
could buy all of the heroin, morphine, cocaine and anything else
they wanted cheaply and legally at the corner pharmacy. A legal
heroin habit cost less than tobacco addiction (25 cents per week in
1910) and "drug crime" was unknown. The terms "drug crime" and "drug
death" are inventions of prohibitionists trying to cover the effects
of their failed drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
Proof that hard-line American style drug prohibition causes drug
deaths and drug crimes comes from the Swiss Heroin Maintenance
Program where addicts are supplied with cheap, pure heroin and
cocaine. Overdose deaths and injection-transmitted diseases (
HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, etc. ) are now a rarity in Switzerland. The
Swiss have not had a single overdose death in the program. Crime
among Swiss addicts has dropped 97 percent and the criminal drug
black market has vanished since the Swiss began providing addicts
with cheap, legal drugs. Swiss policy has resulted in an 82-percent
decrease in heroin addiction since 1990. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Enforcement Administration has not achieved similar success
using jail cells to treat addicts in Billings or anywhere in the
United States since 1914. Anyone truly concerned about the victims
of drugs will work to end an immoral, death-dealing drug crusade
that murders more than 30,000 people every year and spawns a
multitude of criminal activity. | ||||||||||||||||||
Redford Givens | ||||||||||||||||||
San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
2006 THE YEAR IN REVIEW | ||||||||||||||||||
Below is a list by month, title, and newspaper with a link to the
articles of the first and second most accessed articles in the MAP
archives. | ||||||||||||||||||
JANUARY | ||||||||||||||||||
Dutch Take Sober Look at Pot Laws, Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n001/a02.html | ||||||||||||||||||
Lawmakers Consider Medical Marijuana, The Eagle-Tribune | ||||||||||||||||||
FEBRUARY | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Musings About The War on Drugs, Wall Street Journal | ||||||||||||||||||
MARCH | ||||||||||||||||||
A Baggie Full of Trouble, Hamilton Spectator | ||||||||||||||||||
Raids Net Pounds of Pot-Laced Candy, Oakland Tribune | ||||||||||||||||||
APRIL | ||||||||||||||||||
Officer Posing As High Schooler Leads Drug Sting, Boston Globe
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n435/a09.html | ||||||||||||||||||
The Politics of Pot, New York Times | ||||||||||||||||||
MAY | ||||||||||||||||||
Pot's Low Cancer Risk a Surprise Finding, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n666/a02.html | ||||||||||||||||||
Vancouver's Free-Heroin Experiment Wins Praise, Vancouver Sun
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n552/a03.html | ||||||||||||||||||
JUNE | ||||||||||||||||||
One Soccer Mom's Take on the Drug War, Denver Post | ||||||||||||||||||
It's Time to Enact New State Marijuana Policy, Lahontan Valley News
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n815/a01.html | ||||||||||||||||||
JULY | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials Worry After Drugs Are Found in Gumballs, Baltimore Sun
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n998/a01.html | ||||||||||||||||||
San Diego - An End to Pot Dispensaries?, San Diego City Beat
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n947/a06.html | ||||||||||||||||||
AUGUST | ||||||||||||||||||
Denver DEA Rep: Don't Legalize It, Daily Camera | ||||||||||||||||||
The Czars' Reefer Madness, New York Times | ||||||||||||||||||
SEPTEMBER | ||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana Aids Therapy, Washington Post | ||||||||||||||||||
Should Drugs Be Legalized?, Buffalo News | ||||||||||||||||||
OCTOBER | ||||||||||||||||||
The Immoral Majority, New York Times | ||||||||||||||||||
Study Finds Another Use for Marijuana, University Leader
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1371/a01.html | ||||||||||||||||||
NOVEMBER | ||||||||||||||||||
How Do We Win the War on Drugs?, The Herald | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada Going All to Pot, Red Deer Advocate | ||||||||||||||||||
DECEMBER | ||||||||||||||||||
End the Other War Too, Baltimore Chronicle | ||||||||||||||||||
Why the U.S. Is Losing the War at Home Too, New Zealand Herald
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1730/a08.html | ||||||||||||||||||
We have also created lists by areas of the world listing the top 100
most accessed articles of 2006 as follows. | ||||||||||||||||||
Australasia http://www.mapinc.org/find?369 | ||||||||||||||||||
Latin America http://www.mapinc.org/find?368 | ||||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom http://www.mapinc.org/find?367 | ||||||||||||||||||
United States http://www.mapinc.org/find?365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Worldwide http://mapinc.org/find?371 | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put
words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first
chapter is New Year's Day." | ||||||||||||||||||
-- Edith Lovejoy Pierce | ||||||||||||||||||
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offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Jo-D Harrison (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and
analysis by Deb 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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