| Jan 19, 2007 #483 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) OFFICER TESTIFIES IN FAVOR OF POT DECRIMINALIZATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CONCORD - A New Hampshire police officer said Wednesday that
decriminalizing marijuana would help those addicted get treatment and
make it more difficult for young people to obtain it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I can tell you the current system we have is allowing our kids to
easily get it," said Brad Jardis, a Hooksett resident who has served in
recent years as a patrolman in Epping and Plaistow. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Jardis testimony broke up a predictable band of speakers from both
sides one would expect to hear from about legislation (HB 92) dealing
with putting an end to criminal penalties for the possession and sale of
marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The bill's authors insist police are wasting time and taxpayer money
going after those who sell marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is truly a victimless a crime, a victimless crime," said Manchester Republican Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, a co-sponsor of the bill. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Opponents warned lawmakers the bill would put New Hampshire in conflict
with federal laws against marijuana and that drug-related deaths are on
the rise. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"People want something done about this problem, and this sends the wrong message," said Merrimack Republican Rep. Peyton Hinkle. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) MEDICAL MARIJUANA RAIDS ARE CRITICIZED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal Agents Trampled on State Laws Allowing the Use of Pot, Say Local
Officials and Residents. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A day after agents raided 11 Los Angeles County marijuana dispensaries,
local officials and residents complained Thursday that the federal
government was trampling on state laws that allow the cultivation and
sale of marijuana for medical uses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The raids Wednesday, part of an investigation by the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, were the largest such operation in the
county in recent years. Five dispensaries in West Hollywood were raided
with the other six in Venice, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Woodland
Hills. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The action highlights a continuing struggle between the state, where
voters approved medical marijuana in 1996, and the federal government,
which prohibits the use and sale of pot. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"A lot of people are involved in some pretty major criminal activity,
and they're using state law to traffic in drugs," said Sarah Pullen,
spokeswoman for the DEA's Los Angeles office. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But medical marijuana activists said the DEA raids mark another attempt
to stem a movement they say can't be halted. They also said the busts
mirror a burgeoning trend by federal agents to pounce soon after local
governments tighten dispensary rules, as Los Angeles and West Hollywood
did this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) A CONTROVERSIAL WEAPON IN THE WAR AGAINST DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Proponents Say A Fungus Could Eradicate Crops; Skeptics Ask If It's
Effective And Safe
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Is it a silver bullet in the war on drugs or an outlawed biological
weapon?
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Frustrated by the nonstop flow of cocaine and heroin into the United
States, some American lawmakers are promoting mycoherbicides, weed
killers made from toxic, mold-like fungi that they believe could be used
to eliminate illegal drug crops for good. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For years, mycoherbicides had been largely written off by many U.S. officials. They were concerned the fungi could mutate to kill legitimate crops and that their use overseas would violate the United Nations' 31- year-old Biological Weapons Convention and other treaties. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The DEA doesn't want to touch this with a 10-foot pole," said Eric
Rosenquist, a leading expert on mycoherbicides at the Agriculture
Department's Research Service. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Still, a handful of determined Congress members have kept the issue
alive. Last month, they inserted into a bill authorizing funding for the
White House drug czar's office language that requires government
scientists to carry out a new round of studies into mycoherbicides.
President Bush later signed the bill into law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I'm telling you, the war on drugs ain't working," said Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., in a telephone interview from Washington. "And if it ain't working, you don't sit around doing the same thing over and over again. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We have to use whatever tools that we think will work and that are
safe," he said, "and mycoherbicides fit that bill."
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[snip]
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(4) DRUG TRUCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Salt Lake City's Harm Reduction Project Finds Success Where The War On
Drugs Has Failed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The phone rings at the end of the day at Harm Reduction Project's offices on 100 South and 300 West. The project's last client--either a drug user or sex worker--has just left with a bus token. Project Executive Director Luciano Colonna excuses himself to take the call. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We're putting you on the agenda for the first day. You're speaking on a
panel called 'Your Kid's on Meth,'" Colonna tells the woman on the end,
a scheduled speaker for the project's upcoming methamphetamine
conference. | ||||||||||||||||||||
She'll speak on a panel alongside the author of a book for parents with
children on drugs that emphasizes safe drug use over "just say no"
lecturing. That makes the caller nervous. The caller wants to know what
the conference's bias is. No bias, Colonna says, but, "You might hear
things you might object to."
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Salt Lake City's Harm Reduction Project expects to bring 1,000 people to the Hilton City Center Hotel Feb. 1-3 for a repeat of a National Conference on Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis first held in 2005. The focus of this year's event on the public health aspects of meth use will be the latest science surrounding the drug. Conference participants are coming from England, Indonesia, New Zealand and Africa. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Salt Lake City's Harm Reduction Project has been around since 1998 serving intravenous drug users, prisoners and prostitutes with nonjudgmental counseling and education aimed at keeping them as healthy as possible. But the project only recently came to wide public attention after hosting the first meth conference two years ago. The gathering brought condemnation from an Indiana congressman who took exception to lecture topics such as "We Don't Need a War on Meth" and suggested the federally funded event was a front for drug legalization. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's interesting how the drug war continues to poke holes in
constitutional protections, even from oblique and unexpected angles.
Analysis from the Wall Street Journal this week shows how Major
League Baseball's drug scandal could lead to more search and seizure
powers for the government. Meanwhile, the Washington Post looks at a
massive government plan to monitor cross border financial
transactions. Though officially touted as a measure against
terrorists, other countries have used similar schemes to follow
illegal drug traffic. | ||||||||||||||||||||
When it comes to drug busts at Harvard University, potential
penalties are based on three things: location, location and
location. A story from the student newspaper chronicles how some
student housing exists within 1,000 feet of elementary schools, thus
making those who break drug laws in those dorms subject to harsher
punishment than fellow students whose dorms are more than 1,000 feet
from elementary schools. And, finally, the U.S. Attorney General,
who doesn't always project a patient image, is urging patience for
Mexico's illegal drug problems. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) IS BASEBALL DRUGS RULING A FOURTH-AMENDMENT FOUL? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Major League Baseball has found itself embroiled in a federal
investigation into whether some of its biggest stars used
performance-enhancing drugs to smash home runs in record numbers.
But civil-liberties advocates, as well as unions, worry that a
recent legal ruling in the case will reach far beyond the diamond
and give the government broad search-and-seizure powers in the
digital age. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At the heart of the case is how much freedom the government has to
pursue crimes discovered in electronic files while searching for
evidence against other people. It turns on just how much protection
the Fourth Amendment, written in the 18th century to stop
unreasonable searches, affords information in a 21st-century
computer database about people other than those targeted by
investigators. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The Supreme Court has never applied the Fourth Amendment to
computers," says Orin Kerr, an associate law professor at George
Washington University. "The federal courts of appeals are beginning
to decide a bunch of cases: in 2006, there were 20 or 30 in the
broad area of how the Fourth Amendment applies to computers. But
each case is very fact-specific and narrow, so the law remains
pretty murky."
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A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco late last month upheld the government's power to seize computer files from two laboratories that performed mandatory drug tests on major leaguers, including files of professional hockey players and other nonsports patients tested by the labs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) VAST DATA COLLECTION PLAN FACES BIG DELAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Treasury Department reported to Congress yesterday that a
data-collection program to give counterterrorism analysts routine
access to as many as 500 million cross-border financial transactions
a year could not be implemented until 2010. The department had hoped
to implement it by the end of this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Cross-Border Electronic Funds Transfer Program was part of the
2004 Intelligence Reform Act, and Congress directed the Treasury
secretary to determine if the program would be effective in tracking
terrorist financing. In a report to Congress to be released today,
the Treasury Department concluded that the program was
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The program is opposed by bankers, who view it as burdensome and
invasive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Unlike another Treasury program, which uses administrative powers
that bypass traditional banking privacy protections to tap into the
vast global database of transactions maintained by the
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Both programs were inspired by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Banks and money services are required by law to keep records on all
wire transfers of $3,000 or more. The proposed program would mandate
that each of those transactions -- if they cross the U.S. border --
be reported to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ). | ||||||||||||||||||||
The type of data captured would include the names and addresses of senders, the amount and dates of the transfers, the names and addresses of the beneficiaries and their financial institutions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Treasury officials said in interviews and in the report to Congress that the data would give analysts more information to ferret out illicit activity as they try to detect links between suspects. | ||||||||||||||||||||
FinCEN said that Australia and Canada had used similar data effectively. Australia has used it to catch tax evaders and predict the movement of drugs into and out of the country. But those countries deal with much smaller numbers of transactions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) SCHOOLS LAW UPS DRUG PENALTY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcers Have Not Been Hesitant To Apply School Zone Drug Laws
To Harvard Students
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Eliot House might be no more than a stroll away from Winthrop House,
but for students caught dabbling in drugs, the two can feel years
apart. Two years, to be exact.
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Penalty minimums for suspects convicted of drug possession with
intent to distribute 1,000 feet from a school disproportionately
affects an unlikely group, besides inner-city dwellers and the poor:
Harvard students. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ten of the school's 12 undergraduate residential Houses fall, at
least partially, within that 1,000-foot radius--a designation that
would tack on a mandatory minimum of two years to a convict's
sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Martin Luther King, Jr. School on Putnam Avenue covers Mather
House and much of Dunster House; the Cambridge Montessori School and
the Graham and Parks Alternative Public School covers the Quad
Houses; and the Radcliffe Child Care Center directly below the
DeWolfe apartments covers Adams House, Leverett House, Quincy House,
Lowell House, and part of Winthrop House, leaving only Kirkland
House and Eliot House free from the statute. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And authorities have not shied away from exercising the law against
Harvard drug suspects in recent years. Out of the seven students
charged with drug possession in the past three years, five faced
intent to distribute within a school zone. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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But David B. Harris, the head of Cambridge Montessori School, an elementary school, says he finds Harvard an odd target. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think it's a little bizarre if a student in a Harvard dorm is caught with drugs that they will have go to jail for two years because there's an elementary school down the street," he says. ""The law is part of an answer, but it's not a simplistic answer." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) AG URGES PATIENCE IN MEXICO DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LAREDO -- Despite the Mexican government's inability to crack down
on drug cartels responsible for thousands of deaths and kidnappings
-- some Americans included among the victims -- the U.S. government
is reserving judgment, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said
Wednesday during a border tour here. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon, who already has sent troops
to aid in the drug war, needs time to show his country's commitment,
Gonzales said in brief remarks to reporters at the World Trade
Bridge. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gonzales met with local, state and federal law enforcement
officials, some who brought up the issue of trustworthiness of their
Mexican counterparts, said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, who
participated in the briefing via phone. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Another reason not to lock people up for drug use: Those who manage dry out are at very high risk for overdose when they are released. According to a new study, for two weeks after their release, ex-prisoners face death at a rate 13 times higher than the general population. Also last week, a settlement in a botched drug bust; more deceitful "anti-drug" tactics in public housing; and a warning against further expanding the prison system in California. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) PRISONERS FACE HIGH DEATH RATE AFTER RELEASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Study Finds Their First Two Weeks of Freedom Are the Riskiest,
Largely Because of Drug Use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
During their first two weeks out of prison, ex-convicts face nearly
13 times greater risk of death than the general population,
according to a study of more than 30,000 former inmates published
today. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The leading cause was overdose of illegal narcotics, the researchers
found. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Though the study did not look at the reason for the high number of
drug overdoses, the researchers surmised that the stress of release
and the former prisoners' reduced tolerance to drugs after their
incarceration were major factors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"If people have been avoiding drug use and they return to their
usual doses after release, they will have lost tolerance," said lead
researcher Dr. Ingrid Binswanger of the University of Colorado
Health Sciences Center. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine,
suggests that the criminal justice system is doing an inadequate job
of easing the transition to society, experts said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(10) PINELLAS PAYS OUT $100,000, SUSPENDS 2 FOR BOTCHED BUST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Detectives Tailed Wrong Chevrolet
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ST. PETERSBURG - Pinellas County sheriff's vice and narcotics
detectives briefly lost a car they had under surveillance one
afternoon in August, but then it reappeared: A white Chevrolet
Lumina, with tinted windows, a yellow license plate, and two black
men inside. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They didn't check one thing, however, when they spotted the Lumina
the second time - the license tag. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That oversight Aug. 17 led to pandemonium at an Enterprise
Rent-A-Car, when two detectives stormed the business, their guns
drawn, and wrongfully arrested two black men. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) COLUMN: EARLY-MORNING POLICE VISIT PUTS WOMAN OUT OF HER HOME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sometimes the war on drugs is fought on odd battlegrounds, and
against people you would not expect. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Let's say you're a 61-year-old woman and you live in a public housing project in La Crosse. And let's say the cops knock on your door at 2:30 in the morning, looking for your grandson. | ||||||||||||||||||||
You answer the door to find two uniformed officers there, and two
more on the way. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They want to know where your 17-year-old grandson is because they
think he might be involved in a burglary committed about an hour
earlier. | ||||||||||||||||||||
You point across the courtyard, and tell them your grandson is at an
apartment across the way. While two cops go to talk to the grandson,
the others ask to come in, and you say yes because you don't know
what else to do. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Then they ask to come upstairs and look around, to make sure your
grandson is not hiding up there. Again, you tell them OK, because
you're scared, and you've just been jolted awake and you really
aren't sure what's going on. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saying yes to the police, in this case, turns out to be a big
mistake. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Once upstairs, the cops find some marijuana, 2.8 grams to be exact. By anyone's measure that's a small quantity of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Small amount or not, you're now busted. A victory in the war on
drugs, right?
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Well, maybe. But it doesn't really feel that way.
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[snip]
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(12) OPED: MORE PRISONS NOT THE ONLY ANSWER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Reforming Drug Laws, Educational System Would Also Reduce
Overcrowding
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Options for mitigating California's prison overcrowding include
building our way into a prison industrial complex, reforming
sentencing laws and addressing the causes underlying criminal
conduct. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The first option, growing the prison system, holds the historical
and present advantage. In 2001, the prison budget totaled $4.1
billion. Since then, the budget for the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation has more than doubled and calls for $8.75 billion
in spending in 2006-07. Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to expand the
system by another 78,000 beds via billions in additional debt
financing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
While some state legislatures have flirted with medical marijuana bills, lawmakers in New Hampshire appear ready to go further. A bill to decriminalize the use of cannabis in the state is expected to be introduced in the state's current session. While early media reports suggest it will be controversial, a lobbying group already seems to be in place. Meanwhile, the South Carolina legislature will likely take a look at medical marijuana, while advocates in Vermont want that state's protections for medical marijuana users expanded. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Of course, there are always grim reminders that medical access and decriminalization might be good, but until there is full legalization, there will be tragedies like on that took place in California last week. A noted magazine editor was killed, apparently because home invaders wanted medical cannabis that was growing in the house. And, finally, a study on drug use shows the S.F. Bay area of California to have an unusually high rate of "recreational" drug use - except that it's probably mostly medical marijuana use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) LAWMAKERS AIMING TO LEGALIZE POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CONCORD - A move to decriminalize the use of marijuana tops the
agenda as the New Hampshire Legislature begins to hear from the
public on its 1,400 bills for the 2007 session. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As usual, the finished fine print is coming out slowly for bills in
part because the newly sworn-in lawmakers need to sign off on 995
pieces of legislation. As a result, the public hearings before House
committees start slowly this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Still, it's a safe bet the marijuana legislation in front of the
Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday morning
will spark plenty of debate. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A new group calling itself the Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana
Policy has started collecting signatures in favor of the bill ( HB
92 ) through online petitions on its Web site,
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"Despite the threat of severe penalties, many responsible,
productive New Hampshire citizens continue to use marijuana. As long
as these individuals do not harm others, we believe it is unwise and
unjust to continue persecuting them as enemies of the state," the
group declares. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Matt Simon of Amherst, the group's spokesman, said it had less than a week to prepare testimony in support, but will be ready. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Six days isn't much time, but the evidence is on our side, and I
know we will be able to make a compelling case for the committee,"
explained Simon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) BILL WOULD OK MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A new bill proposed this week by a South Carolina senator would legalize the use of marijuana for medical applications. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sen. William Mescher, R-Pinopolis, introduced the legislation
Tuesday, which has since been referred to the Senate's Committee on
Medical Affairs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mescher said his reasoning behind the controversial concept stems
from the death of his first wife about 24 years ago from lung
cancer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He said he recalled doctors at the time telling him some of her
symptoms could have been eased with the use of medical marijuana,
which has the effect of easing the nausea associated with cancer
treatments such as chemotherapy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There were concerns that she would become addicted," he said. "Here this woman had maybe two or three months to live -- and in extreme pain. It didn't make any difference if she became addicted." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mescher said he felt further compelled to introduce the bill upon hearing recently from a friend who's facing a similar dilemma. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It took me 10 years to get tattooing regulated in South Carolina,"
Mescher said. "I've got a bulldog tenacity."
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[snip]
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(15) PATIENTS ARGUE FOR EXPANSION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MONTPELIER -- Steve Perry of Randolph Center described the squeezing pain he feels in his legs, electric shock-like sensations when he turns his neck the wrong way, and crippling muscle spasms. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He takes narcotic pain-killers, he told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, but explained he gets the best relief when he also smokes marijuana -- an illegal drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"If I had multiple sclerosis, I could qualify under the law and use
marijuana to treat my severe muscle spasms and pain," Perry said. He
was referring to a 2004 law that exempts Vermonters with certain
debilitating conditions from state penalties if they register with
the Department of Public Safety and follow rules for growing and
using marijuana for medical treatment. Possession and use of
marijuana remains a federal crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Perry's diagnosis is degenerative joint disease, which wasn't
included as an eligible condition under Vermont's law. "Because the
law doesn't allow me to legally use or obtain marijuana, I have to
put myself at risk of being arrested and going to jail every time I
need to ease the pain."
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Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Sears, D-Bennington, has
introduced a bill that would expand the list of diseases and
conditions that would qualify someone for the state's legal
protection for therapeutic use of marijuana, allow registered
participants to grow more plants, and decrease by half the current
$100 registration fee. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Perry urged lawmakers, as they consider these changes, to remember
people like him who don't have life-threatening diseases, but still
struggle with chronic, debilitating pain. "We don't deserve to be
treated like criminals."
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Vermont's 2-year-old Medical Marijuana Registry program has worked
smoothly, reported Max Schlueter, director of the Vermont Crime
Information Center. Twenty-nine people are registered, down from a
high of 34. Sixteen have multiple sclerosis.
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[snip]
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(16) PC WORLD EDITOR SLAIN DURING HOME-INVASION ROBBERY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SACRAMENTO -- Police in a Bay Area suburb are investigating the
slaying of a PC World magazine senior editor after four robbers
stormed the family home, shot him to death and pistol-whipped his
wife. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It remains unclear what lured the thieves to the Pittsburg home of Rex Farrance, 59, on Tuesday night, but an investigator said a large quantity of drugs was seized from the house. Detectives are trying to determine if narcotics were being dealt from the residence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police declined to say what was seized, but Farrance's son,
19-year-old Sterling, told investigators that his parents weren't
involved in drug sales. The son said he had a doctor's
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Colleagues at San Francisco-based PC World, where Farrance started
in the mailroom and worked his way up to become senior technical
editor, recalled him as a warm-spirited, socially conservative
fitness buff - -- hardly the profile of a drug dealer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(17) BAY AREA SOARS ABOVE REST OF NATION IN RECREATIONAL DRUG USE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO - Bay Area residents use more drugs than any other
metropolitan area in the country, and medical marijuana could be
part of the reason, according to officials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The percentage of people interviewed who had used marijuana, cocaine
or heroin in the Bay Area, which included Fremont and Oakland, was
12.7 percent -- 3 percent higher than Seattle, the second
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The study, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, surveyed people ages 12 and older in 15
major metropolitan areas such as New York and Chicago and asked if
they had participated in drug use, cigarette smoking or binge
drinking a month prior to being interviewed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Bay Area's drug results were higher than expected, according to
Jim Stillwell, San Francisco County's Alcohol and Drug Program
administrator. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"San Francisco has always been high, but I'm surprised that it's
that much higher than the others," Stillwell said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
One of the reasons the percentage might be so high, according to Alice Gleghorn, deputy director of behavioral health services in San Francisco's Department of Public Health, may be medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The numbers could be high because of medical marijuana, which the
federal government would still classify as illicit drug use,"
Gleghorn said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Prohibitionists are still fuming over the election outcome in Ecuador, as newly elected President Rafael Correa took office this week. Elected on campaign promises to shut down a U.S. anti-drug base occupying Ecuadorian territory, Correa takes power following a row last month between Colombia and Ecuador over Colombian anti-coca aerial spraying, which crossed over the border into Ecuador. U.S. officials, predictably, played up fears of cocaine making its way to the U.S. (where a cocaine glut has caused prices to plummet in recent years) should the base near Manta, Ecuador be lost. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While prohibitionists continually claim that they are merely saving
people from "drugs" when they jail people for drugs, the reality is
that people are as exposed to drug in prisons as anywhere.
Exasperated prison officials in New Zealand, far from forcing
hapless prisoners to be "drug free" forced themselves to take
increasingly ridiculous measures to try to stop prisoners from
taking drugs. Prison officials even made prisoners wear "an orange
all-in-one jumpsuit with a zip that could be opened only by a
special key so drugs could not be concealed." The drug-chastity suit
didn't work. Keeping an eye out for drugs, New Zealand corrections
officials claimed drugs have even been smuggled into prison in dead
birds and in "those who had lost eyes in fights, stuffing drugs into
eye sockets."
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We leave you this week with two opinion pieces. The first, from South Korea, is an alarmist piece decrying the "rampant abuse of narcotics" which is "pervading all sectors of our society," according to the Korea Times editorial. Not to scare anyone of course, but it is a "terrifying fact" says the Korea Times, that people use the internet to mail-order "drugs". Fear greatly O Korea, because "rampant drug abuse, if left unchecked, could threaten society's very existence. As is the case in foreign countries, the most heinous crimes are often associated with drug use. No one can feel secure in a society where the use of narcotics is rampant." | ||||||||||||||||||||
And from the UK newspaper Sunday Herald this week an editorial written by a Member of Scottish Parliament, Susan Deacon. Politicians are addicted to "tough talk" on drugs, but that has failed says Deacon. Comparing drugs to an "epidemic" or "scourge" or a "mediaeval plague" are great sound bites, whipping up fear, but such rhetoric accomplishes nothing. "The demonisation of drugs and drugs users may make for rabble-rousing speeches and sensationalist headlines but it does little... Human beings have sought out substances to change the way they see the world and how they feel since we worked out which leaves and berries to pick off the trees." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) ECUADOR'S DIVIDED LOYALTIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Both Fighter and Front in the Drug War, It Chafes at U.S. Presence
on Its Soil. | ||||||||||||||||||||
MANTA, ECUADOR -- The United States is battling a dangerous new front in its South American drug war -- just as a protege of anti-American leader Hugo Chavez comes to power in Ecuador vowing to shut down a U.S. base dedicated to narcotics surveillance. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials have expressed growing concern that this Andean nation is
being "Colombianized," illustrated by record cocaine seizures in the
last two years, the destruction of a major cocaine-processing lab
and a recent gangland-style killing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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During his campaign, Correa promised that he would not renew the
U.S. military's lease on the Manta air base, where eight drug
surveillance planes have been based since 2000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He said the departure of the U.S. aircraft after the lease expired
in 2009 would affirm national sovereignty and open the way for Manta
to become an international airport. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The presence of the U.S. planes rankles many Ecuadorians, who think
America's main goal is not to fight drugs but to keep a close eye on
leftist guerrillas in Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Correa has made no mention of ending U.S.-Ecuadorian cooperation in
the drug fight, but some U.S. officials worry that he might follow
Chavez's lead and do just that. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
But the chances of changing Correa's mind appear slim, largely
because he campaigned so hard on the issue and because of the
anti-U.S. tide in the region.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
But if he were to change his mind, the decision could be based on
self-interest, and that's the tack U.S. officials are taking. Losing
the drug surveillance flights, which moved to Ecuador in January
2000 from bases in the Panama Canal Zone, might make his country
more vulnerable to traffickers and organized crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(19) DRUGS SMUGGLED INTO PRISONS IN DEAD BIRDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dead birds and bubblewrap are two of the more unusual methods of
smuggling drugs in prisons, according to Corrections department
national security manager Karen Urwin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Methamphetamine, known as P, was flying high over prison walls,
stuffed inside dead birds thrown from the outside by accomplices of
desperate inmates, she told the Press newspaper. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The main method of smuggling drugs into prison was inside body cavities, but prison officers frequently uncovered other methods. | ||||||||||||||||||||
These included, for those who had lost eyes in fights, stuffing
drugs into eye sockets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tighter security prompted prisoners to be more devious. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Inmates who tested positive for drugs were put on a special regime
that included dressing in an orange all-in-one jumpsuit with a zip
that could be opened only by a special key so drugs could not be
concealed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) NARCOTICS PERVADE ALL SECTORS OF SOCIETY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rampant abuse of narcotics is pervading all sectors of our society.
What is worrisome is the fact that new narcotics, unheard of here
before, are easily finding their way into the country in accordance
with the growing internationalization of drug trafficking. Another
terrifying fact is that they are no longer bought and sold secretly
in drinking houses or on the black market among habitual users. They
are openly marketed through Internet sites under the cover of being
sleeping pills or health food. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug abuse is so common that people tend to overlook the seriousness
of drug-related crimes because discoveries and confiscation of
banned drugs are now a regular occurrence. This issue deserves the
utmost attention from the public as rampant drug abuse, if left
unchecked, could threaten society's very existence. As is the case
in foreign countries, the most heinous crimes are often associated
with drug use. No one can feel secure in a society where the use of
narcotics is rampant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The police estimate that the number of habitual drug abusers might
have reached 300,000 to 1 million here. However, the seriousness of
the situation lies in the fact that known cases are only the tip of
the iceberg. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The drug situation here has reached a crisis level and the
government must take appropriate measures if we are to get a handle
on this problem before it is too late. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) THE POLITICAL ADDICTION TO TOUGH TALKING ON DRUGS HAS FAILED (Top)U.S. ALL | ||||||||||||||||||||
TOMORROW, MORE than 250 people will fill the Holyrood debating chamber to discuss one of the most important and complex issues of the day. Senior police officers, academics, community leaders and health professionals will be among those seeking to develop a "fresh perspective" on Scotland's approach to drugs and alcohol. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
If tough talking from politicians was the answer, the so-called war
on drugs would have been won long ago. A decade ago, Scottish party
leaders - kitted out memorably in T-shirts and baseball caps -
joined forces as the then-Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth
pronounced: "The drugs epidemic is a scourge as terrible as any
mediaeval plague. Let us, as a nation turn back the tide of drug
abuse which is engulfing our young people and threatening our
civilisation." Ten years on tough talk still abounds, but it would
be a brave - or foolish - politician who would claim the tide has
been turned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's time to get real. The demonisation of drugs and drugs users may
make for rabble-rousing speeches and sensationalist headlines but it
does little to promote understanding of what is really going on in
our society, to help those whose lives are affected or to reduce the
scale of the problem in future. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Drugs - illegal or otherwise - are a part of our society. Human
beings have sought out substances to change the way they see the
world and how they feel since we worked out which leaves and berries
to pick off the trees. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
And what about the law? All too often the debate gets stuck on
legalisation versus prohibition. Again the reality is much more
complex. UK drugs control laws are more than 30 years old, a product
of a bygone age. A growing number of voices, both at home and
abroad, are raising questions about whether the current national and
international legal framework is fit for purpose - this discussion
cannot be a no-go area. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yet sadly the space for sensible and honest discussion seems to be
inversely proportionate to the size and complexity of the task. It
would be a crying shame if the only voices heard in the run-up to
the Holyrood elections are those who talk the toughest and shout the
loudest. Scotland deserves better.
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CANADA'S 2003 RENEWED DRUG STRATEGY - AN EVIDENCE-BASED REVIEW
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Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
| ||||||||||||||||||||
About three-quarters of the resources of Canada's Drug Strategy are
directed towards enforcement-related efforts, despite a lack of
scientific evidence to support this approach and little, if any,
evaluation of the impacts of this investment. In this feature article,
Kora DeBeck, Evan Wood, Julio Montaner and Thomas Kerr report on a study
that examined expenditures and activities related to the Drug Strategy
as renewed in 2003.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.aidslaw.ca/publications/publicationsdocEN.php?ref=650 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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MOST RESIST TORY DRUG WAR
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OTTAWA - Two-thirds of Canadians believe the Tories, who have promised a tough new national drug strategy, should treat drug abuse as a medical problem requiring more prevention and treatment programs, according to a new national poll provided exclusively Monday to CanWest News Service. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS
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Why former narcs say the drug war is futile
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By Radley Balko, January 18, 2007
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SMOKING MARIJUANA DURING PREGNANCY ALTERS NEWBORN BEHAVIOR
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Journal of Pediatrics has published a new study which brings to
light another troubling consequence of smoking marijuana, particularly
during pregnancy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://pushingback.com/blogs/pushing_back/archive/2007/01/18/26201.aspx | ||||||||||||||||||||
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CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
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Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at www.KPFT.org | ||||||||||||||||||||
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INTERVIEW WITH DRUG CZAR JOHN WALTERS
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On the Lars Larson radio show 1-18-07
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MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES NEWS UPDATE
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January, 2007
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WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
PROTEST DEA RAIDS IN WEST HOLLYWOOD & LA!
| ||||||||||||||||||||
January 22 - National Day of Action
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Join us for a peaceful protest against DEA raids at medical cannabis
facilities in LA and statewide. The "Pill Bottle Drop" will happen at
federal buildings nationwide!
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DONATE TO DRUGSENSE
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MICHIGAN'S POT CROP
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By Steve Thompson
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Michigan is now ranked 16th largest grower of cannabis in the U.S., growing 308,475 plants, weighing 136,012 pounds, worth $218,435,000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The total worth of the U.S. crop now exceeds $35 billion, making
cannabis the largest cash crop grown in the U.S.!
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How very sad that the merest mention of this wonderful, God-created
plant sends you Michigan Farm Bureau folks and our elected officials
cowering and hiding under your desks, while you all jump on the
"ethanol" bandwagon which will hurt our great state with more
pollution and depletion of our soil's nutrients. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Each and every one of you farmers should take a trip to Canada in
August and stroll through a hemp field, while remembering that the
U.S. bought 85% of the Canadian hemp crop in 2005.
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Do yourselves a favor, and us, and quit believing the governmental
lies about this plant, and with an open-mind, start educating
yourselves with the true facts concerning it. Then join the other
State Farm Bureaus across the U.S. that are supporting the growth of
hemp. The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, I believe, was the most recent
to have done this. You can help make 2007 a truly Happy New Year for
our great state of Michigan!!
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Rev. Steven B.Thompson
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LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - DECEMBER
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DrugSense recognizes John Chase of Palm Harbor, Florida for his
three letters published during December. This brings his total
published letters, that we know of, to 91. John is a very active MAP
newshawk, sending in hundreds of clippings each year. John is also a
leading activist with the November Coalition
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You may read his published letters at
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
PUBLISHED LETTER TO THE EDITOR WRITER OF THE YEAR - 2006
| ||||||||||||||||||||
By Richard Lake
| ||||||||||||||||||||
In 1996 Mark Greer began pushing a novel idea on DRCTalk: the
coordinated writing of letters to newspaper editors, traditionally a
mainstay of cash-starved grassroots groups, had been endowed with
more clout and precision because the web enabled accurate
information to be collected and shared with unprecedented speed and
precision. By adding volunteer labor to the equation, those benefits
could be realized at an historically low cost. At a time when
on-line editions of newspapers were just starting to appear;
participants in those early DRCTalk discussions were already sharing
scanned news items and editorials from local papers which were then
OCRed (scanned) and posted to the discussion group for the purpose
of generating the widest possible response. - From our history
http://www.drugsense.org/pages/history
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Thus it has been a major goal of the Media Awareness Project from the start to encourage the writing of letters to the editor. Our success varies from year to year based on the issues of importance to the public, and thus the space provided on the editorial pages of the press to our issue, as you may see at http://www.mapinc.org/lte/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
We encourage letter writing success through various recognitions
listed at http://www.mapinc.org/lteaward.htm
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For the third year in a row it is our pleasure to recognize Robert Sharpe as Published Letter to the Editor Writer of the Year for 2006 for the number of letters that he had published that we know of. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Sharpe had 227 letters published last year, raising his
career total to an amazing 1,646 published, without a doubt the
world record for any drug policy reform letter writer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In 1999 Robert started writing letters as a student at George
Washington University and a member of their Students for Sensible
Drug Policy ( http://www.ssdp.org ). Then he often used his SSDP
chapter membership in his signature block to improve his chances of
being published. We first recognized Robert's letter writing
accomplishments in May, 2000 as you may see in this photo
http://www.mapinc.org/images/Robert.jpg
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Today Robert writes as a volunteer for CSDP ( http://www.csdp.org ).
He signs his letters "Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense
for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C." Robert tells us that he is
spending about an hour a day after work sending out letters, and
yes, many more are not published than are. Robert has provided us
with his tips for letter writing success at
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You may read all of Robert's published letters at
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Richard Lake is Senior Editor of the Media Awareness Project. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee."
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:
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Please utilize the following URLs
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection
and analysis by Deb Harper (), International
content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (),
Layout by Matt Elrod (). Analysis comments
represent the personal views of editors, and not necessarily the
views of DrugSense. | ||||||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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