| Jan. 26, 2007 #484 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) BERKELEY STUDENTS COUNTER DRUG RULE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Student Government Will Let Those With a Conviction Apply for a
Stipend, Something the U.S. Won't Let Them Have. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some UC Berkeley students who are denied federal financial aid
because of a drug conviction will be eligible for a new scholarship
funded by the student government, the organization decided this
week. Though the stipends are only $400, supporters say they are a
symbolic protest against a law they call unjust. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's a very poor way for the government to fight the war on drugs,"
said David Israel Wasserman, a senior political science major and
the senator in the Associated Students who wrote the resolution. "I
don't think that the government should find more and more ways to
deprive students of a means to an education." | ||||||||||||||||||
David Murray, chief scientist with the White House Office on
National Drug Control Policy, called the Berkeley effort
"misguided," saying federal aid is a privilege and that the
government has an obligation to use whatever means necessary to
dissuade young people from using drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If you are enabling self-destructive behavior by supporting it, condoning it or even paying for it, you're probably not helping the person get the help they need to deal with their disease," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) IN CLUE TO ADDICTION, A BRAIN INJURY HALTS SMOKING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Scientists studying stroke patients are reporting today that an
injury to a specific part of the brain, near the ear, can instantly
and permanently break a smoking habit. People with the injury who
stopped smoking found that their bodies, as one man put it, "forgot
the urge to smoke." | ||||||||||||||||||
The finding, which appears in the journal Science, is based on a
small study. But experts say it is likely to alter the course of
addiction research, pointing researchers toward new ideas for
treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
While no one is suggesting brain injury as a solution for addiction,
the finding suggests that therapies might focus on the insula, a
prune-size region under the frontal lobes that is thought to
register gut feelings and is apparently a critical part of the
network that sustains addictive behavior. | ||||||||||||||||||
Previous research on addicts focused on regions of the cortex
involved in thinking and decision making. But while those regions
are involved in maintaining habits, the new study suggests that they
are not as central as the insula is. | ||||||||||||||||||
The study did not examine dependence on alcohol, cocaine or other
substances. Yet smoking is at least as hard to quit as any other
habit, and it probably involves the same brain circuits, experts
said. Most smokers who manage to quit do so only after repeated
attempts, and the craving for cigarettes usually lasts for years, if
not a lifetime. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) THREE WALK FREE IN CANNABIS CHOCOLATE CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Three people who supplied thousands of chocolate bars laced with cannabis to multiple sclerosis sufferers walked free from court today. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mark Gibson, 42, his wife Lezley, 42, who has multiple sclerosis (MS),
and Marcus Davies, 36, were each given a nine-month jail term, suspended
for two years. | ||||||||||||||||||
All three defendants argued that the drug eased the symptoms of MS and
believed they had a defence of medical necessity but this was rejected
by a jury last month. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sentencing today at Carlisle Crown Court, Judge John Phillips said he
accepted their motives were "altruistic", that they had a genuine desire
to help people who were suffering and that no profit was made from the
operation. | ||||||||||||||||||
The judge said that current sentencing guidelines substantiated a
significant custodial sentence but he accepted there were exceptional
circumstances in this case, although he disagreed that a conditional
discharge was appropriate. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said: "The conspiracy to supply drugs took place over a number of
years in what was a sophisticated operation in which several kilograms
of cannabis were distributed." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) AFGHAN GOVERNMENT SAYS IT WON'T SPRAY POPPIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Rebuffing months of U.S. pressure, Afghan
President Hamid Karzai decided against a Colombia-style program to spray
this country's heroin-producing poppies after the Cabinet worried
herbicide would hurt legitimate crops, animals and humans, officials
said Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision, reportedly made Sunday, dashes U.S. hopes for mounting a
campaign using ground sprayers to poison poppy plants to help combat
Afghanistan's opium trade after a record crop in 2006. | ||||||||||||||||||
Karzai instead "made a very strong commitment" to lead other eradication
efforts this year and said if that didn't cut production he would allow
spraying in 2008, a Western official said on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the subject. | ||||||||||||||||||
The spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Counternarcotics, Said
Mohammad Azam, said this year's effort will rely on "traditional
techniques" - sending laborers into fields to trample or plow under
opium poppies before they can be harvested. A similar campaign during
2006 failed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A strange juxtaposition this week in the news: Just as the U.S. Military seems to be getting less committed to the war on drugs (primarily due to other obligations of resources), the Wichita, Kansas branch of the NAACP is getting more committed to the drug war, pushing for new anti-paraphernalia laws. Some lawmakers in Dane County have a better idea: let first time, non-violent drug offenders avoid prison. Not everyone likes the idea,= however. | ||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, an Idaho legislator is again pushing for a bill that
would make it a felony for a pregnant woman to use illegal drugs;
while new research shows psychedelic mushrooms may help people with
obsessive-compulsive disorders. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) BURDENED U.S. MILITARY CUTS ROLE IN DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Air And Sea Patrolling Is Slashed On Southern Smuggling Routes | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Stretched thin from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan,
the U.S. military has sharply reduced its role in the war on drugs,
leaving significant gaps in the nation's narcotics interdiction
efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Since 1989, Congress has directed the Pentagon to be the lead federal agency in detecting and monitoring illegal narcotics shipments headed to the United States by air and sea and in supporting Coast Guard efforts to intercept them. In the early 1990s, at the height of the drug war, U.S. military planes and boats filled the southern skies and waters in search of cocaine-laden vessels coming from Colombia and elsewhere in South America. | ||||||||||||||||||
But since 2002, the military has withdrawn many of those resources,
according to more than a dozen current and former counter-narcotics
officials, as well as a review of congressional, military and
Homeland Security documents. | ||||||||||||||||||
Internal records show that in the last four years the Pentagon has
reduced by more than 62% its surveillance flight-hours over
Caribbean and Pacific Ocean routes that are used to smuggle cocaine,
marijuana and, increasingly, Colombian-produced heroin. At the same
time, the Navy is deploying one-third fewer patrol boats in search
of smugglers. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Defense Department also plans to withdraw as many as 10 Black
Hawk helicopters that have been used by a multi-agency task force to
move quickly to make drug seizures and arrests in the Caribbean, a
major hub for drugs heading to the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
And the military has deactivated many of the high-tech surveillance
"aerostats," or radar balloons, that once guarded the entire
southern border, saying it lacks the funds to restore and maintain
them. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) NAACP WANTS DRUG PARAPHERNALIA OUT OF SHOPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Palm-sized scales and four-inch glass stems with red roses sit among
the tobacco products behind a thick window pane at the Noori
Convenience store at 25th North and Hillside. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Wichita Branch NAACP considers them drug paraphernalia -- the
stems can be used to smoke or snort drugs; the scales can weigh tiny
amounts of drugs -- and is working on a proposal to outlaw their
sale. | ||||||||||||||||||
Irshad Kazia, the store's owner, said it's not his business what
people use the items for. | ||||||||||||||||||
He just sells them. | ||||||||||||||||||
He pointed Thursday to a tire gauge and said, "If they want to use
the tire gauge ( to smoke drugs ), they can use that." | ||||||||||||||||||
He questioned why the NAACP would target glass stems and other products and not liquor or tobacco, which also are harmful. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They'd have to make a rule for everything," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kevin Myles, president of the Wichita Branch NAACP, said it could
take more than one legislative session to push the proposal through,
but the NAACP is committed. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is not an effort to arrest more people," he said. "But if it's
wrong for people to possess it, then it's got to be wrong to sell
it." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) SPRING VOTE SOUGHT ON JAILING FIRST-TIME DRUG LAW OFFENDERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Should first-time drug offenders in Dane County spend time behind
bars? | ||||||||||||||||||
Several County Board supervisors want to put the question to voters
in April as an advisory referendum, hoping to reduce the number of
drug offenders sentenced to jail time and instead offer education,
treatment and rehabilitation. | ||||||||||||||||||
Supervisor Ashok Kumar of Madison introduced a resolution at
Thursday night's County Board meeting. | ||||||||||||||||||
As proposed, the question on the spring ballot would read: "Should Dane County sentence first-time, nonviolent drug offenders to treatment and rehabilitation programs rather than jail terms?" | ||||||||||||||||||
Kumar gained support for the resolution from two supervisors who
represent districts in Madison, Richard Brown and Shelia Stubbs.
Both Brown and Stubbs are African-American and said that the
African-American population in Dane County suffers the most under
current drug laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
The idea will face resistance in some circles. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I don't support this, and I hope it goes down in flames," said
conservative Supervisor Dennis O'Loughlin, who said he was critical
not because of the jail population it would affect, but because he
is against the idea of the board or the public acting as the
judiciary. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Ours is the legislative side of business, not the judicial side,"
O'Loughlin said. "We are not judges, we are not the district
attorney, so why have an advisory referendum?" | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) S. IDAHO LAWMAKER PLANS TO PUSH METH-MOMS BILL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A state senator from southern Idaho intends to try again to pass a
law making it a felony for pregnant women to use methamphetamine or
other illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last year, Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Delco, got the bill through the
Senate but couldn't get it heard in the House. Under the bill, a
pregnant woman convicted of using meth, marijuana, LSD or other
drugs would have faced up to five years in prison and a $50,000
fine. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm still feeling my way on it," Darrington told the Idaho State Journal. "The alternative seems to be to do nothing, and it seems like that's what ( the House of Representatives ) wants to do." | ||||||||||||||||||
A provision in the bill would have allowed women to take part in the
state's drug-court system, which tries to help drug users who commit
crimes to stop using drugs and begin productive lives. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, pediatricians were against the bill because they thought it
would lead to less prenatal care and more abortions. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) HALLUCINOGENS DECREASE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER SYMPTOMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
One University of Arizona researcher has found the real magic behind
"magic mushrooms." | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Francisco Moreno, an assistant professor of psychiatry, has
successfully treated the symptoms of nine patients with | ||||||||||||||||||
Moreno said he first got the idea to begin research with psychedelic
mushrooms in 1997 after a patient with OCD disclosed that the
hallucinogen had helped subdue the symptoms that accompanied this
disease. | ||||||||||||||||||
To conduct the research, Moreno obtained permits and licenses from the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. | ||||||||||||||||||
The researchers found everyone had at least a 25-percent drop in their symptoms, while some even lost their symptoms entirely. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Another local politician who really wants to be a narc is making for
more amusing headlines in a southern city. This time, it's
Asheville, N.C. Councilman Carl Mumpower, who has insisted on riding
along frequently on drug raids. Mumford apparently just can't get
enough of drug busts, and according to officers, and he tried to get
involved with another he just happened to see, much to the annoyance
of officers involved. Stay tuned, I think we might be hearing more
interesting stories about Councilman Mumford. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Florida, drug punishment seems to be about who you know, not what
you do. Last week, a very unusual (and seemingly light - he could be
out in 2012) deal was handed to someone accused of being not just a
drug kingpin, but an organized crime kingpin; meanwhile pain patient
Richard Paey is still trying to appeal his 25-year sentence for
merely keeping himself properly supplied. And, a Utah newspaper
analyzes the success of drug courts, and finds them especially
wanting for women with addiction problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) POLICE OFFICERS CRITICIZE MUMPOWER FOR DISTRACTING THEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ASHEVILLE - A city councilman who says police are doing too little
to combat illegal drug sales drew criticism this week after officers
said he had endangered their safety. | ||||||||||||||||||
Two officers, in e-mails to Chief Bill Hogan, said Councilman Carl Mumpower approached police three times during a traffic stop Friday outside the West Asheville police substation on Haywood Road. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sgt. Mike Yelton, in an e-mail to his supervisor, said Mumpower
distracted an officer watching for signs of trouble in a stop that
involved a cocaine seizure. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I immediately thought this was a strange occurrence, but assumed he
was conducting another of his many forays into law enforcement,"
Yelton wrote. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I was left with the distinct impression that Dr. Mumpower desired
an immediate and personal response to his presence and waiting was
not an option," he wrote. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) ISRAELI MOB SUSPECT PLEADS GUILTY TO DRUG CHARGES, WILL FACE (Top)PRISON AT HOME | ||||||||||||||||||
After his March extradition to the United States, alleged Israeli crime boss Ze'ev Rosenstein had a few words for his supporters: "This year a prisoner in Miami; next year a free man in Israel." | ||||||||||||||||||
He got his fate half right. On Tuesday, the reputed godfather of the
Israeli mob pleaded guilty to two drug smuggling charges as part of
an unusual deal that could have him back in his native country
within a week, although not as a free man. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lawyers on both sides agreed Rosenstein, 52, would receive a 12-year
prison term with credit for time spent in jail since his November
2004 arrest. U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas imposed the
sentence immediately. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government's extradition agreement with Israel ensures Rosenstein will serve his sentence in Israel. Under Israeli law, Rosenstein becomes eligible for parole in 2012, his lawyer Roy Black said after the hearing in Fort Lauderdale federal court. | ||||||||||||||||||
As part of a separate arrangement with the Israeli government, Rosenstein agreed to plead guilty and accept a three-year sentence for his role in an aborted plot to assassinate a rival, Black said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Several area lawyers said the terms of his plea agreement seemed
unusual for such a high-profile criminal defendant. | ||||||||||||||||||
As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to a sentence reduction
under a provision designed for nonviolent offenders and minor
players with no criminal history. The terms of the plea agreement
also bound Dimitrouleas to adopt all provisions and the recommended
sentence or reject the deal entirely. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) DISABLED MAN APPEALS DRUG TRAFFICKING CONVICTION TO SUPREME (Top)COURT | ||||||||||||||||||
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A wheelchair-bound man who obtained large
amounts of prescription drugs to control severe pain should not have
been convicted of being a drug trafficker, his lawyers argued in
papers filed Friday with the Florida Supreme Court. | ||||||||||||||||||
They contend prosecutors and two lower courts misapplied the state's
drug trafficking law to Richard Paey, now serving a 25-year
mandatory minimum prison sentence, although there was no evidence he
sold or distributed the painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||||
The state has 20 days to respond to Paey's request that the Supreme
Court accept his appeal of a 2-1 ruling by the 2nd District Court of
Appeal. The appellate judges sustained his conviction and sentence
in December but expressed sympathy for Paey, suggesting he seek
clemency from the governor. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Pasco County man's case has had a high profile since being featured on "60 Minutes" and in other national media last year. | ||||||||||||||||||
Florida law classifies the possession of large amounts of controlled
substances as trafficking regardless of whether there's evidence it
was sold or distributed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Paey's lawyers wrote that the justices have jurisdiction in part
because the 2nd District misconstrued a 1981 Supreme Court ruling
that upheld the law. In that case, the high court wrote the minimum
mandatory penalty should apply "from the importer-organizer down to
the pusher on the street." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) DO UTAH DRUG COURTS TAME METH MONKEY? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
$4.5 Million Treatment Push | ||||||||||||||||||
For Single Moms, Failure And Relapse Rates Are High; For The State,
Kids Are Safe And It's Cheaper Than Jail | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite efforts to combat it, Utah's meth problem continues to grow
- especially for women. | ||||||||||||||||||
For five years, meth has been the top illegal drug of choice for
Utahns entering public treatment. For women it surpasses even
alcohol, the traditional front-runner, making it the only drug in
history to have its female users outnumber males. Nearly half the
women in treatment statewide have children. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has proposed investing $2 million in Utah's
drug courts and $2.5 million to build two residential clinics in
northern and southern Utah to treat 600 women, giving priority to
those involved with the child welfare system. But Huntsman will have
to convince lawmakers it's a wise investment, no easy task
considering the stigma attached to addiction and a dearth of data on
treatment, including how patients and drug court graduates fare over
the longer term. | ||||||||||||||||||
Helping Utah's women poses another challenge: transforming a system
that wasn't built for them. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Substance abuse treatment has been historically geared for white, middle-aged male alcoholics," said Salt Lake County substance abuse Director Patrick Fleming. "We're a hell of a lot better at treating women than 10 years ago, but there's room for improvement." | ||||||||||||||||||
A review by The Salt Lake Tribune of Salt Lake County data shows men
are more likely to complete therapy than women; a difference of 10
percentage points. A second Tribune analysis of drug-court
graduation numbers found the lowest success rate in family drug
courts, which cater mostly to women with children. | ||||||||||||||||||
Brent Kelsey, assistant state substance abuse and mental health
director, disputes any gender gap in treatment success. He insists
treatment works: "It has to. What choice do we have?" | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Washington state, a cannabis dispensary was raided and shut down
in Everett despite state law allowing the medical use of cannabis.
Sound familiar? In more encouraging news, a bill was approved last
week by the Senate Judiciary Committee in Vermont that will likely
see the state's medical cannabis law expand significantly to include
patients with non-life threatening diseases. The statute includes
restrictions and regulations that will hopefully avert the feds from
muscling in on the state initiative. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another state is looking at hemp farming to bolster family farms. A
committee to study whether South Carolina should pursue
"authorization of the cultivation and production of industrial hemp"
is being proposed, though it could be a long time before the first
seed is planted. | ||||||||||||||||||
And, the soft cannabis law in the UK just got a bit tougher with the
new "three strikes" guidelines that will allow for those over 18
years old who have received two warnings for the possession of
cannabis, to be arrested the third time. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) AGENTS RAID MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCACY OFFICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Plants, Computers and Cash Seized in Everett | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug enforcement agents raided the Everett headquarters of an advocacy group for medical marijuana patients, confiscating what police documents say was more than 1,000 plants and computers that the owners say contain personal information of about 200 men and women authorized to use the drug for medicinal purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
So far, no one has been arrested or charged with a crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
Fearful of potential repercussions and unsure of the officers' ultimate aim, patients in the CannaCare network of marijuana users have been "laying low," said one, terrified that they may be prosecuted for using a substance authorized by their physicians. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) PANEL APPROVES EXPANSION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MONTPELIER -- More Vermonters would have the option of using
marijuana to treat severe, persistent and debilitating symptoms that
have failed to respond to other medical treatments under a bill
approved Friday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. | ||||||||||||||||||
The bill, recommended on a 4-1 vote, would expand eligibility beyond the limits set now in Vermont's two-year-old law, which restricts participation to people with cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under the Judiciary proposal, individuals with any chronic,
progressive and debilitating condition that produces severe and
persistent wasting syndrome, pain, nausea or seizures could seek
protection from state prosecution for using marijuana to feel
better. The proposal requires prospective participants to have tried
traditional medical treatment first to relieve symptoms before
turning to marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) HERBKERSMAN WANTS TO STUDY LEGALIZING HEMP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Rep. Bill Herbkersman believes he has found a way to replenish South
Carolina's farming industry, re-establish textile mills and do the
environment some good in the process. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's just not quite legal yet. | ||||||||||||||||||
Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, is proposing a committee to study whether
South Carolina should pursue "authorization of the cultivation and
production of industrial hemp." | ||||||||||||||||||
The challenge, he said, will be to convince lawmakers there's a
significant difference between industrial hemp and its cannabis
cousin, marijuana - and that the potential benefits are worth a
deeper look. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) CANNABIS OFFENDERS FACE 'THREE STRIKES' RULE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Repeat Warnings 'Exploit Loophole' | ||||||||||||||||||
Many Think Drug Has Been Legalised | ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis users will be arrested and charged if they are found in
possession of the drug three times, under new guidelines. Police
forces are also being told to improve their intelligence systems so
that officers questioning suspects can radio their control rooms and
apply the "three strikes" rule if the user has already been warned
twice. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) denied yesterday
that the change had been prompted by users escaping with repeated
warnings rather than prosecution, but there was a fear that it could
become a loophole. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the guidance, officers are told: "These guidelines do not
encourage the same offender being repeatedly warned for possession
of cannabis. Where it can be verified that an offender has received
two previous cannabis warnings then a further warning should not be
considered." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Australia this week, Queensland Coroner Michael Barnes proposed
that "prisoners be given access to clean syringes, " and that heroin
"substitutes" also be provided in an effort to reduce the spread of
disease and halt corruption. Prison officials were quick to condemn
the suggestions, which were made in the wake of the widely
publicized prison heroin overdose death of Darren Fitzgerald in
2004. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the U.K., two "leading doctors" from the British Medical
Association called for using Afghan opium stocks to fill in a
British National Health Service shortage of diamorphine (heroin)
which is prescribed for serious pain there. Said one doc, "If we
were harvesting this drug from Afghanistan rather than destroying
it, we'd be benefiting the population of Afghanistan as well as
helping patients." Government officials rejected such calls,
claiming there was, in fact, no shortage of opium. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadian diplomats this week joined Afghans and others in opposition
to U.S. plans to douse recalcitrant Afghan farmers with plant
poisons, for refusing to eradicate the opium poppy. U.S.
prohibitionists including U.S. Drug Czar John Walters had announced
in December that, despite objections, the U.S. would forcibly spray
glyphosate on Afghan farms. Canadians have "significant reservations
about the advisability of chemical spray," noted one Canadian
official in Kandahar. "I've had Afghans tell me, 'Oh, I remember
what happened when the Russians used chemicals.'" | ||||||||||||||||||
In Vancouver, Canada, Mayor Sam Sullivan is reportedly asking the
Canadian federal government for permission to "give substitute drugs
to at least 700 cocaine and crystal-meth addicts," according to the
Vancouver Sun. "An alternative drug-treatment program is central,"
said the Mayor, a "far more robust trial" than has been tried before
in North America. | ||||||||||||||||||
And back in the U.K., David Cameron, leader of the Conservative
Party, admitted that medicinal cannabis might not be such a bad
idea, after all. As he was "guided by the science and evidence," the
conservative chief said he'd decide to "license it if we can prove
the medicinal benefits." But don't expect conservative Cameron to be
letting pot smokers out of jail anytime soon should he take hold of
the reigns of political power. "I don't believe cannabis should be
legalised." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(18) CORONER CALLS FOR FREE SYRINGES IN JAILS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
HEROIN substitutes and clean syringes should be provided to
prisoners to combat disease and corruption in jails, a coronial
inquest into the overdose of a murderer has recommended. Prisons
Minister Judy Spence yesterday rejected the recommendation of
Queensland Coroner Michael Barnes, who delivered his findings into
the death in his cell from a heroin overdose of Darren Michael
Fitzgerald on June 13, 2004. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Barnes found a significant number of prisoners had blood-borne
viruses and many injected drugs, and were offered only counselling
to beat their habit. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Even those whose callousness might permit them to conclude prisoners do not deserve such consideration cannot ignore the risk that prisoners on release will infect family and others with diseases they have acquired in prison as a result of the department's refusal to allow access to syringes," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"In view of the inability of the Department of Corrective Services
to keep prisons drug-free, and in recognition of its obligation to
minimise the spread of blood-borne viruses among the prison
population and those with whom prisoners will come in contact after
release, I recommend that prisoners be given access to clean
syringes." | ||||||||||||||||||
His other recommendation was that "as a matter of urgency, the
department establish opioid dependence pharmacotherapy programs
utilising methadone and buprenorphine". | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(19) DOCTORS PROPOSE USING AFGHAN OPIUM AS NHS PAIN-KILLER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Afghan heroin available on the NHS? It may sound far-fetched but
that is what two leading doctors from the British Medical
Association have put forward as a way of dealing with a shortage of
the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
Heroin is used by doctors under its medical name diamorphine as a pain-killer for the terminally ill and after serious operations. But there is currently a severe shortage of legal diamorphine in the UK. | ||||||||||||||||||
At the same time, British soldiers in Afghanistan are in the midst
of efforts to wipe out the cultivation of opium, from which heroin
is refined. Doctors have suggested a solution to both problems: use
the opium to produce heroin for medicinal use. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If we were harvesting this drug from Afghanistan rather than
destroying it, we'd be benefiting the population of Afghanistan as
well as helping patients," Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of
science and ethics, told the BBC. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the suggestion has been rejected by both the Department of
Health in Britain and the Afghan government. The idea of using
Afghan opium for legal medicines has been touted before by a French
think-tank. But it is the first time that the proposal has been
given the weight of an internationally respected medical
association. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Her remarks were supported by Dr Jonathan Fielden, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care. He said: "Over the past year the availability of diamorphine has dramatically reduced. It has got to the stage where it is almost impossible in some hospitals to get hold of this drug for use outside very specific circumstances." | ||||||||||||||||||
But the Department of Health said the shortage of diamorphine was
due to limited production capacity, not a shortage of raw opium.
Western anti-narcotics agencies have rejected the suggestion of
cultivating Afghan opium for medicinal use in the past, saying it is
too difficult to put safeguards in place and ensure the opium
conforms to international standards. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) CANADIANS OPPOSED TO POPPY SPRAYING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Afghan Farmers Often Have Little Alternative | ||||||||||||||||||
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian diplomats are quietly trying to steer Afghan counter-narcotics agents away from a proposal to use chemical spraying to destroy opium-producing poppy fields. | ||||||||||||||||||
Responding to international pressure, particularly from the United
States, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government is seriously
looking at instituting an aerial spray program to combat the
explosion in the illegal narcotics trade. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The Canadian position on eradication ... is that it is one of the
pillars of the Afghan national drug control strategy," said Gavin
Buchan, the political director of the provincial reconstruction base
in Kandahar. | ||||||||||||||||||
"As such, we believe it has a role to play in the overall context.
However, we have significant reservations about the advisability of
chemical spray." | ||||||||||||||||||
Ultimately, the decision is one for the Afghan government to make,
he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Aside from the military concerns, Buchan said he worries about the
public reaction to the use of chemicals. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I've had Afghans tell me, 'Oh, I remember what happened when the
Russians used chemicals,' " he said referring to the Soviet
occupation of the 1980s. "They blamed them for a series of diseases
and ill effects. There's that aspect to be considered." | ||||||||||||||||||
Buchan wouldn't say whether he believed a mass eradication effort
would drive farmers take up arms against NATO. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) MAYOR PROPOSES 'REVOLUTIONARY' PLAN FOR ADDICTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Sullivan Wants City Exempted From Federal Narcotics | ||||||||||||||||||
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is lobbying the federal government for an exemption from Canada's narcotics laws that would allow what he calls a "revolutionary" alternative drug-treatment plan to give substitute drugs to at least 700 cocaine and crystal-meth addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||
If he is successful, Vancouver would be a global pioneer in running
such a large-scale program of drug maintenance for stimulant-drug
users. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
- - The federal government needs to ensure that community courts are
used to channel drug users into the alternative drug program he
envisions. | ||||||||||||||||||
But he sees the drug plan, which would provide legal drugs as
substitutes for the stimulant-type illegal drugs like cocaine and
crystal meth, as pivotal, and he says that's the focus of most of
his energy. | ||||||||||||||||||
"An alternative drug-treatment program is central," he | ||||||||||||||||||
Although medical researchers or health agencies in Texas, the U.K.,
and Australia have experimented with various substitute drugs to
give to cocaine and crystal-meth addicts, a grand-scale program
involving hundreds of users has never been tried. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sullivan admits that what he is proposing would be a "far more robust trial" than any tried elsewhere, but he believes the federal government will be willing to consider it because of the desire to improve Vancouver's social conditions in time for the Olympics. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) CAMERON OPEN TO LEGALISATION OF MARIJUANA - FOR MEDICINAL USE (Top)ONLY | ||||||||||||||||||
Conservative leader David Cameron said he could legalise cannabis
for medicinal use if he becomes Prime Minister. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Cameron said he would be "guided by the science and evidence" in
a video message on his internet site webcameron.org.uk | ||||||||||||||||||
Responding to a question posed by a visitor to his website, he said:
"If it could be proved there was a real medicinal benefit I would be
relaxed by that. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"My decision would be to license it if we can prove the medicinal
benefits." | ||||||||||||||||||
But Cameron was firm on his stance that cannabis should not be
legalised for recreational use. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I don't believe cannabis should be legalised," he | ||||||||||||||||||
"It is right that it's criminal because if you decriminalise you
increase the availability and make it more difficult for parents who
are trying to keep their children away from drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NIDA FAILS TO PROPAGANDIZE WIKIPEDIA | ||||||||||||||||||
By Pete Guither At Drugwarrant.com | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
IN DEFENSE OF THE DRUG WAR | ||||||||||||||||||
by John Hawkins | ||||||||||||||||||
Libertarians often attack the war on drugs as a waste of tax dollars and
an infringement on personal liberties. That is misguided thinking that
comes from trying to apply unworkable theoretical concepts in the real
world. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DRUG CULTURE FOLLOWS MANY BOOMERS INTO OLD AGE | ||||||||||||||||||
By Lisa Hoffman | ||||||||||||||||||
They are perhaps best known for their youthful indulgence in an exotic
menu of illicit substances such as Acapulco Gold, windowpane acid,
mescaline and Quaaludes. Now, experts warn, the 78 million-strong baby-
boomer generation is bringing its propensity to use pills and pot to its
senior years. In what researchers call the tip of an ominous trend,
boomers are responsible for a spike in drug and alcohol abuse that is
expected to mushroom in coming years. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN | ||||||||||||||||||
Ecstasy, the new prescription drug? | ||||||||||||||||||
By Amanda Schaffer | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at www.KPFT.org | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DRUGS, CRIME AND POLITICS | ||||||||||||||||||
Interview with Barbara Swartz of the League of Women Voters on their
study about drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Join MAP - Become An Active Member | ||||||||||||||||||
Membership is free and offers opportunities for you to expose the
drug war for what it really is. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
STATE'S POOR END UP ON EXPRESS LANE TO PRISON | ||||||||||||||||||
By Rev. Jerry Hancock | ||||||||||||||||||
Dear Editor: In his Martin Luther King Day address, Gov. Jim Doyle
announced his intention to create a commission to study the reasons
why Wisconsin is one of the national leaders in the imprisonment of
black men. This is a very serious problem and deserves exactly this
kind of serious consideration. | ||||||||||||||||||
Any thoughtful prison reform must begin with recognition that the
majority of men in Wisconsin prisons are black or Hispanic. While
there may certainly be explicitly racist individuals in positions of
power in the criminal justice system, the governor is absolutely
right to look for wider causes of the problem. | ||||||||||||||||||
Having spent over 30 years as a lawyer in the criminal justice
system in Wisconsin, I am well aware of the systematic problems that
send black males to prison at a much higher rate than their white
counterparts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Consider, for example, the hypothetical cases of two young men
arrested for selling marijuana. One is a white college student
selling to his classmates in the dorm. The other is a young black
man selling on the street. Both are convicted of the same offense.
Both are placed on probation and given exactly the same rules to
follow. Both are to get treatment for drug problems, not have
contact with the people who got them in trouble and have either a
full-time job or be in school. | ||||||||||||||||||
From the standpoint of the criminal justice system both young men
have been treated fairly and exactly the same way. No one would
accuse anyone of racial bias. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the young black man is by some measures 200 times more likely to
go to prison than the white college student. | ||||||||||||||||||
The college student will most likely get drug treatment under his
parents' health insurance, his parents will move him out of the dorm
and into a private apartment near campus, and he will stay in school
and graduate. By using all these resources he is virtually
guaranteed to successfully complete his probation and get on with
his life exactly as planned. | ||||||||||||||||||
The young black man may have none of those resources. No health
insurance. No place to live but in the same neighborhood. He has no
job, no school, just probation violations and prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Doyle's proposal will force us to confront the injustice that is at the heart of the criminal justice system. It is about time. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rev. Jerry Hancock director, Prison Ministry Project First
Congregational, UCC Madison | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MAP's Top Ten Of 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||
By Mark Greer | ||||||||||||||||||
With the optimism of a new year now upon us, DrugSense would like to
begin 2007 with a quick look back at the most popular stories of
2006. Last year, DrugSense's Media Awareness Project | ||||||||||||||||||
The following list of top 10 articles is not a judgment on the most important stories of 2006, but rather a more democratic examination of what mattered to mapinc.org users based on simple popularity. | ||||||||||||||||||
As could be expected from the most used illicit substance in the
world, cannabis-related stories dominated drug news in 2006, taking
7 of the 10 spots on the list. Few would argue that Dr. Donald
Tashkin's study, which found that cannabis use did not lead to lung,
head or neck cancer (which came in a at #5), was not groundbreaking.
It was also good to see Loretta Nall's bid for Governor of Alabama
get some attention in the #4 spot. | ||||||||||||||||||
Taking the number #1 spot this year with just over 10,000 hits was a
story about a pretty undercover officer's high school drug sting in
Falmouth, MA. The sting and resulting busts caused quite a stir with
both parents and students, who questioned the need for such extreme
and ethically questionable police tactics. | ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know that the DrugNews archive has been lovingly assembled by volunteers over the last ten years? If you value it and want to see this resource continue to be available this year and in coming years, please give generously so that we can end this ongoing war on our personal rights and freedoms. To donate quickly and easily online, please click here: http://drugsense.org/donate/. | ||||||||||||||||||
And now without any further ado, the DrugSense/MAP "Most Popular
Stories of 2006" top-10 list: | ||||||||||||||||||
1. U.S. MA: Officer Posing As High Schooler Leads Drug Sting | ||||||||||||||||||
2. US: U.S. Plans to Screen All Who Enter, Leave Country | ||||||||||||||||||
3. U.S. CA: Hemp To Turn King Cotton? | ||||||||||||||||||
4. U.S. MS: Nall Looks to Ride Colorful Campaign | ||||||||||||||||||
5. US: Pot's Low Cancer Risk a Surprise Finding | ||||||||||||||||||
6. U.S. FL: Hemp: A Growing Need? | ||||||||||||||||||
7. Netherlands: Dutch Take Sober Look at Pot Laws | ||||||||||||||||||
8. US: Marijuana Aids Therapy | ||||||||||||||||||
9. US: Edu: Study Finds Another Use For Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||||
10. US: Studies Link Psychosis, Teenage Marijuana Use | ||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense would like to wish everyone a safe and happy 2007, but please remember we can not continue to provide this archive and other great services without your help. Please make a generous contribution at http://drugsense.org/donate/. Please note that DrugSense is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent provided by law. | ||||||||||||||||||
Checks can also be made payable to DrugSense and mailed to: | ||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally, if you are long on time, but short on money, please visit
our Activism Center http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ for ways you can
contribute personally to drug policy reform. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thanks again for supporting DrugSense/MAP. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mark Greer is the Executive Director of Drugsense. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"The more laws the more offenders." - Thomas Fuller, 1732 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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. | ||||||||||||||||||
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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
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