| May 11, 2007 #498 | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) MEDICAL POT COURT CHALLENGE BEGINS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A constitutional challenge to Canada's medical marijuana regulations began yesterday, part of the B.C. Supreme Court trial of two Victorians charged after a police raid of a compassion club grow-op. | ||||||||||||||||
Defence lawyer John Conroy of Abbotsford said outside the courtroom
that the constitutional challenge contends government regulations
force Canadians onto the black market to buy marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
And that interferes with the charter right to life, liberty and
security of person, a position the defence says is supported by other
court rulings. | ||||||||||||||||
On trial are Michael Swallow, 41, and Matt Beren, 32, both charged
with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and with
production of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
The two were arrested in May 2004 when West Shore RCMP raided a house
near Sooke being used by the Vancouver Island Compassion Society to
grow marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The trial of Swallow and Beren began earlier in the week with defence lawyers seeking an application for a stay, based on the length of time the case has taken to come to trial. The application was unsuccessful. | ||||||||||||||||
Philippe Lucas, spokesman for the Vancouver Island Compassion
Society, said in an interview the group has assembled what it
considers an impressive list of witnesses for the constitutional
challenge but it was also bound to follow legal advice and seek the
stay on behalf of the two accused men. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) BEWARE THE DRUG WAR FIGHTERS' 'FACTS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Study Panning Safe-Injection Site Shows Need To Look Hard At Research | ||||||||||||||||
News flash: Vancouver's safe-injection site causes more harm than
good. | ||||||||||||||||
So says the Drug Prevention Network of Canada, which last week
reported "serious problems in the interpretation of findings" in a
review of 10 studies about the site. | ||||||||||||||||
Research on the three-year-old site has to this point mostly been
positive. | ||||||||||||||||
Among other things, there's been a drop in social disorder in
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, an increase in the number of drug users
wanting treatment and successful interventions in 400-plus potentially
fatal overdoses. | ||||||||||||||||
But prevention network research director Colin Mangham contends the
real picture is not nearly so rosy. He reviewed some of the studies
and found that while they "give the impression the facility is
successful ... the research clearly shows a lack of progress, impact
and success." | ||||||||||||||||
Mangham's findings were reported straight up by the Canadian Press
news agency last week. They also made their way unchallenged into the
online edition of Maclean's magazine, CBC Radio and some Canadian
newspapers. | ||||||||||||||||
But as a number of intrepid bloggers have pointed out, the mainstream
media outlets that took the CP story at its word did a disservice to
anyone looking for all the facts. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) DEA AGENT POSED SUSPECT IN SOMBRERO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
RALEIGH - A Raleigh-based Drug Enforcement Administration agent had a
Mexican suspect put on a sombrero and hold a Mexican flag and then
took his picture, the suspect's attorney said. | ||||||||||||||||
The defense attorney, Jeff Cutler, said a prosecutor and law
enforcement officers confirmed the existence of the 2005 photograph of
Jorge Hernandez-Villalvazo during a pretrial meeting last week. Within
minutes, the prosecutor offered a plea deal, avoiding a trial and
freeing Hernandez-Villalvazo. | ||||||||||||||||
Cutler said the disclosure of the photo "was the driving force behind
that plea deal." Hernandez-Villalvazo left the Wake County jail
Friday, two years after his initial arrest on a charge of conspiring
to traffic cocaine. "They humiliated him," Cutler said. | ||||||||||||||||
Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby, whose office handled the
case, said taking the photo was a mistake. "It shouldn't have
happened," he said. DEA officials on Wednesday would not identify the
agent or release the photo. "DEA is looking further into the matter,"
spokeswoman Ruth Porter-Whipple said from Atlanta. | ||||||||||||||||
The incident took place shortly after the arrest of Hernandez-
Villalvazo, 41, in April 2005. Hernandez-Villalvazo, a native of
Mexico who has permanent U.S. residency, had been living in the
Zebulon area and buying cars that he took to Mexico to sell, Cutler
said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) 'TRAGIC CASE ALL ROUND' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Mother Accused Of Forcing Daughter To Have Sex For Drugs 'Taking This
Quite Hard' | ||||||||||||||||
A crack-addicted woman whose developmentally challenged daughter was
allegedly used for sex in an Etobicoke flophouse was described
yesterday as a victim herself. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is a tragic case all round with victims, witnesses and the
accused," lawyer Donald McLeod said after his 42-year-old client
appeared briefly at College Park court. | ||||||||||||||||
The woman, facing a charge of corrupting a child, looked youthful but sad, holding her hand over her mouth and occasionally biting her lip. | ||||||||||||||||
She only once looked back at the handful of family members --
including her own mother -- sitting in court. She was remanded into
custody. | ||||||||||||||||
McLeod said he'll seek his client's release at a bail hearing next
Tuesday, relying on the woman's large support network. | ||||||||||||||||
"She's a good candidate for bail, especially with the wealth of family
support she has," McLeod said outside court. "She is taking this quite
hard. She appears okay, but she has ebbs and flows. This is very
difficult on her. | ||||||||||||||||
"She asked about her daughter and I was able to give her some
information. I haven't personally spoken to her. She is being taken
care of." | ||||||||||||||||
The accused's mother, overcome with emotion, rushed from the courtroom
before her daughter's arrival. | ||||||||||||||||
"I don't think anyone can imagine the impact this is having on this
family," McLeod said. | ||||||||||||||||
"We're dealing with people involved in this case ... (with) personal
tragedies that will come out later. Canadians at large will have to
look at the broader issues in this case," he said, declining to
elaborate due to a publication ban. | ||||||||||||||||
Toronto Police allege the woman traded her daughter for sex with men in exchange for drugs and money and also gave the girl crack cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Yet another way the drug war hurts children (and adults): falsely
rumored, but very dangerous, adulterants for drug tests. Young
people, concerned about impending drug tests in two separate states
last week, ingested things they thought would mask drug use. In the
first case, it was high doses of niacin; in the second, it was
straight bleach, both more dangerous than the drug use sought to be
hidden. | ||||||||||||||||
Prohibition fails the kids again as black market dealers allegedly
try the Boone's Hill Farm strategy. Just like the vintners of that
sickeningly sweet wine, some street dealers are purportedly mixing
illegal drugs with sweet flavorings to make them more appealing to
young people. And, in one more bizarre story from the kids and drugs
file, two high school students in Colorado were suspended from
school after apparently distributing pro-methamphetamine fliers as a
gag. | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) NIACIN WON'T MASK DRUGS; LARGE DOSES ARE DANGEROUS | ||||||||||||||||
Although it is touted on the Internet as a way to beat a drug test,
taking large doses of the over-the-counter supplement niacin, also
known as vitamin B3, is both ineffective and potentially dangerous,
researchers at the University of Pennsylvania warn. | ||||||||||||||||
Emergency physician Manoj K. Mittal of Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia and her colleagues reported last month in the Annals of
Emergency Medicine that they had treated four patients for niacin
overdose during the past two years. All had taken large quantities
of the vitamin after using marijuana or cocaine, and all recovered
from the overdose of niacin. | ||||||||||||||||
Two patients, both in their early 20s, said they used the vitamin to
conceal drug use before undergoing pre-employment urine tests to
detect illegal drug use. A third patient, a 14-year-old boy, said he
took niacin the day before he was to meet with his parole officer;
the fourth, a 17-year-old girl who was found unconscious, said she
popped niacin after using ecstasy and marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
Niacin is one of several over-the-counter supplements popularly
believed to subvert the results of drug testing. The authors note
that a Google search for niacin plus the phrase "pass urine drug
test" yielded more than 85,000 results. | ||||||||||||||||
It is erroneously believed, the authors write, that massive doses of
vitamin B3 can rapidly flush drugs from a user's body and produce a
negative drug test for marijuana and cocaine by speeding up
metabolism. | ||||||||||||||||
In reality, they write, it can prove toxic, causing heart
palpitations, vomiting, blood sugar abnormalities and liver failure.
The recommended daily dose of niacin is about 14 to 16 milligrams
per day; the 14-year-old who was treated at Children's said he took
5,500 milligrams. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) STUDENTS LEARN BLEACH WON'T FIX DRUG TEST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
BAY MINETTE - Three Baldwin County juveniles reported this week that
they drank bleach before taking drug tests in attempts to skew
results, but authorities said drinking the liquid won't affect the
test. | ||||||||||||||||
"Apparently, there is a rumor going around that you can drink bleach
to pass a drug test. That is simply not true," Maj. Anthony Lowery
of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office said. | ||||||||||||||||
Circuit Court Judge Carmen Bosch said paramedics responded to a teen
at the county courthouse who collapsed after his juvenile court
hearing Wednesday afternoon. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) DRUG DEALERS MIX IT UP FOR YOUNGER CROWD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Use Names Like 'Cheese' And 'Strawberry Quick,' Add Candy Flavoring | ||||||||||||||||
DALLAS -- In their quest to lure new, younger clientele, drug
dealers are mixing their wares with over-the-counter pain remedies
and other familiar products -- even candy -- and peddling them under
non-threatening names. | ||||||||||||||||
One such concoction, a blend of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM that
goes by the name "cheese," has been linked to the deaths of 19
teenagers in Dallas, including two 15-year-olds. | ||||||||||||||||
"If you're a drug dealer you have to target a new audience all the
time," said Garrison Courtney, a U.S. Drug Enforcement | ||||||||||||||||
Examples of the drug-mixing strategy also include candy laced with
marijuana and, in several states, flavored methamphetamine. In
Arkansas recently, a mix of meth and strawberry-flavored powder
normally used to create a children's milk drink turned up under the
name "Strawberry Quick." | ||||||||||||||||
"They're calling it 'cheese,' they're not calling it 'heroin,' " said Dr. Collin Goto, a toxicologist at Children's Medical Center Dallas. "It becomes much more appealing to younger kids because it doesn't have the stigma, they're not as afraid to get started." | ||||||||||||||||
Dallas school district police first became aware of the | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) FRUITA HIGH STUDENTS ADMIT TO DISTRIBUTING PRO-METH FLIERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Two students from Fruita Monument High School admitted Wednesday to
distributing fliers around Grand Junction that touted the benefits
of using crystal methamphetamine. The students came forward to
school officials and were suspended, Mesa County School District 51
spokesman Jeff Kirtland said. | ||||||||||||||||
Officers with the Grand Junction Police Department removed hundreds of fliers from vehicles parked at Mesa Mall and Wal-Mart on Rimrock Avenue on Tuesday afternoon. Fliers were also placed on cars at Fruita Monument High School and Grand Junction High School. | ||||||||||||||||
The fliers claimed meth use is good for weight loss, increasing athletic ability, improving awareness and curing colds. They read, "Meth: One man's risk is another man's benefit!" and "Trusted and used since 1887," and "Don't let the Man melt your "Ice"!" | ||||||||||||||||
Police said Wednesday they considered the fliers a hoax. | ||||||||||||||||
The students who distributed the fliers did not violate the law,
said spokeswoman Linda Bowman of the Grand Junction Police
Department. Bowman said the department didn't investigate the
incident because the fliers didn't include a phone number, which
would indicate a solicitation for business. And, neither of the
businesses pressed trespassing charges. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Citizens in Manchester, New Hampshire will likely pay twice this
year for federal anti-drug pork that they really don't need. The
city council set aside funds to cover the possible loss of federal
drug war funds, even though the federal funds could be restored.
Guess the city has too much money. Or police have too much power, as
appears to be the case in another story from the state, in which
government officials are seizing money from a racetrack because it
was allegedly (and rather vaguely) tied to an illegal drug
distribution case. In another instance of police power run amok, a
North Carolina judge won't be hearing certain criminal cases again,
seemingly as a result of police complaints about her softness on
drug and other crimes. And where does all this police power get us?
In Pennsylvania, police say Mexican drug cartels are more closely
involved in the local drug trade than ever. | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) CITY TAXPAYERS PICK UP TAB FOR STREETSWEEPER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MANCHESTER - While city leaders keep up their fight to restore
federal funding for a street-level drug fighting program, the new
city budget passed Tuesday will have taxpayers pick up the entire
cost of an identical operation - including paying overtime for state
troopers and state drug agents. An eleventh-hour budget several
aldermen presented Tuesday gave police $632,000 more than the $1.8
million hike the mayor proposed - including $291,890 for a special
anti-drugs and guns initiative. Manchester police asked for $291,890
to fund Operation Streetsweeper this year, but were told the money
wasn't available after Congress slashed funds for all federally
earmarked programs. | ||||||||||||||||
Police Chief John A. Jaskolka and Deputy Police Chief Glenn S. Leidemer said they were unaware the aldermen's budget set aside money for an identical initiative to make up for the lost federal funds until they got confirmation from city officials yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||
Leidemer said he had several discussions with the mayor's office and some alderman on how to make up the loss of Streetsweeper money. | ||||||||||||||||
But he said neither he nor the chief received advance notice that
the aldermen's budget contained funds to continue the program under
another name. The budget takes effect in the fiscal year beginning
July 1. | ||||||||||||||||
The new budget will pay for 10 additional police officers - which
would increase the force to 225 - and requires the department to
have 220 sworn officers on board before it can begin spending money
for the anti-drugs and guns initiative, Jaskolka said. | ||||||||||||||||
Operation Streetsweeper is a multi-agency initiative primarily geared to fighting street-level drug trafficking that had been funded through grants by the U.S. Attorney's Office. It involves city officers partnering with state police narcotics investigators and agents with the Attorney General's Drug Task Force. Most of the money is used to pay overtime, drug-buy costs, arrest "round ups" and overtime for state laboratory staff to do drug testing. | ||||||||||||||||
Jaskolka and Leidemer said they informed city officials beforehand that the undercover narcotics operation would not work without help from outside agencies since the city force lacks officers to do it alone. The new city budget includes paying $139,220 in overtime to state troopers and drug investigators and state laboratory staff. | ||||||||||||||||
It also will pay $68,640 in overtime to Manchester undercover agents and another $15,000 to the force's special reaction team. | ||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, Mayor Frank Guinta and city law enforcement leaders plan
to meet with U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, R-N.H., today to discuss
strategies to restore federal Streetsweeper funding. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) TRACK MONEY SEIZED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The federal government has seized more than $3 million in proceeds
of the 2005 sale of the former Lakes Region Greyhound Park from its
former owners, citing a drug money-laundering operation that was run
at the track in 2003 and 2004. Moving under the broad powers of a
federal drug money forfeiture statute, the Justice Department has
essentially frozen $3.3 million paid for the track by Marlin
Torguson, who re-opened the facility as The Lodge at Belmont and is
not involved in the case. The money was escrowed and has yet to be
paid to various members of the Hart family and Vincent DiCesare of
Massachusetts. | ||||||||||||||||
The government seized the funds last September, just days after
lawyers for the long-feuding Hart family members agreed on how the
proceeds should be split. The money under seizure had been placed in
an interest-bearing Merrill Lynch account during state court
proceedings and negotiations involving the Hart family, according to
Ronald Cook, an attorney for Hart Parimutuel, the company owned by
former Lakes Region general partner Allan Hart. Cook said the money
remains in that account today and has never been disbursed to the
owners. In a civil case now pending at U.S. District Court, the
Justice Department seeks a ruling by a judge or jury that the money
should be forfeited to the government. Attorney Cook and court
papers filed by lawyers for other former owners say the proceeds of
the sale should not be forfeited because that money is unrelated to
the money that was being laundered through the track by former
Belmont resident Randy Noe. | ||||||||||||||||
Noe has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges he conspired to sell oxycodone and launder money. "The funds from the sale have nothing to do with Randy Noe's money," said Cook said in an interview yesterday. "It's punishment. It's not like they're claiming that it's dirty money because it isn't." | ||||||||||||||||
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Rabuck said federal law allows for
seizure and forfeiture of "any and all property involved in the
money laundering, that would be the track, or any property traceable
to the property involved in the money laundering," which, he said,
would include the sale proceeds. Cook said the Justice Department is
also conducting a criminal investigation and has "interviewed some
but not all of the ( former ) owners and a host of former
employees." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) JUDGE SENT TO NEW JOB AFTER COMPLAINTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Officers' Remarks About Norelli Were a Factor, Chief Judge Says | ||||||||||||||||
After complaints from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police about her
rulings, District Judge Nancy Norelli has been removed from criminal
court and reassigned to hear divorce, child custody and child
support cases. Chief District Judge Fritz Mercer told the Observer
on Friday the complaints played a role in his decision to move
Norelli to family court last month. Officers had questioned
Norelli's judgment in dismissing charges and acquitting defendants
in cases involving drugs, guns, drunken driving and assaulting
police officers. | ||||||||||||||||
Norelli, 56, responding to the complaints, said she tries to do
what's right in her courtroom and she knows the law. | ||||||||||||||||
"I regret that some police officers disagree with my rulings to the
extent that it has become a departmental issue," she said. "The
police have their job to do, and as a judge, I have my job to do.
Police officers and judges do not always see eye to eye, but the
system is designed to provide fair and equal treatment under the
law." | ||||||||||||||||
Norelli, who said she didn't know until Friday that police complaints had anything to do with her reassignment, acknowledged that she's made mistakes over the years, but called the criticism from police "hurtful." But the judge quickly added: "I stand behind my decisions." It is unusual for a judge to be moved because of complaints against him or her, and some lawyers worry the decision could have a chilling effect on judges, who are supposed to be independent and shielded from outside pressure. Keeping track of complaints Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Maj. David Graham said he heard numerous complaints about Norelli and started collecting details early last year to determine whether a problem existed."It is highly unusual for us to go to this length," Graham said, "but our officers are out there risking their lives and working hard... and cases are being dismissed that shouldn't be dismissed." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) DRUG CARTELS GROWING HERE, CASTOR SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Increasingly sophisticated and aggressive Mexican drug cartels are expanding in Southeastern Pennsylvania, flooding the market with high-grade cocaine at low prices, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. told state legislators yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||
Montgomery County's Narcotics Enforcement Team has seized 2,400
pounds of marijuana and 313 pounds of cocaine from Mexican-based
drug organizations since 2004, said Castor, who showed legislators a
cache of semiautomatic weapons, bags of cocaine and marijuana, and
several talismans used by drug dealers for good luck when
transporting drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
The cartels have "flooded the Norristown market with the
highest-quality and lowest-priced cocaine ever found available in
the area," Castor said. | ||||||||||||||||
He appeared before the Policy Committee of the House Republicans, an
arm of the GOP caucus that develops policy proposals. | ||||||||||||||||
Castor did not say what proportion of the area's drug trade was
controlled by the newcomers. The area drug trade has been dominated
by area residents, according to Lt. Kevin McKeon, chief of
investigations with the Norristown Police. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Last Saturday activists in about 200 cities around the world took
part in the Global Marijuana March. | ||||||||||||||||
There are farmers in the United States who can drive for an hour or
so north to visit farms with huge fields of industrial hemp. Yet the
DEA can't figure out that industrial hemp and marijuana are not the
same at all. Oh, they may know, but are required to follow the
official government disinformation on the subject. | ||||||||||||||||
File the column by Ray Hackett under strange, apparently true, and amusing. Please follow the continued link to read it all. | ||||||||||||||||
It seems that the views of the chief DEA narc in Oregon has more
influence with the Portland City Council than the large majority of
Portland citizens who approved by initiative Oregon's medical
marijuana law. The narc was offended by authorized patients
medicating inside a tent hidden from the public. We wonder if this
clown is related to Norbert the Narc. | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) MARCHERS ADVOCATE LEGALIZING POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The smell of hot dogs and cannabis lingered in the air outside of
City Hall on Saturday, as more than 50 marijuana legalization
advocates gathered on the building's front lawn to celebrate the
Global Marijuana March. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis flags blew in the breeze and placards read "No U.S. Drug War in Canada" and "Repeal Cannabis Prohibition." Leaders of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party wanted to spread the message that cannabis prohibition is an issue affecting all Canadians. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The local march and barbecue were part of a worldwide celebration of
cannabis culture. This year, more than 200 cities, from Tokyo to
Mexico City, took part in the Global Marijuana March. | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) HEMP, CANOLA STUDIED FOR B.C. BIOENERGY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
VICTORIA - Even before significant increases in temperature, climate change is starting to prompt shifts in B.C. agriculture. | ||||||||||||||||
Increased interest in carbon-neutral fuel sources has put the focus
on ethanol and biodiesel options for farmland. One of the crops that
has popped up around B.C. is industrial hemp, a fast-growing plant
that produces vegetable oil as well as tough fibre used in rope and
textiles. | ||||||||||||||||
A 110-acre hemp crop was planted in the 100 Mile House area in 2006.
The agriculture ministry says smaller hemp plantings have been done
at Smithers, West Moberly near Fort St. John and on Vancouver
Island. | ||||||||||||||||
B.C. Agriculture Minister Pat Bell said the 100 Mile House pilot
project is being increased to 200 acres this year, to get to a
volume where processing facilities could use it to produce fibre and
potentially ethanol. B.C. is following the lead of Manitoba, which
has 28,000 acres in hemp, and Saskatchewan with 14,000 acres in
cultivation. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) POSTURING IN REGARD TO LEGAL POT RATHER AMUSING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A reader to my blog by the name of Bruce posted this comment: | ||||||||||||||||
"Next time you talk with Congressman Courtney please ask him about
this: http://majorityap.com/?q=node/18 ." | ||||||||||||||||
The Web page is a Republican-leaning group calling itself the
Majority Accountability Project. The specific item under discussion
is the effort of the Marijuana Policy Project to decriminalize the
use of marijuana for medical purposes. The Accountability Web site
points out how the marijuana lobbying effort is being focused at new
House members, and specifically singles out U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney,
D-2nd District, for taking a $2,000 campaign contribution from the
marijuana group's political action committee. | ||||||||||||||||
I soon received an e-mail from Chris Healy, head of the state
Republican Party and former campaign manager to former U.S. Rep. Rob
Simmons. | ||||||||||||||||
Tagging his e-mail with the words, "Joe Courtney Drop the Bong,"
Healy was quick with his criticism. | ||||||||||||||||
"It seems Joe Courtney can't say no to drugs, or rather those who
want to legalize them," he wrote. | ||||||||||||||||
I found it all rather amusing. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) PORTLAND DENIES PERMIT FOR HEMPSTALK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Marijuana Organizers Blame a Drug Agent; the City Objects to People
Openly Smoking Pot | ||||||||||||||||
Plans for the third-annual Portland Hempstalk, a festival
celebrating and calling for the legalization of marijuana, went up
in smoke Wednesday as the Portland City Council refused to grant a
permit. | ||||||||||||||||
Organizers say the event was undone by an activist federal agent who
has told medical marijuana users that they should turn to Jesus for
pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||
At a recent marijuana parade, the head of the Drug Enforcement
Administration office in Oregon "was exhorting individual medical
marijuana patients to give up their addictions to marijuana and take
Jesus into their hearts. Jesus would cure their pain," said Ann
Witte, a Portland lawyer and one of several Hempstalk planners
seeking City Council help. "It is the DEA which is behind the move
to stop Hempstalk." | ||||||||||||||||
City leaders acknowledge that Kenneth Magee, who leads U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration operations in Oregon, complained about
the open use of marijuana at Hempstalk and echoed the federal
agency's official line: Although the feds support research, they say
marijuana has no proven medical use. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A war of words broke out between the U.S. and Venezuela over "drugs"
last week as drug czars and justice ministers traded charges.
Venezuelan Justice Minister Pedro Carreno barred U.S. drug agents
from the country after calling the U.S. a "new cartel". "The United
States with its DEA monopolizes the shipping of drugs like a
cartel," Carreno said. "We determined that we were evidently in the
presence of a new cartel." The U.S. denied the charges, and shot
back some of its own via U.S. Drug Czar John Walters, who was in
Brussels this week. Walters responded that Venezuela has become a
"safe base" transshipment point for cocaine. Walters urged European
nations to pressure Venezuela to "cooperate" with the U.S., the Wall
Street Journal reported this week. | ||||||||||||||||
Controversial author and professor Michel Chossudovsky wrote this
week that the Afghan occupation forces themselves support the opium
trade, and that western banks profit from it. "The proceeds of this
lucrative multibillion dollar contraband are deposited in Western
banks." Chossudovsky made his comments in the North Shore News
newspaper, Quebec, Canada. "The Golden Crescent drug trade, launched
by the CIA in the early 1980s, continues to be protected by U.S.
intelligence, in liaison with NATO occupation forces and the British
military," says Chossudovsky. And what of the Senlis Council, a
European NGO that earlier recommended that Afghan opium simply be
purchased (for a fraction of what is now spent to try to make the
opium go away)? "The Senlis' campaign is part of the propaganda
campaign," says Chossudovsky. "It has contributed to providing a
false legitimacy to Afghanistan's opium economy... which ultimately
serves powerful vested interests." | ||||||||||||||||
We leave you with an OPED from the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper in Canada that takes the Conservative Party to task for a "bizarre" pledge made by party leader Hugh McFadyen to deny legal aid to "anyone previously convicted of drug trafficking". This is contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Winnipeg Free Press pointed out, and likely to be overturned. "Mr. McFadyen's automatic denial for some accused would, as the NDP noted, merely waste the court's time. The Tory leader is grandstanding for short-term political gain," writes the Winnipeg Free Press. | ||||||||||||||||
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(17) VENEZUELA CRITICIZES DEA AS 'NEW CARTEL' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela on Monday said it will not allow U.S.
agents to carry out counter-drug operations in the country, accusing
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of being a "new cartel"
that aids traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||
Justice Minister Pedro Carreno said the South American nation
suspended cooperation with the agency in 2005 after determining that
"they were moving a large amount of drugs." President Hugo Chavez at
the time also accused the DEA of spying. | ||||||||||||||||
"The United States with its DEA monopolizes the shipping of drugs like a cartel," Carreno told reporters. "We determined that we were evidently in the presence of a new cartel." He did not elaborate. | ||||||||||||||||
Spokesman Brian Penn said the U.S. Embassy categorically denies the
accusation and called the DEA "the leading agency combating drug
trafficking around the world." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"The Venezuelan government doesn't accept blackmail," Carreno said. Security agencies are willing to follow up on any information provided to track down traffickers, he added, but "what we will not permit them to do is carry out operations in our territory." | ||||||||||||||||
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(18) U.S. RAISES HEAT ON VENEZUELA OVER DRUG TRAFFICKING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
BRUSSELS -- Latin American drug cartels are using commercial
airports and ports in Venezuela as a "safe base" to ship increasing
quantities of cocaine to Europe, according to U.S. antidrug czar
John Walters. The comments by Mr. Walters, director of the White
House's office of National Drug Control Policy, added to an
escalating war of words between Venezuela and the U.S. over global
narcotics trafficking. Mr. Walters urged European nations that have
better relations with Venezuela than the U.S. has to persuade
President Hugo Chavez to cooperate more in combating the narcotics
trade. Mr. Walters's visit to Brussels also included talks with
European Union officials on drug eradication in Afghanistan. Mr.
Walters said he wasn't accusing Mr. Chavez or other senior
Venezuelan officials of involvement in the trade. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
As evidence, Mr. Walters cited the February seizure at Mexico City's airport of a metric ton of cocaine packed into at least 20 suitcases on a commercial airliner that flew in from Caracas. He said so large a shipment through a commercial airport suggests local corruption. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(19) OCCUPATION FORCES SUPPORT AFGHAN NARCOTICS TRADE... (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The occupation forces in Afghanistan are supporting the drug trade,
which brings between 120 and 194 billion dollars of revenues to
organized crime, intelligence agencies and Western financial
institutions. The proceeds of this lucrative multibillion dollar
contraband are deposited in Western banks. Almost the totality of
revenues accrue to corporate interests and criminal syndicates
outside Afghanistan. | ||||||||||||||||
The Golden Crescent drug trade, launched by the CIA in the early
1980s, continues to be protected by US intelligence, in liaison with
NATO occupation forces and the British military. In recent
developments, British occupation forces have promoted opium
cultivation through paid radio advertisements. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
While the controversial opium ads have been casually dismissed as an
unfortunate mistake, there are indications that the opium economy is
being promoted at the political level (including the British
government of Tony Blair). | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The Senlis' campaign is part of the propaganda campaign. It has
contributed to providing a false legitimacy to Afghanistan's opium
economy. (See details of Senlis Project), which ultimately serves
powerful vested interests. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) TORY PLEDGE IS BIZARRE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
IN search of a wedge issue in the election campaign, Conservative
Leader Hugh McFadyen soldiers on to out-do the New Democrats on law
and order. But on Sunday, his promised reforms slipped from a
get-tough agenda into the bizarre. | ||||||||||||||||
Mr. McFadyen pledged a Tory government would deny legal aid to
anyone previously convicted of drug trafficking, benefiting from the
proceeds of crime or being part of a criminal organization. As a
lawyer, Mr. McFadyen should know he cannot wield that kind of power
over the courts. | ||||||||||||||||
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees access to counsel, among a long list of fundamental rights for the accused. These rights protect an individual (and, by extension, the people) from the power of the state and the arbitrary application of law. Successive Canadian court rulings have enunciated the necessity of state-funded counsel for those who cannot afford a lawyer when charged with a serious offence. Further, in R v. Rowbotham in 1988, an Ontario appeal court upheld a judge's power to order that a state-paid lawyer be appointed to ensure a fair trial, even if the accused was denied legal aid. Mr. McFadyen's automatic denial for some accused would, as the NDP noted, merely waste the court's time. The Tory leader is grandstanding for short-term political gain. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Cutting crooks off legal aid is a cheap sound-bite that aims to
weaken the administration of a justice system designed to work in
everyone's interest. | ||||||||||||||||
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LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - APRIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Herb Couch of Nelson, B.C. for his four letters
published during April which brings his career total, that we know
of, to seven. Herb is the Western Canada Director for Educators For
Sensible Drug Policy http://www.efsdp.org Herb also newshawks for
MAP under a variety of newshawk lines, adding substantially to the
number of news clippings archived. | ||||||||||||||||
You may review his superb letters at | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
JOSEPH CALIFANO ON THE DIANE REHM SHOW | ||||||||||||||||
"High Society" | ||||||||||||||||
Joe Califano declared smoking tobacco "public health enemy number one"
when he served as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the
Carter administration. Today he's calling for a new attitude in
American attitudes toward all substance abuse and addiction, and a
revolution in how we deal with these problems. He joins Diane to
outline his vision. | ||||||||||||||||
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CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE OF HEALTH CANADA'S MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM | ||||||||||||||||
Hoping that the grass is greener on the other side of a legal
challenge. | ||||||||||||||||
The B.C. Supreme Court is currently hearing a constitutional challenge
of Health Canada's medical cannabis program. The case was brought to
court by the Vancouver Island Compassion Society. Philippe Lucas is
the founder of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, and a medical
marijuana user himself. We spoke to him earlier today, during a break
in the case. | ||||||||||||||||
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MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST RAICH DROPS FEDERAL LAWSUIT | ||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO -- An Oakland mother of two who smokes or eats marijuana every few hours to ease chronic pain said Thursday she would quit her losing legal battle in federal court to legally take the drug. | ||||||||||||||||
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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
http://www.kpft.org/ | ||||||||||||||||
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"WE MADE BROWNIES AND I THINK WE'RE DEAD." | ||||||||||||||||
Here's one for the Drug War Injustice files: A Cop in Dearborn,
Michigan lost his job because he and his wife were caught making up
marijuana brownies. Naturally, he acquired the weed by taking it off
criminal suspects in the line of duty. But I can't decide whether the
real outrage is that Cpl. Sanchez was allowed to quit his job without
any criminal charges being filed or that the reason he got caught was
that he got so stoned he called 911 thinking he and his wife were
"overdosing" on marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
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WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
FIGHT INJUSTICE AND MAKE YOUR MOTHER PROUD! | ||||||||||||||||
The holiday we celebrate this Sunday originated as a protest to the
carnage of the Civil War, by women who had lost their children and
spouses to violence. This Mother's Day, let's honor that history by
speaking up for the women who have lost their children to America's
longest-running war: the war on drugs. New York residents, make
your mother proud and take action! | ||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
REMOVE PATIENTS FROM WAR ON DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||
By Michael Phillips | ||||||||||||||||
I am a 36-year-old man with an inoperable brain tumor, which causes
multiple seizures a day. I have been a patient at Children's
Hospital and the Kirklin Clinic since the age of 8. I have had four
unsuccessful brain surgeries. I have been on every seizure
medication known to mankind, as well as some that never received
Food and Drug Administration approval. | ||||||||||||||||
A few years ago, I saw a program on marijuana being used as a seizure deterrent. I decided to try marijuana as a medicine, and I have had better results using marijuana in its natural form than from any other treatment in my life. My seizures have decreased from six to eight per day to one seizure every six to eight weeks. My neurologists have documented this in my medical records. | ||||||||||||||||
I have also been arrested twice for possession of marijuana. It
caused me great hardship both on a psychological level and a
monetary level. I wondered then, as I do now, why people in 12
states are treated like patients and allowed access to medical
marijuana, but here in Alabama I am treated like a criminal for
trying to treat my illness. Are people in other states somehow more
deserving of treatment options than Alabamians? | ||||||||||||||||
There is a bill, HB 206, before the House Judiciary Committee called
the Compassionate Care Act, which would protect physicians who
recommend marijuana to their patients for certain illnesses like
cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV and seizures. It also would protect
the patients, like me, who use marijuana as medicine from being
prosecuted under state law. Please call your elected officials and
tell them to vote yes on the Compassionate Care Act. | ||||||||||||||||
If we must have a war on drugs, can we at least remove the patients
from the battlefield first? | ||||||||||||||||
Michael Phillips | ||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NO QUICK FIX | ||||||||||||||||
By Marsha Rosenbaum | ||||||||||||||||
School-Based Drug Testing Is Costly, Intrusive and Counterproductive. | ||||||||||||||||
Though touted by the Bush administration as the "silver bullet" that
will force teenagers to "just say no," random drug testing is of
questionable effectiveness. It is also costly, counterproductive and
violates basic American values. That's why the million-member
California State PTA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the
National Education Association, the National Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence, and the majority of the nation's school
districts oppose school-based drug testing. | ||||||||||||||||
According to the Academy of Pediatrics, "There is little evidence of
the effectiveness of school-based drug testing in the scientific
literature." In fact, the only federally funded, peer-reviewed
study, which compared 94,000 students in 900 U.S. schools, found no
difference in illegal drug use between schools with and without a
testing program. | ||||||||||||||||
Before subjecting secondary school students to a policy as invasive as random drug testing, evidence of its efficacy should be more conclusive than anecdotes offered by a few enthusiastic proponents and a drug testing industry that stands to reap billions. | ||||||||||||||||
Drug testing is costly. With federal grants, individual schools,
many of them strapped for funds, spend between $10,000 and $40,000
per year for testing. This money could be used more productively for
sports, arts, drama, music and other extracurricular activities that
keep teens engaged between3 and 6 p.m., when they are bored and
unsupervised. The funds could also be used to hire credentialed
counselors who could focus full-time on substance abuse and related
mental health issues. | ||||||||||||||||
Drug testing, regardless of how it's packaged, is an invasive
diagnostic procedure. Like other health issues, alcohol and other
drug use should first and foremost be the domain of parents and
physicians. If parents want to drug-test their own children, they
can easily buy over-the-counter kits at their local pharmacies or
see their family doctors, leaving schools out of it. | ||||||||||||||||
There is no quick fix for the complex issue of substance abuse.
Quality drug education and after-school programs that help students
thrive will best result in the kind of responsible decision-making
that endures beyond the teen years and into adulthood. | ||||||||||||||||
Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum, a medical sociologist, directs the San Francisco office of the Drug Policy Alliance. She is co-author of Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators are Saying No. | ||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"In preprohibition days, mothers had little fear in regard to the
saloon as far as their children were concerned. A saloon-keeper's
license was revoked if he were caught selling liquor to minors. Today
in any speakeasy in the United States you can find boys and girls in
their teens drinking liquor, and this situation has become so acute
that the mothers of the country feel something must be done to protect
their children." -- Pauline Sabin | ||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Richard Lake (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), This Just In selection, Hot Off The Net selection and Layout by Matt Elrod (). Analysis comments represent the personal views of editors, 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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