| May 18, 2007 #499 | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) IN OTHER AFGHAN WAR, DRUGS ARE WINNING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. Hopes For Colombia-Like Stability | ||||||||||||||||
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Using mock wooden AK-47 assault rifles, Lieutenant John Castaneda and
Corporal John Orejuela demonstrate commando tactics to about 20 new
members of what is intended to be an elite Afghan drug strike force.
The recruits - who U.S. officials say lack even basic law enforcement
skills - watch wide-eyed. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is kindergarten," said Vincent Balbo, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration chief in Kabul, whose office is overseeing the
training. "It's Narcotics 101." | ||||||||||||||||
Another DEA agent added, "We are at a stage now of telling these
recruits, this is a handgun, this is a bullet." | ||||||||||||||||
It is a measure of Afghanistan's virulent opium trade, which has
helped revive the Taliban while corroding the credibility of the
government, that U.S. officials now hope that Afghanistan's drug
problem will someday be only as bad as that of Colombia. While the
Latin American country remains the world's cocaine capital and is
still wracked by drug-related violence, U.S. officials argue that
decades of counternarcotics efforts there have at least helped
stabilize the country. | ||||||||||||||||
"I wanted the Colombians to come here to give the Afghans something to
aspire to," Balbo said. "To instill the fact that they have been doing
this for years, and it has worked." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) 'SNITCHING' INCITED SHOTS, MAN TESTIFIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
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A drug dealer who shot and killed two students at point-blank range in
2003 in Richmond did it out of revenge, testified Kimiko Wilson, who
is on trial for the slayings. | ||||||||||||||||
"(Uichema Okeigwe) was snitching on him to other drug dealers that he
was selling in central Richmond," Wilson said. | ||||||||||||||||
Wilson, 22, testified Wednesday on his own behalf for the second day
in Superior Court in Martinez, saying he is not guilty of the June 16
shooting that killed 22-year-old Okeigwe, a student at Diablo Valley
College, and 16-year-old Erica Young, who attended Mt. Diablo High
School in Concord. Sheianna Babcock, 31, was wounded. | ||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors have charged Wilson with two counts of murder and one
count of attempted murder. | ||||||||||||||||
From the witness stand, Wilson spoke in an informal tone, swearing
more than 60 times in two hours. He described being at the scene at
the moment of the slayings, the real killer's confession and the
prohibition against helping police solve a crime. | ||||||||||||||||
Wilson sold marijuana on the streets and testified that a drug dealer
who tries to sell on the turf of another drug dealer gets in big
trouble. | ||||||||||||||||
That is what 27-year-old Marcus Rauls was doing, and Okeigwe told
other drug dealers about it, Wilson testified. | ||||||||||||||||
"One of the main laws of the streets, or whatever the (expletive) you
want to call it, is that you don't sell drugs outside your territory,"
he testified. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) K-9 DRUG SWEEP SPARKS DEBATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In recent years, K-9 sweeps of schools by police have raised concerns
that these searches may violate students' constitutional rights. While
some area school districts have allowed sweeps, others have not
embraced the practice. | ||||||||||||||||
In the past year, the Colonial Board of School Directors has resisted
requests by local police to perform K-9 searches of hallway lockers in
district schools. | ||||||||||||||||
A letter from the school board's attorney claims that merely having a
suspicion and not hard evidence of student drug use on campus is an
insufficient reason to let the police dogs routinely search school
lockers. | ||||||||||||||||
While fear of unreasonable searches is a legitimate concern when the
animals are used to randomly sniff a student's body, clothing or book
bag, the same expectation of privacy does not apply to school lockers,
which are school property, according to an analysis of a 1998
Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling involving a former Harborcreek High
School student in Erie County. | ||||||||||||||||
The former student, Vincent Cass, was arrested in 1994 after a K-9
sweep of his school found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his
locker. Cass filed a lawsuit claiming the police action constituted an
unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment and Article
1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. | ||||||||||||||||
Though the trial court granted a motion to suppress the seized
evidence, and the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the ruling, the
state Supreme Court ultimately reversed the decision. | ||||||||||||||||
The justices ruled students' measure of privacy was limited regarding
school lockers, and concluded from case law that dogs sniffing lockers
was not even considered a search under the Fourth Amendment, according
to a case summary by legal expert Mark Strezelecki. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) PUB LTE: INCREMENT OF HARM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Government Obsession With Drug Crime Has Overshadowed The Needs Of The
Truly Marginalised | ||||||||||||||||
UK drug policy is unique. In no other area of social policy do we criminalise at one stroke both recreation and disadvantage. In no other area have we seen so much evidence of the counterproductive effects of a predominantly criminal justice response to a public health problem. And we have seen almost no genuine debate or evidence- based scrutiny from ministers. The last 10 years of this parliament's tacit and active support for a policy based on moral panic has finally broken the camel's back. As the Home Office reviews its last 10-year strategy - results are expected next month - the Drugs and Health Alliance has been formed to bring together organisations committed to bringing about a public health-led approach for the next decade. | ||||||||||||||||
In the mid-80s the Conservative government, in the face of a potential
HIV/Aids epidemic, initiated a proactive harm reduction strategy that
led to the UK having one of the world's lowest rates of HIV. It was
based exclusively on a pragmatic public health and harm reduction
approach to dealing with unsafe sex and injecting. No one suggested
that we should ramp up penalties for injecting drugs or make unsafe
sex illegal. How times have changed. Twenty years later there are
significant political taboos among senior policymakers who dare
question the prevailing tough criminal justice line on drugs. The
result has been that most of the drugs initiatives in the last decade
have had draconian law-making at their core. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The fine line between legal and illegal drugs may be getting hazier as Purdue Pharma executives pled guilty last week to misleading the public about the true nature of Oxycontin, the company's most popular product. It seems the narcs will go after anyone they want, even if their product is legal. Along the same lines, federal regulators are ready to ban one of the ingredients in the legal pain-killer fentanyl; and a private company claims to have a test that will make the distinction between the use of "good meth and bad meth." And, in another exercise in futility, another state is eagerly awaiting a report from its anti-meth task force . | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) DRUG EXECS PLEAD GUILTY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Oxycontin Makers Misled Public About Addictive Painkiller | ||||||||||||||||
ROANOKE, Va.. - The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin and
three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty Thursday
to misleading the public about the drug's risk of addiction, a
federal prosecutor and the company said. Purdue Pharma LP, its
president, top lawyer and former chief medical officer will pay
$634.5 million in fines for claiming the drug was less addictive and
less subject to abuse than other pain medications, U.S. Attorney
John Brownlee said. | ||||||||||||||||
The plea agreement settled a national case and came two days after
the Stamford, Conn.-based company agreed to pay $19.5 million to 26
states and the District of Columbia to settle complaints that it
encouraged physicians to overprescribe OxyContin. | ||||||||||||||||
"With its OxyContin, Purdue unleashed a highly abusable, addictive, and potentially dangerous drug on an unsuspecting and unknowing public," Brownlee said. "For these misrepresentations and crimes, Purdue and its executives have been brought to justice." | ||||||||||||||||
Privately held Purdue learned from focus groups with physicians in
1995 that doctors were worried about the abuse potential of
OxyContin. The company then gave false information to its sales
representatives that the drug had less potential for addiction and
abuse than other painkillers, the U.S. attorney said. | ||||||||||||||||
Ken Jost of the Justice Department's Office of Consumer Litigation
said this case should put pharmaceutical companies on notice that
they won't be able to get away with breaking the law to make a
profit. | ||||||||||||||||
"The things that they plot in their boardrooms, the things that they
do behind closed doors will not stay behind closed doors," Jost
said. "We have the people, we have the resources. We'll take the
time and we'll take the effort to find out what they did and how
they did it." Purdue Pharma said it accepted responsibility for its
employees' actions and has implemented changes to prevent a similar
occurrence. Company Chief Executive Officer Michael Friedman,
general counsel Howard Udell and former chief medical officer Paul
Goldenheim each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of misbranding
the drug. Of the total fine, $34.5 million was levied on those
three. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) U.S. WILL LIMIT USE OF FENTANYL INGREDIENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The federal government announced Monday that it will regulate a chemical that can be used in the production of fentanyl, a powerful drug often combined with heroin and blamed in the deaths of more than 200 people in metro Detroit since late 2005. | ||||||||||||||||
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said the
government will regulate the manufacture, importation, exportation
and distribution of the chemical N-phenethyl-4-piperidone, also
known as NPP. | ||||||||||||||||
Officials say NPP is a base chemical used in production of fentanyl
in the United States and has been seen in several fentanyl labs
raided in the last seven years. | ||||||||||||||||
"If we can control the precursor, hopefully we can reduce the
illicit manufacture of fentanyl," Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns said
Monday. | ||||||||||||||||
However, law enforcement authorities say Mexico was the likely source of many overdoses in cities, including Detroit, last year. | ||||||||||||||||
Fentanyl -- as much as 50 times more powerful than heroin -- is
blamed in more than 1,000 overdose deaths in the United States since
2005, the drug policy office said. | ||||||||||||||||
The office said Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia have seen an
extremely high number of fentanyl-related deaths. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) GOOD OR BAD METH? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
COVINGTON - A small tech firm in Covington has developed a way to
tell whether people who take drug tests have been using the "bad"
methamphetamine - the illegal street drug - or its chemical
half-sister, "good" meth, which is a common ingredient in
over-the-counter cold relief products. | ||||||||||||||||
ASAP Analytical in November bought the rights to build computerized
systems that separate materials into their basic molecular
structures and then use infrared light to analyze the unique
"fingerprint" of every chemical in a material. | ||||||||||||||||
Had the test been developed years earlier, it might have helped
British skier Alain Baxter show beyond doubt after the 2002 Salt
Lake City Winter Olympics that he had used the Vicks inhaler.
Baxter, known as "the Highlander," was stripped of his bronze medal
in slalom skiing. | ||||||||||||||||
The Court of Arbitration for Sport several months later cleared
Baxter of suspicion he had intended to cheat by using the Vicks
inhaler. But his Olympic medal was not reinstated. | ||||||||||||||||
Baxter participated in the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and still
competes. | ||||||||||||||||
Today, law-enforcement agencies can use ASAP's combination of gas chromatography and infrared spectroscopy to determine what form of methamphetamine someone on parole or probation has used. | ||||||||||||||||
"It actually shows up different in two parts of the ( infrared )
spectrum, so now you can differentiate between 'd' ( dextro- ) and
'l' ( levo- ) forms of methamphetamine," said Lewis Smith, a
forensic scientist with the New Jersey State Police South Regional
Laboratory. "And that is really good." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) ANTI-METH GROUP SETS MAIN PRIORITIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Gov. Janet Napolitano's Methamphetamine Task Force on Monday
unveiled 10 priority recommendations on how Arizona can fight meth
use and related crimes. | ||||||||||||||||
The main priorities include: | ||||||||||||||||
- -- Expanding prevention programs for high-risk populations,
schools, rural areas and tribal nations. | ||||||||||||||||
- -- Working with the Office of Homeland Security and tribal
governments to prevent the trafficking of methamphetamine and
chemicals used to make the drug. | ||||||||||||||||
- -- Expanding treatment for meth users, including treatment
alternatives to prison. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is the first time in this state that there is a coordinated
effort to address what is possibly the No. 1 drug problem in the
state," said Barbara LaWall, Pima County attorney and task force
chairwoman. "Now we're going to have to do mini-action-plans for
each step." | ||||||||||||||||
From 2004 to 2005, methamphetamine-related hospital admissions in Arizona rose by 20 percent, according to the task force's report. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
North Carolina police have advice for sellers of alleged drug
paraphernalia: Don't say what it's for. Officers arrested six store
owners who acknowledged that products could be used for drug
activity. | ||||||||||||||||
Out of all of the outrages of the drug war, photographing a drug
suspect with a sombrero on his head might not seem like the worst,
but this is the one federal officials are taking seriously, perhaps
because they are still taking heat for prosecuting a pair of border
patrol agents who illegally shot suspects. | ||||||||||||||||
Also last week, more corruption and incompetence made possible only
by the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) UNDERCOVER STING NABS SIX STORES FOR DRUG VIOLATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
You're a store clerk and a customer walks up to the cash register
with a set of digital scales, then says, "Man, I want to buy these
to weigh my cocaine." | ||||||||||||||||
What do you do? Hint: The correct answer is not "Complete the sale." | ||||||||||||||||
Six convenience-store owners in High Point learned that lesson the
hard way Friday as they and some of their employees were cited for
allegedly making such sales to undercover agents. | ||||||||||||||||
Officers from the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement and the
High Point Police Department issued citations for drug violations at
four stores on various parts of Green Drive, and at one each on
Kivett Drive and West English Road. | ||||||||||||||||
Undercover detectives bought scales, smoking pipes, rolling papers,
plastic bags and cigars, none of which amounted to a crime until the
purchaser told the clerk about their purported use with drugs, said
ALE investigator Chris Poole . | ||||||||||||||||
"They should have refused to sell at that point," Poole said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) SOMBRERO INCIDENT TO GET FEDERAL REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. Attorney 'Troubled' By Report Of Agent's Photo Of Drug
Trafficking Suspect | ||||||||||||||||
RALEIGH - A federal review was launched Friday into an incident in
which a Drug Enforcement Administration agent forced a drug
trafficking suspect to pose for a photograph wearing a sombrero and
holding a Mexican flag. George Holding, the U.S. attorney for the
Eastern District of North Carolina, announced in a news release
Friday that he was "troubled" by an article in Thursday's News &
Observer about the case. He has asked the Department of Justice,
which oversees both the U.S. Attorney's Office and the DEA, to
determine whether Jorge Hernandez-Villalvazo's civil rights were
violated. "Regardless of what crime an individual may have
committed, all are entitled to humane and respectful treatment by
the criminal justice system," Holding stated. Although the
photograph was taken in the spring of 2005, its existence wasn't
made public until this week. | ||||||||||||||||
The DEA has not released the agent's name, in line with its policy not to identify agents in most situations. The federal agency is doing its own investigation into the circumstances surrounding the photograph, said Ruth Porter-Whipple, an Atlanta-based spokeswoman for the federal agency. The agent worked from the DEA's office on Falls of Neuse Road in Raleigh at the time of the incident. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) BORDER CASE PUTS U.S. ATTORNEY ON DEFENSIVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Johnny Sutton prosecuted a pair of agents who shot a fleeing Mexican
smuggler. | ||||||||||||||||
Conservatives are up in arms. | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Internet cartoons show him with horns and the word
"TRAITOR" branded on his forehead. Conservative talk radio derides
him as "Johnny Satan." At least two Republican congressmen, normally
staunch defenders of the Bush administration, have castigated him on
the House floor. | ||||||||||||||||
If the White House and Justice Department had added Johnny Sutton to
the list of federal prosecutors to be fired, his ouster probably
would not have raised an eyebrow among Democrats, and it would have
pleased much of the president's conservative base. | ||||||||||||||||
Sutton is the U.S. attorney in west Texas. Based in San Antonio, his
border district reaches to El Paso. For five years he has been the
top federal lawman in one of the nation's busiest regions, a job he
long dreamed of having. It also is one he secured with deep ties to
President Bush and Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, going back to
their time in state government in Austin. | ||||||||||||||||
The uproar is over his prosecution of two U.S. Border Patrol agents
for the February 2005 shooting of a fleeing Mexican drug smuggler
near El Paso, a shooting the agents tried to cover up. Last year,
Sutton's office won convictions against Agents Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos
and Jose Alonso Compean. | ||||||||||||||||
Each was a line officer in what many people consider a hopeless chore: trying to hold back a deluge of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Each is a father of three. And each was sentenced to more than a decade in prison: Ramos to 11 years, Compean to 12. | ||||||||||||||||
"This was a serious, serious crime," Sutton said Thursday on a
conservative radio program in Houston, trying again to calm the
anger on the political right. "It is a serious crime when law
enforcement officers shoot at somebody, shoot him in the back as
he's running away, and then cover up the crime." | ||||||||||||||||
The agents were sentenced in October, just as the White House and Justice Department were preparing plans to fire eight other federal prosecutors, and the parallel events have left normally strong Bush supporters disappointed that Sutton was not terminated too. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) THIRD HOLLYWOOD OFFICER GUILTY IN DRUG STING | ||||||||||||||||
A third Hollywood police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to heroin
conspiracy charges arising from an undercover FBI corruption sting
in which federal agents posed as mobsters involved in drug
trafficking, illegal gambling and stolen valuables. | ||||||||||||||||
Detective Thomas Simcox, 50, pleaded guilty to being one of four
Hollywood officers who helped escort a large load of what they
thought was heroin concealed inside a truck from Miami Beach to
northern Broward County in November 2006. In reality, the drugs were
fake and the traffickers were FBI agents. | ||||||||||||||||
"Guilty, your honor," Simcox told U.S. District Judge Donald Graham
when asked for a plea. | ||||||||||||||||
Graham set sentencing for July 18. The drug charge carries a
sentence of between 10 years and life in prison, but because Simcox
cooperated with the FBI he could receive a reduced sentence if
prosecutors recommend one. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) POLICE MISTAKENLY RAID WRONG HOUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Officers with the Hendersonville Police Department mistakenly
entered the wrong house when executing a search warrant early
Saturday morning. | ||||||||||||||||
Two teams of officers were executing a search warrant shortly after
1 a.m. at 729 Geneva St., when one team of three officers went to
the rear of the wrong house, said Capt. John Nicholson. | ||||||||||||||||
The team coming to the rear of the house had to cross yards and over
a fence, Nicholson said. | ||||||||||||||||
"The officers became disoriented, entered the wrong house and told
the people to get down," Nicholson said. | ||||||||||||||||
There was a party at 208 Oak St., the house entered by mistake and the residence of Dennis and Sandra Braswell, Nicholson said. | ||||||||||||||||
"Two of the people at the party, when they saw the officers, took
off running," Nicholson said. | ||||||||||||||||
This added to the confusion. | ||||||||||||||||
"The third officer with the team realized they were at the wrong house, told the rest of the team, and they began exiting," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
There were no injuries. There was minor damage to the house,
Nicholson said. | ||||||||||||||||
"The Police Department will see to it the damage is repaired," he
said. "We met with the owners and apologized. | ||||||||||||||||
"This has never happened before," Nicholson said. | ||||||||||||||||
There were some underage youths at the party on Oak Street, he said.
Officers notified the youths' parents, who came and picked up the
young people. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Ed Rosenthal's federal trial on marijuana growing charges got off to
an interesting start as the defendant's attorney made heroic efforts
to let the jury know the case is really about medical marijuana,
even though the judge has barred anyone from saying so in the
courtroom. In other celebrity cannabis news, football star Ricky
Williams has failed another drug test. | ||||||||||||||||
College students, and even college journalists are starting to ask
the right questions about cannabis prohibition. At one Washington
state university, students used campus voting to recommend
equalizing the penalties for alcohol and marijuana. At a Washington,
D.C. university, the student newspaper took an in-depth look at
marijuana distribution arrests on campus. | ||||||||||||||||
And, finally, the Los Angeles Times took reported at the taste and
nutritional value of hemp. | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) ROSENTHAL TRIAL BEGINS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
San Francisco Pot Advocate's New Trial Begins | ||||||||||||||||
The lawyer for marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal pushed as far as she
could Tuesday against a judge's edict to keep the subject of medical
marijuana out of his retrial on federal cultivation charges, trying to
let jurors know that Rosenthal was growing cannabis for sick patients.
Defense attorney Shari Greenberger began her opening statement in
federal court in San Francisco by addressing jurors as "fellow
Californians,'' a less-than-subtle reminder that state voters
legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996. She later acknowledged
that "this is a federal case brought by the federal government. There
are certain areas where we cannot go.'' Greenberger said, "Mr.
Rosenthal is a scientist and the government will attempt to suppress
his ideas. ... For the past 40 years, my client, Ed Rosenthal, has
been a proponent of marijuana advocacy and reform, and that is why we
are here.'' Her opening statement drew repeated objections from the
prosecution, and U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer told the jurors
they were there to decide whether Rosenthal was guilty of growing
marijuana, not to draw conclusions about why the government was
prosecuting him. | ||||||||||||||||
For his part, Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan described the case as a straightforward prosecution for marijuana cultivation. He reminded the jurors in his opening statement that they had promised to apply the law according to Breyer's instructions. Rosenthal, 62, an authority on marijuana cultivation and writer of numerous books and magazine articles on the subject, was arrested in 2002 and charged with growing thousands of plants in an Oakland warehouse for patients at a San Francisco dispensary. He was convicted in 2003 but sentenced by Breyer to only one day in jail, which he had already served. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) RICKY WILLIAMS FAILS POT TEST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NFL Advised To Delay Miami Dolphin Running Back's Reinstatement | ||||||||||||||||
Ricky Williams, who spent last season in the CFL while serving an
NFL drug suspension, has tested positive again for marijuana,
according to a source. | ||||||||||||||||
A person familiar with the case said the former NFL rushing champion
tested positive last month. | ||||||||||||||||
Williams had applied to the NFL for reinstatement in April but
following the latest positive drug test, clinicians in the program
advised league commissioner Roger Goodell to delay reinstatement,
the source said. | ||||||||||||||||
Both the NFL and Dolphins declined comment. Leigh Steinberg, Williams' agent, did not immediately return a telephone message. | ||||||||||||||||
Williams spent the 2006 season with the Toronto Argonauts, rushing
for 526 yards on 109 carries but missed two months with a broken arm
and Achilles tendon injury. But yesterday in Toronto, Argos
president Keith Pelley said if Williams has indeed tested positive,
he won't be able to find refuge in the CFL this season. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) HIGH MINDED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Sophomore Smokes Out UW's Hypocritical Drug Policy | ||||||||||||||||
With 65 percent approving, University of Washington students passed a referendum May 10 advising the school to equalize penalties for alcohol and pot. That's the first step in changing campus policy. | ||||||||||||||||
Currently, according to UW's official alcohol and drug-abuse
statement, students are prohibited from using either substance on
campus: "Violation of the University's alcohol and drug prohibitions
is cause for disciplinary or other appropriate action." | ||||||||||||||||
However, according to Tim Kelly, the sophomore behind the pot vote (
he's the president of UW's chapter of NORML/SSDP, the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for
Sensible Drug Policy ), there's a disparity when it comes to
enforcement. Residential advisers, who are like dorm moms, have
repeatedly told Kelly they are allowed to simply pour a student's
hooch down the drain. End of story ( even for minors ). But if
marijuana is suspected, residential advisers are required to call
the UW police--and then students face arrest, suspension, expulsion,
or eviction from student housing. | ||||||||||||||||
Chris Jaehne, assistant director of residential life, confirms most
of Kelly's depiction, but maintains that alcohol infractions are
written up and minors could face punishment. | ||||||||||||||||
"The penalties for each substance should reflect the harms of the
substance to the individuals," Kelly says. "The system the school
has for alcohol works fine, so they should use that system for
marijuana." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(17) DRUGS IN THE DORMS - A LOOK AT MARIJUANA ARRESTS ON CAMPUS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Freshman Sriram Prakash was standing outside of Package Services
when an early snow fell Jan. 15. Handcuffs bound his arms behind his
back. | ||||||||||||||||
Flanked by two Metropolitan Police Department officers wearing civilian clothing, Prakash was arrested on drug charges. The undercover officers had waited in Foggy Bottom until Prakash arrived at Package Services to retrieve a box filled with marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
Each year, several students are arrested by MPD on charges of
possession with intent to distribute marijuana. These arrests have
become more prevalent on campus in recent years, according to police
records obtained by The Hatchet under the D.C. Freedom of
Information Act and University officials. Prakash is one of at least
four students to be arrested this academic year on this type of drug
charge. | ||||||||||||||||
Many of the students arrested by MPD on intent to distribute charges
are evicted from University housing and expelled from GW. Rarely do
these students serve any time in jail for their offenses, though
many are on probation, according to police and court records
obtained by The Hatchet. | ||||||||||||||||
Statistics for drug law arrests have fluctuated drastically in the
past decade, but University officials said arrests for drug
distribution are more prevalent this year. | ||||||||||||||||
"We have seen a rise in cases that involve distribution of drugs,"
said Tara Woolfson, director of Student Judicial Services, in an
e-mail. "This is a significant concern for us. I can't speculate as
to why we have seen an increase." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip[ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(18) SOY'S NEW COMPETITION: HEMP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Breads, Bars And Milk Are Flying Off The Shelves, But Excitement Is
Outpacing Evidence | ||||||||||||||||
Like a bloodhound, Gira Balistreri is racing through the palatial
Whole Foods Market in El Segundo, sniffing out some of her favorite
foods. | ||||||||||||||||
A new employee at the 65,000-square-foot flagship store, she goes
directly to several shelves of hemp shakes and snacks, then trots
over to tidy rows of hemp butter and oil, then rushes down an aisle
and snaps up a fresh package of hemp tortillas on her way to the
hemp bars, hemp bread and hemp bagels. | ||||||||||||||||
"Hemp," she says excitedly, "is just an awesome seed." | ||||||||||||||||
Balistreri isn't alone in her devotion. In the last two years, sales
of hemp food products in markets and grocery stores rose by more
than 50%, propelling the unassuming seed to an $8.6-million
industry, according to SPINS, a market research and consulting firm
for the natural products industry. | ||||||||||||||||
Hemp foods began filtering into grocery stores about five years ago, after the 1998 legalization of industrial hemp farming in Canada. The U.S. currently prohibits commercial cultivation of industrial hemp, but allows the import of seeds, oil, flour and other byproducts to be manufactured into ready-to-eat foods in the U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
The plant's shelled seed, or nut, can be added to baked goods and
nutritional supplements and bars, sprinkled onto other foods such as
salads and yogurt, or eaten alone as a snack. The seed can also be
milled into flour, which can be used for baked goods, and pressed to
make oil, which can be used in salad dressings, dips, spreads and
sauces. ( Due to its high unsaturated fat content, hemp oil must be
refrigerated and is unsuitable for frying. ) | ||||||||||||||||
There are hundreds of hemp foods now available online and on
supermarket shelves, says Robin Rogosin, a certified nutritionist
and buyer for Whole Foods Market. Rogosin estimates that the chain's
selection has tripled in the last year. Hemp milk, the newest
addition, is flying off the shelves, she says. | ||||||||||||||||
"We're shipping truckloads -- 60,000 liters of it so far," confirms
Mike Fata, president and co-founder of Canada's Manitoba Harvest,
which introduced Hemp Bliss milk in March. | ||||||||||||||||
Living Harvest, an Oregon-based hemp food manufacturer, is forecasting just under $5 million in sales in 2007 -- a three-fold increase from 2006, largely due to sales of its own hemp milk product, Hempmilk, company President Christina Volgyesi says. | ||||||||||||||||
Hemp appeals to consumers for several reasons. It can be used as an
alternative to soy products such as soy milk, which some people
can't tolerate. Some people find hemp foods tasty. ( We'll get to
that in a minute. ) Others are attracted to hemp's nutritional
value. This may be its strongest draw. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In Mexico, President Calderon's splendid little War on Drugs takes a new turn as the head of a federal anti-narcotics intelligence unit, Jose Nemesio Lugo Felix, was killed last week. The killing of this "high-ranking official" who worked out of the attorney general's office in Mexico City led critics to complain Calderon's ramped-up drug war "has made the violence worse, and that he was not fully prepared for the escalation of violence that followed." | ||||||||||||||||
When police want to paint prohibition as a success, they make some
busts, and call press conferences to crow they have taken 'drugs off
the street'. South African police are no different, and last week
made the claim that some recent large busts there, instead of
indicating large supplies, meant that "we're winning the war on
drugs." The claim, reported in the South African Cape Argus
newspaper, hailed assertions by the "SA Police Service, the U.S.
government and independent South African security experts" that
South Africa "is winning the war against drugs." However, there were
some clouds on the drug-free horizon, the Cape Argus paper let on,
as "accusations of police corruption are frequent." And the "major
obstacle" to a drug-free utopia? The "low level of co-operation
received from the public." | ||||||||||||||||
If you're a Prime Minister, and your foreign military adventures go sour, what do you do? Why, you loudly ramp up a war on drugs (read: cannabis) back home, that's what you do. (Ignoring the existence of things like hashish or Thai cannabis), you can stoke fears by accusing shadowy foreign criminal gangs of developing "a new form of incredibly potent cannabis" which is grown by "Vietnamese criminal gangs in Canada". This dark "new threat" was "revealed", says The Advertiser newspaper, in the government "Crime Commission's annual Illicit Drug Data Report." Most (70%) of "drug" arrests in Australia, the report admitted, were for cannabis possession. And in some "frightening statistics," The Advertiser reported, some 100,000 MDMA pills are consumed every weekend in Australia, giving "Australia ... the world's highest rate of ecstasy consumption." | ||||||||||||||||
And finally, a report from a prohibitionist conference in Turkey
sponsored by European Cities Against Drugs (ECAD). And what is the
target of these prohibitionists' wrath, you ask? The "legalization
of cannabis," of course. In attendance was John Walters, U.S. Drug
Czar, who hailed Turkish prohibition efforts. "Turkey is a story of
amazing success," said Walters. But as elsewhere, the public doesn't
exactly share police enthusiasm for jailing cannabis users. Lamented
Walters, "one area we have not had consensus is cannabis." The U.S.
Drug Czar went on to accuse "the Soros Foundation" of thwarting drug
prohibition "by funding a worldwide campaign to legalize cannabis
claiming it is not worth fighting against." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) OFFICIAL'S SLAYING PROMPTS CALLS FOR TROOPS IN MEXICO CITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Party Officials Say The Capital Was Unprepared For A Backlash From
The War On Drug Traffickers | ||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- The leaders of two political parties called Tuesday for army troops to be dispatched to this capital city and its suburbs to fight drug traffickers in the wake of the assassination of a high-ranking official in the attorney general's office. | ||||||||||||||||
President Felipe Calderon promised an "unprecedented battle" against
the traffickers, who have killed as many as 1,000 people this year
as they fight Mexican authorities while battling one another for
control of a lucrative trade in cocaine, methamphetamines, heroin
and other illicit drugs. Most of the drugs are shipped to the United
States. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Jorge Chabat, an author and drug trade expert here, said the public
would probably continue to back Calderon's efforts against the
traffickers, despite the recent setbacks. | ||||||||||||||||
"It could be argued that Calderon's offensive has made the violence
worse, and that he was not fully prepared for the escalation of
violence that followed," Chabat said. "But the only other
alternative was to do nothing. Or to make a deal with the drug
traffickers. And that just isn't possible in a democratic state
under the rule of law." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
On Tuesday, observers said Lugo Felix's death could mark a turning
point in the nation's drug war. | ||||||||||||||||
"The killing is proof of the enormous power and impunity of
organized crime," said an editorial in the left-leaning La Jornada,
which accused the Calderon government of launching its anti-drug
offensive without adequate preparation or protection for even the
highest officials involved in the operation. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Leaders of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, which
controls Mexico City's government, called any such deployment in the
capital premature. | ||||||||||||||||
"The army is the last card we should play," said Victor Hugo Cirigo,
a PRD city lawmaker and the leader of the capital's Legislative
Assembly. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) WE'RE WINNING THE WAR ON DRUGS, POLICE WARN DEALERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
South Africa - a staging post to Europe and America - is winning the
war against drugs, say the SA Police Service, the U.S. government
and independent South African security experts. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
And two weeks ago police seized cocaine worth R60 million at OR Tambo International Airport, bringing the total value of this drug seized at the airport over the past two years to between R200m and R300m. This was the first major bust at OR Tambo for many months. | ||||||||||||||||
SAPS spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo said police seized drugs worth hundreds of millions of rands between November 2005 and last June, which brought a sudden halt to smuggling through the airport. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
In its recently released International Narcotics Control Strategy
Report for 2007, the U.S. State Department praised South Africa for
its commitment to fighting domestic and international drug
trafficking, production and abuse. | ||||||||||||||||
Last year there were 273 organised-crime groups operating in South
Africa, with at least 132 of these involved in drug trafficking,
according to the report. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
There has been an explosion in the abuse and manufacture of
methamphetamine in Cape Town, where the drug has cut a swathe
through communities, and gangs regularly wage a bloody war over
territory in a bid to control supply. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
And because of this crackdown, labs were increasingly being
established on farms, making them more difficult to find and
destroy. | ||||||||||||||||
The report says that although drug seizures were becoming more
frequent in South Africa, accusations of police corruption are
frequent. However, credible evidence against South African law
enforcement officials has not been brought to light. | ||||||||||||||||
Naidoo, meanwhile, admits there is corruption within the SAPS but
adds that it must be measured against "the hundreds of other loyal,
honest and hard-working officers. When you look at it like that,
there is no comparison." | ||||||||||||||||
The Institute for Security Studies says the major obstacle to
stopping the illicit drug trade and dealing with drug syndicates is
the low level of co-operation received from the public. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(21) ASIAN GANGS DEVELOP HIGHLY POTENT CANNABIS STRAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
POLICE fear a new form of incredibly potent cannabis is destined to
hit Australia. | ||||||||||||||||
Vietnamese criminal gangs in Canada have developed a sophisticated
method of growing the plant indoors year round. | ||||||||||||||||
It greatly increases both the yield and potency of the cannabis and
cuts growing time. | ||||||||||||||||
Latest criminal intelligence suggests that Australia-based
Vietnamese drug dealers have travelled to Canada to learn how to
cultivate the highly addictive cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||
They are expected to use this knowledge to grow and sell it in
Australia. | ||||||||||||||||
The new threat was revealed in the Australian Crime Commission's
annual Illicit Drug Data Report. | ||||||||||||||||
Justice Minister David Johnston said the amount of illegal drugs
seized had decreased from 13 tonnes in 2004-05 to six tonnes in
2005-06, but the number of drug arrests had increased. | ||||||||||||||||
"We have more people arrested for less weight," Mr | ||||||||||||||||
The report reveals that cannabis is the most commonly used illicit
drug in this country. | ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis arrests account for almost 70 per cent of drug arrests in
Australia. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Frightening Statistics | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
* At least 100,000 ecstasy pills are used every weekend in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
* Australia has the world's highest rate of ecstasy
consumption | ||||||||||||||||
* Twenty per cent of Australians aged 20 to 29 take
ecstasy | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(22) EUROPE UNITES AGAINST CANNABIS IN ISTANBUL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In an effort to fight against drugs European leaders meet in Turkey,
one of Europe's major drug traffic hubs, to advocate a cannabis free
world | ||||||||||||||||
The current international debate on cannabis zoomed in on Turkey,
when last week European mayors and municipal leaders combating drug
abuse gathered in Istanbul to lobby the U.S. government to continue
its fight against the legalization of cannabis and discuss the
challenges that drugs pose to their cities. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP), told the Turkish Daily News that Turkey's
relationship with the United States in the fight against drugs has
been outstanding. He hailed the efforts of the Turkish government to
harmonize anti-drug legislation with international laws. "This
allows us to use as many of the law enforcement tools in the world
as we can to fight against drugs ... Turkey is a story of amazing
success," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis is the most widely used drug among teenagers. After cigarettes and alcohol it is the most common introductory substance to a life of addiction as it changes the wiring of the human brain. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
He underlined, however, that although there was broad consensus
against the dangers of cocaine, synthetic drugs, and heroin, "one
area we have not had consensus is cannabis." | ||||||||||||||||
Walters accused the Soros Foundation of undermining the policies of
anti-drug organizations by funding a worldwide campaign to legalize
cannabis claiming it is not worth fighting against. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SHOULD WE SUBJECT TEENS TO VIRGINITY TESTS SO THEY CAN "JUST SAY NO?" | ||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration is pushing high schools across the country to
implement random, suspicion-less student drug testing. The logic is
that we need to rid our schools of drugs and give students more ways
to "Just Say No." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
http://www.kpft.org/ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MORE REPORTS FROM WARSAW | ||||||||||||||||
Allan Clear continues his reporting from the International Harm
Reduction Association conference in Warsaw, this time covering days
two and three. | ||||||||||||||||
http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy_main/2007/may/18/more_reports_from_warsaw | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DRUG VIOLENCE RAMPANT IN MEXICO | ||||||||||||||||
By Lourdes Garcia-Navarro | ||||||||||||||||
Vowing to topple drug cartels in Mexico, President Felipe Calderon has
deployed thousands of troops to fight deadly drug gangs. The bloodiest
gunfight recently occurred along the border with Arizona when armed
assailants killed 22 people, including five policemen, in a five-hour
gun battle. More than 900 people were killed in drug-related incidents
in Mexico this year. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
THE COLOMBIA EXPERIMENT | ||||||||||||||||
By Dan Gardner | ||||||||||||||||
On Wednesday, a feature story in the New York Times began with an unusual scene. In a compound outside Kabul, a group of raw Afghan recruits was being instructed in the basics of enforcing drug laws. "It's Narcotics 101," one of the instructors, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, told the reporter. "We are at a stage now of telling these recruits, 'this is a handgun, this is a bullet.' " | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
ESEQUIEL HERNANDEZ, JR. MEMORIAL GALLERY | ||||||||||||||||
On May 20, 1997, Esequiel Hernandez, Jr. was herding his family's
goats 100 yards from his home on the US-Mexican border in Redford,
Texas as he did every day. | ||||||||||||||||
Unknown to Esequiel or any of the other residents of Redford, a group
of four Marines led by 22-year old Corporal Clemente Banuelos had been
encamped just outside the small village along the Rio Grande River for
three days. After watering his small flock of goats in the river,
Esequiel started on his way back home when the Marines began stalking
him from a distance of 200 yards. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
APPLY FOR A GRANT TO FURTHER DRUG POLICY REFORM | ||||||||||||||||
Through the annual Promoting Policy Change grant cycle, the Drug
Policy Alliance (DPA) seeks to broaden public support for drug policy
reform. Policy Change grants fund strategic and innovative approaches
to increase such support, including public education campaigns and
organizing efforts. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
ARGUMENT GOES TO POT | ||||||||||||||||
By Jerry Epstein | ||||||||||||||||
The letter from Stephen J. Barringer entitled "Pot reconsidered" (
May 3) is a classic example of attempts to distort science through
selective presentation. At issue is the relative danger of marijuana
when compared to other drugs of potential abuse. | ||||||||||||||||
Barringer stressed: "Research published in the medical journal The
Lancet... shows cannabis to be more dangerous than LSD or ecstasy."
A more accurate statement would have also said that research
published in The Lancet shows cannabis to be less dangerous than
cigarettes and much less dangerous than alcohol. ( Also, there were
two independent panels involved and one ranked ecstasy as more
dangerous than marijuana. ) | ||||||||||||||||
Not mentioned is the fact that The Lancet ( arguably the world's leading medical journal for a century ) has called for the legalization of marijuana since 1995: "Sooner or later politicians will have to stop running scared and address the evidence: cannabis per se is not a hazard to society but driving it further underground may well be." The Lancet is well aware of the recent claims ( grossly exaggerated ) and has not changed its ultimate conclusion. | ||||||||||||||||
Most important is the fact that making a drug illegal increases its
danger, hampers productive research, prevention and treatment, does
not significantly alter its use, and does an enormous amount of
damage by creating illicit drug markets - marijuana being their
biggest seller and their bridge to offer other illicit drugs to
consumers - that bring crime, violence and corruption on a massive
scale. | ||||||||||||||||
Jerry Epstein | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
THE UN-WINNABLE WAR | ||||||||||||||||
By David White | ||||||||||||||||
Persons and pundits both local and national are criticizing the war in Iraq as un-winnable and demanding a change in policy while, sadly, they seem indifferent to the glaring failure of another war which has been pursued for over 40 years, cost more money, destroyed more lives, killed more citizens and generated more anguish than any conflict since World War II; the so called 'War On Drugs.' It is our government's policies rather than the substances involved which are more responsible for the ongoing deaths, defilement, misery and despair which permeate our society. Incarceration, stigmatization, surreptitious spying, asset forfeiture, poisoning our environment, turning friends and family members into traitors and squealers. | ||||||||||||||||
Drug free zones, zero tolerance policies, dope sniffing dogs,
seemingly no idea too fanciful, frivolous or absurd that it is
refused its ignoble place in this pathetic pursuit of the
unattainable. | ||||||||||||||||
Each of us should ask ourselves, after 40 years of stricter laws,
tougher enforcement and harsher punishments is the problem now
better or worse? Is it easier or more difficult now to obtain
illicit drugs if one is so inclined? | ||||||||||||||||
Our drug laws are prohibitionist in nature and prohibitionist laws
do NOT work for they seek to overcome two obstacles which cannot be
overcome; the law of supply and demand, and the rule of risk and
reward. | ||||||||||||||||
As long as there is demand for a product or service there will
always be someone willing to provide it. Our laws attack the supply
side of this equation with a predictably futile result. | ||||||||||||||||
For despite the ever increasing amounts of illegal drugs confiscated
there ALWAYS remains adequate supply available to fulfill the demand
and there ALWAYS will be. We have jammed our prisons with criminals
who sell and deal in these drugs and yet there are always more to
take their place for the truth is that the only effect of this
monumental enforcement effort is to raise the price of these
substances and once the price is high enough there will ALWAYS be
someone willing to take the risk. | ||||||||||||||||
Acknowledging that the drug problem is not going to go away, our
focus should be on policies which improve rather than exacerbate the
situation. It is imperative the monetary profit be removed and as
the only thing making these substances valuable is their illegality
they should be at a minimum de-criminalized. | ||||||||||||||||
The benefits from these changes would be immediate and remarkable.
Police officers could return to performing tasks of benefit to the
public rather than play catch me if you can with some Al Capone
wannabe. Prosecutors and judges would have the time to pursue
matters which now must be dismissed due to the burden of prosecuting
the deluge of drug offenses. Our prison system would have the space
to house the dangerous individuals who need and deserve to be
located there. | ||||||||||||||||
The resources now being wasted on these functions could be
redirected toward providing serious public education concerning the
dangers of these drugs and providing the facilities for the
rehabilitation of those seeking such. Addicts could be provided a
location to use their drugs allowing our parks to again be used as
playgrounds rather than 'shooting galleries.' The spread of diseases
associated with drug use could be reduced along with the
accompanying cost of medical treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
As with any dramatic change there would be winners and losers. | ||||||||||||||||
The losers would include all those who are now profiting from the
status quo, street gangs, smugglers and criminal organizations
currently gorging themselves on the tremendous untaxed revenue they
are receiving as well as law enforcement agencies receiving funding
grants and seizing cash from drug raids to continue this enforcement
farce. | ||||||||||||||||
Winners would be all of us in the public suffering personally or
financially as a result of this misguided effort. | ||||||||||||||||
But those who find my proposals appalling need not fear them being
adopted as long as we have Republicans and Democrats making the
laws; political harlots concerned only with what makes good politics
rather than good policy. | ||||||||||||||||
These are the 'generals' running the 'war' who insist that doing
more of what we have done for 40 years past will somehow produce
different results in the future. | ||||||||||||||||
Obstinate and recalcitrant fools willing to fight to the last drop
of someone else's blood and the last dime of someone else's money
rather than adopt someone else's suggestions. They are supported by
persons who have exchanged their humanity for moral righteousness
and their compassion for moral superiority. They prefer policies
which make them feel good rather than policies which would
accomplish good. | ||||||||||||||||
Compared to our chances of winning the current 'war on drugs,'
succeeding in Iraq looks like a sure thing. | ||||||||||||||||
David White is Oroville's outspoken advocate of good public policy. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"Liberty: One of Imagination's most precious possessions."
- Ambrose Bierce | ||||||||||||||||
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