| Dec. 5, 2008 #578 | ||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||
(1) OPED: LET'S END DRUG PROHIBITION (Top) | ||||||||||||
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Most Americans agreed that alcohol suppression was worse than
alcohol consumption. | ||||||||||||
It's already shaping up as a day of celebration, with parties
planned, bars prepping for recession-defying rounds of drinks, and
newspapers set to publish cocktail recipes concocted especially for
the day. | ||||||||||||
But let's hope it also serves as a day of reflection. We should
consider why our forebears rejoiced at the relegalization of a
powerful drug long associated with bountiful pleasure and pain, and
consider too the lessons for our time. | ||||||||||||
The Americans who voted in 1933 to repeal prohibition differed
greatly in their reasons for overturning the system. But almost all
agreed that the evils of failed suppression far outweighed the evils
of alcohol consumption. | ||||||||||||
The change from just 15 years earlier, when most Americans saw
alcohol as the root of the problem and voted to ban it, was
dramatic. Prohibition's failure to create an Alcohol Free Society
sank in quickly. Booze flowed as readily as before, but now it was
illicit, filling criminal coffers at taxpayer expense. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) OPED: OUR DRUG POLICY IS A SUCCESS (Top) | ||||||||||||
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Workplace Tests for Cocaine Show the Lowest Use on Record. | ||||||||||||
Whatever challenges await him, President-elect Barack Obama will not
have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to keeping a lid on the use
of illegal drugs. Our policy has been a success -- although that
success is one of Washington's best kept secrets. | ||||||||||||
Reported drug use among eighth, 10th and 12th graders has declined for six straight years. Teen use of cocaine, marijuana and inhalants is down significantly, while consumption of methamphetamine and hallucinogens like LSD and Ecstasy has all but collapsed. | ||||||||||||
The number of workplace tests that are positive for cocaine is down
sharply, to the lowest levels on record. Even the sudden spike of
meth use -- remember the headlines from just a few years ago? -- has
yielded to a combination of state and federal regulations
controlling meth ingredients. And abroad, crackdowns in Colombia and
Mexico have caused the price of cocaine to roughly double in the
past two years. | ||||||||||||
These results are testament to the efforts and teamwork of men and
women who are virtually unknown to most Americans. They include
people like community organizer Rev. Richard McCain in southeast
Cleveland, who risked his life to drive crack dealers out of his
neighborhood; drug-treatment experts like Dr. Johanna Ferman, who
developed new ways to reach female addicts with young children in
the nation's capital; and principals like Lisa Brady, who instituted
a drug-testing program and watched drug use fall like a rock at her
Flemington, N.J., high school. They include Nashville, Tenn., Judge
Seth Norman, who got tired of seeing the same faces over and over
again and decided to found a drug court, where he coaches defendants
to stay clean and sanctions them when they fail. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) HOSPITALS NOW A THEATER IN MEXICO'S DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||
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TIJUANA, Mexico -- The sedated patient, his bullet wounds still
fresh from a shootout the night before, was lying on a gurney in the
intensive care unit of a prestigious private hospital here late last
month with intravenous fluids dripping into his arm. Suddenly,
steel-faced gunmen barged in and filled him with even more bullets.
This time, he was dead for sure. | ||||||||||||
Hit men pursuing rivals into intensive care units and emergency rooms. Shootouts in lobbies and corridors. Doctors kidnapped and held for ransom, or threatened with death if a wounded gunman dies under their care. With alarming speed, Mexico's violent drug war is finding its way into the seeming sanctuary of the nation's hospitals, shaking the health care system and leaving workers fearing for their lives while trying to save the lives of others. | ||||||||||||
"Remember that hospital scene from 'The Godfather?' " asked Dr.
Hector Rico, an otolaryngologist here, speaking about the part in
which Michael Corleone saves his hospitalized father from a hit
squad. "That's how we live."
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[snip]
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(4) CASUAL DRUG USERS BLAMED FOR VIOLENCE IN JUAREZ (Top) | ||||||||||||
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EL PASO -- Sometimes controversial and always outspoken, former Los
Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates said Thursday that casual drug
users in the U.S. are at the root of the violence in Juarez and
should be shot. | ||||||||||||
Gates was in El Paso to speak at a ceremony for graduating peace
officers. | ||||||||||||
Gates, who led the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992,
also predicted that the violence in Juarez would spill over into El
Paso and that law enforcement agencies on the U.S. side should be
prepared. | ||||||||||||
"I don't think the people in the United States are grasping what a serious problem it is. Mexico has lost more people in a very short period of time than those lost in Iraq or Afghanistan," he said. | ||||||||||||
"I think, you know, I have such a low opinion of the people in the
United States who continue to use drugs. They are really responsible
for what's happening in Mexico -- they really are. We go along every
day. We don't take that responsibility that we ought to assume.
Somebody asked me one time about casual drug users, I said they
ought to take them out and shoot them."
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[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||
As if everything that happens in the U.S. drug czar's office isn't disturbing enough, now the New York Times reports that the job appears to be a launching pad for lucrative but morally questionable influence peddling, at least for one former drug czar. | ||||||||||||
Elsewhere, the economic arguments for ending drug prohibition grow as financial news worsens for government; in a change of pace, the DEA looks for "savvy" applicants; and a Maine group wants to be exempt from marijuana laws based on religious freedom. | ||||||||||||
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(5) ONE MAN'S MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL-MEDIA COMPLEX (Top) | ||||||||||||
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In the spring of 2007 a tiny military contractor with a slender track record went shopping for a precious Beltway commodity. | ||||||||||||
The company, Defense Solutions, sought the services of a retired
general with national stature, someone who could open doors at the
highest levels of government and help it win a huge prize: the right
to supply Iraq with thousands of armored vehicles. | ||||||||||||
Access like this does not come cheap, but it was an opportunity
potentially worth billions in sales, and Defense Solutions soon
found its man. The company signed Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired
four-star Army general and military analyst for NBC News, to a
consulting contract starting June 15, 2007. | ||||||||||||
Four days later the general swung into action. He sent a personal
note and 15-page briefing packet to David H. Petraeus, the
commanding general in Iraq, strongly recommending Defense Solutions
and its offer to supply Iraq with 5,000 armored vehicles from
Eastern Europe. "No other proposal is quicker, less costly, or more
certain to succeed," he said. | ||||||||||||
Thus, within days of hiring General McCaffrey, the Defense Solutions
sales pitch was in the hands of the American commander with the
greatest influence over Iraq's expanding military. | ||||||||||||
"That's what I pay him for," Timothy D. Ringgold, chief executive of
Defense Solutions, said in an interview. | ||||||||||||
General McCaffrey did not mention his new contract with Defense
Solutions in his letter to General Petraeus. Nor did he disclose it
when he went on CNBC that same week and praised the commander
Defense Solutions was now counting on for help -- "He's got the
heart of a lion" -- or when he told Congress the next month that it
should immediately supply Iraq with large numbers of armored
vehicles and other equipment. | ||||||||||||
He had made similar arguments before he was hired by Defense
Solutions, but this time he went further. In his testimony to
Congress, General McCaffrey criticized a Pentagon plan to supply
Iraq with several hundred armored vehicles made in the United States
by a competitor of Defense Solutions. He called the plan "not in the
right ballpark" and urged Congress to instead equip Iraq with 5,000
armored vehicles. | ||||||||||||
"We've got Iraqi army battalions driving around in Toyota trucks,"
he said, echoing an argument made to General Petraeus in the Defense
Solutions briefing packet. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) COLUMN: LEGALIZING DRUGS: THE MONEY ARGUMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||
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Friday marks 75 years since repeal of the Volstead Act, which made
the manufacture, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages
illegal in the United States. As the anniversary of the end of
Prohibition approaches, modern advocates of a similar repeal are
calling again for the decriminalization of heroin, cocaine and
marijuana - and this time they've come packing a money argument by a
Harvard economist. | ||||||||||||
I like money arguments. They are usually a lot more effective than
emotional ones or those that exploit stubborn prejudices with the
intent of maintaining the status quo. | ||||||||||||
As the American economy recedes, state and local tax revenues fall
and government budgets are cut, the money argument for changing the
way we do things - from enforcing the laws to educating children -
makes the most sense and has the strongest appeal. | ||||||||||||
I've made the argument in this space for more government investment
in drug treatment, criminal rehabilitation and ex-offender services
- and not just because it's the humane thing to do, but because it's
the common-sense thing to do. | ||||||||||||
We have the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world, and
fancy revolving doors on an expensive prison system that takes back,
within just three years, more than half of all inmates it releases.
We keep financing public failure on a scale that would never be
tolerated in private enterprise. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) DEA ON LOOKOUT FOR SAVVY WOMEN (Top) | ||||||||||||
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Recruiter Emphasizes the Value of Brains Over Brawn
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A federal drug agent gets a badge, and is trained to shoot, kick in
doors and slap on handcuffs. | ||||||||||||
Often though, it is the smarter agent, not the stronger one, who
catches the bad guy. | ||||||||||||
"It is brains, not just brawn," said Violet Szeleczky, a senior Drug
Enforcement Administration agent based in Houston. "You have to be
able to put two and two together," she said of the twists an
investigation takes. | ||||||||||||
Szeleczky, who oversees the recruiting squad in this region, is
hoping to get that message across in order to boost the number of
women who might otherwise shy away from a career with the DEA, which
is 91 percent male. | ||||||||||||
It is a disparity not unlike those among the ranks of the Houston
Police Department, the Marine Corps and other outfits also trying to
extend their appeal to female recruits. | ||||||||||||
The HPD, which is 86 percent male, recently unveiled advertising
that features images of female officers and testimonials posted on
the Web. | ||||||||||||
"In my entire life, I have never felt more purposeful and elated
every time I wake up to start a new day," says Anna Swanson, a new
officer who was the leader of her HPD Academy class. "I have never
been so happy and healthy as I am now and full of direction and
purpose."
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[snip]
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(8) GROUP USES MARIJUANA AS SACRAMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||
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Temple Of Advanced Enlightenment Seeks Religious Exemption From DEA | ||||||||||||
BANGOR, Maine - Every Tuesday and Sunday afternoon the living room
in the Rev. Kevin Loring's apartment becomes a tiny house of
worship. | ||||||||||||
The head of the 3-year-old Temple of Advanced Enlightenment earlier
this week stood next to a round table as five others sat on sofas
and chairs pushed back against the walls. They formed an uneven
circle in the second-floor walk-up. | ||||||||||||
"We use music as a form of prayer," Loring, 28, told them as the service began. "It helps us to see a little bit more clearly." | ||||||||||||
He played Ben Harper's "I'll Rise" as the worshippers bowed their
heads. After the song, the minister gave thanks to the Pure One and
to Mother Earth. Then the minister prepared the sacrament by placing
a small amount of marijuana in a wooden pipe. | ||||||||||||
"The taking of the sacrament is a very serious tradition," he said.
"It's a very holy spiritual tool. It is with great respect that we
take part in the sacrament."
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Loring lit the pipe at 4:20 p.m., inhaled, exhaled, then took a
drink of water from a large clear glass. The minister passed the
pipe and lighter to his fellow clergyman, the Rev. Garrett Wozneak,
28, of Glenburn. Wozneak inhaled, exhaled, passed the pipe and drank
from the glass Loring offered as they participated in the Sacred
Smoking Circle. | ||||||||||||
In smoking marijuana followed by taking a drink, participants take in the four elements - marijuana from the earth, fire to light it, wind to inhale and exhale the smoke and water, according to Loring. | ||||||||||||
"Cannabis is the Divine Inheritance given to all people by Mother Earth so that we may unlock the mystery of the many and varied messages of the Pure One," the group's Web site states. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||
More crisis, corruption and overkill, and a rare bit of justice, at
least for the survivors. | ||||||||||||
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(9) FEDERAL JUDGES TO RULE ON CALIF. PRISON CROWDING
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California's day of reckoning has finally come for three decades of
tough-on-crime policies that led to overcrowded prisons and
unconstitutional conditions for inmates. | ||||||||||||
The federal courts have already found that the prison system's
delivery of health and mental health care is so negligent that it's
a direct cause of inmate deaths. | ||||||||||||
A special three-judge panel reconvenes Tuesday and is prepared to decide whether crowding has become so bad that inmates cannot receive proper care. If they do, the panel will decide if lowering the inmate population is the only way to fix the problems. | ||||||||||||
That could result in an order to release tens of thousands of
California inmates before their terms are finished, a move Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican lawmakers say would endanger
public safety. | ||||||||||||
"The time has come: The extreme, pervasive and long-lasting
overcrowding in California prisons must be addressed," attorney
Michael Bien, representing inmates, told the judges during the
opening of the trial. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(10) POLICE DOGS COMING SOON TO A SKYTRAIN NEAR YOU (Top) | ||||||||||||
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TransLink steps up security at certain stations in an effort to quell the perception that the transit line is a magnet for crime | ||||||||||||
TransLink plans to boost bike patrols and introduce police dogs at SkyTrain stations in an attempt to bolster security and quell a public perception that the transit line is a magnet for crime. | ||||||||||||
The move, based on two recent TransLink public opinion studies and a
crime analysis, is aimed at securing the public transit system,
particularly at stations where transit users say they feel
"apprehensive" or the least safe. | ||||||||||||
The security review comes ahead of the 2009 opening of the Canada Line linking Vancouver and Richmond and the 2010 Winter Olympics. | ||||||||||||
"We really needed to step back and have an honest look at what was
happening and how to deal with it," TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie
said. | ||||||||||||
TransLink has already boosted the number of SkyTrain attendants and transit police at stations perceived to be the least safe, including Surrey Central, New Westminster, Broadway, Main and Metrotown. | ||||||||||||
It is also in the midst of training bike patrols, upgrading stations such as Broadway and testing sniffer dogs, making use of city police and RCMP dogs trained in detecting drugs and explosives. | ||||||||||||
Transit Police Chief Ward Clapham said if the dogs work out and are accepted by the public, transit police could develop their own team of sniffer dogs, using either German shepherds or Labradors, or work in partnership with Vancouver police and RCMP dog teams. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) FBI: POLICE OFFICERS, JAIL GUARDS WERE MUSCLE FOR 'DRUG DEALS' (Top) | ||||||||||||
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Four Harvey police officers, 10 Cook County jail guards and a
Chicago police officer have been charged with providing muscle for
what they thought were major drug deals - but were really fake
transactions that were part of an FBI sting. | ||||||||||||
In one of the largest crackdowns on law enforcement officers in
recent years, the FBI is accusing the officers of accepting between
$400 and $4,000 each on one or more occasions to serve as lookouts
and intervene if police or rival drug dealers attempted to interfere
with shipments of cocaine and heroin. | ||||||||||||
In May, for instance, jail guards Ahyetoro Taylor and Raphael Manuel
accompanied someone they thought brokered large-scale drug
transactions but was really an undercover FBI agent. | ||||||||||||
A twin-propeller plane landed at the west suburban DuPage Airport,
where they boarded and began counting what they thought was 80
kilograms of cocaine stashed in four duffel bags, according to
federal authorities. | ||||||||||||
They allegedly took the bags to the undercover FBI agent's car and
watched as another undercover agent pulled up in a Mercedes, took
the bags and drove off. | ||||||||||||
Taylor and Manuel took $4,000 each, authorities said. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) D.C. SETTLES IN DEATH OF PARALYZED JAIL INMATE (Top) | ||||||||||||
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The mother of a quadriplegic inmate who died in 2004 after suffering
breathing problems at the D.C. jail has reached financial
settlements with the District government and his care providers, her
attorneys disclosed yesterday. | ||||||||||||
The settlements were reached in the controversial death of Jonathan
Magbie, a 27-year-old Maryland man who was paralyzed from the neck
down and used a mouth-operated wheelchair. | ||||||||||||
Magbie died four days into a 10-day jail sentence for possessing
marijuana, which he said he used to ease the discomfort caused by
his disability. The jail infirmary, where he was housed for several
days, wasn't equipped with the ventilator he needed to breathe at
night. | ||||||||||||
His death sparked several government investigations, which exposed
major lapses in Magbie's care at the D.C. jail and Greater Southeast
Hospital. | ||||||||||||
Attorneys for his mother, Mary R. Scott, declined to provide details
of the financial settlement, which she reached with the city,
private contractors and the insurance company that covered doctors
at the hospital. The American Civil Liberties Union, which
represented Scott, called the settlement "substantial" in a news
release. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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Based on the number of plants torn up and people arrested, an
anti-cannabis campaign in California was celebrated in the U.S.
capital as a great success. | ||||||||||||
Cannabis warriors in Hawaii are finding reasons not to implement a new lowest enforcement priority initiative on the Big Island. | ||||||||||||
Medicinal cannabis activists won a legal victory last week when the
California Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of lower court
rulings, which ordered the Garden Grove City Police to return a
patient's now three year old stash. | ||||||||||||
Finally, an interview with High Times Editor David Bienenstock on
his new cannabis smoker's handbook. | ||||||||||||
(13) ANTI-MARIJUANA CAMPAIGN EARNS NATIONAL HONORS (Top) | ||||||||||||
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A trial program in Tulare County that targets marijuana growing
operations proved so successful it's being recognized Thursday in the
nation's capital. | ||||||||||||
The Sheriff's Department was nominated for, and has received, this
year's National Marijuana Initiative Award. | ||||||||||||
Sheriff Bill Wittman is in Washington, D.C. to receive the recognition of achievements during a ceremony in the Eisenhower Office Building. | ||||||||||||
The award is in recognition of the marijuana eradication and drug trafficking investigations resulting from operation LOCCUST. | ||||||||||||
Operation LOCCUST was a law enforcement demonstration project that
blended the region's best capabilities into a unified attack upon
marijuana cultivators and the criminal enterprises bankrolling the
cultivation sites, according to information released by Sheriff's
Department spokeswoman Sgt. Chris Douglass.
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The effort led to removal of thousands of marijuana plants prior to
harvest, in addition to a number of arrests. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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The season's effort involved more than 240 federal, state and local agency personnel, representing 14 local, state and federal agencies. | ||||||||||||
By day and by night, uniformed police patrolled the dusty Sierra Mountain roads to identify possible suspects," Douglass said in a prepared release. "Law enforcement took control of the usual and accustomed marijuana growing regions to make LOCCUST a success." | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) STATE'S ATTORNEY AGREES: COUNTY MARIJUANA PRIORITY LAW VOID (Top) | ||||||||||||
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State, Federal Jurisdiction Trump County Initiative
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HILO -- County Prosecutor Jay Kimura says he has consulted with state
Attorney General Mark Bennett, and still views the Project Peaceful
Sky ordinance as "unenforceable."
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The measure, which Big Island voters approved overwhelmingly Nov. 4,
would make the personal adult use of marijuana the county's lowest law
enforcement priority. It would leave the enforcement of marijuana laws
to each police officer's personal discretion, and would direct the
County Council not to accept state or federal funds for marijuana
eradication. | ||||||||||||
"On the face of the ordinance, it appears to violate the separation of
powers requirement under the (County) Charter, and as far as the state
marijuana laws, there is a pre-emption issue," Kimura told Stephens
Media last week. "Under the Constitution, the state Legislature can
pass laws, and in the areas where it passes laws, it prevents the
county from passing contrary laws. | ||||||||||||
"We prosecute under the authority of the Attorney
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Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna, who is retiring Dec. 31, earlier called the initiative, which passed muster with Hawaii County voters by a margin of nearly 10,000 votes, a "resolution," not a law, and added "there will be no change how we prioritize the enforcement of marijuana. The resolution does not invalidate federal law. It doesn't legalize marijuana. It's still a Schedule 1 controlled substance." | ||||||||||||
"We will continue in our efforts to reduce the availability of illegal
marijuana," Mahuna said in early November. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR CASE ON SEIZED MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||
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Garden Grove Had Appealed a Ruling That Ordered the Return of Drug
Seized From a Patient During a Traffic Stop. | ||||||||||||
More than three years after Garden Grove police seized a small amount
of marijuana from a chronic pain patient, the U.S. Supreme Court on
Monday refused to consider the city's argument -- which divided
California's major law enforcement organizations -- that it should not
have to give the drugs back. | ||||||||||||
Advocates cheered the development as a step forward for medical marijuana users to get their "medicine" back from police. | ||||||||||||
"This is our biggest legal victory to date, and we're very glad it's now become final," said Joe Elford, an attorney with Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland-based medical marijuana advocacy group. | ||||||||||||
City officials expressed disappointment and said their position was never to challenge the constitutionality of California's medical marijuana law, only whether police could be forced to return the drug. | ||||||||||||
Police pulled over Felix Kha, a Garden Grove resident, in June 2005
for a traffic violation and found him in possession of one-third of an
ounce of marijuana. | ||||||||||||
Though Orange County prosecutors dropped drug charges after a doctor
confirmed that the cannabis was for medical use, police refused to
return the drugs on the grounds that to do so violated federal drug
distribution laws. | ||||||||||||
A judge in Orange County Superior Court sided with Kha, ordering the
police to return his marijuana. But the city again refused and instead
appealed to California's 4th District Court of Appeal. The court of
appeal also sided with Kha, declaring that patients enjoy a federally
protected property right to their medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) ARE MARIJUANA LAWS CHANGING TO KEEP UP WITH PUBLIC OPINION? (Top) | ||||||||||||
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A Shepherd Q&A With High Times Editor David Bienenstock | ||||||||||||
People have been smoking pot ever since they discovered that sparking
one was good clean fun. So why do we need The Official High Times Pot
Smoker's Handbook, published just in time for the holidays? Editor
David Bienenstock explains that even an experienced stoner could learn
a few things-as well as get involved in the larger marijuana movement
to make pot smoking legal, especially for those who are chronically
ill. | ||||||||||||
In this Shepherd Q&A, Bienenstock also discusses President-elect
Barack Obama's proposed drug policy changes, why Wisconsin should join
the 13 states that have legalized medical marijuana, and some of the
best things to do when you're stoned. | ||||||||||||
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[snip]
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I want pot smokers to be knowledgeable about what we're doing, and to be proud of what we're doing and to be well versed in it and to feel that we're part of a large community full of good people. | ||||||||||||
What's your take?
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International News
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COMMENT: (17- ) (Top) | ||||||||||||
The Swiss this week, in a national referendum, approved a
prescription heroin program for addicts, but at the same time
rejected a bid to decriminalize marijuana. While "Needle Park"
open-air heroin sales and use have occupied foreign media, the
successful Swiss prescription heroin program, started in 1994,
didn't captivate media in quite the same way. Prohibitionist U.S.
and the U.N. have criticized the program as "fuelling drug abuse,"
but other countries (Canada, Spain, Belgium, Holland) have begun
similar trial programs. | ||||||||||||
Holland this week extended a ban of dried psychedelic mushrooms to
include fresh psychedelic mushrooms, as well. Users say magic
mushrooms can be used as "aids in spiritual awareness, [to] gain[]
personal insight." To spare people from "unpredictable and therefore
risky behaviour," the Dutch Justice Ministry will now jail people
for up to four years for possessing them. | ||||||||||||
Peers (members of the U.K. House of Lords) last week "spoke out in
the House of Lords to support delaying government plans to upgrade
cannabis from Class C to Class B after it was opposed by the
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs," the Lancashire Evening
Post reported. The news that members of the House of Lords had
spoken against government plans to re-classify cannabis to a more
serious "Class C", came amidst a 151% increase in cannabis warnings
handed out in Lancashire. "The police should be spending more time
looking for real crime as opposed to busting people for a little bit
of dope when they are not doing real harm," responded Don Barnard of
the Legalise Cannabis Alliance. | ||||||||||||
And finally this week, scientists were stunned to find almost a kilo of "psychoactive" cannabis buried in a tomb in northwestern China about 2,700 years ago. "To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent," says Dr Ethan Russo, neurologist and author of numerous books and papers on the plant. Buried with what is believed to be a shaman, and preserved because of arid conditions, the cannabis was "cultivated for psychoactive purposes," says Russo. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
(17) SWISS ENSHRINE LEGAL HEROIN PROGRAM (Top) | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Voters Endorse Drugs-For-Addicts Measure While Rejecting Bid To
Decriminalize Marijuana
| ||||||||||||
GENEVA-The world's most comprehensive legalized heroin program became permanent yesterday with overwhelming approval from Swiss voters who also rejected the decriminalization of marijuana. | ||||||||||||
The heroin program, started in 1994, is offered in 23 centres across
Switzerland. It has helped eliminate scenes of large groups of drug
users shooting up in parks that marred Swiss cities in the 1980s and
1990s. The plan is credited with reducing crime and improving the
health and daily lives of addicts. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||
The United States and the UN narcotics board have criticized the program for potentially fuelling drug abuse, but it has attracted attention from other governments, which in recent years have started or are considering their own programs modelled on the system. | ||||||||||||
The Netherlands started a program in 2006 that serves nearly 600
patients. Britain has allowed individual doctors to prescribe heroin
since the 1920s, and has been running trials similar to the Swiss
approach in recent years. Belgium, Germany, Spain and Canada are
running trial programs too. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
(18) HOLLAND BANS MAGIC MUSHROOMS (Top) | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Country Attempting to Shed Its 'Anything-Goes' Image
| ||||||||||||
AMSTERDAM - The Netherlands will ban the sale and cultivation of all
hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms next week, the latest target of a
country seeking to shed its "anything goes" image. | ||||||||||||
The Dutch government proposed the ban in April, citing the dangerous
behavioural effects of magic mushrooms following the death of a
French teenager who jumped from an Amsterdam bridge in 2007 after
consuming the hallucinogenic fungus. | ||||||||||||
"The use of magic mushrooms has hallucinogenic effects. It is proven
that this can lead to unpredictable and therefore risky behaviour,"
the Dutch Health Ministry said in a statement. | ||||||||||||
A challenge to the ban was rejected by a court in the Hague on
Friday. From Monday, the production or sale of fresh magic mushrooms
could lead to a maximum jail sentence of four years, a spokesman for
the Dutch Justice Ministry said on Friday. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||
Some proponents of magic mushrooms say that their use aids in
spiritual awareness, gaining personal insight. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
(19) CANNABIS CAUTIONS SOAR BY 150% (Top) | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
The number of cautions issued for cannabis use in Lancashire has
rocketed by 151% in 12 months. | ||||||||||||
Figures released in Westminster show that there were 528 cannabis
warnings issued by Lancashire Police in 2007/08 compared to just 210
the previous year. | ||||||||||||
The revelation comes after peers spoke out in the House of Lords to
support delaying government plans to upgrade cannabis from Class C
to Class B after it was opposed by the Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||
Talking of the Lancashire figures, Don Barnard of the Legalise
Cannabis Alliance, said: "The police should be spending more time
looking for real crime as opposed to busting people for a little bit
of dope when they are not doing real harm. | ||||||||||||
"I find it absolutely horrendous that people are being cautioned like this. I'm quite surprised at the figures when you are hearing from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that there is no progress. | ||||||||||||
"I think there are a substantial number of people growing cannabis
for medical reasons and they are getting cautions."
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
(20) RESEARCHERS HIGH ON ANCIENT POT FIND (Top) | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
OTTAWA - Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash
of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China. | ||||||||||||
The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly
"cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for
clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of
Experimental Botany. | ||||||||||||
The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired,
blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near
Turpan in northwestern China. | ||||||||||||
The extremely dry conditions and alkaline soil acted as
preservatives, allowing a team of scientists to carefully analyze
the stash, which still looked green although it had lost its
distinctive odour. | ||||||||||||
"To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest
documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent," says
the newly published paper, whose lead author is American neurologist
Dr. Ethan B. Russo.
| ||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||
The marijuana was found to have a relatively high content of THC,
the main active ingredient in cannabis, but the sample was too old
to determine a precise percentage. | ||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||
PROHIBITION ENDED 75 YEARS AGO, BUT WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
| ||||||||||||
By Rob Kampia, Marijuana Policy Project
| ||||||||||||
It's time to bring marijuana under responsible controls and end the
monopoly we've handed to gangsters. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
LEGAL EASE WITH KIRK TOUSAW
| ||||||||||||
Criminal lawyer Kirk Tousaw discusses four legal battles that are
raging in the war on the War on Cannabis in Canada. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
DRUG TRUTH NETWORK
| ||||||||||||
Century of Lies - 12/02/08 - Kevin Zeese
| ||||||||||||
Kevin Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy regarding the
financial impact of the drug war and the US financial fiasco + Terry
Nelson reports for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition + "commercial"
for the Uri-Liminator!
| ||||||||||||
Cultural Baggage Radio Show - 12/03/08 - Terry Nelson
| ||||||||||||
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition press conference at the National Press Club in Wash DC, call for the end of drug prohibition, with Neal Peirce of Wash Post, Terry Nelson & Richard Van Wickler of LEAP & Eric Sterling of Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES BULLETIN
| ||||||||||||
The Winter 2008 - 2009 MAPS Bulletin is now available online as a
single PDF file. | ||||||||||||
http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v18n3/v18n3-maps_bulletin_winter_2008.pdf | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
BLACK POLICE ASSOCIATION WRITES TO OBAMA TO OPPOSE RAMSTAD
| ||||||||||||
A coalition of advocacy and nonprofit organizations, including the
National Black Police Association, sent a letter today to President-
elect Barack Obama preemptively pushing back against the nomination of
Rep. James Ramstad (R-Minn.) to be head of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy, or "Drug Czar."
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
GENETIC ANALYSES OF ANCIENT CANNABIS FROM CENTRAL ASIA
| ||||||||||||
The Yanghai Tombs near Turpan, Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region, China have recently been excavated to reveal the 2700-year-old grave of a Caucasoid shaman whose accoutrements included a large cache of cannabis, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
LEAP SPEAKER NEILL FRANKLIN DISCUSSES ENDING PROHIBITION
| ||||||||||||
Former Maryland State Police Maj. Neill Franklin on Fox News on the
75th anniversary of the repeal of alcohol prohibition discussing
ending the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||
http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Web_Links&l_op=visit&lid=177 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||
TAKE ACTION TO END TODAY'S FAILED PROHIBITION
| ||||||||||||
December is the 75th anniversary of when America's leaders had the good sense to end alcohol prohibition. Today, we have another ineffective, harmful and expensive prohibition, the "war on drugs." LEAP has made it easy for you to take action and let your legislators know that we can't afford prohibition in these tough economic times. | ||||||||||||
Visit http://www.wecandoitagain.com/ for more information. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
APPLY FOR A JOB WITH MPP
| ||||||||||||
The Marijuana Policy Project, the nation's largest marijuana policy
reform organization, is seeking a Communications Assistant, to be
based in the organization's main office in Washington, D.C. This
position is an excellent opportunity to play an integral role in a
fast-paced, well-respected advocacy organization. | ||||||||||||
The Communications Assistant works in MPP's Communications Department,
which is responsible for effectively communicating MPP's message to
the media and the public through written materials and media
relations. | ||||||||||||
To apply, please see MPP's application guidelines at
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||
POT ISN'T DANGEROUS
| ||||||||||||
By David R. Ford
| ||||||||||||
I'm adding a few words regarding Chief Mahuna's comments about the
voter-approved pot initiative. | ||||||||||||
The government has not been able to prove one toxicity related
death, ever, from marijuana. Compare that to alcohol, nicotine and
pharmaceutical products that together cause the death of more than
600,000 Americans annually! The government continues to claim that
marijuana has no medical value, and consequently it is a controlled
Schedule I drug, along with heroin, too dangerous to prescribe! That
makes as much sense as having Dracula guard our blood bank. I'm
offering the DEA $1 million cash if it can prove its charge that pot
has no medical value. | ||||||||||||
In 1995, after 30 years of scientific research, editors of the
respected British medical journal Lancet concluded, "The smoking of
cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health." Marijuana's
only danger is arrest for possession. | ||||||||||||
If it's not dangerous, why is it prohibited medicine? Because an
herb cannot be patented, making it a threat to alcohol, nicotine and
pharmaceutical companies who pay Uncle Sam billions in taxes! Uncle
is the protector of those death-causing drugs. Marijuana prohibition
is caused by ignorance, arrogance, politics, greed, power, money,
lies, perjury and shameful government betrayal against the world's
safest medicine, and high. | ||||||||||||
The DEA's own judge Young, after two years of researching medical
marijuana, stated: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the
safest therapeutically active substances known to man." I have two
major books on this subject. See Amazon.com.
| ||||||||||||
David R. Ford
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - NOVEMBER (Top) | ||||||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Russell Barth of Napean, Ontario for his 15
letters published during November, bringing his total that we know
of to 478 - an increase of 101 published letters since November
2007. Russell frequently includes 'Federally licensed medical
| ||||||||||||
You may read all of his published letters at
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||
20 Points Regarding Drug Prohibition And Political Corruption | ||||||||||||
By Stephen Young
| ||||||||||||
1. Is there a connection between drug prohibition and political
| ||||||||||||
2. The State of Illinois, where I live, is notorious for political
| ||||||||||||
3. Ongoing federal investigations are inching closer our current
| ||||||||||||
4. Legislators in Illinois rarely resist the lure of anti-drug laws.
| ||||||||||||
5. Illinois has a useless medical marijuana law that was adopted in
| ||||||||||||
6. Legislators in Illinois like to pretend that medical marijuana is
| ||||||||||||
7. While the medical marijuana bill has languished, Illinois
| ||||||||||||
8. The medical marijuana voter initiative that passed in neighboring
| ||||||||||||
9. I spoke with Barrack Obama on the phone very briefly about a
| ||||||||||||
9. The Gift Ban Act was challenged on constitutional grounds and
| ||||||||||||
10. One of Barrack Obama's final bills to be pushed though the
| ||||||||||||
11. The former Republican governor who is now serving time in prison
| ||||||||||||
12. Every autumn, state police use state helicopters to look for
| ||||||||||||
13. Over the past several years, Illinois has made at least 40,000
| ||||||||||||
14. Political corruption arrests happen in the state, but they
| ||||||||||||
15. In Illinois, the political system almost always works for
| ||||||||||||
16. Nor was there talk of how medical marijuana generates revenue in
| ||||||||||||
17. It's not difficult to appreciate the attractiveness of drug laws
| ||||||||||||
18. If law enforcement has to worry about anyone ingesting cannabis
| ||||||||||||
19. In Illinois, watch for the influence of special interests and
| ||||||||||||
20. Or are the politicians themselves the special interests in this
| ||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and author of the
book How To Inhale The Universe Without Wheezing. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||
"Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing
but food and water." - W.C. Fields
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
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content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (),
Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis, Hot Off The Net
selection and Layout by Matt Elrod ().
Analysis comments represent the personal views of editors, not
necessarily the views of DrugSense. | ||||||||||||
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