-------------------------------------------------------------------

Officers Sought To Stop Burning Marijuana Before Shootout ('Associated Press'
Says Victim Of Warrantless Raid By Portland's Marijuana Task Force
May Be Paralyzed From Waist Down - Condition Downgraded To Critical - No Word
On Whether Chimney Will Be Tested For Traces Of Cannabis)

By LAUREN DODGE
The Associated Press
01/30/98 4:51 AM Eastern

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Police say officers ambushed in a raid
on a marijuana grow operation could not have known about the
large cache of weapons in the house or the suspect's history of
violence against police.

Colleen Waibel, 44, died Tuesday as she and other officers broke
down the door of a suspected marijuana grower, Steven Dons, 37.
Two other officers were wounded.

The house contained many weapons in addition to an SKS
automatic assault rifle that Dons allegedly used to shoot the
officers as they entered his home, said Capt. Greg Clark, head of
the Detective Division.

"There are numerous other types of firearms in the house, some
handguns, some long guns," Clark said. "it's certainly far, far
beyond what you find in a house, even a drug house."

Police got no answer when they knocked on the door and
shouted.

They finally broke in without a search warrant because they
smelled marijuana and saw smoke coming from a chimney. They
feared he was destroying evidence in the fireplace.

Under an emergency exception to federal law, police are allowed
to move in if they believe evidence is being destroyed, legal
experts say.

But although constitutional, some say the commonly-used practice
was bound to backfire.

"For me, it doesn't make sense to sacrifice officers' lives to catch a
marijuana grower," said Emily Simon, a Portland criminal defense
attorney. "It may be constitutional, but does that mean we want to
do it?"

Dons, 37, is accused of opening fire on the officers as they moved
into a hallway. He was shot in the chest during the shootout and
held police at bay for 2 and a half hours before officers used bean bag
bullets and tear gas to apprehend him.

Doctors downgraded his condition Thursday morning to critical
and said he could be paralyzed from the waist down.

The procedure used in the raid, known as a "knock-and-talk,"
allows police to enter a home without a search warrant under
certain circumstances, such as if someone's life is endangered or
evidence is being destroyed.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday in
Multnomah County Court, five officers visited Dons' rental home
twice before noon Tuesday.

The first time, officers' knocks on the door went unanswered, the
affidavit states. After they smelled marijuana smoke, they sought a
search warrant, which The Oregonian reported was waiting to be
signed by Circuit Judge Michael Marcus just minutes before the
officers returned.

"The officers both saw and smelled the odor of burning marijuana
from the chimney of the residence," Deputy District Attorney
James McIntyre wrote in the affidavit. "The officers then
attempted entry into the residence to halt the destruction of
evidence."

Law enforcement officials call the "knock-and-talk" a valuable and
widely used weapon in the war on drugs.

That police were in the process of obtaining a search warrant
indicates they were not trying to circumvent the law, said Robert
Misner, a professor at Willamette University College of Law in
Salem.

"It doesn't seem to me any funny business was going on," Misner
said. "They had done all the work to get the warrant. They were
just waiting for it to be signed."

But critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say the
practice needlessly endangers lives.

"The knock-and-smash is every bit as dangerous as a high speed
chase," said David Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU of
Oregon. "It's just not worth it."

To protest the practice, advocates of decriminalization of
marijuana have scheduled a news conference here Friday to call
for an end to the police bureau's marijuana task force, which led
the fatal raid.

"There should be a full-scale, independent investigation launched
about practices within this department," said Floyd Landrath,
director of the Anti-Prohibition League in Portland.

"This strong-arm approach to enforcing the marijuana prohibition
is threatening our safety," he said. "We condemn the mayor and
the police chief for continuing to endorse that kind of approach."

Police continued their investigation Thursday afternoon, combing
through the home on Southeast 111th Avenue.

Services were scheduled today for Weibel, the city's first female
officer killed in the line of duty. She was married to a police
sergeant who worked with her in the same precinct and had two
children by a previous marriage.

A private Mass will be held at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. A public memorial
service will take place at 1:30 p.m. at New Hope Community
Church in Clackamas. Private burial will follow at Mount Calvary
Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleum.

Thursday, Mayor Vera Katz asked residents to turn on their porch
and automobile lights for two days to honor Weibel and help curb
criminal activity by lighting up dark neighborhoods.

Officer Kim Keist, 39, remained hospitalized in serious condition
with wounds to the chest and arm. Sgt. James Hudson, 42, was
treated at the scene for the gunshot wound to the hand.

A surgeon said Keist could be out of the hospital in two weeks and
back to normal activity in six to eight weeks.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? We welcome your feedback.
http://www.oregonlive.com/about/feedbk.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Officer's Family Mourns, Remembers (Feature In 'The Oregonian'
About Member Of Portland's Marijuana Task Force
Killed Tuesday By The War On Some Drugs)

The Oregonian, January 30, 1998
oregonlive.com
letters@news.oregonian.com

Officer's family mourns, remembers

Colleen Waibel's relatives and friends gather to
offer one another support and talk about what
made her the spark in their lives

By Peter Farrell
of The Oregonian staff

Mark Fortner heard the knock on his door
Tuesday and wondered who it was.

When the veteran police sergeant, who had taken
a sick day, opened his front door and saw a cop,
his first thought was of his wife, Officer Colleen
Waibel.

"I thought she'd been in a car accident," he
recalls. "I figured I could handle this. It comes
with the territory. Then I saw the others standing
behind him.

"That's when I knew something had gone wrong."

His 44-year-old wife of less than three years had
been killed when a man suspected of growing
marijuana allegedly opened fire on Portland police
officers conducting a raid.

The details would come later.

All Fortner could think about now was how much
he'd lost.

"To me, this was the single most devastating day
of my life," he said Thursday at a Hillsboro
gathering of about 20 relatives and close friends.
"If I could've written a resume of what I wanted
in a human being, in a companion for life, I
would've missed half the points she brought with
her.

"She was so special, just so special."

Waibel's death marks the
second time in six months a
police officer has been shot
and killed in the line of
duty, forcing Portland
residents to re-evaluate
their sense of safety.

But none has felt more loss
than her family. They remember the woman who
brought so much joy, stability and passion to their
lives.

To them, she was many things.

Daughter. Sister. Aunt. Organizer. Party planner.
A sensitive ear to vent to. An encourager.

"She was everyone's Auntie Mame," says the
Rev. Philip Waibel, a Catholic priest and one of
Colleen's brothers. "She had this vision of how
things could be different if you just tried to make
the world a better place. She had boundless
energy. There was nothing she wouldn't do for
anyone."

Colleen Waibel was born July 1, 1953, in
Hillsboro. The fourth of eight children, she grew
up on a 100-acre farm where the family raised
strawberries and beans.

Her parents, Beatrice and Raymond Waibel,
instilled strong Catholic values in their children.
No matter how good or bad things got, the
Waibels always had each other. Family mattered
most.

The farm provided the family's livelihood, and the
children were the glue that kept it together.

"Everything we did, we did as a family," Philip
Waibel says. "I remember one time I was getting
set to go out and bale some hay. Colleen was
doing the dishes, and she suggested that we
switch. That's the way she was. She'd tackle
anything and take on more."

She graduated from St. Mary's of the Valley High
School in the early 1970s and later attended
Portland Community College for a short time.
She took enough course work to master office
skills and went to work as a secretary for the
Washington County Sheriff's Department.

After a few years, she got a job with the Portland
Police Bureau, working as a technician with the
Identification Division. Technicians fingerprint
suspects, take mug shots and perform a host of
other duties.

Waibel's time in the division gave her a chance to
think about another kind of job in law
enforcement. She wanted to become a cop.

She called her best friend, Kathy Moyer, in 1990
and asked what Moyer would think about her
taking the bureau's entrance exam.

"I remember thinking, 'Oh no, I'll have one more
person to worry about,' " says Moyer, whose
husband is a sergeant with the bureau. "But she
needed that change. She wasn't immune to what
happens on the street. I knew she would do it."

Waibel passed the exam and entered the
academy. It's a time Sister Pauline Rose, her
younger sister, remembers well.

"She'd have me lay down on the floor, and she'd
drag me all around," Sister Pauline recalls. "Then
she'd practice the different holds on me. I was the
test dummy."

In 1991, Waibel was hired, aware of the bureau's
push to put more women and minorities on the
force. But she didn't expect favorable treatment
and was determined to earn her stripes through
hard work.

"I've always said that there was never a glass
ceiling for Colleen," Philip Waibel says. "Of
course, if there were, she'd have just smashed her
way through it."

She made it onto the streets, ending up at East
Precinct, where she saw her share of criminals --
drug dealers, prostitutes, thieves.

But it didn't faze her. As a police officer, she did
her job. But she also tried to connect to those
people.

"It was never in a preachy way," Philip Waibel
says. "She just always wanted to make a
difference in people's lives."

Waibel wasn't only a by-the-book cop. She also
was a loving family member who organized all the
events and planned all the holidays. Ask any
member of the extended Waibel clan about her,
and their eyes twinkle with delight.

Because the family is so large, at Christmas they
would draw names to exchange gifts. But Colleen
never paid attention, and every year she'd arrive
bearing gifts for everyone.

"She'd make her own rules when it came to
generosity," Philip Waibel says. "Her spirit was
boundless. She was always giving of herself."

When her 15-year-old nephew, Matt Stadelman,
was hurt in a motorcycle accident seven years
ago, Waibel traveled to Spokane to be with him
during his hospital stay.

After a few days, doctors wanted to get him up
and moving, but he was reluctant to try. "Aunt
Colleen was there with me and made sure I got
up," he says. "She encouraged me and made sure
I got better. I won't forget that."

Mark Fortner rises slowly from his chair and into
Moyer's embrace. His eyes glisten, red from the
sadness a gunman's high-powered rifle wrought
days earlier.

Family members mill about, talking about plans
for Waibel's funeral and the long days ahead.

Fortner gathers strength from the family that
made him one of their own when he married
Colleen.

"When you look around this room, there are a
hundred pieces of Colleen right here in all these
people," he says. "It's hard for all of us because
the very thing that made her who she is -- the
intensity, the spirit -- led her into the position of
being killed.

"It was her way to make sure she was first.
That's what made us love her, and that's what
took her away. She won't be forgotten."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorrow Shadows Mayor During Crisis ('The Oregonian' Fails To Ask
Portland Mayor Vera Katz If She Sought An Actuarial Estimate
Of How Many Doors The Marijuana Task Force Might Break Down
Without A Warrant Before It Could Expect To Encounter Some Lunatic
With A Gun)

found at: oregonlive.com
The Oregonian, January 30, 1998
letters@news.oregonian.com

The Oregonian, January 30, 1998

Sorrow shadows mayor during crisis

Vera Katz wrestles with her emotions as she visits
precincts, works on a weapons measure and
discusses reining in live TV coverage

By Michele Parente of The Oregonian staff

She offered comfort to the family of a slain
officer and sat by the hospital bed of another
officer recovering from gunshot wounds.

She shuttled from precinct to precinct to show
support for shaken officers dutifully going back
onto Portland's streets.

But by late Wednesday afternoon, the weight of
the city's second fatal shooting of a police officer
in six months had emotionally drained Portland
Mayor Vera Katz.

"After a while," Katz said, "I just told several of
the officers: 'I need a hug.' "

The past few days have been a personal and
professional struggle for Katz.

Her private grief about the death of Officer
Colleen Waibel, 44, whom Katz called a member
of her police family, had to be second to carrying
out her responsibilities as mayor and police
commissioner.

Katz is spearheading an effort to rein in local
television's live broadcasts of police standoffs.
She is working on a proposal for a Portland-only
weapons limitation measure that would skirt a
politically unpopular - and likely unfeasible -
statewide ban. In her new budget, she's seeking
$250,000 for at least two dozen high-powered
rifles for the Portland Police Bureau.

And today she is leading the city in mourning
Waibel's death. Katz is asking Portlanders to
honor Waibel by keeping on their vehicle
headlights and their porch lights.

But although she's been restrained in her public
emotions, at no time - not when facing a crush of
television cameras or presiding over a City
Council hearing - has Katz been able to conceal
that Tuesday's shooting deeply saddened her.

Like many in Portland, the death of the city's first
woman officer in the line of duty struck the
mayor in a profound way.

Tuesday at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, Katz saw
Waibel, who had already died, and Officer Kim
Keist, 39, who had undergone hours of surgery.

"I looked at both of them. They looked so
fragile," said Katz in an interview Thursday at
City Hall. "I know they're tough, there's no
question about it . . . but they looked so fragile."

The mayor said she had no qualms about Waibel
and Keist being the first officers to enter the
home of Steven Douglas Dons during a drug bust.
A third officer, Sgt. Jim Hudson, was shot in the
hand during the fatal firefight.

"There were calls about why we put women
there, up front. That isn't the issue," Katz said.

Still, she is grieving more than she would have
expected.

"I never thought that the whole notion of a family
was going to be part of my job description," she
said, "but I truly have a family outside of my own
personal family, whether I know them or not."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"With Colleen, when I walked in the room, and
she was laying on the hospital bed, I recognized
her. . . . It was very difficult."

And yet, the mayor's place in the police "family"
is still not a secure one. Although Katz senses
more acceptance of her now than when Officer
Thomas Jeffries was killed in July, her
often-strained relations with the Portland Police
Bureau don't automatically melt away in the face
of tragedy.

Since Tuesday, Katz has attended morning,
afternoon and evening roll calls at nearly all of
Portland's police precincts.

"My first responsibility is to the men and women
who have to get up every day and know they
have to do that dangerous job," she said. "I want
to be part of that family. I don't know if I am."

For the rest of Portland, Katz's leadership in the
aftermath of the shooting has been far more
understated than other times when she's faced a
crisis.

Unlike building a wall to keep floodwaters from
downtown or putting together a bailout package
for the city's public schools, the mayor's response
has been muted and for the most part out of
public view. Behind the scenes, she's kept aides
jumping with projects, from researching the city's
rights in curbing live TV broadcasts to
coordinating lobbying efforts in Salem and
Washington, D.C., on gun control.

But though she is outraged by the shooting, the
mayor dismisses the idea that she has to express
her anger publicly.

"I started my political career with the issue of
guns," said Katz, who was working as a volunteer
for Robert F. Kennedy when he was assassinated.
"I learned in my years in the Legislature that if
you're angry, and you drop legislation that will
anger more than 50 percent of the state of
Oregon, which it has traditionally, you're not
going to get anywhere," she said, her voice rising.
"HELLO! YOU. . .ARE. . .NOT. . .GOING. .
.TO. . .GET. . .ANYWHERE!"

Portlanders, she said, shouldn't mistake her
measured response for complacence or an
acceptance of crime.

"The officers are not immune to it, the public
ought not to be immune to it, and I certainly will
never be immune to it," she said.

"We need to be very concerned as a community
and never, never say, `Well, that's the way life is
gonna be.' I don't think that will ever happen in
this community. . . . There are too many people
who love this city and will not allow that to
happen."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

E-Mail Address For Portland Police Department (Plus Commentary
On The Botched Marijuana Task Force Raid By Southern Oregon Militia Liaison
And Others)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 01:13:25 -0800
From: Paul Freedom (nepal@teleport.com)
Organization: Oregon State Patriots
To: Cannabis Common Law (cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com),
"libnw@circuit.com" (libnw@circuit.com)
Subject: CnbsCL - E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
Sender: owner-cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com

Wolfeyes wrote:

police@teleport.com

The above e-mail address is for the Portland Police Department. Reports
are coming in that consistently state the five police officers who chose
to break into a home in Portland had no search or arrest warrants. As
you all know by now, one cop is dead and two are wounded -- one very
seriously. These cops were members of the Marijuana Task Force, and
they suspected there was marijuana in the home. That's a pretty stupid
reason to violate a basic constitutional right against unreasonable
search, and it's an even dumber reason to get you ass shot off!!! What
the hell is that matter with these cowboys?

Oh, and the guy was hauled away nude and wounded himself. But he wasn't
taken by ambulance, he was taken by a police van several hours later.
Seems the Portland Cops were hoping upon hope he'd die before they could
manage to get him to a hospital. No such luck so far! I think the
Portland PD has a lot of explaining to do, don't you? Let them know how
you feel. Dial police@teleport.com

Carl F. Worden
Liaison & Intelligence Officer
Southern Oregon Militia

***

To: nepal@teleport.com, wolfeyes@cdsnet.net
Cc: cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com, fmissall@olympus.net
Subject: CnbsCL - Tactics for PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
From: terry.s@juno.com (Terry Smith)
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 08:05:37 EST
Sender: owner-cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com

>Wolfeyes wrote:
>
>police@teleport.com
>
>The above e-mail address is for the Portland Police Department.
>Reports
>are coming in that consistently state the five police officers who
>chose
>to break into a home in Portland had no search or arrest warrants. As

Do the laws of your state hold accomplices responsible for murder, if
during the commission of any crime a death results?

If so, I wouldn't be pressuring a police department if I were you.

I'd be looking for an activist attorney if you don't already have one,
who would work with the guy cops tried killing if he survives, but also
go up against the cops. Someone like Linda Thompson might be willing,
but it would be better if you had someone more local and less crazy.

Instead of working cops, I'd be working newspaper and broadcast news and
editorials with letters and press releases, calling for the cops
participating in the raid to be presented before a Grand Jury to consider
indictment on homicide charges. Someone died, and if the cops can't ex
post facto fabricate a credible lie to cover their asses, and if your
state laws support it, they may be 1st degree murderers. That includes
the injured ones.

Work the prosecutor, the Governor, state Reps, and the media for
prosecution, but skip the cop shop.

If you can get such cops prosecuted, not only would felony convictions
force them to change careers and set up evidence of civil liability, but
it could remind their brethren criminals with badges that a badge does
not always entitle one to murder with impunity.

The other angle is to file a criminal civil rights complaint with the
FBI, as well as the area's US Attorney's office, alleging Federal civil
rights violations. That could force some non-local cop investigation and
oversight.

I'd also try to find options to block any life insurance, unemployment
comp, or cop benefits to the one who died's estate, asserting that former
officer willfully engaged in serious criminal activity which should
disqualify such benefits.

If you can manage to play "their system" in such ways, it could teach
them much more of a lesson than private common law courts cops think of
as nuisance jokes, or complaining directly to those most interested in
covering up truth. Just a Grand Jury presentment, even if they get off,
would be a serious lesson of risk of possible indictment next time for
cops who don't think they could ever be prosecuted. Remember also,
Federal felony rights violation or civil prosecutions are not considered
double jeopardy with state murder prosecutions. Those legal fees and
stress add up for Defendants even if they cut deals. There's 6 figures
in legal fees paid by the town and cops plus 7 figures in damages there
if a case can be proven just on the civil side. Some attorneys will help
push the criminal case for "free" if it looks possible, as that makes for
good civil evidence.

Success at just half of the above would get you well known as "hardball"
players, who they'd respect and want to keep away from, even if they'd
like to take you down. Mainly, it would be a step toward protecting our
civil rights from wholesale abuses. Mommy, why did Officer Joe Supercop
go to jail?

Terry

***

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 05:54:41 -0800
From: "Charles Bruce, Stewart" (chuck@teleport.com)
To: Terry Smith (terry.s@juno.com)
CC: nepal@teleport.com, wolfeyes@cdsnet.net, cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com,
fmissall@olympus.net
Subject: Re: CnbsCL) Tactics for PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
Sender: owner-cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com

Two Comments Terry:

Terry Smith wrote:

> I'd be looking for an activist attorney if you don't already have one,

(snip)

> I'd be working newspaper and broadcast news and
> editorials with letters and press releases, calling for the cops
> participating in the raid to be presented before a Grand Jury to consider
> indictment on homicide charges.

These are the same remedies as have been available since vietnam.
They haven't worked. We need something new if we are going to change
the system.

> Someone died, and if the cops can't ex
> post facto fabricate a credible lie to cover their asses, and if your
> state laws support it, they may be 1st degree murderers. That includes
> the injured ones.

Good point. I had not considered it form this powerful angle.

> Work the prosecutor, the Governor, state Reps, and the media for
> prosecution, but skip the cop shop.

More orthodox remedies.

> The other angle is to file a criminal civil rights complaint with the
> FBI, as well as the area's US Attorney's office, alleging Federal civil
> rights violations. That could force some non-local cop investigation and
> oversight.

Power centralizing move here. Because the local tyrant cant dispense
justice, we seek justice from the national tyrants, and further
centralize the constitutional plan for de-centralization of power?

I think this is a poor suggestion. I would avoid the feds at all
costs.

(snip)

> If you can manage to play "their system" in such ways, it could teach
> them much more of a lesson than private common law courts cops think of
> as nuisance jokes,

So why did you have to throw in this dig on this commonlaw list?
We are trying to develop alternative remedies, constitutionally valid,
which have the horsepower to do something serious. We are making good
progress in many areas.

We admit we haven't gotten much notoriety yet, but we are young and
growing and tasking baby steps. Your picking on us here merely
because we haven't beaten the brains out of any cops I think is cheep.

And our courts aren't "Private". They are Public. All are welcome, and
they are recognized within the Constitution. They have "Original and
Exclusive" jurisdiction indirectly recognizable from Magna Carta, a
document still a part of the Laws of this Country, to which I would
dare say that you and some defactos could all take some lessons on. 	

Yea, We are attacking the source of the problem, unlike your
symptomatic approaches above suggested.

> or complaining directly to those most interested in
> covering up truth. Just a Grand Jury presentment, even if they get off,
> would be a serious lesson of risk of possible indictment next time for
> cops who don't think they could ever be prosecuted. Remember also,
> Federal felony rights violation or civil prosecutions are not considered
> double jeopardy with state murder prosecutions. Those legal fees and
> stress add up for Defendants even if they cut deals.

Lawyers make money. Lawyers are a very big part of the problem. They
are not part of the solution. Symptomatic approach my friend. We need
holistic remedies.

> There's 6 figures
> in legal fees paid by the town and cops plus 7 figures in damages there
> if a case can be proven just on the civil side. Some attorneys will help
> push the criminal case for "free" if it looks possible, as that makes for
> good civil evidence.
>
> Success at just half of the above would get you well known as "hardball"
> players, who they'd respect and want to keep away from, even if they'd
> like to take you down. Mainly, it would be a step toward protecting our
> civil rights from wholesale abuses.

Rights don't come from Civil Law. Civil Rights is an oxymoron. Civil
law is "Opposed to" both Natural Law and Commonlaw, as pointed out in
a superficial review of the definitions of siuch iun such commonly
available Law dictionaries as Blacks and Barons. What you are seeking
to defend under Civil Government is not rights, but Privileges, as
Privileges is the only thing that "Civil" government is capable of
dispensing.

Respectfully,

Charles Bruce, Stewart

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Where's The Marijuana? (And Other Commentary From List Subscribers
About The Portland Marijuana Task Force Shootings)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 01:22:23 -0800
From: Paul Freedom (nepal@teleport.com)
Organization: Oregon State Patriots
To: Cannabis Common Law (cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com),
"libnw@circuit.com" (libnw@circuit.com)
Subject: ALERT!-Where's the Marijuana???

I would like to ask a question.

WHERE'S THE MARIJUANA?

They claim the raid in Portland was done in
one minute when they smelled marijuana being
burned and saw smoke coming out of the chimney.
How did he burn all the wet plants or whatever
in such a short time? Where are the ashes?

Perhaps this is why Chief Moose didn't want
any news helicopters flying over. No file film
to show there was no smoke coming from the
chimney, etc.

Also tonight they reported that the suspect had
taken a turn for the worse and his status has
changed from serious condition to critical!
If he dies and there is no trial many questions will
remain unanswered.

Paul

***

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 01:40:24 -0800
From: Paul Freedom (nepal@teleport.com)
Organization: Oregon State Patriots
To: Cannabis Common Law (cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com),
"libnw@circuit.com" (libnw@circuit.com)
Subject: Police cover-up

Subject: Re: E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 01:32:59 -0800
From: Ed
To: Paul Freedom (nepal@teleport.com)

Paul Freedom wrote:
>
> Ed wrote:
>
> police@teleport.com
>
> The above e-mail address is for the Portland Police Department. Reports
> are coming in that consistently state the five police officers who chose
> to break into a home in Portland had no search or arrest warrants.

Correct. No warrants. They went to do one of there "knock & talks"
because they suspected he had marijuana, but had no evidence and thus,
no warrant.

> As
> you all know by now, one cop is dead and two are wounded -- one very
> seriously. These cops were members of the Marijuana Task Force, and
> they suspected there was marijuana in the home. That's a pretty stupid
> reason to violate a basic constitutional right against unreasonable
> search, and it's an even dumber reason to get you ass shot off!!!
Absolutely right.

What they are now saying (but wouldn't say Wednesday) was
that after the officers had announced that they were police and
wanted to talk, they saw smoke come from the chimney
and smelled marijuana.

Since they believed he was "destroying evidence," they made the
decision to bust in on "probable cause" basis, which is "legal"
for some insane reason. 4th amendment, like the rest applies only
until such conditions occur that must have been written with
invisible ink on the original.

> What
> the hell is that matter with these cowboys?

They're brainwashed and arrogant. Brainwashed enough to think
that it's worth risking their own lives and others to prevent
a person from ingesting marijuana and arrogant and bloated with
power so much so that they feel they can bust down doors
without ramifications.

> Oh, and the guy was hauled away nude and wounded himself.

A few reports say the cops stripped the guy, but one report I
read early on makes more sense, he stripped himself because
of the tear gas in his clothing.

> But he wasn't
> taken by ambulance, he was taken by a police van several hours later.

They had him laying on the tailgate of the SERT truck, completely
unattended by paramedics for some time. Police claim they
couldn't move him to an ambulance until they knew it was safe
to do so.

It was safe for them to stand in front of the house and to drive back
and forth across it, but it wasn't safe to drive that big ol' SERT
van away from the house?

Smells like revenge to me.

> Seems the Portland Cops were hoping upon hope he'd die before they could
> manage to get him to a hospital. No such luck so far!

I think you're right and they should be happy that his condition was
downgraded today to critical. Surely not because he was left
on a tailgate bleeding to death after being raided for
suspicion of a victimless crime.

> I think the
> Portland PD has a lot of explaining to do, don't you?

Yep. Did you guys hear the reports about how the neighbors
told police that he had lots of automatic weapons and ammo?
There was all kinds of talk of him firing machine guns at
the police and how he had several weapons.

When a police spokesman was asked yesterday by Lars Larson
how many weapons they found, he only answered that other
than the one they had taken from the property, he couldn't
say at that time if there were more or what types others might
be beacuse the investigation was on-going.

Sorry, but all of us aren't that stupid.

If they only took one weapon from the property, then that's
all there was to take. The rest was just a bunch of hype
to justify the attack on a man who owned a single SKS rifle
and probably had a few joints.

> Let them know how
> you feel. Dial police@teleport.com

No thanks. I live up here.

Besides, I'd let them have their funeral and
grieving time anyway.

Making them mad right now would likely get you
on a shitlist.

Ed

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Medical Marijuana Forum In Vancouver, Washington, February 19, 1998
(Oregon Doctor Who Will Share Forum On 'Medical Marijuana - Myth Or Medicine'
With Clark County Prosecutor And Washington State Pharmacy Board Member Says
News About A Medical Marijuana Initiative In Oregon Will Be Made Public
In About A Month)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 13:32:03 -0800
From: Allison Bigelow (whc@CNW.COM)
Reply-To: whc@CNW.COM
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: HT: Med MJ Forum in Vancouver, WA Feb. 19, 1998
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Hello all,

I got this email last night from a MD from Oregon. It'd be great if we
can lend this event some support.

Allison

Begin forwarded message:

Subject: Vancouver Library Forum
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 18:21:46 -0800
From: "Rick Bayer" (cmg@teleport.com)
To: (whc@cnw.com)

Allison Bigelow

I read your letter to the editor on the www.mapinc.org network. You are
right on target.

I wanted to ask you to alert any contacts that you have in the Vancouver
area.

My name is Rick Bayer and I am an MD. I will be speaking at the

"The Forum at the Library" in the
Vancouver Community Library on
1007 East Mill Plain

Feb 19, 1998
7 PM - 9PM

Forum Title: "Medical Marijuana: Myth or Medicine"

I will talk for 15 minutes, and the Clark County (Vancouver)
Prosecutor's Office (Beau D. Harlan) will have 15 minutes, and the
Washington State Board of Pharmacy (Donald H. Williams) will have 15
minutes. There will then be an hour for questions.

For questions that you may have (such as how many people?, is there
press?, is it recorded? etc.), please call the library. The Vice Chair
of the Forum at the Library Steering Committee is Shareefah A. Abdullah
(360) - 693 - 3747 and may be able to answer questions about the
"Forum". They are preparing a brochure and would probably be happy to
mail one to you.

It would be nice to have some mmj advocates and if possible, patients,
there. Your legislature is in session with your Senate Bill 6271 on the
line. Would this discussion help? You may also want to coordinate
press (for you and SB 6271, not me). Since I am an Oregon doctor, I
don't want to mess in Washington politics but was asked to speak there
and am happy to do that. Maybe next time it will be a doctor from
Washington. Are there any sympathetic Washington doctors who want to
attend? Do you have a spokesperson who could attend and promote your
message in Washington? Could you get some free publicity this way?
Just wanted to make you aware of a possible opportunity.

Good luck with SB 6271. Hope you all have a medical marijuana (mmj)
initiative this fall if SB 6271 meets the same fate in Olympia as our HB
2900 did in Salem, Oregon last year. Our next legislative session in
Oregon is 1999. There is a very high probability of a mmj initiative in
Oregon this fall (1998) but it is still in the "rumor" phase and will be
public in about a month. Stay tuned.

Thanks for trying to help sick folks have legal access to mmj.

Rick Bayer, MD
ricbayer@teleport.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------

War On Drugs Seems More Than Metaphor In Border Towns (Kevin Zeese
In 'Christian Science Monitor' Recounts Shooting Death Of Teenage Goatherder
In Texas, Which Is Leading To Reduced Use Of Camouflaged, Armed Marines
To Interdict Drugs)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 08:21:05 EST
Errors-To: manager@drcnet.org
Reply-To: dougkeenan@email.msn.com
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: "Doug Keenan" (dougkeenan@email.msn.com)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Zeese in the Monitor

Did someone already catch this? FYI:

http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/01/30/opin/opin.3.html
Christian Science Monitor
Friday January 30, 1998 Edition

'War on Drugs' Seems More Than Metaphor in Border
Towns

[Appeared same day In 'San Diego Union Tribune' under headline,
'A Literal War On Drugs']

By Kevin Zeese

The Pentagon's recent recommendation to permanently cancel armed military
patrols along the Mexico border is a good first step toward a drug policy
not based on military force. Armed soldiers on the border, however, are only
the tip of the iceberg in our militarized drug war.

The incident that led to the proposed policy shift - the shooting death of
young goat herder last year by a United States Marine on an antidrug
surveillance mission - should never have happened.

When I visited the Texas border town where Esequiel Hernandez was killed,
residents said they could not understand why they were treated like
criminals simply because they lived on the border. Military helicopters
droned overhead. Children were afraid to go outside.

Many in the community felt the military had taken from them one of their
best and brightest. Yet, the Department of Defense has yet to acknowledge
any wrongdoing. Instead, it hides behind last year's questionable grand jury
decision not to indict the marine who fired the fatal bullet. It fails to
mention that the majority of the jury were people who received paychecks or
retirement checks from the federal government, including the deputy border
patrol chief for the region, as well as a member of the very agency that
called in the Marines and was responsible for their supervision.

(PAUL DUGINSKI)

The Hernandez family has suffered from the loss of their son. They deserve a
formal apology from the Pentagon.

For most of our nation's history, police actions by the military have been
barred from US soil. This was consistent with the sentiments of our Founding
Fathers, who objected to the presence of British standing armies in the
colonies. In 1878, Congress passed a law that made it a criminal offense for
the military to be involved in civilian law enforcement.

But in 1981, that tradition began to change. Over the protest of
then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, the government put in place the
first of several amendments allowing the military to become involved in
civilian law enforcement. Mr. Weinberger's concerns - that blurring the
distinction between civilian policing and military action would risk our
democratic principles, and that soldiers lack the training to deal with
civilian situations - fell on deaf ears.

Since then, the military role in drug enforcement has escalated rapidly:

The Pentagon's drug enforcement budget approaches $1 billion a year;

4,000 National Guard troops are involved in 1,300 counter-drug operations;

89 percent of police departments now have paramilitary units, 46 percent of
which have been trained by active-duty armed forces;

Army Special Forces units have conducted urban warfare drills in at least 21
cities throughout the US;

The military under federal law is the "lead agency" on drug interdiction;

The US military provides weapons and training to foreign military and police
units, many of which have been involved in human-rights violations.

Despite this, White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey announced last year that
he was backing away from the "war on drugs" metaphor, opting instead to view
the problem as a "continuous challenge" without clear victors. Yet, the
reality is that today's drug war has turned more and more into a real war.

We have two choices. We can continue down the path of the last decade and a
half and involve the military, National Guard, and paramilitary police
forces in civilian law enforcement. More communities will feel like that
border town in Texas where constant surveillance and the presence of troops
have become facts of life.

Or, we can begin taking steps to remove the military from civilian policing
altogether. We can begin to reframe our national drug problem as a public
health crisis that must be addressed with public health solutions, not
military force.

* Kevin Zeese is president of Common Sense for Drug Policy, a clearinghouse
for drug policy alternatives.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Seattle-King County Felony Marijuana Prosecutions And Convictions
(Hemp.Net Publicizes Numbers For 1991-1997
From King County Prosecuting Attorney)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 17:25:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Robert Lunday (robert@hemp.net)
Reply-To: Robert Lunday (robert@hemp.net)
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: HT: Seattle/KC Felony Marijuana Prosecutions and Convictions
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Hi All,

Here are statistics on Felony prosecutions and convictions for marijuana
in Seattle/KC. Many thanks to Deran Ludd for tracking this info down.

I noticed the CASA report used a lot of suggestive wording on their report
on prison time for drug possession. "Only 49,308 inmates", jeez, I
guess it's not a problem after all.

		           Seattle-King County
              Felony Marijuana Prosecutions and Convictions

                   January 1, 1991 - September 30, 1997

               Prosecutions for Felony* Marijuana Offenses

                         African      Native   
              White      American    American     Asian      Total
     Year    No. (%)     No. (%)     No. (%)     No. (%)    No. (%)  
     ----    --------    --------    --------    --------  ---------
     1991    117 (87)     24 (12)     1 (<1)      1 (<1)   203 (100)
     1992    278 (87)     43 (11)     3 (1)       3 (1)    318 (100)
     1993    235 (88)     27 (10)     3 (1)       2 (1)    267 (100)
     1994    210 (81)     38 (15)     4 (2)       6 (2)    258 (100)
     1995    145 (82)     27 (15)     2 (1)       4 (2)    178 (100)
     1996    127 (85)     14 (10)     3 (2)       5 (3)    149 (100)
     1997**  171 (89)     17 (9)      1 (<1)      3 (2)    192 (100)


               Convictions for Felony Marijuana Offenses

                         African      Native   
              White      American    American     Asian      Total
     Year    No. (%)     No. (%)     No. (%)     No. (%)    No. (%)  
     ----    --------    --------    --------    --------  ---------
     1991    126 (88)     16 (11)     0 (0)       1 (1)    143 (100)
     1992    213 (88)     24 (10)     3 (1)       1 (1)    241 (100)
     1993    138 (87)     17 (11)     1 (1)       2 (1)    158 (100)
     1994    167 (81)     29 (14)     4 (2)       5 (3)    205 (100)
     1995    107 (82)     18 (14)     2 (2)       3 (2)    130 (100)
     1996     69 (83)     11 (13)     1 (2)       2 (2)     83 (100)
     1997**  114 (88)     11 (9)      0 (0)       4 (3)    129 (100)

* Felony cases involve growing/dealing marijuana or possession of
more than 40 grams.
** 1997 data are through September 30th Only.

SOURCE: King County Prosecuting Attorney

This report is also available online at
http://www.hemp.net/news/mjlaw.html

***

Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 14:19:27 -0700
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
From: Deran Ludd 
Subject: Re: HT: Seattle/KC Felony Marijuana Prosecutions and Convictions
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Hey,

Looking at the data on felony mj prosecutions and convictions in Sea/KC I
note that in some years prosecutions were less than convictions. I assume
this is due folks bargaining down their charges to a mj offense?

Deran

***

Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 20:52:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Robert Lunday 
To: Deran Ludd 
cc: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: Re: HT: Seattle/KC Felony Marijuana Prosecutions and Convictions
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Actually, I think the one case (Asian-1997) where there are more
convictions than prosecutions is either a typo or a change in race
classification from prosecution to conviction. Since in every other case
there are more prosecutions than convictions, I assume the difference can
be attributed to a successful defense of the charges.

To summarize the table, from 1991 to 1996 there have been an average of
229 felony marijuana prosecutions and 160 convictions in King County
annually.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mendocino County Backs Ukiah Medicinal Cannabis Club,
Calls On Congress for Marijuana Legalization Hearings (Unattributed
Wire Story Posted To CJUST)

From: Athur Sobey (asobey@ncfcomm.com)
To: CJUST-L@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Mendocino County
Date: Friday, January 30, 1998 4:46 PM

Mendocino County Backs Ukiah Medicinal Cannabis Club,
Calls on Congress for Marijuana Legalization Hearings

Ukiah, CA, Jan. 28, 1998 - In a historic meeting, the Mendocino
County Board of Supervisors not only put itself firmly on record in
support of the Ukiah medicinal Cannabis Buyers' Club, but also became
the first county in California to call on Congress to conduct hearings
on the legalization of marijuana.

The board voted 5-0 for a resolution by Sup. Charles Peterson
asking the sheriff and district attorney to observe "the letter,
spirit, and intent" of Prop. 215, and expressing support for the Ukiah
club, one of six clubs named in a federal lawsuit aimed at closing
California's medical cannabis dispensaries.

The board then went on to give unanimous backing to a motion by
Supervisor John Pinches, asking Congressman Frank Riggs to call for
congressional hearings on legalizing marijuana. Rep. Riggs, who is
running for the U.S. Senate, had previously, privately indicated to a
group of Laytonville residents that he would call for such hearings if
asked to do so by the Board of Supervisors.

In a letter to Riggs the board wrote, "Due to the millions of
dollars spent on eradication efforts against marijuana, this board is
urging your support to move forward and seek a congressional hearing on
the issues surrounding legalization of marijuana."

Pinches, a conservative Republican and candidate for the State
Senate, strongly attacked the war on pot. "We're spending millions and
millions on building more prisons to keep that system going. If we keep
on going for another 10 years, how many more dollars will be wasted, and
what's the price going to be?" he asked, "All Californians and Americans
have to come to sanity on this issue."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Re - Mendocino County (Commentary From Law Student)

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 23:06:38 EST
Originator: medmj@drcnet.org
Sender: medmj@drcnet.org
From: adbryan@onramp.net
To: Multiple recipients of list (medmj@drcnet.org)
Subject: FWD: Re: Mendocino County

Ed Denson posted this to the C-JUST list. I thought I'd
pass it on to the rest of you.

(---- Begin Included Message ----)
Message-ID: (34D2836E.2396@asis.com)
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 17:50:46 -0800
Reply-To: edenson@asis.com
Sender: "CJUST-L: Criminal Justice Discussion List"
(CJUST-L@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)
From: ED Denson (edenson@asis.com)
Organization: Law student
Subject: Re: Mendocino County
To: CJUST-L@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU

I want to underline the importance of the Mendocino county Board of
Supervisors vote to support the medical marijuana dispensary ("the
club") and to ask Congressperson Riggs to legalize marijuana. Mendocino
county is one of the main marijuana growing areas in California and one
of the main theaters of the annual War on Drugs helicopter raids by the
Campaign Against Marijuana Planting. Since 1983 the Board, which is the
governing body of the county, has invited the state to send in the
helicopters each year and it was for many years rock solid in support of
the War on Drugs.

It has taken more than a decade for the growing damage to the citizens
and environment of Mendocino county resulting from these raids to be
compared with the lack of practical effects that they have. For the last
several years there has been a 2 vote minority ( the Board has 5
members) against any further funding of the marijuana suppression
program. Last year the board, briefly, votes 3-2 to not have the
program. The vote was retaken a few minutes later and one vote shifted
to allow the program.

The marijuana suppression program is in serious trouble in the three
California counties where it is most active. (Humboldt, Mendocino, and
Santa Cruz). The opponents certainly include us civil libertarians, and
the fans of marijuana; but what is apparently spelling the doom of the
program is the fact that citizens whose rights are not affected and who
don't care about marijuana's many beneficent uses, are tired of seeing
this expensive and ineffective program cause problems and result in no
solutions. A complaint frequently heard here is that ordinary law
enforcement can't get any funding yet the State (and the Feds) are
willing to lavish money on marijuana raids. Our law enforcement problems
involve unanswered 911 calls, vandalism and shoplifting growing because
we have no deputies on the streets, and burglaries which are not
investigated while helicopters full of cops roam the hills pulling up
plants.

I believe the Mendocino County board resolution is not a symbolic act
designed to call attention to a problem. I think it is a serious act
which means just what it says. People who have been on the front lines
of the war on drugs believe legalization of marijuana is a better
alternative than continuing the same failed program. Look for more and
more voices raised in support of ending the civil war in our country.

***

ED Denson
Student of Law and Lover of Liberty
http://www.asis.com/~edenson for Civil Liberties
http://www.asis.com/~edenson/edhome.html for my home page.

(---- End Included Message ----)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Colorado Compassionate Therapeutic Cannabis Act (Text Of CTCA
Ballot Initiative Filed Today By
Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis)

Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 00:54:20 EST
Reply-To: ammo@levellers.org
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: AMMO 
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: Compassionate Thera. Cannabis Act (CTCA)

COLORADO COMPASSIONATE THERAPEUTIC CANNABIS ACT

Filed January 30, 1998

Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis
P.O. Box 729, Nederland, CO 80466
Phone: (303) 784-5632
Email: cohip@levellers.org
Web: http://www.levellers.org/cannabis.html

Need 55,000 signatures by Aug. 3, 1998 to appear on the November 1998
election ballot.

***

COMPASSIONATE THERAPEUTIC CANNABIS ACT

Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado,

A NEW AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO TO READ:

Section 1. Purpose. The goal of this article is to allow compassionate
therapeutic cannabis use by patients under advice from their physician for
medical conditions such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis,
epilepsy, chronic pain, cachexia (wasting syndrome), and nausea caused by
chemotherapy and radiation therapy. To clarify the intent of this
amendment, the article eliminates the term marihuana from all Colorado
statutes and mandates the use of accurate terminology based on the historic
uses and varieties of Cannabis sativa. The clarification of the former
definition of marihuana necessitates the treatment of industrial hemp as an
agricultural product. The article creates the Therapeutic Cannabis
Commission to assist in the implementation of this article. The article
does not provide for the recreational or personal use of cannabis nor does
it allow the use of cannabis by minor patients unless they meet the
requirements to be set forth by the Therapeutic Cannabis Commission
pursuant to Section 9 (3) (a) of this article.

Section 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, unless the
context otherwise requires:

(1) "Adequate Supply" means the amount of therapeutic cannabis necessary to
assure that a patient can fulfill the dosage and frequency requirements
recommended by a physician for treatment of a medical condition.

(2) "Affirmative defense" means that unless the state's evidence raises the
issue involving the alleged defense, the defendant, to raise the issue,
shall present some credible evidence on that issue.

(3) "Cannabis" means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa, whether
growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the
plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or
preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, containing greater than
1% concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol. Such term does not include
cannabis concentrate or hemp.

(4) "Cannabis concentrate" means hashish or any other extraction, chemical
synthesis, compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation
of cannabis that increases the concentration of THC beyond the natural
concentration contained in the cannabis. Such term does not include
cannabis or hemp.

(5) "Compassionate" means having a sympathetic awareness of another
person's suffering along with a desire to alleviate it.

(6) "Hemp" means the following parts of the plant Cannabis sativa: stalks,
fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the
plant, sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination.
Hemp includes viable seed if such seed will produce mature plants that
contain 1% or less concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol and such seed is
approved by the state agriculture department or its successor agency. Hemp
also includes Cannabis sativa plants cultivated exclusively for industrial
purposes and grown from seed approved by the state agriculture department
or its successor agency.

(7) "Patient" means a person who is under the care of a physician for an
adverse medical condition and who has been advised by their physician that
cannabis may be beneficial in the treatment of the symptoms of the medical
condition or of the side-effects caused by other treatments.

(8) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in Colorado by
the state board of medical examiners or its successor agency under the
provisions of Title 12 Article 36 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (1997).

(9) "Primary caregiver" means a person, designated by the patient who has
significant responsibility for managing the well-being of a patient, as
defined in Section 6 (3).

(10) "Tetrahydrocannabinol" means delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.

(11) "Therapeutic cannabis" means cannabis intended for use in treatment of
medical conditions by patients.

(12) "Therapeutic cannabis dispensary" means a state agency, non-profit
corporation, physician, or pharmacy that is licensed by the Commission,
pursuant to Section 9 (2), to acquire, cultivate, possess, transport, and
distribute therapeutic cannabis for the purpose of lawfully supplying
patients with an adequate supply of therapeutic cannabis.

(13) "Therapeutic cannabis use" means the lawful use, acquisition,
cultivation, possession, or transportation of an adequate supply of
therapeutic cannabis by a patient.

Section 3. All Laws Remain Until Repealed. That no inconvenience may
arise by reason of the form of the Colorado state constitution, it is
hereby ordained and declared:

(1) All laws in force at time of adoption of this amendment shall, so far
as not inconsistent therewith, remain of the same force as if this
amendment had not been adopted until May 15, 2000.

(2) All rights, actions, prosecutions, claims and contracts of the state of
Colorado, counties, individuals or bodies corporate (not inconsistent
therewith) shall continue as if this article had not been adopted until
they expire by their own limitation or are altered or repealed by the
General Assembly.

(3) (a) The General Assembly shall amend all statutory laws, ordinances,
prohibitions, and regulations of the state of Colorado previously enacted
concerning or relating to marihuana, marijuana and marihuana concentrate as
defined in current Colorado Revised Statutes to conform to the provisions
of this article.

(b) If the General Assembly does not amend such statutes to conform to the
provisions of this article by May 15, 2000, such statutes will be voided
and of no effect, except as provided herein.

(c) All other parts of such statutes shall otherwise remain in effect.

(4) Until such time that the General Assembly amends current statutes, as
directed in Section 3 (a), or until such time that those statutes are
voided, as directed in Section 3 (b), any action that conforms to the
provisions of this article shall be an exception to the state's criminal
statutes. These actions include, but are not limited to:

(a) a patient who engages in therapeutic cannabis use;

(b) a primary caregiver who acquires, cultivates, possesses, transports,
or distributes therapeutic cannabis for the purpose of supplying patients
with an adequate supply of therapeutic cannabis;

(c) a person who cultivates or processes hemp for industrial purposes.

(5) The provisions of Sections 5 and Section 6 shall be effective
immediately upon enactment of this amendment.

Section 4. Declaration of Policy.

(1) The people find and determine that all laws of the state of Colorado
shall always:

(a) Use the terms cannabis, cannabis concentrate, and hemp, as defined in
this amendment, and shall not use the words "marijuana" or "marihuana";

(b) Conform to the principles and limitations embodied in this
constitution;

(c) Allow therapeutic cannabis use by patients;

(d) Treat therapeutic cannabis either equally or less restrictively than
the principles and limitations embodied in this article;

(e) Allow primary caregivers and therapeutic cannabis dispensaries to
acquire, cultivate, possess, transport, and distribute therapeutic cannabis
for the purpose of lawfully supplying patients with an adequate supply of
therapeutic cannabis;

(f) Protect the right of physicians to recommend the use of therapeutic
cannabis to their patients;

(g) Allow licensed therapeutic cannabis dispensaries to operate;

(h) Treat hemp either equally or less restrictively than commercially
produced cereal and fiber crops under the laws of the state of Colorado;

(i) Treat cannabis and cannabis concentrate either equally or less
restrictively than the 1996 Colorado Revised Statutes regarding marijuana,
marihuana, or marijuana concentrate.

Section 5. Immunity from Prosecution -- Affirmative Defense.

(1) Any person who had a reasonable belief that their actions conformed to
the provisions of this article shall be immune from prosecution for
violations of the provisions of this article.

(2) Any person charged with a violation of state law related to marihuana,
marijuana, marihuana concentrate, cannabis, cannabis concentrate or hemp
may raise an affirmative defense to such charge that their actions conform
to the intent and provisions of this article.

(3) If the issue involved in an affirmative defense is raised, then the
guilt of the defendant must be established beyond a reasonable doubt as to
that issue as well as all other elements of the offense.

(4) In determining the guilt of the defendant, the trier of fact shall
determine beyond a reasonable doubt that intent was not for therapeutic
cannabis purposes or industrial hemp purposes.

(5) In all trials in which an affirmative defense is raised, the defendant
shall be entitled to a trial by jury.

Section 6. Protection of Physicians, Patients, and Primary Caregivers.
(1) No physician shall be subject to arrest or prosecution, nor penalized
in any manner, nor denied any right or privilege, for providing a
professional opinion or written documentation to a patient that prescribes
the use of therapeutic cannabis in the treatment of a medical condition.

(2) (a) It shall be lawful for a patient to engage in therapeutic cannabis
use.

(b) A patient shall not be subject to arrest or prosecution, nor penalized
in any manner, nor denied any right or privilege, for therapeutic cannabis
use in conformance with the provisions of this article.

(c) A written recommendation prescribing therapeutic cannabis from a
physician or a copy of the patient's pertinent medical records shall be
prima facie evidence that the patient is in conformance to the provisions
of this article.

(3) A patient may designate any person as a primary care giver who has
significant responsibility for managing the well-being of that patient.

(a) Primary caregivers must be at least 18 years of age.

(b) A patient shall have no more than four people at any one time acting
as primary caregivers under the provisions of this article.

(c) A patient shall designate his or her primary caregiver(s) acting under
the provisions of this article in writing.

(d) Primary caregivers may acquire, cultivate, possess, transport, or
distribute an adequate supply of therapeutic cannabis intended for use by
patients.

(e) A primary caregiver shall not be subject to arrest or prosecution, nor
penalized in any manner, nor denied any right or privilege for the
acquisition, cultivation, possession, transportation or distribution of
therapeutic cannabis for use by a patient in conformance with the
provisions of this article.

(f) A copy of the patient's recommendation prescribing therapeutic
cannabis from a physician or a copy of the patient's pertinent medical
records along with a document designating the person as a primary
caregiver shall be prima facie evidence that the primary caregiver is in
conformance to the provisions of this article.

Section 7. Unlawful Acts.

(1) This article does not provide for any person under 18 years of age to
use, acquire, cultivate, possess, transport, or distribute therapeutic
cannabis unless they meet the requirements as minor patients to be set
forth by the Commission pursuant to Section 9 (3) (a) of this amendment.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally and willfully
misrepresent their status under this article as a patient or primary
caregiver.

Section 8. Formation of Commission - Governor Appoints - Qualifications -
Senate Confirmation.

(1) The Colorado Therapeutic Cannabis Commission, herein after
"Commission", is formed and will be composed of seven members. Each is to
be appointed by the governor to serve a term of office of four years.
Potential appointees must be residents of Colorado and must meet the
following qualifications:

(a) One appointee will be a person who has benefited from the use of
therapeutic cannabis at some time to treat an adverse medical condition.

(b) One appointee will be have had experience acting as a primary
caregiver for a seriously ill person.

(c) One appointee will be a physician licensed to practice in Colorado.

(d) One appointee will have at least five years' experience in a field
related to public health.

(e) One appointee will have at least five years' experience in field
related to law or law enforcement.

(f) One appointee will have at least five years' experience in the public
advocacy of therapeutic cannabis.

(g) One appointee will be chosen at large at the discretion of the
Governor whom he/she believes will best represent the state of Colorado in
the implementation of the Compassionate Therapeutic Cannabis Act.

(2) Each appointee will be subject to the advice and consent of the
majority of the Senate.

(3) The term of office for appointees pursuant to Section 8 (1) (d), (e),
and (f) will be three years for the first set of appointments only.
Thereafter all appointments shall serve a term of four years pursuant to
Section 8 (1).

(4) The governor shall make the first set of appointments no later than
January 15, 1999. The Senate shall confirm the commission no later than
April 15, 1999.

(5) The Commissioners will serve as volunteers, unless otherwise provided
for by law.

Section 9. Commission Duties and Responsibilities.

(1) (a) The Commission is charged with carrying out the directives and
guidelines of the Compassionate Therapeutic Cannabis Act.

(b) The prime agenda of this article, and therefore the Commission, is to
allow compassionate therapeutic cannabis use by patients.

(2) The Commission shall issue licenses for therapeutic cannabis
dispensaries, as defined in Section 2 of this article. Requirements for
licensing shall include provisions to ensure that:

(a) only qualified patients or their primary caregivers obtain therapeutic
cannabis from a dispensary;

(b) the safety and welfare of patients and the public is held of paramount
importance;

(c) patients can obtain an affordable and adequate supply of therapeutic
cannabis;

(d) strict confidentiality of any information or medical records supplied
by patients is maintained to ensure a patient's privacy.

(3) The Commission shall recommend statutory changes and shall promulgate
rules to implement and enforce the provisions of this article including,
but not be limited to:

(a) requirements for therapeutic cannabis use by minor patients under 18
years of age, including provisions for adequate parental control and
notification of therapeutic cannabis use;

(b) a system for providing amnesty for patients convicted, prior to the
enactment of this article, of an offense related solely to their
therapeutic cannabis use;

(c) penalties for violation of the provisions of this article.

(4) The Commission will file an annual report to the Governor and General
Assembly on or before the second Tuesday in January each year. The first
report shall be due in January 2000.

(a) The report shall include recommendations for any statutory changes
necessary to implement and enforce the provisions of this article.

(b) The report will indicate the degree of compliance by federal and state
agencies, non-profit corporations, or any other entities dealing with
therapeutic cannabis.

(c) The report may include recommendations for research programs designed
to gather information or answer questions about therapeutic cannabis use by
patients.

(d) The report will make recommendations to establish adequate funding
levels to achieve the goals of this article.

(5) The Commission shall promulgate administrative law that is necessary to
implement this article, pursuant to the State Administrative Procedures Act
of the state of Colorado.

(6) The Commission will establish discussions between:

(a) federal government agencies,

(b) state government agencies,

(c) and other parties in interest,

(d) to establish a cohesive transition where conflict of law may exist.

(7) The Commission, may in its duties, find it necessary to promulgate
administrative law or the General Assembly may find it necessary to
promulgate statutes, or other forms of law, to further assist the
Commission's constitutional duties.

(8) The Commission is given the power and the duty to promulgate
administrative law, pursuant to responsibilities set out in this article.

(9) The Commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas, hold hearings,
compel testimony, and hire experts in various disciplines.

(10) The Commission shall have the power to require reasonable licensing
fees for therapeutic cannabis dispensaries.

(11) At its first meeting, the Commission shall establish the guidelines
for its meetings, including frequency of meetings, procedures, and other
administrative functions.

(12) The Commission shall fill vacancies in the Commission be a majority
vote for the remainder of the vacated term.

(13) The Commission is required to establish initial rules and regulations
within 180 days after its first meeting to begin the implementation this
article.

(14) It is the duty of the Commission to implement this article.

Section 10. Jurisdiction. All issues pertaining to therapeutic cannabis
shall fall under the jurisdiction of the Commission.

Section 11. Attorney General - Chief Enforcement Officer of the State -
Requirement to Make Recommendations for Enforcement to Governor and General
Assembly.

(1) The Attorney General is the chief enforcement officer of the state and
has the duty to enforce this article.

(2) The Attorney General shall make timely recommendations to the General
Assembly and the Governor to assist those bodies in the promulgation of
statutes or administrative law and establish enforcement regulations to
enact the goals of this article.

(3) (a) The Attorney General shall establish guidelines for law enforcement
officers for establishing probable cause that the provisions of this
article have been intentionally violated.

(b) The purpose of these guidelines shall be to eliminate as much as
possible the prosecution or persecution of patients for lawful therapeutic
cannabis use and to enable immunity from prosecution as described in

Section 5 (1).

(4) The Attorney General shall, upon written notification of the
Commission, assist the Commission with recommendations to promulgate
effective rules and regulations to achieve the goals of this article.

Section 12. Governor - Chief Executive Officer - Duty to Execute the
Article.

(1) The Governor, as the Chief Executive Officer of the state, has the
duty to execute and enforce this article.

(2) Upon written notification of the Commission, the Governor shall render
assistance to the Commission and assist the Commission in its
constitutional duties to carry out the goals of this article.

(3) The Governor shall work closely with the Commission's recommendations
to implement this article.

(4) The Governor may appoint a board, commission, or other government
agency, to advise and assist in the implementation of Section 2 (6) and
Section 4 (h), which permit the production of industrial hemp.

Section 13. Other State Government Agencies - Duty to Assist the
Commission.

(1) As this article is first and foremost an amendment to the Colorado
state constitution, and all agents of state government must, protect and
defend that constitution, the Compassionate Therapeutic Cannabis Act is the
law of the land that all government agents must protect and defend.

(2) Upon written notification of the Commission, any state government
agency or agent shall render the requested assistance within the laws of
the state of Colorado.

(3) (a) It is therefore the duty of all state officers to implement this
article, notwithstanding their personal beliefs, and shall carry out their
duties as herein provided.

(b) Should a state officer be unable to separate his or her personal
beliefs from the implementation of the law, it is that officer's duty to
resign their office.

(c) Failure of a state officer to perform their ministerial duties as
provided in this article shall subject such officer to impeachment for
malfeasance in office pursuant Article XIII of the Colorado constitution.

Section 14. General Assembly - Duty to Authorize Funds - Duty to Assist
the Commission - Duty to Promulgate Statutes.
(1) The General Assembly shall provide from the state Treasury adequate

funding levels to the Commission, sufficient to accomplish the goals of
this article. These expenditures shall not ultimately exceed revenue from
licensing of therapeutic cannabis dispensaries. The Commission shall make
timely recommendations to the General Assembly to establish adequate
funding.

(2) Upon written notification of the commission, the General Assembly shall
render the assistance requested within the laws of the state of Colorado.

(3) The General Assembly shall work closely with the Commission and its
recommendations to implement statutes that would more effectively enforce
or otherwise implement the goals of this article.

Section 15. Severability.

If any provisions of this article or the application thereof to any person
or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other
provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the
provisions of this article are declared to be severable.

Section 16. Liberal Construction.

This article shall be liberally construed to achieve the goals of this
article.

Section 17. Article Self-Executing.

(1) This article shall be in all respects self-executing; but the General
Assembly may by law provide for its more effective enforcement and may by
law impose less restrictive conditions on cannabis, hemp, therapeutic
cannabis and therapeutic cannabis use.

(2) The General Assembly shall set penalties for enforcement of this
article.

Section 18. Notification.

Upon passage of this amendment, the governor of the state of Colorado is
instructed to inform the President and Congress of the United States of
America of this amendment's passage and to urge the repeal of the federal
prohibition laws against therapeutic cannabis and to enact federal laws
similar to or less restrictive than the provisions of this amendment.

Section 19. Safety Clause.

The people hereby find, determine, and declare that this article is
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and
safety.

Section 20. Effective Date. Enacted by a vote of the people, November 3,
1998. Effective upon proclamation of the Governor.

***

Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis
P.O. Box 729
Nederland, CO 80466
Phone: (303) 784-5632
Email: cohip@levellers.org
Web: http://www.levellers.org/cannabis.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Pair Sentenced For Drug Dealing ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Notes
West Bend, Wisconsin, Man And Wife Popped With Three Pounds Of Cannabis
Will Be Saved From Drugs By Loss Of Each Other, His Job - Receive
Mandatory Minimum Terms, Fines, Coerced Treatment, Probation,
Public Humiliation)

Date: Tue, 03 Feb 1998 09:51:52 -0500
From: "R. Lake" 
Subject: MN: US WI: Pair sentenced for drug dealing
To: news 
Reply-to: rlake@mapinc.org
Organization: http://www.mapinc.org
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World" 
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Author: Amy Rabideau Silvers of the Journal Sentinel staff
Contact: jsedit@onwis.com
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Pubdate: 30 Jan 1998
Fax: (414) 224-8280

PAIR SENTENCED FOR DRUG DEALING

West Bend -- A West Bend husband and wife came to Washington County court
together Thursday, but they did not leave together.

Circuit Judge Richard Becker sentenced Roger W. Hubbard, 39, to four years
in prison for possession of 3 pounds of marijuana with intent to deliver.
Because the family's home is within 1,000 feet of a school, he must serve at
least three years of that sentence.

His wife, Vicci A. Hubbard, also 39, was sentenced to four years in prison,
but her time was stayed for five years of probation.

Conditions of her probation include 9 months in the county jail. Hubbard
will be eligible for work-release and some child care for their child. She
must serve at least 90 days in the jail but could serve the remainder on
electronic monitoring, if permitted by the Sheriff's Department.

Also required: fines totaling nearly $2,000, continued cooperation in drug
and alcohol treatment and 150 hours of community service "in a drug
awareness situation," Becker said.

An 18-year-old daughter and her boyfriend are accused of purchasing and
delivering the marijuana to the Hubbard house. Separate trials are scheduled
for Jacqueline C. Hubbard and Anthony P. Galindo, 19, next month.

"I think Vicci Hubbard is less involved in drug trafficking on the
commercial end than Roger is," said Assistant District Attorney Todd
Martens. "These are people making money off it . . . They were moving a lot
of marijuana and making a substantial amount of money."

The wholesale value of the 3 pounds of marijuana was about $3,300, and as
much as $9,600 "at the retail level," he said.

"The effect on these kids is devastating," Martens said, referring to the
couple's children. "And this family is a poster child for how devastating
drugs can be."

Attorney Daryl Laatsch called Roger Hubbard, a county highway worker now on
suspension, an addict.

"From all reports he was an extraordinarily heavy user of marijuana," he
said. "Certainly there was some profit . . . but whatever profit there was
went right back into supporting Mr. Hubbard's habit."

Becker noted that there was no drug connection to the school but said the
state law was clear in presuming that the three-year minimum should apply to
violations of "drug-free" zones.

"I am supposed to send you and Ms. Hubbard to prison for at least three
years," Becker said, noting that the recommendation by the district
attorney's office "gives me a better reason" for not enforcing the sentence
in Vicci Hubbard's case.

Roger Hubbard begins his prison sentence immediately. Vicci Hubbard was
granted a brief delay before reporting to the county jail.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Report - Pain Modulation By Cannabinoids (Summary Of Minnesota Research
Suggesting Potential Of Marijuana As Medicine, From 'Science Week')

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 17:31:33 EST
Errors-To: manager@drcnet.org
Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Chris Donald (ai256@chebucto.ns.ca)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Science Week: REPORT: Pain Modulation by Cannabinoids (fwd)
--- Forwarded message ---
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 21:14:46 -0600
From: Science-Week (prismx@scienceweek.com)
To: prismx@scienceweek.com
Subject: Science-Week

A Free Weekly Digest of the News of Science

January 30, 1998

ON THE MECHANISM OF PAIN MODULATION BY CANNABINOIDS

In general, the clinical entity "hyperalgesia" (sometimes known
as "hyperalgia") is a heightened sensitivity to painful stimuli.
Cannabinoids are derivatives or preparations from the plant
Cannabis sativa (the marijuana plant), a group of a dozen
compounds chemically related to cannabinol, including delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and the cannabinoid receptor is the
binding site for the psychoactive component of marijuana, as well
as for anandamide, the endogenous physiological ligand. Anand-
amide is known to modulate the pain pathway, but the mechanisms
are not clear. ... ... Richardson et al (3 authors at Univ. of
Minnesota Minneapolis, US) now report studies in animal models
that indicate that hyperalgesia may be linked to a faulty
cannabinoid system in the spinal cord. The authors suggest that
endogenous cannabinoids attenuate pain by preventing the release
of glutamate from presynaptic terminals of neurons that transmit
pain messages to the spinal cord.

QY: Jenelle D. Richardson, Harvard Univ. Medical School, Dept.
Neurobiology, 617-432-1550

(Chem. & Eng. News 19 Jan 98)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Does Marijuana Have A Place In Medicine? (Mostly Evenhanded Article
In 'Patient Care' By Doctors Lisa Capaldina, Donald Tashkin, William Vilensky
And Lori D. Talarico Cites Gabriel Nahas In Footnotes
And Hypothetical Dangers Of Cannabis But No Real Dead Bodies)

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 20:03:22 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service 
From: Richard Lake 
Subject: MN: US: Does Marijuana Have A Place In Medicine?
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Darral Good
Source: Patient Care, v32 n2 p41(6).
Author: Prepared By Lori D. Talarico, Senior Associate Editor
Author: Lisa Capaldina, Donald Tashkin, William Vilensky and Lori D. Talarico
Pubdate: Jan 30, 1998
Editors note: Couldn't find a contact on the web, and this is a little old,
but could not pass it up. If anyone has contact info for this magazine
please drop me a note. Oh, I did find the following good list of 400 some
medical journals with online pages:
http://canada.silverplatter.com/physicians/library/journlst.htm
It is also nice that Patient Care recommends reading sections of the
DrugLibrary at:
http://www.druglibrary.org/

DOES MARIJUANA HAVE A PLACE IN MEDICINE?

Abstract: Few studies have been conducted on the medical efficacy of smoked
marijuana although substantial anecdotal evidence suggests smoked marijuana
has many therapeutic uses such as the ability to enhance the appetite in
AIDS patients and control nausea and vomiting due to cancer chemotherapy.

In the moral, legal, and medical realms, the use of medical marijuana is a
hotly contested issue. What do we really know about its efficacy? When, if
ever, is it recommended?

In the crude herb Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae)--more commonly known as
marijuana, pot, or hemp--delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) occurs as a
sticky, extractable, resinous oil. In total, marijuana contains more than
60 cannabinoids, most of them poorly characterized. The major psychoactive
ingredient appears to be THC, however. Whether marijuana is smoked, eaten,
brewed in a tea, or swallowed in pill form, THC is the major ingredient
affecting the CNS. This is also true of dronabinol, marijuana's chemically
synthesized THC counterpart ("medical marijuana"), which is formulated in
sesame oil and supplied in 2.5-, 5-, or 10-mg gelatin capsules.

Some argue that manufacturing dronabinol by extracting only one of many
cannabinoids produces an agent that is less effective than the
polypharmaceutical herb marijuana.[1] Others feel very strongly that as
long as dronabinol is available, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) does not
need to reschedule crude marijuana as a medicinal drug. With the passage of
bills in California and Arizona recognizing marijuana as a medication,
there is increasing political and public pressure for a final decision on
the legal status of smoked marijuana as a regulated substance prescribed
for medicinal purposes. The few studies that have examined the medical
efficacy of smoked marijuana were conducted in the 1970s and 1980s. While
the debate rages, marijuana remains illegal, and dronabinol is the only
legally available THC. With the advent of serotonin antagonists, the need
for medicinal THC as an antiemetic is less clear than ever.

HOW DRONABINOL WORKS

Dronabinol, a Schedule II (prescription only) controlled substance, affects
receptors in the brain and the spinal cord. It is labeled for use in the
treatment of anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS and
for the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients
who have failed to respond adequately to conventional antiemetic treatment.
Although it is an efficacious antiemetic, it may have significant side
effects.[2] Dronabinol is often used as a rescue medication when other
drugs do not work, rather than as a first-line treatment. It is prescribed
primarily by oncologists, although other physicians use it off-label,
either alone or as an adjunct, in treating glaucoma and epilepsy and to
relieve tremor, ataxia, and muscular spasticity in patients with multiple
sclerosis (MS).

Dronabinol is clearly most useful as a treatment option when nausea and
vomiting are uncontrolled by other means, and its stimulating effect on the
appetite may continue for 24 hours or longer after administration. It can
also be administered with a variety of medications (eg, many cytotoxic
agents, anti-infective agents, sedatives, or opioid analgesics) without
causing clinically significant drug interactions. Synthetic THC may
interact with some medications, however, through both metabolic and
pharmacodynamic mechanisms, at least theoretically. Dronabinol is highly
protein-bound, for example, and therefore might displace other
protein-bound drugs, and patients should be monitored for possible changes
in dosage requirements.

Oral THC capsules have other disadvantages. A patient suffering from nausea
and vomiting may be unable to swallow the pill or keep it down. A
suppository form appears to have been successful in clinical trials, but it
is not yet available. Trials with a dronabinol nasal inhaler are also under
way.

It is difficult to titrate dronabinol because of its erratic
bioavailability and relatively slow onset of action. Onset is delayed for
approximately 30-60 minutes, with a peak effect at 2-4 hours. The
psychoactive effects last for 4-6 hours, and side effects may be prolonged.
Dronabinol-induced parasympatholytic-like activity may result in
tachycardia or conjunctivitis. Effects on blood pressure are inconsistent,
and some patients have experienced orthostatic hypotension or syncope.

Dronabinol must be taken on a regular schedule; treatment is initiated with
a low dosage (2.5 mg/d), which is increased only as necessary. Possible
psychoactive side effects include impairment of coordination, mood, and
perception and are the biggest drawback to the medical use of THC. They may
be most severe in patients who are not experienced cannabinoid users.
Tachyphylaxis and tolerance to some of the pharmacological effects develop
with chronic use.

ALTERNATIVES TO THC

At least seven controlled studies comparing prochlorperazine maleate with
synthetic THC were performed more than a decade ago.[3] Several other
antiemetics have come to the fore since then, but they have not been
compared to THC in controlled clinical trials. These newer drugs include
the serotonin antagonists ondansetron HCl dihydrate and granisetron HCl,
which are more effective and cause fewer side effects than prochlorperazine
and can be administered to children.

A number of dopamine receptor blockers are currently used to treat nausea,
including metoclopramide HCl, haloperidol, and cisapride. Two studies
comparing the antiemetic effects of oral THC and metoclopramide have
yielded mixed results.[3, 4] Corticosteroids like dexamethasone and
methylprednisolone acetate and minor tranquilizers, such as lorazepam, have
proven safe and effective for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea
and vomiting, especially when used in conjunction with other antinausea
medications such as scopolamine.[5] Even a combination sedative/antiemetic
in the phenothiazine family, such as chlorpromazine HCl, can be used.

INHALED MARIJUANA

Few of the more than 60 active cannabinoids found in crude marijuana have
been studied. There is speculation that some of the non-THC cannabinoids
may help confer the additional benefits reported by those who smoke or eat
marijuana, although no human trials confirm this. Little information about
the efficacy of inhaled marijuana has been derived from clinical trials,
but an abundance of anecdotal and clinical reports exist. In fact,
marijuana was widely prescribed by Western physicians in the mid-19th
century for asthma, insomnia, dysmenorrhea, convulsions, and a number of
other complaints.

Today, whole cannabis is thought to be effective in a wide range of
conditions, including appetite enhancement for the wasting syndrome of
AIDS, control of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy,
relief of spasticity and pain associated with MS, a decrease in intraocular
pressure in glaucoma, and control of migraine headaches and epileptic
seizures. Many of the compounds contained in marijuana have demonstrated
pain-relieving actions in animal tests, although few studies of cannabinoid
effects on pain have been conducted in humans.[6] As is the case with
dronabinol, these benefits come with possible psychotropic effects that can
impair normal activities.

Inhaling smoke, which irritates the throat and lungs, can lead to
respiratory problems. Marijuana use by patients with AIDS is discouraged
since it is not known to what extent marijuana may further compromise the
lungs' immune defenses and predispose the patient to opportunistic
pulmonary infections.[7, 8] The illegality of marijuana has made it
difficult to scientifically document a connection with lung disease or the
effects of passive exposure to marijuana smoke.

It has been suggested that alternate drug delivery devices and marijuana
extracts be studied for use in lieu of smoking an unfiltered marijuana
cigarette. Examples include different kinds of water pipes, filters, and
vaporizing devices that could selectively remove potentially harmful
elements from marijuana smoke. Water pipes have always been available as
illegal drug paraphernalia. Research has shown that THC, the active
antinausea agent in marijuana, is more quickly absorbed when marijuana is
smoked rather than ingested. According to one study, a substantial
proportion of practicing oncologists who responded to the survey regard
smoked cannabis as a safe and effective antinausea agent.[1]

COMPARING DRONABINOL AND MARIJUANA

Quality control is another factor to consider when comparing dronabinol
with smoked marijuana. The synthetic THC found in dronabinol is
manufactured under sterile, controlled conditions. There are numerous
variables in the production of illegal marijuana. The quality of the herb
is affected by soil conditions, water quality, and humidity and temperature
control. For example, like all plants, cannabis accumulates metal from the
soil, and soils in different parts of the country contain varying levels of
mercury, lithium, cadmium, and copper.

Since the crop is produced illegally, contamination by unrestricted use or
overuse of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides may occur.
In addition, the marijuana plant is often plagued with pathogenic fungi,
such as Aspergillus or Fusarium. It can also transmit other fungal
infections such as histoplasmosis. This problem can be eradicated by proper
sterilization, though, and baking marijuana kills Aspergillus spores with
no effect on THC content.[9]

Dronabinol can be produced in specific potencies, but variations in growing
climate and product preparation greatly affect available THC levels in
marijuana. The more potent, resinous hemp is grown in hot, moist southern
climates. Furthermore, the concentration of THC in a marijuana cigarette,
commonly called a joint, which contains dried stems, leaves, and flowers,
is much lower than the THC level in hashish--a preparation of the
unadulterated resin scraped from the flowering tops of the female hemp
plants. Hashish, or hash, is usually shaped like a bar of soap, and a piece
is broken off and used in a pipe or water pipe, or sometimes crumbled up
with marijuana and rolled into a cigarette. Like marijuana, it can be eaten.

Government-produced cigarettes sponsored by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse are reported to be bacteria- and fungus-free as well as consistent in
THC level. Many supporters of marijuana for medical use, therefore, support
governmental control of the production of cannabis for safety and
consistency of THC levels and the elimination of fungi and bacteria.

The bioavailability of dronabinol and marijuana vary tremendously in
individuals and from day to day in the same person. Even though synthetic
THC is available in three strengths, it can be very difficult to define
appropriate dose and determine what time day the patient needs to take it.
Some stud suggest that smoking is a more efficient delivery system for THC
than dronabinol because the patient gets near-immediate results and can
self-titrate--although the ability to self-titrate has been questioned.[10]
Smoking marijuana appears to surpass eating crude marijuana in terms of
control of titration. In addition, eating marijuana may be difficult for
patients who are anorectic, nauseated, or vomiting.[10, 11]

Smoking a cannabis cigarette is associated with a nearly fivefold increase
in the carboxyhemoglobin concentration compared to that associated with
smoking a tobacco cigarette. More tar is also inhaled and retained in the
respiratory tract when smoking marijuana.[12] It's true too, however, that
the medicinal use of inhaled marijuana entails smoking far fewer cigarettes
than the number typically smoked by a tobacco user.

Cardiac effects such as tachycardia and hypotension are common with both
dronabinol and smoked marijuana. Although these effects may be of minimal
consequence in younger persons, elderly patients may be more sensitive to
them. The adverse reactions can also be more prominent in the inexperienced
marijuana user.

Proponents of smoked marijuana for medical use believe that
government-approved marijuana would be less expensive than dronabinol or
the new antiemetics. For example, ondansetron costs $120-$160 for oral
administration but, because of nausea and vomiting, especially in AIDS
patients, IV administration is often required at a cost of about $600.[13]
Without the black market, the price of government-grown marijuana
cigarettes could be quite low.

WHAT'S NEXT

Supporters of smoked marijuana for medical use believe that governmental
control over marijuana as a Schedule I substance (no currently accepted
medical use) has prevented an objective evaluation of the drug in
controlled clinical trials. In fact, no major trials to assess marijuana's
safety or efficacy have been conducted. Some people believe that the
federal government should remove legal barriers to research, provide direct
or indirect financial support to research, and, in the meantime, allow
continued and expanded use of the drug on a compassionate-use basis. [14, 15]

Many physicians say that if cannabinoids are found to be as effective as
other available medications, they would prescribe them. At the least, many
physicians would like to put the issue to rest once and for all. Many
doctors believe that the greatest danger in the medical use of marijuana is
its illegality, which imposes much anxiety and expense on suffering people,
forces them to bargain with illicit drug dealers, and exposes them to
threats of criminal prosecution. Only clinical research comparing
dronabinol to other tetrahydro-cannabinoids and cannabinoids for
therapeutic efficacy can clarify this controversy. The National Institutes
of Health are open to receiving research grant applications for studies of
the medical efficacy of marijuana, and they have recently provided a $1
million grant to the Institute of Medicine to review scientific and
laboratory tests on marijuana.

RELATED ARTICLE: Drugs mentioned in this article

Chlorpromazine HCI (Thorazine)

Cisapride (Propulsid

Dexamethasone (Decadron, Hexadrol)

Granisetron HCI (Kytril)

Haloperidol (Haldol)

Lorazepam (Ativan)

Methylprednisolone acetate (Deop-Medrol)

Metoclopramide HCI (Zofran)

Prochlorperazine maleate (Compazine)

Scopolamine HBr (injectable)

REFERENCES

[1.] Doblin RE, Kleiman MAR: Marijuana as antiemetic medicine: A survey of
oncologists' experiences and attitudes. J Clin Oncol 1991;9:1314-1319.

[2.] Beal JE, Olson DO, Laubenstein L, et al: Dronabinol as a treatment for
anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS. J Pain Sympton
Manage 1995;10:89-97.

[3.] Ekert H, Waters KD, Jurk IH, et al: Amerlioration of cancer
chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting by delta-9-tetrahyrdocannabinol.
Med J Aust 1979;2:657-659.

[4.] Gralia RJ, Tyson LB, Clark RA, et al: Antiemetic trials with high dose
metoclopramide: Superiority over THC, preservation of efficacy in
subsequent chemotherapy courses, abstracted. Proceedings of the American
Society of Clinical Oncology 1982;1:58.

[5.] Grunberg SM, Hesketh PJ: Control of chemotherapy-induced emesis. N
Engl J Med 1993;24:1790-1796.

[6.] Hardman JG (ed): Goodman and Gilman's: The Pharmacological Basis of
Therapeutics, Ninth Edition. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1996.

[7.] Sherman MP, Campbell LA, Gong H Jr, et al: Antimicrobial and
respiratory burst characteristics of pulmonary alveolar macrophages
recovered from smokers of marijuana alone, smokers of tobacco alone,
smokers of marijuana and tobacco, and nonsmokers. Am Rev Respir Dis
1991;144:1351-1356.

[8.] Baldwin GC, Tashkin DP, Buckley DM, et al: Marijuana and cocaine
impair alveolar macrophage function and cytokine production. Am J Respir
Care Med 1997;156:1606-1613.

[9.] Levitz SM, Diamond RD: Aspergillosis and marijuana. Ann Intern Med
1991; 115:578-579.

[10.] Matthias P, Tashkin DP, Marques-Magallanes JA, et al: Effects of
varying marijuana potency on deposition of tar and [Delta][9]-THC in the
lung during smoking. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 1997;58:1045-1050.

[11.] Mattes RD, Engelman K, Shaw LM, et al: Cannabinoids and appettite
stimulation. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 1994;49:187-195.

[12.] Nahas G, Latour C: The human toxicity of marijuana. Med J Aust 1992;
156:495-497.

[13.] Nelan EH: Medical marijuana: Research priority, hoax or civil right?
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues 1997;11:1-3.

[14.] Kassirer JP: Federal foolishness and marijuana, editorial, N Engl J
Med 1997; 336-336-367.

[15.] Annas GJ: Reefer madness: The federal response to California's
medical-marijuana law. N Engl J Med 1997;337:435-439.

SUGGESTED READING

Grinspoon L, Bakalar JB: Maruhuana as medicine: a plea for reconsideration.
http://206.61.184.43/schaffer/hemp/medical/grinjama/htm

Grinspoon L, Bakalar J: Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine, New Haven, Conn,
Yale Univ Pr, 1993.

Major studies of drugs and drug policy,
http://206.61.184.43/schaffer/library/ studies/studies.com

Report of the US National Commission of Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972:
History of marijuana use: Medical and antoxicant.
http://206.61.184.43/schaffer/ library/studies/nc/nc1a.htm

Rosenthal E, Mikuriya T, Gieringer D: Marijuana Medical Handbook: A guide
to therapeutic use. Oakland, Calif, Quick American Archives, 1997.

Schwartz RH, Beveridge RA: Marijuana as an antiemetic drug: How useful is
it today? Opinions from clinical oncologists. J Addict Dis 1994;13:53-65.

Schwartz RH, voth EA, Sheridan MJ: Marijuana to prevent neusea and vomiting
in cancer patients: A survey of clinical oncologists. South Med J
1997;90:167-172.

Voth EA, Schwartz RH: Medicinal applications of
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and marijuana. Ann Intern Med 1997;126-791-798.

Wu T-C, Tashkin DP, Djahed B, et al: Pulmonary hazards of smoking marijuana
as compared with tobacco. N Engl J Med 1988;318:347-351.

ARTICLE CONSULTANTS

LISA CAPADINI, MD is Associate clinical Professor of Medicine, University
of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine; and Director, Castro
Medical Clinic, San Francisco.

DONALD TASHKIN, MD, is Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and
Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California,
Los Angeles, UCLA School of Medicine; and a researcher for the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda, Md.

WILLIAM VILENSKY, RPh, DO, is Clinical Associate Professor, Department of
Family Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway; Clinical Associate Professor,
Department of Psychiatry. UMDMJ--New Jersey Medical School, Newark; and
Executive Medical Director, Forensic and Educational Consultants, Margate,
N.J.

Full Text COPYRIGHT 1998 Medical Economics Publishing

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Book Review, 'The CIA's War At Home' ('Bay Area Express' Writes About
Angus Mackenzie's Posthumously Published Book, Which Describes How CIA
Domestic Operations - Illegal Under Its Charter - Played Central Role
In Transforming American Government Into Its Present Secretive State)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 11:16:22 EST
Reply-To: gsutliff@dnai.com
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Gerald Sutliff 
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: Book Review, "The CIA's War at Home"

Dear Talkers,

The following was published in The Bay Area Express weekly newspaper.
vty, jerry Sutliff

SECRETS
The CIA's War at Home
By Angus Mackenzie
University of California Press
(1997), $27.50

Walt Kelly's famous epigram-"We have met the enemy, and he is us,"
-resonates through every page of Angus Mackenzie's posthumously published
book, Secrets: The CIA's War at Home, a tightly focused account of how CIA
domestic operations-illegal under its charter-played a central role in
transforming American government into its present secretive state.

The first public disclosure of illegal domestic CIA activity concerned a
Michigan State University program used as a CIA front to supply arms and
military training to South Vietnam, hence not only breaking the law but
undermining the intellectual integrity of the program. The program's
director, Stanley Sheinbaum, resigned in 1959, then went public in 1966 in
Ramparts magazine. CIA attempts "to find a way of shutting down the
magazine that would stand up in court, notwithstanding the constraints of
the First Amendment," failed, despite FBI and IRS support. The ultra-secret
MHCHAOS program, targeting much more vulnerable underground antiwar
newspapers, proved more successful, with ample help from infiltrating agent
provocateurs and sustained police harassment.

From there, Mackenzie turns to the battles fought over a series of
revelations, ranging from CIA control of the National Student Association
to its connections with the heroin trade revealed in Alfred McCoy's The
Politics of heroin in Southeast Asia. In each case what we see, instead of
democratic accountability, is the CIA treating American citizens-indeed the
entire citizenry-as hostile targets. This pattern is spelled our in painful
detail when the ACLU becomes a CIA target-not for destruction, but for
cooptation.

The power of Secrets comes from its attention to detail and from putting
events in context, showing us again and again how the logic of secrecy
steadily erodes the ideals it's supposedly protecting. If you value
freedom, value this book. It connects the dots across fifty years of
eroding democracy.

-Paul Rosenberg

-------------------------------------------------------------------

CIA Report Concludes Agency Knew Nothing Of Drug Dealers' Ties To Rebels
('New York Times' Sees No Evil, Hears No Evil)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 16:41:26 -0500
From: "R. Lake" (rlake@utoledo.edu)
Subject: MN: US: NYT: CIA Report Concludes Agency
Knew Nothing of Drug Dealers' Ties to Rebels
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-to: rlake@mapinc.org
Organization: http://www.mapinc.org
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Source: New York Times
Author: Tim Weiner
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Friday, 30 Jan 1998
Editor's note: This is a very easily newshawked newspaper, the second largest
in the U.S. If anyone would like to newshawk it on a regular basis it would
be appreciated. Please drop me a note if you are interested. - Richard Lake

CIA REPORT CONCLUDES AGENCY KNEW NOTHING OF DRUG DEALERS' TIES TO REBELS

WASHINGTON -- The CIA on Thursday released the first volume of an internal
investigation concluding that the agency knew nothing about California
cocaine dealers who claimed connections with CIA-backed rebels in Nicaragua.

The CIA inspector general's report was an effort to answer accusations made
in newspaper articles published in August 1996 that drug-dealing Nicaraguan
rebels and their supporters were responsible for introducing crack cocaine
to black neighborhoods in California in the 1980s.

The series of articles in the San Jose Mercury News suggested that the CIA
condoned the drug trafficking because the cocaine dealers kicked back
millions of dollars to rebels fighting the Marxist Sandinista Government of
Nicaragua.

The articles ignited a firestorm of protest, fanned by talk radio, the
Internet and the grapevine. The intelligence agency fervently denied the
accusation and undertook the internal investigation to try to restore its
image. The director of central intelligence, George J. Tenet, said Thursday
that "no investigation, no matter how exhaustive, will completely erase that
false impression or undo the damage that has been done" to the agency by the
articles.

The Mercury News published a long note from its editor last year saying the
articles were overblown. The reporter who wrote them, Gary Webb, has
resigned.

The CIA report released Thursday, the first of two volumes, includes
fragments of evidence about connections between the cocaine dealers and the
rebels, known as contras, but nothing like the seamless web reported by the
Mercury News.

The report concludes that one of the cocaine dealers mentioned by the
Mercury News, Oscar Danilo Blandon, gave a contra leader, Eden Pastora,
several thousand dollars, the use of two cars and a free place to stay. But,
the agency says, their relationship was not political. Blandon also met with
another contra leader, Enrique Bermudez, but says that he gave him no money.

Blandon told the CIA that he and another cocaine dealer, Norwin Meneses,
donated tens of thousands of dollars to contra sympathizers in Los Angeles.
The agency says it cannot prove or disprove that assertion. Its report says
neither man claims to have been "motivated by any commitment to support the
contra cause or contra activities undertaken by CIA," and that the agency
was unaware of their existence in the 1980s.

Another convicted drug dealer, Renato Pena Cabrera, who says he was an
unpaid representative of the contras in California from 1982 through 1984,
told CIA investigators that he had heard from a Colombian associate of
Meneses that some of the proceeds of several million dollars' worth of
cocaine he sold went to support the contras. The report includes no more
information on that assertion, other than to say that the CIA never had a
relationship with Pena.

The second volume of the report, to be completed next month, will examine
accusations that some contras and their supporters dealt in drugs. A 1989
Senate investigation concluded that they did. It said the largest contra
group moved money through a drug-smuggling network; that drug traffickers
gave the contras money, guns, planes and pilots; and that government money
meant to support the contras went to drug traffickers.

The CIA's inspector general, Fred Hitz, said Thursday that he had found no
evidence that the agency, or any of its employees, had dealt in drugs to
support the contras.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

CIA Finds Nothing To Confirm '96 MN Report ('San Jose Mercury News' Version)

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 17:55:49 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US: CIA Finds Nothing To Confirm '96 MN Report
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Marcus-Mermelstein Family 
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author: Pete Carey, Mercury News Staff Writer
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 1998

CIA FINDS NOTHING TO CONFIRM '96 MN REPORT

The Central Intelligence Agency, releasing an investigative report after a
month's delay, said Thursday that its Inspector General found nothing to
implicate it in the cocaine sales of two Nicaraguan drug dealers in the
1980s and the start of the nation's crack epidemic, contradicting a key
implication of a series published in the Mercury News in 1996.

However, investigators did find evidence that the CIA became involved in
the prosecution of a 1983 drug case in San Francisco, encouraging the
return of $36,000 seized in the case to Contra supporters in Costa Rica.
The agency also tried to discourage the U.S. Attorney from obtaining
depositions from the two Contra supporters.

The yearlong investigation, described by the agency as the most intensive
ever undertaken by its Inspector General, found no corroboration for many
key assertions made in the Mercury News series.

The Mercury News has acknowledged shortcomings in the series, saying that
while there was evidence to support specific assertions of the reports,
there was conflicting evidence on many points.

The basic findings of the CIA investigation were reported by the Mercury
News in December. A second report will look at CIA knowledge of drug
trafficking by the Contras and how the CIA handled such cases with U.S. law
enforcement agencies and Congress.

CIA Inspector General Frederick P. Hitz said that ``up to this point in our
reviews, and we're fairly far along, no evidence has been found that the
CIA as an organization or any of its employees engaged in drug trafficking
in support of the Contras or to raise funds for a Contra-related program.''

The investigation began after an August 1996 Mercury News series called
``Dark Alliance'' described the 1980s drug dealings of two Nicaraguans,
Juan Norwin Meneses and Oscar Danilo Blandon. The series alleged that the
men, as civilian members of the CIA-backed, anti-communist guerrilla army
called the Contras, had for the ``better part of a decade'' sold tons of
cocaine to a young street dealer named Ricky Ross in South Central Los
Angeles. The drugs helped trigger the nation's crack epidemic, the series
alleged, while mysterious government entities appeared to have protected
Blandon and Meneses as they funneled ``millions'' of dollars in drug
profits to the ``CIA's army,'' the Contras.

A firestorm of reaction followed, as many groups pointed to the series as
evidence that the CIA was complicit in the start of a drug craze that
devastated inner-city neighborhoods.

CIA Director George J. Tenet said ``the allegations made have left an
indelible impression in many Americans' minds that the CIA was somehow
responsible for the scourge of drugs in our inner cities. Unfortunately,
no investigation, no matter how exhaustive, will completely erase that
false impression or undo the damage that has been done.''

Members of Congress who have been following the issue could not be reached
for comment on the report.

But Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, who has been highly vocal on the
issue, told the Los Angeles Times that she was not satisfied with the
results.

``There are undeniable connections between the drug dealers and the Contras
that raise questions still,'' the congresswoman from Los Angeles said.
``Where there's this much smoke, there must be some fire.''

The CIA's Inspector General found:

No information that any past or present CIA employee or anyone acting on
the agency's behalf had any direct or indirect dealing with Meneses,
Blandon or Ross. Nor did anything link the CIA with two other figures
mentioned in the series and subsequent stories, Ronald J. Lister, a member
of Blandon's drug ring, or David Scott Weekly, whom Lister claimed was his
CIA contact.

No information that the drug ring was motivated by a commitment to support
the Contra cause. Blandon and Meneses said they donated between $3,000 and
$40,000 to Contra sympathizers.

No information that the CIA interfered with the investigation, arrest,
prosecution or conviction of Ross, Blandon or Meneses.

``CIA shared what information it had -- specifically on Meneses' 1979 drug
trafficking in Nicaragua -- with U.S. law enforcement entities when it was
received and again when subsequently requested by the FBI,'' the
investigation found.

The investigation also turned up numerous cables regarding Meneses, most of
them identifying him as a drug smuggler, launderer of counterfeit money and
dealer in weapons and as a member of the ``Nicaraguan mafia.''

CIA involved in case

However, the report documents CIA involvement in the prosecution of a 1983
cocaine-trafficking case in San Francisco in which more than 50 people,
many of them Nicaraguans, were arrested.

The CIA became involved when it learned that prosecutors were planning to
travel to Costa Rica to obtain the depositions of the two Contra supporters
in connection with prosecution of the case.

The agency ``misidentified'' one of the two men to be deposed as being
another person who was a CIA asset and began making inquiries, the report
said.

The agency encouraged the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco to return
to two Contra supporters in Costa Rica about $36,000 seized from one of the
suspects. The U.S. Attorney's Office ``was most deferential to our
interests,'' a CIA cable states.

``We can only guess at what other testimony may have been forthcoming,'' a
CIA cable says. ``As matter now stands, CIA equities are fully protected''
but the CIA lawyers ``will continue to monitor the prosecution closely so
that any further disclosures or allegations by defendant or his confidants
can be deflected.''

The lead prosecutor on the case recalled discussing it with a CIA attorney
who said the agency would be ``immensely grateful if these depositions did
not go forward.'' However, prosecutors in the case told investigators the
decision to return the money was based on other considerations, not the
CIA's encouragement.

The CIA's interest in the case did not affect the outcome of the trial, the
Inspector General said.

The Mercury News series linked Meneses to the ring, but the Inspector
General said Meneses denied being part of it and that nothing was found to
connect him to it. Nor was a link found between the CIA and two men who
figured prominently in the San Francisco case, Julio Zavala and Carlos
Augusto Cabezas, although ``a relative of one of them had a relationship
with CIA until mid-1982.''

No connection found

Nothing was found indicating that any of that case's defendants were
connected to the Contras or that the Contras benefited from their
drug-trafficking activities. Nor was any information found supporting
Cabezas' recent and past claims that he gave money from his drug
trafficking activities to the Contras.

In a May 11 column, Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos acknowledged
shortcomings in the articles after an extensive internal re-examination.

``In such complex situations, good journalism requires us . . . to deal in
the `grays,' the ambiguities, of life. I believe that we should have done
better in presenting those gray areas,'' Ceppos wrote.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Giuliani's Budget Choices ('New York Times' Staff Editorial
Says $35 Billion Proposal Submitted By New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
Increases 'Anti-Drug' Expenditures, Threatens To Shut Down
Community Colleges)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 16:51:15 -0500
From: "R. Lake" 
Subject: MN: US NY: NYT Editorial: Mr. Giuliani's Budget Choices
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: http://www.mapinc.org
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Source: New York Times
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Friday, 30 January 1998

MR. GIULIANI'S BUDGET CHOICES

With sizable budget surpluses flowing from New York City's economic boom,
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani could easily have proposed major new spending
programs and tax cuts for next year. Instead, he has prudently chosen to
stick with fiscal discipline. The financial plan outlined by Mr. Giuliani
yesterday calls for selective new expenditures for education and anti-drug
programs, as well as elimination of the sales tax on clothing and other
modest tax reductions. But these would be paid for with spending cuts
elsewhere. His projected $35 billion budget thus lays the groundwork for
economic stability in the city.

Mr. Giuliani's most flamboyant gesture was aimed at the city's community
college system, which he asserts spends too much on remedial programs for
students who cannot read, write or do arithmetic at college levels. In a
threat certain to rile the City University's leadership and the State
Legislature, he suggested he might withhold the city's portion of the
community colleges' budget if they do not shut down their remedial programs
and farm them out to private institutions.

That sounds, however, as if Mr. Giuliani has fired a warning cannon rather
than proposed a realistic solution. He will need to demonstrate why he
believes that a wholly new remedial approach would work better than existing
remedial programs, and will have to explain what impact his approach would
have on traditional open admissions policies in the community colleges.

This has been a year of budget surpluses at all levels. Earlier in the week,
President Clinton took a cautious approach by proposing to set aside the
first Federal surplus in 30 years for use in financing the long-term deficit
in the Social Security system. By contrast, Gov. George Pataki is recklessly
proposing to use New York State's surplus for a spending increase to bolster
his re-election campaign.

Mr. Giuliani comes out somewhere between these two approaches.

He declined to use the surplus to pay down some of the city's mountain of
long-term debt, the most prudent fiscal approach. Instead he would simply
close budget gaps projected next year and the year after.

Because this is a state election year, the debate with the City Council over
the budget could be especially lively. The Council Speaker, Peter Vallone,
is running for governor, and he wants the city to set more money aside in a
reserve fund that could be tapped in the event of an economic downturn in
the years ahead. He also proposes to cut the city's personal income tax
instead of the business and sales taxes that Mr. Giuliani wants to cut. But
these will be quibbles over happy choices.

The Mayor's budget contains no new ideas for improving the productivity of
the city's work force, including the use of civilians to replace deskbound
police officers. But its priorities are generally sensible, there are very
few egregious gimmicks, and the overall spending restraint reflects a sound
stewardship of the city's finances.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobacco Execs Acknowledge Addiction ('Los Angeles Times' Says Industry
Still Wants National Settlement On Claims - Issue Of Whether Smoking
Is Addictive Or Unhealthy Is Irrelevant - US House Of Representatives
Seems More Likely To Heed Representative Henry Waxman, D-California,
Whose 'Only Goal' Is 'To Pass Legislation That Protects Our Children')

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 18:48:55 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US: Tobacco Execs Acknowledge Addiction
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Author: Laurie Kellman, Associated Press Writer
Pubdate: January 30, 1998

TOBACCO EXECS ACKNOWLEDGE ADDICTION

WASHINGTON--Nicotine is addictive and causes health problems, but Congress
still should approve a national settlement that would protect tobacco
companies from some future lawsuits, industry executives say.

"We cannot agree to any legislation that does not include the limited
common-sense civil liability protections," Nick Brookes, chairman and chief
executive officer of Brown & Williamson Cos., told a congressional hearing
Thursday.

There was little evidence that lawmakers were willing to grant protection
to an industry that produced documentation showing it had targeted children
in tobacco advertisements in the 1970s.

"Our only goal must be to pass legislation that protects our children,"
said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., a staunch anti-smoking advocate. "We
don't need the tobacco industry's blessing to do this. We don't even need
their agreement. All we need is the political will to do what's right."

The faceoff before the House Commerce Committee came as tobacco executives
traveled to the Capitol to argue on behalf of the settlement they
negotiated in June with 40 states.

The deal would end lawsuits against the industry in those states if the
companies pay $368 billion over 25 years and change business practices,
such as marketing. Part of the settlement money would be used to treat sick
smokers.

In return, the companies would get protection from class-action lawsuits.

On a second legal front, The Wall Street Journal reported today that the
Justice Department has begun an antitrust investigation to determine
whether three big tobacco companies colluded on tobacco leaf pricing.

The investigation is in its earliest stages and started when the companies
bid the same price for a shipment of foreign tobacco, according to the
report. The Journal cited people familiar with the inquiry.

The companies are Brown and Williamson, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and
Philip Morris Cos. A lawyer for Philip Morris said he was not aware of the
antitrust investigation, Brown and Williamson declined comment and RJR
representatives did not return telephone calls, the newspaper reported.

On Capitol Hill, the tobacco executives in pursuit of their goal
-congressional approval of the June settlement -acknowledged the health
risks of tobacco use and promised to make public additional documents on
whether teen-agers were targeted by the industry and research on nicotine.

"Is nicotine addictive?" asked Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

"It would be," replied Laurence Tisch, co-chairman and chief executive
officer of Loews Corp., which owns the Lorillard Tobacco Co.

"Yes, under the terms that people use today, I would say it is," said
Steven Goldstone, chairman and chief executive officer of RJR Nabisco.

Said Vincent Grierer Jr., chief executive officer of U.S. Tobacco Inc.:
"That would be accurate."

Some cigarette executives made similar acknowledgments in letters to the
Senate Judiciary Committee last year.

But Brookes demurred Thursday on addictiveness of tobacco. "I personally
would not use that term," he said.

Asked by Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, whether tobacco products cause health
problems, such as lung cancer, Goldstone replied, "Yes, I think smoking
plays a role in lung cancer."

Answered Tisch: "I think it plays a role."

On targeting cigarette ads to youth, Goldstone said: "It is immoral, it is
unethical as well as illegal to market to people underage."

He and four other industry executives pledged to make public hundreds of
thousands of 1970s documents sought by Minnesota prosecutors who are suing
the industry for consumer fraud and deception.

Those documents, also dating back to the 1970s, contain the industry's
research into whether nicotine is addictive and its plans to market tobacco
products to children, said Scott Strand, deputy counsel in the Minnesota
attorney general's office.

"This is a very good decision," the committee chairman, Rep. Thomas Bliley
Jr., R-Va., told the executives. "Now, the American people will have a
chance to read those documents for themselves."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Smoking Ban Could Be Tough To Snuff ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says
California Senate Likely To Reject Repeal Of California's Unique Prohibition
On Smoking In Bars)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 18:49:01 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Smoking Ban Could Be Tough To Snuff
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World" (compassion23@geocities.com)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Author: Greg Lucas, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 1998

SMOKING BAN COULD BE TOUGH TO SNUFF

Bill Regulating Bars Faces Battle In Senate

Although legislation to lift California's 30-day-old ban on smoking in bars
won surprisingly easy approval in the Assembly, patrons shouldn't plan on
lighting up anytime soon.

The bill, backed by the tobacco industry, now heads to the Senate, where it
is likely to be snuffed out.

The bill had been sitting in an Assembly committee for nearly a year before
Wednesday, when the 80-member house approved it on a vote of 42-to-24. It
stalled last year after it received bad press, prompting tobacco company
lobbyists to try to thwart the smoking ban with other legislation.

``I would expect the measure to die in the Senate,'' Senate President Pro
Tem Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward, said yesterday. ``Whether in committee or on
the floor, I'm very skeptical about its passage.''

It was Lockyer who last year helped orchestrate blocking passage of a more
restrictive bill that also would have prevented the ban from taking effect
until Jan. 1, 1999.

Lockyer sent the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee's
chair -- Senator John Bur- ton, D-San Francisco -- said there were not
enough ``aye'' votes to pass the bill.

The bill's author, Senator Ken Maddy, R-Fresno, declined to have a hearing
on the measure, and it stayed in the Judiciary Committee.

The difference this year is that Burton will replace Lockyer as leader of
the Senate on February 5, which means a new chair will be named to
Judiciary.

``If there are changes in the Judiciary Committee, that's the key,'' said
Maddy.

Burton, who opposes rescinding the ban, said yesterday that the bill
approved Wednesday by the Assembly ``as presently constructed probably has
some problems.''

He declined to say who he would name Judiciary chairperson, but said there
would be no Senate action on the smoking bill for weeks, if not months.

``It took them (the Assembly) a year to pass the bill. We ought to have
time to look at it,'' he said.

If the bill passed by the Assembly becomes law, it would end the current
ban on smoking in bars and casinos beginning January 1 next year.

It would prohibit any new ban from being imposed for two years, or until
the federal government creates national standards regulating smoking in
bars. That standard may never be created, effectively permitting smoking in
bars and casinos indefinitely.

The ban has caused anger among some bar patrons and bar owners. Some owners
have openly flouted the law, and some have even unplugged their Lotto
machines to cut revenue to the state.

``I haven't seen the kind of groundswell I'd have expected,'' said Maddy.

The smoking bill was introduced last year by Assemblyman Ed Vincent,
D-Inglewood, on behalf of Hollywood Park race track and casino, the largest
employer in his district.

Even though the bill was approved by the Assembly Labor Committee last
year, the bill stayed in the committee because of the publicity it received
over questions about whether an assemblyman illegally traded his vote.

Assemblyman Carl Washington, D-Paramount, allegedly told Vincent that he
would change his vote to ``aye'' from ``no'' in return for Vincent's
support for some of Washington's bills.

Vote trading is illegal. An investigation found Washington innocent of the
charges.

Under the rules of the Assembly, bills that stay with a committee during
the first year of the two- year legislative session can be considered again
in the second year.

Vincent's bill, which had already been voted on last year, moved to the
appropriations committee, where it was approved 13 to 6 Tuesday evening,
one day before the Assembly vote.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Behind Fuming Bar Owners Is Savvy, Well-Heeled Group ('Los Angeles Times'
Says National Smokers' Alliance, Backed By Tobacco Industry,
Orchestrates Much Of Opposition To California's New Prohibition
On Smoking In Bars)

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 16:25:47 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Behind Fuming Bar Owners Is Savvy, Well-Heeled Group
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Pubdate: January 30, 1998

BEHIND FUMING BAR OWNERS IS SAVVY, WELL-HEELED GROUP

Tax-exempt alliance backed by tobacco firms helps run effort to kill
smoking ban. So far, it's working.

SACRAMENTO--From all appearances, the reaction against California's
month-old bar smoking ban has been widespread, strong and spontaneous. From
Eureka to El Centro, tavern owners complain of lost business. Patrons fume
about the law and defy it. Demonstrations spring up across the state. Local
news outlets dutifully report on the flouting of the first state ban on
smoking in bars, nightclubs and casinos.

But although the owners' complaints are real, behind them is a highly
sophisticated public relations campaign, much of it orchestrated by a
nonprofit, tax-exempt, tobacco industry-backed group based in Virginia and
called the National Smokers' Alliance.

Assisting that group is one of the world's largest public relations firms,
Burson-Marsteller. The company has a long-standing account with the tobacco
industry and is renowned for its ability to generate news coverage. As the
organizers tell it, they're merely tapping the grass roots of the body
politic, giving a voice to everyday people. Opponents deride the campaign
as "Astroturf."

No matter how the drive to repeal the ban is characterized, the effort won
a big victory, albeit in an early round, when the Assembly approved a bill
Wednesday night that would rescind the prohibition and permit smoking in
bars and casinos at least until 2001.

That legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Edward Vincent (D-Inglewood),
now moves to the state Senate, where a similar measure stalled last year.
Incoming Senate President Pro Tem John Burton suggested Thursday that this
year the Senate will give the matter another hearing. With the bill moving
through the Legislature, the campaign by the National Smokers' Alliance and
others is expected to intensify.

"You can't make this stuff up," said the alliance's Gary Auxier. "Either
they're with you or they're not. We're not holding a gun to people and
saying, 'You've got to do this.' "

Indeed, the alliance is not making up the reaction or forcing anyone to
join its campaign. But when bar owners need help setting up a meeting,
figuring out which lawmakers to call or getting their message to the
public, the group stands ready--with pockets far deeper than those of small
merchants.

"We would do it without them," said Dave Berryhill, owner of the Bac Street
Lounge in Redondo Beach. "We would find a way to make it happen."

But Berryhill, noting that he talks to alliance people on "a frequent
basis," called them very useful. "It makes it easier to help mobilize," he
said.

Increasingly, no major legislative battle is complete without a so-called
grass-roots element, especially when the stakes are high. The bar smoking
ban has generated one such battle; it strikes hard at the tobacco industry.
Until the prohibition went into effect Jan. 1, bars, nightclubs and casinos
were virtually the only business establishments left in California where
smokers could light up legally.

They are "one place that the tobacco industry doesn't want to lose," said
Dian Kiser of the group Breath, which has a state contract to help
implement the ban. "This is one of their central promotional areas."

If done correctly, a smooth grass-roots campaign gives an issue a human
face in a way that Capitol lobbyists, with their polished arguments,
cannot. In the eyes of those who mount such campaigns, part of their beauty
is that they take place largely outside public view. Requirements for
public disclosure are few. Unlike those doing traditional lobbying,
organizers of grass-roots campaigns aren't obligated to publicly report how
much they spend or how they spend it.

Proponents of the smoking ban have tried to mount their own grass-roots
counterattack to prop up support. Breath has taken out at least one
newspaper ad listing bars that support the new law. Other anti-smoking
groups encourage backers to write to lawmakers and testify in Sacramento.

Kiser says that despite the protests against the ban, compliance is
surprisingly high in the state's 36,000 bars. As many as 90% of
California's bar-restaurants are obeying the law, she believes. Perhaps 70%
of stand-alone bars are trying to enforce the ban.

"We're into this law 28 days, and this is just the beginning," Kiser said.
"We know there's a lot of compliance."

So far, however, with the Smokers' Alliance on their side, the foes bring
far more firepower to the PR war. And if Wednesday's Assembly vote is any
indication, they may be winning.

The alliance is the creation of public relations specialists well-schooled
in the art of such campaigns. Auxier and the group's president, William
Humber, came from Burson. Both handled tobacco company accounts there and
earlier worked for politicians in Washington and Kentucky, Auxier said.

As a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, the alliance must file its tax
statements publicly with the California attorney general. In those
documents, the group reports receiving $42 million between its founding in
1993 and 1996. Payments to Burson-Marsteller, only one of its public
relations firms, exceed $4.4 million for those years, with about a fourth
of that being spent on California operations.

The filings also show that Humber had a salary of $450,000 in 1996. The
organization is not required to publicly disclose how much money it gets
from its donors, and it doesn't do so. But Auxier said contributors include
three major tobacco companies--Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson and
Lorillard.

"We'd like to get more from each of them. After all, we are representing
their customers," Auxier said.

Tobacco companies are traditionally major donors to politicians. Such
contributions in California last year, however, were minor, primarily
because of the curbs on donations to individuals imposed by voter-approved
Proposition 208, which a federal judge overturned this month.

But the tobacco industry remains a major lobbying force in Sacramento,
spending more than $1 million a year in an effort to sway lawmakers. For
the most part, however, the Smokers' Alliance has not directly buttonholed
lawmakers in Sacramento.

"We prefer to get involved with businesses and work that way," Auxier said.
"It is more effective from our viewpoint."

To that end, the alliance is using a combination of direct mail,
telemarketing and public relations specialists, as well as a slick World
Wide Web site. On the computer site and in news releases, the group
compiles news articles detailing complaints about the bar smoking ban. It
also distributes a newsletter, the Resistance, which likens the ban to
Prohibition.

The alliance distributes posters to hang on bar walls denouncing the ban,
and coasters that tavern owners can put out for patrons. The coasters have
spaces where customers can fill in their names and addresses, and are
forwarded to lawmakers. "I'm a constituent, not a criminal," the coasters
declare.

Philip Morris, U.S.A., the world's largest cigarette maker, has also joined
the effort, sending letters to customers decrying the ban as "a prime
example of the California Legislature's unwarranted attempts to legislate
the choices adults should be able to make about their own lives."

The letters, dated Jan. 26, urge customers to write to their lawmakers.
They also provide them with the names and addresses of legislators, plus
preprinted postcards and postage-paid envelopes.

This week, 200 bar owners gathered on the covered patio of the Stoney Inn,
a Sacramento tavern. As they filled the patio with smoke, they railed
against the toll the ban is taking on their businesses. Local newspaper and
television reporters looked on; bar owners passed out petitions and
placards, some of which were supplied by the Smokers' Alliance.

Jim Keenan, owner of the Nite Hawk bar in Sacramento, helped organize the
meeting. He said he has turned several times to a local contact for the
alliance--a Burson-Marsteller public relations specialist working on the
alliance's account. Keenan said the contact has helped him figure out which
lawmakers to call or visit.

Burson-Marsteller executives declined to be interviewed for this article.
The alliance is "the only group on our side. We don't have any lobbyists,"
Keenan said.

Perhaps most important, he added, the group gives him encouragement,
telling him: " 'You guys aren't alone. You people have rights.' That's good
to know. We need to know we're not alone."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't Let The Packs Back (Staff Editorial In 'San Francisco Examiner'
Says California Senate Shouldn't Endorse Assembly's Vote To Repeal
Unique Prohibition On Smoking In Bars)

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 16:25:19 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Editorial: Don't Let the Packs Back
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World" 
Source: San Francisco Examiner
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 1998

DON'T LET THE PACKS BACK

Smoking in California bars has been banned less than a month; state
lawmakers shouldn't backtrack on a matter of health WHATEVER mitigation
eventually might be taken against the statewide ban on smoking in bars that
went into effect at the beginning of this month, it would be foolish for
the Legislature to repeal the law.

That, however, was a live possibility after the Assembly backed the repeal
Wednesday by a 42-24 margin. The Assembly passed an attempt last year to
keep the ban from going into effect, but the Senate failed to take up the
measure and it died.

First, question how furiously Big Tobacco is pushing this repeal and how
much money it will pour into legislators' campaign piggy banks.
Historically, Big Tobacco has lavished millions of dollars on "persuasion"
in Sacramento.

In fairness, this issue also affects many small businessmen and
businesswomen. About 35,000 bars, casinos and clubs are affected by the
ban. Some owners complain that the ban has hurt business in the short run,
but most of them know that in the long run it will increase their
patronage, just as an earlier prohibition did in restaurants.

Bars have been one of the last refuges of smokers. Curling cigarette smoke
is part of the imagery of traditional bar scenes. But in sufficient doses,
that same smoke has been shown to kill. Customers and employees were
subjected to carcinogenic second-hand smoke whether they liked it or not.

Since the ban on smoking in bars went into effect Jan. 1, it frequently has
been flouted. Some smokers and bartenders have taken a lackadaisical, even
defiant, attitude toward enforcement. Such civil disobedience, or
indifference, will change. Few people any longer try to sneak a smoke in
the lavatories of passenger planes, and those who are caught are punished
severely. Change takes time, but it happens.

It makes no sense to regress. No one can reasonably argue that bars aren't
healthier without cigarette smoke wafting about.

Most bars complied quietly. Some have made do in creative ways. They comply
with the law but still allow smoking on outside terraces or in specially
ventilated rooms where employees can't venture. Bars in which only the
owners work still can permit smoking. Someday, high-tech ventilation
systems may allow smokers freedom of choice while safeguarding the health
of employees and other patrons.

Until then, lawmakers shouldn't let smoke get to their brains. They should
keep the ban on smoking in bars and let the social complications work
themselves out. Everyone will be healthier for it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Buyers' Clubs To Hawk Marijuana ('Ottawa Citizen' Says Ontario Activists
Will Risk Convictions, Fines, Jail Time, In Attempt To Oblige
Canadian Politicians To Act - Recent Ontario Court Ruling Gave Terry Parker,
Toronto Man With Epilepsy, Constitutional Right To Grow, Smoke Marijuana)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 18:48:11 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: Canada: 'Buyers' Clubs' To Hawk Marijuana
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Chris Donald (ai256@chebucto.ns.ca) and Neev (ntapiero@acs.ryerson.ca)
Source: Ottawa Citizen
Contact: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Author: Mike Shahin
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 1998

'BUYERS' CLUBS' TO HAWK MARIJUANA

Activists will break law to force politicians to hash out policy

A group of young Ontario activists plans to flout the law in a bid to push
lawmakers and the courts to accept marijuana as a medicinal drug.

The 10-member group is organizing illegal "buyers' clubs" across
southwestern Ontario for patients whose doctors advise them to smoke
marijuana, the Citizen has learned.

This is no back-alley drug operation. The activists, most of them
hemp-store owners, will risk convictions, fines and possibly jail time for
trafficking cannabis in a battle they have decided to make very public.
They will not attempt to evade police or hide their cannabis clubs, they
say.

At least one of the clubs in Toronto is already selling medicinal
marijuana. The others intend to illegally open for business in the near
future -- unless the government acts fast.

A letter signed by the store owners was dispatched yesterday to the federal
government informing authorities of the plan to open a buyers' club and
asking for exemptions to allow the clubs to operate legally. The group gave
the government until Feb. 12 to respond.

"We are dealing with life-threatening illnesses and enormous suffering, and
I do not think it is fair to perpetuate this suffering simply because the
medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry have demonstrated
indifference to this issue," wrote Alan Young, an Osgoode Hall law
professor, on behalf of the group.

He expects the government will reject the letter, which will prompt the
group to sell marijuana illegally. The need for a supply network for
medicinal marijuana is "urgent and compelling" and it will operate with or
without authorization, the letter says.

The move is part of a snowballing effort by advocates to push judges and
politicians to allow the medicinal use of marijuana.

A recent Ontario court ruling gave Terry Parker, a Toronto man with
epilepsy, the constitutional right to grow and smoke marijuana. But the
ruling was seen as a specific exemption for Mr. Parker, rather than a
precedent applying to anyone.

"It's ridiculous, it's ludicrous," said Peter Young, one of the hemp-store
owners (no relation to the group's lawyer). "If the courts say it's OK to
use marijuana, then how are they (patients) supposed to get it? We really
don't have a choice" but to provide the drug illegally.

The members of the group, who met this week in Toronto, say they will sell
marijuana only to people with official doctors' notes, and will not take
any profits from their trade.

They are hoping the Parker decision can be broadened to include others with
medical marijuana needs. The government, meanwhile, is appealing the
decision.

The message the buyers' club group is sending to lawmakers is straightforward:

"The government has an obligation under the Constitution to set up the
infrastructure to allow people to access this form of medicine," said the
group's lawyer, Mr. Young, in an interview.

"If they are remiss in their obligation, then the people will be the
guardians of the Constitution. And they will do it regardless of what the
legal regime says, or doesn't say.

"We would all prefer to do this legally, but failing that, civil
disobedience will be the path to take." Mr. Young, a high-profile activist
for decriminalization of marijuana, said he has made it clear to the group
the actions it plans are illegal.

The plan to open buyers' clubs are the last in a stream of events
orchestrated by activists to bring the issue to the political fore:

- An Ottawa physician, Dr. Don Kilby, applied to Health Canada for
permission to supply Jean Charles Pariseau, of Vanier, with marijuana to
help relieve some of his AIDS symptoms. A Health Canada official said the
government is willing to approve the use of marijuana as a legal medicine
in emergency situations. But Dr. Kilby says the government and its
bureaucracy is making it very difficult to get anywhere with his
application.

- An Ontario court judge rejected in August a constitutional challenge by
London cannabis-crusader Chris Clay. But the judge agreed that marijuana is
relatively harmless compared with alcohol and tobacco, and he said elected
politicians -- not the courts -- must lead the way in establishing public
policy on the issue.

The group of buyers' club organizers are willing to risk jail time and
criminal records for their cause. But they are a mellow bunch of cannabis
smokers, most of them in their 20s, and they don't appear too stressed
about the possibility of being incarcerated.

"If that's what it takes," said Jeanette "Star" Tossounian, a 22-year-old
whose mother helped finance her hemp store, Guelph's Seedling Clothing Co.
"Nothing seems to worry me too much. I'm not just gonna sit back and take
this. I feel I believe in the cause."

"We really don't have a choice," said Peter Young, who is "almost sure"
he's 27. Mr. Young (no relation to the group's lawyer) recently took opened
the Organic Traveller in London, a hemporium with a marijuana history
museum and library in the back.

Warren Hitzig, the 21-year-old Toronto entrepreneur who is already running
a buyers' club, said the group is simply heeding the views of American
civil-rights activist Martin Luther King in risking arrest for their cause.
"It takes one person to break down a wall, so that everyone can follow,"
Mr. Hitzig said.

Ottawa's hemp store, Crosstown Traffic, has not yet joined the buyers'
club. But owner Mike Foster said he supports the group, and would consider
organizing a local club. Another Ottawa resident, 38-year-old Ron Whalen,
says he has been informally supplying people with marijuana for medicinal
use for the past year, although he is not affiliated with the activists'
group.

Despite the pro-marijuana momentum, succeeding in the political arena will
be a challenge.

Political parties have shied away from the issue of decriminalization since
the LeDain commission recommended a review in 1972. The Liberals promised
decriminalization in their 1980 throne speech, but didn't follow through.
In 1996, a multi-party Senate committee planned to look at the issue, but
relented when the proposition was rejected by party caucuses.

Since November, smoking and growing marijuana for medicinal purposes has
been essentially legal in California and Arizona, after voters showed
strong support for decriminilization in the last U.S. election.

In Canada, a buyers' club in Toronto recently failed because it was unable
to attract members; the group blamed the law for forcing it to operate in a
clandestine fashion. But with about 100 members, the Cannabis Compassion
Club in Vancouver continues to sell marijuana to sick people without
harassment from police.

Mr. Young says police in fact "promote crime" when they enforce existing
laws against selling and growing marijuana. On one hand, Mr. Young reasons,
the Parker ruling suggests that sick people can smoke marijuana to relieve
their symptoms. But since the law doesn't allow anyone to sell it, that
forces patients unable to grow it themselves to break the law and buy it on
the black market. "We're trying to stop crime from happening."

"Hopefully, the government will listen," said Ron Hill, who owns Hemptastic
stores in Mississauga and Etobicoke. "But it's not the government -- it's
the people who must hear us."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Multiple Sclerosis Medical Smoker Faces Trial ('Calgary Herald' Says
Saskatchewan Man And Wife Charged With Marijuana Trafficking)

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 07:06:54 -0500
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
From: Richard Lake (rlake@mapinc.org)
Subject: REGINA: MS medical Smoker Faces Trial
Newshawk: cozmi
Source: Calgary Herald
Contact: letters@theherald.southam.ca
Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Pubdate: 30 Jan 1998

This appeared in the Calgary Herald Jan.30, 1998 Pg. A6

Smoker faces trial

REGINA

A Saskatchewan man who says he smokes marijuana to ease the
effects of his MS must stand trial with his wife on a charge of
possession of the drug for the purpose of trafficking. Judge Ken
Bellerose also committed Grant Krieger, 42, and Marie Krieger, 43, to
stand trial on possessing the proceeds of crime. A third charge of
trafficking against Grant Krieger was dismissed. Bellerose, however,
ruled there was enough evidence to commit his wife to stand trial on
the charge.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Ghost Squad Uncovers Web Of Police Corruption (Britain's 'Independent' Says
London's Metropolitan Police Admitted Yesterday That Corrupt Police Officers
And Retired Detectives Have Been Working With Major Drug Dealers
And Armed Robbers)

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 11:45:57 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service 
From: Richard Lake 
Subject: MN: UK: Ghost Squad Uncovers Web Of Police Corruption
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Zosimos 
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
Source: The Independent
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk

'GHOST SQUAD' UNCOVERS WEB OF POLICE CORRUPTION

Corrupt police officers and retired detectives have been working with major
drug dealers and armed robbers, netting them hundreds of thousands of
pounds, the Metropolitan Police revealed yesterday. Money has been found
hidden in offshore bank accounts, says Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent,
in what is one the biggest police scandals ever.

A secret "ghost" squad of anti-corruption officers, trusted former
detectives, ex-Ministry of Defence police, and financial experts, have been
covertly investigating Scotland Yard, it was disclosed yesterday.

The specialist team found that up to 250 officers, mostly senior detectives
working in some of the force's most prestigious squads, were involved in
major criminal activities. Serving and retired officers, up to the rank of
commander, are suspected of earning tens of thousands of pounds from bribes
and corruption, some by working with London's top crime gangs. Officers are
also accused of salting away illegal money for retirement nest-eggs.
Offshore bank accounts have been identified, some with more than £100,000
deposited.

The scale of the scandal, and the existence of the secret squad, were
revealed yesterday by senior sources at Scotland Yard. Its follows the
biggest anti-corruption operation ever mounted earlier this week, when
raids were carried out on the homes and offices of 19 serving and former
officers from the Flying Squad. Thirteen officers have so far been
suspended and inquiries are continuing.

Other suspects have attempted to avoid investigation by applying for early
retirement - which has been declined - while others are taking sick leave.

Sir Paul Condon, Metropolitan Police Commissioner , said earlier this month
that the vast profits from organised crime and narcotics meant officers
could take bribes of £50,000 or £80,000 to "subvert an individual job" or
to "recycle drugs".

The "ghost" squad, which is based at a secret location, was set up by Sir
Paul in 1993 with the backing of Michael Howard, the then home secretary,
to assess the scale of the problem. Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, has
also been consulted.

Only Sir Paul and a small number of senior officers knew about the elite
team because they did not know who to trust.

Many of the squad's several dozen staff were recruited from outside the
police, including private surveillance and accountancy experts.

The officers identified as corrupt are "some of our best detectives", said
a Yard source. He explained that they are very good at catching criminals,
but while off duty could seize drugs from a dealer and then get a rival
trafficker to re-sell them. Alternatively they could organise a robbery or
"cream off" the money recovered during an operation.

Officers could be paid £50,000 to £100,000 by criminals to destroy evidence
in a court case, added the source.

Networks of serving and retired police officers and villains have also been
uncovered. "What shocked some people was the arrogance of these people.
They believed their networks were so secure, no one could get at them,"
said the source.

The corrupt officers are extremely good at hiding their illicit wealth.
"There are people building up nice retirement eggs," said the source. Some
have offshore bank accounts of more than £100,000.

The majority of the suspected corrupt officers are among the specialist
units, such as the robbery and drug units, the South East Regional Crime
Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, who have access to major
league villains and offences. Most are detectives with 10 to 25 years
experience and include senior ranks up to detective chief inspector. The
retired officers under investigation are up to commander rank.

A number of trials and convictions in which corrupt officers are involved
are expected to collapse or be quashed as a result of the current inquiry.

This week's raids concentrated on the Flying Squad offices at Rigg Approach
in north-east London, which now look likely to be disbanded. The
Metropolitan Police are setting up measures to try and ensure corruption
cannot flourish again.

Sir Paul believes that corruption has again become a problem as it was
largely ignored for more than a decade following the clear-out of more than
400 officers under Sir Robert Mark in the late Seventies and early Eighties
during Operation Countryman. While many more officers were involved in
those investigations, the amounts of money involved were tiny compared with
today's suspected hauls.