-------------------------------------------------------------------
Heaven Can Wait ('Willamette Week' Suggests The Multnomah County
Sheriff's Department Has Conclusively Proved Beyond Any Doubt
It Was Suicide That Killed Steven Dons In A Jail Medical Bed,
Partly Paralyzed By Portland Police After He Killed One Officer
And Wounded Two Others January 27 During A Warrantless Break-In
By The Marijuana Task Force)
'Willamette Week'
Portland, Oregon
Web: http://www.wweek.com/
letters to editor:
mzusman@wweek.com
March 25, 1998
'NewsBuzz'
http://www.wweek.com/html/newsbuzz032598.html
Heaven Can Wait
How did accused cop killer Steven Dons, an obese paraplegic,
manage to kill himself in his jail cell on Feb. 25? Until last
week, when county officials released the investigative materials
on the death, it was a difficult question to answer.
There is no doubt that the investigation, conducted by 19 law
enforcement personnel from three agencies, was exhaustive. It
was the videotaped "reenactment" of Dons' death, however,
that made the most convincing case that he committed suicide.
In the reenactment, Lt. Brian Martinek, a spokesman for the
sheriff's office and the head of its investigations, plays Dons.
"We didn't have any other volunteers," he explained. In the
video, Martinek, who is about the same height as Dons, loops a
sheet made into a noose over his neck and ties the other end to
the bed frame. He then shows how Dons rigged the controls of
the electric hospital bed so that it would rise without his
touching it. With the altered device, says Sgt. Gary J. Muncy,
Dons made sure "there would be no turning back."
As the bed rose, the noose tightened around Martinek's neck.
Although investigators were on hand to stop the bed in time,
Martinek says the experience "was a little nerve-wracking." Of
the observers, he said, "I didn't know if they liked me or not. A
lot of them were smiling when the bed was going up."
If Martinek shows some morbid humor in talking about death,
Dons was clearly obsessed with it, babbling constantly without
provocation about his own demise. The investigation also
clearly documents how he repeatedly denied being suicidal. In a
characteristically convoluted bit of reasoning, the accused
murderer told one of his caretakers, "If I kill myself, I won't go
to heaven." -- Maureen O'Hagan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marijuana Club's Fate Motivates Rally In Downtown San Francisco
(Longer Version Of 'Los Angeles Times' Article)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 18:29:12 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Marijuana Club's Fate Motivates Rally in Downtown S.F.
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World"
Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
Contact: cctletrs@netcom.com
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Mary Curtius - LA Times
Editor note: This article also appeared in the Wed, 25 Mar Los Angeles
Times under the title "Medical Marijuana Backers March in San Fransisco"
MARIJUANA CLUB'S FATE MOTIVATES RALLY IN DOWNTOWN S.F.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Medical marijuana advocates prayed, marched and rallied
downtown Tuesday in support of the state's cannabis clubs as the federal
government asked a U.S. district court judge to shut them down.
Nearly 200 people marched down Market Street to the federal building where
they were cheered by San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who
has vowed that the city will supply medical marijuana to patients if its
cannabis clubs are shuttered.
Medical marijuana supporters rolled and lighted joints and sold
marijuana-laced cookies on the steps of the building as police stood by.
"If they close down the clubs, we'll go underground," vowed Somayah
Moore-Kamhui, who was selling what she said were organic marijuana cookies.
Moore-Kamhui said she is a member of the Crescent Alliance Self-Help group
for sickle cell anemia victims.
"We will just go back to doing what we did before Prop. 215," said
Moore-Kamhui, who said she suffers from the disease herself. "We will sneak
into hospitals to get these to patients, if we have to. This is a
revolution, and we are not going to stop."
Inside the building, Judge Charles Breyer heard arguments from a battery of
lawyers defending the clubs and from Justice Department attorneys who were
asking him to issue an injunction against six Northern California marijuana
centers. He did not rule.
"This case is not about Proposition 215," said Mark Quinlivan, arguing for
the Department of Justice. "What this case is about is the upholding of
federal law."
But William Panzer, arguing for the Oakland Cannabis Club, said the federal
government for years "has arbitrarily and capriciously," suppressed or
ignored studies that showed marijuana to be a safe drug with medicinal
uses.
Attorneys for other clubs argued that federal law may be violated to
prevent a greater harm, such as the death of some patients deprived of
marijuana; that privacy rights allow seriously ill patients access to drugs
that will relieve their pain and possibly sustain their lives; that if the
marijuana is grown and distributed solely within the state, the federal
government has no jurisdiction over it.
California voters in November 1996 approved Prop. 215, which said
chronically ill patients with a doctor's recommendation could grow and use
marijuana for medicinal purposes. The law also says a primary caregiver may
provide the drug to ill patients.
Club operators say they act as primary caregivers in providing the drug to
thousands of patients who otherwise have no safe way of buying it. But in
separate cases in state and federal courts, the Justice Department and
State Attorney General Dan Lungren have argued that Prop. 215 did not
legalize the clubs and that the clubs are not the primary caregivers for
their clients.
In January, the federal government filed its civil suit against six
cannabis clubs -- four in the Bay Area, one in Eureka and one in Santa Cruz
-- seeking to close them for allegedly violating the federal Controlled
Substances Act, which prohibits the sale of marijuana.
Undercover agents allegedly bought marijuana in each of the six clubs. The
Eureka club and the Flower Therapy club in San Francisco closed, and the
cases against the other four were consolidated into the case heard Tuesday
by Judge Breyer.
In February, the California Supreme Court let stand a lower court decision
in a case Lungren had brought against the Cannabis Buyers Club in San
Francisco that Prop. 215 did not provide the right to sell the drug and did
not allow a commercial enterprise to supply marijuana as a primary
caregiver.
The mayors of San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz and West Hollywood wrote a
joint letter to President Clinton last week, protesting the federal
government's efforts to close the club and complaining that patients would
be forced to buy marijuana on the streets if the government's effort
succeeded.
Patients who say they need to smoke or eat marijuana to relieve chronic
pain, control glaucoma or maintain their appetites packed Breyer's
courtroom Tuesday. Some were in wheelchairs. Others hobbled in aided by
canes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Feds Hit Court To Shut Down Pot Clubs ('San Francisco Examiner' Version)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 18:28:27 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Feds Hit Court to Shut Down Pot Clubs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World"
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Emelyn Cruz of the Examiner Staff
FEDS HIT COURT TO SHUT DOWN POT CLUBS
Prosecutor argues Proposition 215 is illegal because U.S. narcotics laws
override it
Federal prosecutors pressed on with efforts to shut down several Bay Area
cannabis clubs, arguing that federal drug laws supersede the state
initiative legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana.
"In this case, there are unambiguous violations of federal law," said
prosecutor Mark Quinlivan, as he urged U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer
to issue an injunction against the clubs. Federal narcotics laws make it
unlawful to cultivate, distribute or possess marijuana.
Quinlivan argued that federal laws override California's Proposition 215,
the initiative passed by voters in 1996 legalizing the cultivation and
medical use of marijuana by patients with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and a
variety of other illnesses.
However, attorneys for the cannabis clubs asked the judge to dismiss the
government's suit, saying their clients' activities are legal, justified
and exempt from the federal Controlled Substances Act.
Tony Serra, lawyer for defendants Dennis Peron and his San Francisco-based
Cannabis Cultivators Club, urged the judge to balance the moral and ethical
issues of the case.
"For those who are dying, marijuana is not a choice," Serra said. "It's a
matter of necessity. It's a matter of hope versus despair."
District Attorney Terence Hallinan also weighed in, saying that if the
judge ordered the closure of pot clubs, "It would create a law enforcement
and public health crisis in San Francisco."
Breyer, who listened to both sides for nearly four hours, asked lawyers to
file additional legal briefs outlining their position by April 16 and said
he would rule on the injunction after that date.
Federal officials had filed civil suits in January seeking to halt the
operations of six clubs. Those targeted were: Dennis Peron's Cannabis
Cultivators Club and Flower Therapy Medical Marijuana Club in San
Francisco; Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative in Oakland; Cannabis Buyers Club in
Santa Cruz; Cannabis Buyers Club in Ukiah, and Marin Alliance for Medical
Marijuana in Fairfax. Two of the clubs, Flower Therapy and the Cannabis
Buyers Cooperative in Santa Cruz, have since closed.
The other 11 clubs in the state, including major clubs in Los Angeles and
San Jose, were not named in the civil suit.
Mayor Brown and mayors from Oakland, Santa Cruz and West Hollywood opposed
the suit and wrote a letter to President Clinton last week saying that
seriously ill people would suffer and that many would turn to street
dealers to buy the drug.
San Francisco city officials including Hallinan and Supervisors Tom Ammiano
and Gavin Newsom spoke to more than 200 activists at a noon rally Tuesday
denouncing the federal suit and pledging support for medicinal marijuana.
The City's leadership is committed to preserving the right to medicinal
marijuana for the seriously ill, Newsom said.
"With that kind of will and collective support, I'm confident we'll be able
to provide some solutions," he said.
Hallinan suggested The City's health department become involved in the
event federal officials prevail in their efforts to close the clubs.
However, at a press conference, U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi said
federal law would also bar The City from dispensing marijuana.
"It has been suggested that local government might step in and distribute
marijuana if the clubs closed down," Yamaguchi said. "Without prior
approval from both the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug
Enforcement Administration, such distribution would be illegal."
In legal briefs, government lawyers contend the cannabis clubs distributed,
manufactured and possessed marijuana in clear violation of federal law.
Justice Department officials also cited an undercover investigation by the
DEA, which allegedly revealed that the cannabis clubs were lax in verifying
patient identification and distributed marijuana to people who did not
claim to be in severe pain or suffering from serious illness. They cited
six separate instances during which marijuana was sold to undercover
agents.
The clubs cited a number of defenses. They argued that the federal
officials had no jurisdiction over marijuana cultivated and distributed
within the state and that their clients violated federal law in order to
prevent greater harm.
"Defendants' activities, which are condoned by state law, have no relation
to the illicit interstate trafficking Congress sought to proscribe,"
cannabis club lawyers wrote in their legal brief. They also contend that
closing down the cannabis clubs would increase black market pot sales.
1998 San Francisco Examiner
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Judge Delays Ruling On Pot Clubs ('Sacramento Bee' Version
Notes US District Judge Charles Breyer Said He Would Postpone His Decision
On The Fate Of California CBCs Until After April 16)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 18:28:42 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Federal Judge Delays Ruling on Pot Clubs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World"
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Contact: opinion@sacbee.com
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Claire Cooper - Bee Legal Affairs Writer
FEDERAL JUDGE DELAYS RULING ON POT CLUBS
SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge heard four hours of oral arguments Tuesday in the
federal government's case against six medical marijuana clubs, but
postponed his decision on whether to shut them down until after April 16.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he had hoped to find a middle
ground between Proposition 215, California's 1996 medical marijuana
initiative, and the U.S. Justice Department's desire to enforce the 1970
U.S. Controlled Substances Act, which makes it a crime to distribute pot
for any purpose.
Breyer concluded, however, that he would have to choose sides because "the
federal government is not going to change its position."
Among the issues he said he would consider are whether Congress had
medicinal uses in mind when it outlawed marijuana, and whether the federal
government has ever used an injunction to regulate conduct that is legal
under state law. He did not suggest what his answers would be.
The marathon hearing came in the federal government's civil case against
six Bay Area marijuana clubs, about one-third of those in California. Two
of the clubs, in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, are not operating.
Before the hearing, Michael Yamaguchi, the chief federal prosecutor in San
Francisco, said the suit was filed "to send a clear message regarding the
illegality of marijuana cultivation and distribution."
In court, Mark Quinlivan, a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice in
Washington, argued that "a state initiative cannot supplant the will of the
people of the United States" as expressed by Congress in passing the 1970
law.
He said there would be no way the clubs could modify their activities to
bring themselves into compliance with the statute, which classifies
marijuana as a useless and dangerous substance. The only way sick people
can get legal access to pot, he said, is either to persuade Congress to
change the law or to persuade the federal bureaucracy to reclassify the
drug.
Kate Wells, one of a small army of lawyers on the other side, argued that
the federal law and the state initiative could co-exist. The purpose of the
statute, she said, was to stop "illegal" drug trade and "improper" drug
use, not regulated pot distribution under measures such as Proposition 215.
Attorney Bill Panzer told Breyer that asking Congress to change the law
would be futile because it has been ignoring scientific evidence of the
medical value of marijuana for 101 years.
"Congress has determined the world is flat," Panzer said. "This court has
the authority to declare the world is round."
J. Tony Serra urged Breyer to weigh the government's amorphous interest in
closing the clubs against the "pain and death and agony" of people who use
marijuana to relieve their symptoms.
Copyright 1998 The Sacramento Bee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot Center Stays Open Despite Arrest ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says Peter Baez,
Director Of A Santa Clara County Medical Marijuana Dispensary,
Has Been Arrested For Selling Pot To A Patient Without A Prescription,
Although Proposition 215 Allows Doctors To Orally Recommend Marijuana -
Plus Commentary By Richard Cowan Of 'Marijuananews.com')
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 18:28:11 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Pot Center Stays Open Despite Arrest
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World"
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Maria Alicia Gaura, Chronicle Staff Writer
POT CLUB STAYS OPEN DESPITE ARREST
The only medical marijuana center in Santa Clara County remained open for
business yesterday despite charges that its director sold pot without a
prescription.
Director Peter Baez, released on $5,000 bail early yesterday morning, said
he was devastated by the arrest, which he claimed was based on false
information.
``We did have a verbal recommendation from the doctor in this case, which
is legal under Proposition 215 (the voter initiative that legalized medical
marijuana in California),'' Baez said. ``We have followed the law. We are a
good family organization here.''
Baez's famous cousin, folk singer Joan Baez, released a statement of
support for him yesterday, and pledged to dedicate a song to him at her
Carnegie Hall concert tonight.
``The farcical charges against him must be dropped immediately, and
consideration given to his own life-threatening illness'' Joan Baez wrote.
``I know my cousin's work to be meticulously law abiding and desperately
needed.''
County prosecutors said yesterday that Peter Baez sold marijuana nine times
to Enrique Robles, a defendant in a recent criminal case. Robles suffers
from complications of a broken back, but prosecutors said his doctor did
not recommend marijuana use.
``We did a thorough investigation and none of the three physicians (who
treated Robles) gave a recommendation,'' said Assistant District Attorney
Karyn Sinunu. ``Robles is in no condition to be getting marijuana.''
San Jose police descended on the marijuana center Monday afternoon, after
confirming that Robles, who had initially claimed to be a medical marijuana
patient, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possessing marijuana.
Police also took copies of personal files of all 270 of the center's
clients. ``The police copied all confidential patient files, and that's
what we're most concerned about,'' Baez said. ``Most of our patients don't
want police to know that they have AIDS or whatever.''
The center opened last year with the blessing of San Jose Mayor Susan
Hammer, the City Council, city attorney and county prosecutors, who helped
work out a tough set of local regulations.
Baez and co-founder Jesse Garcia enthusiastically worked with officials and
were lauded for their strict attention to detail. When narcotics agents
attempted to buy marijuana recently, they were found out by the center's
staff. Several other marijuana clubs, including those in San Francisco and
Santa Cruz, failed to screen out the agents and were later named in a
federal lawsuit.
Attorney B.J. Fadem yesterday called the arrest a ``travesty,'' saying that
the doctor's recommendation was confirmed by three people at the center.
Both Fadem and Baez said that some doctors will only give verbal
recommendations for medical marijuana because they fear prosecution from
federal authorities.
Fadem noted that Baez, who recently underwent surgery for colon cancer, was
denied water and prescription medicines for the 12 hours he was held at
Santa Clara County Jail.
``There was no need to arrest him. He has always cooperated with the
police,'' Fadem said. ``His health may have been permanently harmed by this
treatment.''
1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A16
***
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 20:59:34 -0400 (AST)
Sender: Chris Donald
From: Chris Donald
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Narcs vs Med mj: santa_clara_cannabis_club_operat.htm (fwd)
from: http://www.marijuananews.com
A Personal Newsletter on the Cannabis Controversies / Date: 03/25/98
Richard Cowan, Editor and Publisher
Santa Clara Cannabis Club Operator/Cancer Patient Baez
Arrested for Selling To Man Who Only Has Broken Back
March 25, 1998
(Ed. note: This article makes several points very clear.
1. The narks are using enormous resources and doing everything
possible to shut down the even "cleanest" of the Buyers Clubs.
2. Doctors are easily intimidated, because they are so vulnerable.
3. The narks use extorted testimony from vulnerable patients who may
be defendants in other cases. This is consistent with their use of
coke dealers and addicts to go after medical marijuana users.
4. Many law enforcement officials do not care about the obviously
serious health problems of medical marijuana users.
5. While medical access to marijuana is of immediate importance to
people with serious medical conditions, their rights and the
rights of all citizens can be protected only by the dismantling of
the prohibitionist apparatus and the full legalization of
marijuana. Otherwise the narks will intimidate doctors and harass
patients, making a mockery of the law.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot Club's Co-Founder 'Shaken-Up' ('San Jose Mercury News' Says Peter Baez
Of The Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center Doesn't Understand
Why He Was Arrested, And Will Take A Leave Of Absence
Because His Health Was Affected By Being Locked Up For 13 Hours
Without Medicine For His Colon Cancer - Plus More Details
On Federal Lawsuit Hearing)
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 22:39:37 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Pot Club's Co-Founder 'Shaken-Up'
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Marcus-Mermelstein Family
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Raoul V. Mowatt - Mercury News Staff Writer
POT CLUB'S CO-FOUNDER 'SHAKEN UP'
A day after his arrest, Peter Baez, co-founder of the Santa Clara County
Medical Cannabis Center, said he doesn't understand why he's accused of
selling marijuana without a doctor's approval. He also criticized his
treatment during his 13-hour jail stay, and wondered if the sympathetic
relationship he said he once had with San Jose police had changed.
He and the center's other founder, Jesse Garcia, said they have a good
track record, working under the guidance of city and county officials since
they began operating a year ago.
``I feel I've done nothing wrong,'' Baez added.
While the center, which has about 270 members, is slated to be open for
business today, Baez said he would take a indefinite leave of absence. He
also said that while at the Santa Clara County Jail, he was denied some of
the medications he takes for colon cancer.
``This has really shaken me up physically,'' he said. ``The stress is not
the thing I need right now.''
A jail spokesman defended the care Baez received while in custody.
Both Baez and Garcia mused that with the departure of San Jose Police Chief
Lou Cobarruviaz, who is retiring, the department might be taking a
different approach to their center. But police said the arrest doesn't mark
a departure from their policy on medical marijuana.
Baez, ``knowing the set of rules, went outside the set of rules,'' said
Sgt. Chris Moore, a police spokesman. ``He's being held accountable to that
end.''
In a separate development, attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department and
lawyers for six Northern California medical-marijuana facilities argued for
nearly four hours Tuesday in federal court over a lawsuit brought by the
Clinton administration that could effectively eviscerate the state's
medicinal cannabis law.
Lawsuit details
The lawsuit, filed last month, seeks to close two clubs in San Francisco
and four in Santa Cruz, Marin, Oakland and Ukiah. The Justice Department
argued that California's Proposition 215, the 1996 state measure that
legalized use of the drug for medical reasons, is superseded by a federal
prohibition on the sale of pot. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer
asked both sides to file final briefs by April 16.
About 200 medical marijuana supporters protested loudly outside San
Francisco's federal courthouse earlier, demanding that the U.S. government
back off.
Federal authorities haven't targeted the Santa Clara County center, which
has operated with approval -- and under strict regulation -- by the
district attorney's office, police and the San Jose city attorney.
Baez's arrest stems from authorities' attempts to check out the contention
of Enrique Robles, who faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing marijuana.
Robles said he was taking it in accordance with Proposition 215.
Robles joined the center, on Meridian Avenue in midtown San Jose, because
of a back injury. Baez sold marijuana to Robles nine times between October
1997 and February, worth a total of $400, court records said.
But Baez maintained that one of Robles' doctors had given an oral OK for
him to receive pot, court records said. Police say they checked with three
of Robles' doctors and none sanctioned that treatment, the records said.
That led to officers obtaining an arrest warrant Thursday, and serving it
on Baez at the center Monday afternoon.
``Though jailing Peter Baez puts him in the good company of Martin Luther
King and Mahatma Gandhi, it interrupts . . . vital work . . . and no doubt
causes great embarrassment to the community at large,'' said his cousin,
folk singer Joan Baez, in a statement. ``The farcical charges against him
must be dropped immediately, and consideration given to Peter's own
life-threatening illness.''
In a Tuesday interview at Peter Baez's Gilroy home, both he and Garcia
repeatedly stressed that many doctors are afraid to admit they've
recommended marijuana as medicine out of fear that federal authorities
would strip them of their licenses. But they stopped short of saying that
was what happened in the Robles case.
``I'm sure all the facts will be played out in court,'' Baez said. Baez is
next scheduled to appear in court on April 6.
No sanctions
A San Francisco federal judge, in a decision last year, said the Clinton
administration could not seek sanctions against California doctors for
recommending marijuana for medical reasons under Proposition 215. Baez and
Garcia said there was nothing to gain from drumming up patients who didn't
meet the criteria of Proposition 215, and Baez added that he has turned
away people who were plainly ill who could not get their doctor's approval
for using pot.
A deputy district attorney contradicted Baez, saying he had not met his
obligations in the Robles case.
``There is no middle road,'' said prosecutor Denise Raabe. ``You are either
in compliance or not in compliance and it is clear in this case they are
not in compliance.''
Baez also said he was not allowed medications until he contacted his
lawyer, and that the delay was disruptive, particularly since he had just
undergone surgery.
Rick Kitson, a spokesman for the Department of Correction, said officials
learned that Baez was taking a dozen medications, and had finished his
dosage of three of them.
A fourth was to be taken on an as-needed basis. During the rest of his
stay, he took five other medications. The remaining three would have been
administered at 6 a.m. because the jail pharmacy had closed and because
Baez's doctor said taking the drug then would be fine, Kitson said.
But Baez was released before that time, in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Baez also said when he was taken into custody that he told an officer that
his center had an agreement with the chief, who retired Saturday. He said
the officer replied, ``Cobarruviaz isn't here any more, so now you'll have
to deal with us.''
But Moore scoffed at the notion that the department had changed policies
overnight with the ascension of Acting Chief Walt Adkins.
``Whoever is chief of police has nothing to do with our criminal
investigation,'' Moore said.
The spokesman said the department has gone out of its way to allow truly
ill people to obtain marijuana, including the way in which they busted
Baez. They made the arrest at day's end, didn't confiscate cash, took only
a small sample of pot and didn't ask for high bail.
The department seized and copied the files of the center's 270 clients.
Moore said it would take detectives several weeks to go through that
paperwork: ``If there are in fact any other violations, that will come out
in that investigation.''
Mercury News Staff Writers Rodney Foo, Jeordan Legsn and Howard Mintz and
the Associated Press contributed to this report.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Debate Flares After Orange County Teen Informant Dies
(Related 'Los Angeles Times' News Article)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 19:06:31 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Debate Flares After O.C. Teen Informant Dies
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Michael G. Wagner, Davan Maharaj, Times Staff Writers
DEBATE FLARES AFTER O.C. TEEN INFORMANT DIES
BREA--The mother says police gave her son this ultimatum: Snitch on drug
dealers or go to jail. It was this relationship that Cindy MacDonald claims
cost her 17-year-old son his life.
Brea police acknowledge they sometimes use youths as informants, but
dispute the mother's account and hope to unseal confidential records this
week to prove their contention.
But whatever the outcome, the little-noticed practice of using underage
police informants has come under increased scrutiny by critics who warn
that it places children too close to the violent drug culture. Most
Southern California law enforcement agencies say they never use minors for
undercover operations, even if internal policy allows it. A few, including
the San Diego Police Department, say they use underage informants only in
rare cases.
The tragedy has underscored the dilemma faced by some police officers who
say they need to rely on young informants to ferret out drug
sales--especially when other kids are involved. But it also ignited a
debate over whether using minors in the war on drugs is ever appropriate.
"It's despicable, it's the exploitation of children," said Jack King of the
Washington-based National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It puts
youngsters at a terrible risk and gives them the wrong idea of what the
American criminal justice system is all about."
The Los Angeles Police Department does not prohibit the use of juveniles
for undercover work, but Cmdr. Dave Kalish, the department's spokesman,
said: "It's been our practice not to use them to buy drugs" because of the
risk and danger involved.
Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Sayne said his department has a
well-established policy precluding juveniles from being informants. The San
Bernardino Sheriff's Department uses teens as decoys, but only to expose
stores that sell liquor or cigarettes to minors, and only when a deputy is
nearby to monitor transactions. Riverside and San Bernardino police say
they do not use underage informants, in part because there is no shortage
of adults to do the job.
"The concern is, they'd be in harm's way," said Riverside Sgt. Chris
Manning. "The other thing about kids: They're not reliable. Children tend
to exaggerate or embellish."
Nonetheless, some police departments have concluded the use of children to
halt drug trafficking is sometimes warranted, especially in cases where
other juveniles are the suspects. San Diego police, for example, use
juvenile informants in drug cases but only with the written permission of a
parent or guardian and in cases involving "low, low risk," officials said.
"One of the hardest subcultures for law enforcement to penetrate is the
teenage subculture," said San Diego Police Capt. Cheryl Meyers. Without
informants, many crimes would go unsolved, law enforcement officials said.
Some informants are paid. Others cooperate with police in the hope that
they would receive lighter sentences. Children are seldom relied upon to
bust drug dealers because "juvenile informants can't do very much for the
police," said Carl Armbrust, head of the Orange County District Attorney's
Narcotic Enforcement Team. Youths usually lack the contacts and the ability
to deliver a drug kingpin.
Peter Arenella, a professor at UCLA Law School, said that turning a
juvenile into an undercover police informant shows questionable judgment,
"unless [the informant] had very special access to very significant
criminal activity and the police had no other alternative."
An attorney for Cindy MacDonald charged this week that her son, Chad, was
forced into becoming a snitch after police arrested him in January for drug
possession. The mother says the bargain with police--to become an informant
in return for a lenient sentence--took MacDonald into a Norwalk home,
well-known as a place of drug and gang activity.
The Yorba Linda boy's body was found March 3 in an alley in South Los
Angeles. He had been tortured. His girlfriend was raped, shot and left for
dead in the Angeles National Forest, where she was rescued by a passing
motorist.
While the case is still unfolding, law enforcement sources say Brea police
told Orange County prosecutors they had stopped using MacDonald as a snitch
before he turned up dead. Three suspects have been identified in his
killing.
Some attorneys wondered why MacDonald and his mother decided to cooperate
with police instead of accepting the usually light punishment first-time
offenders receive in the juvenile system. That system, said Dean Allen,
supervisor of the Orange County public defender's juvenile division, is
designed to rehabilitate youths. First-time juvenile drug offenders are
usually able to seal their records and sometimes have charges dismissed if
they show a willingness to reform, said Allen. "There's not a whole lot for
[the minor] to gain from working as an informer," Allen said.
Brea police and the Orange County District Attorney's Office would not
discuss the details of the MacDonald case, said Assistant. Dist. Atty. John
D. Conley, an appointed spokesman on the case. But Conley said that in the
wake of the tragedy, prosecutors are considering a written policy
discouraging the use of juvenile informants.
Copyright Los Angeles Times
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Teens In The Drug War (Staff Editorial In 'Orange County Register'
Says That, Until We're Ready To Rethink The War On Drugs,
Tragedies Such As The Killing Of A 17-Year-Old Yorba Linda Boy
Coerced Into Being An Informant By Police In Brea, California,
Will Continue To Occur)
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 17:01:33 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Editorial: Teens in the Drug War
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk:John W.Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Mar 1998
TEENS IN THE DRUG WAR
One of the more heartbreaking episodes of World War II came when Hitler,
toward the end of a war he knew he was losing, sent teen-age boys into
battle against seasoned and better-equipped Allied troops. The memory of
those young boys, doomed to failure and almost certain death, haunted many
American soldiers for years after the war was over.
Can it be that we have come to a similar pass in the drug war?
Law enforcement officials insist that it is rare to convert teen-agers
caught on drug charges into undercover informants or participants in
undercover drug-buying operations. Orange County Deputy District Attorney
Carl Armbrust, supervisor of the office's drug enforcement unit, says he
can recall only a few involved, saying they would find it difficult to
condone such practices.
But using teen-agers undercover is not against state law, and it does
happen. There seems to be little question that the Brea police, who handle
policing for Yorba Linda, used Chad MacDonald, just short of his 18th
birthday, that way after MacDonald was caught with methamphetamines in
January.
Now Chad MacDonald is dead, having been tortured and murdered after going
to a house in Norwalk apparently known for drug-dealing. The Brea police
say he didn't do it at their behest, but his mother says Chad thought a
"big buy" would be the key to pleasing the police and getting his own
charges handled.
We may never know the absolute truth about this particular murder, but we
do know a couple of things: Teen-agers should not be used in such a
dangerous way. But as long as authorities insist on waging a "war on
drugs," police agencies will be tempted to do so.
To make drug arrests and get convictions, the police often must penetrate
private places, often in the face of extraordinary efforts to keep
transactions secret. Thus the constitutional strictures against
unreasonable searches and seizures must be bent and sometimes broken. And
undercover informants are virtually a necessity. Without such invasions of
privacy and deceptions, trying to enforce the drug laws would be even more
futile than is the case now.
In the wake of Chad MacDonald's brutal murder, the Orange County district
attorney's office is considering written rules for police agencies that use
juvenile informants. It is possible that legislation banning or regulating
the use of underage undercover operatives will be introduced in Sacramento.
Such well-intentioned reforms would be welcome. But until we're ready to
rethink the war on drugs, such tragedies - along with the systematic
incursions on the privacy of are another legacy of the war on drugs - will
continue to occur.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington State HB 2772 Alert (List Subscriber Notes A Bill
To Outlaw 'Drug Paraphernalia' Has Passed The Washington Legislature
And Awaits Governor Gary Locke's Signature, Unless You Act -
Plus Commentary From Other List Subscribers)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:43:34 -0800 (PST)
From: Ben
To: SCN User
cc: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: Re: HT: RED ALERT! CAN U VERIFY HB 2772?
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
As of today, HB 2772 hasn't been signed by Governor Locke. It did,
however, pass the house with a 94-4 vote and the senate with a 39-9 vote.
3/24/98 6:08 p.m.
WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE
Roll Calls on HB 2772
Revising provisions relating to drug paraphernalia.
Chamber: HOUSE 1998 Regular Session
Bill No.: EHB 2772
Description: FINAL PASSAGE
Item No.: 50
Transcript No.: 33 Date: 02-13-98
Yeas: 94 Nays: 04 Absent: 00 Excused: 00
Voting nay: Representatives Constantine, Dickerson, Mason,
Thomas, B.
Chamber: SENATE 1998 Regular Session
Bill No.: EHB 2772
Description: THIRD READING - FINAL PASSAGE AS AMENDED BY THE
SENATE.
Item No.: 46
Transcript No.: 52 Date: 03-04-98
Yeas: 45 Nays: 01 Absent: 00 Excused: 03
Voting nay: Senator Brown
Excused: Senators Finkbeiner, Horn, West
Chamber: SENATE 1998 Regular Session
Bill No.: EHB 2772
Description: FINAL PASSAGE WITHOUT THE SENATE AMENDMENTS.
Item No.: 20
Transcript No.: 58 Date: 03-10-98
Yeas: 39 Nays: 09 Absent: 01 Excused: 00
Voting nay: Senators Brown, Fraser, Hargrove, Heavey,
Jacobsen, Kline, Kohl, McAuliffe, Thibaudeau
Absent: Senator McDonald
***
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 17:00:44 -0800 (PST)
From: bc616@scn.org (Darral Good)
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: Re: HT: RED ALERT! CAN U VERIFY HB 2772?
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
I might remind everyone that the toll free number to leave a message
for GARY LOCKE is 1-800-562-6000 call first thing in the morning!
I was once told that technically all pipes are illegal in Washington state!
(any lawyers lurking?)
I don't believe this bill could pass constitutional muster.
***
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 16:35:07 -0800 (PST)
From: Clint Fisher
To: wa-hemp-all@hemp.net
Subject: Re: Bad Law Alert HR 2772
Sender: owner-wa-hemp-all@hemp.net
Here's the scoop on contacting Governor Gary Locke in case you want to
file this message away.
BTW, The Legislative Hotline is not defunct, they just had an old
outdated message posing as an out-to-lunch message when I called. When I
called back after lunchtime, they were alive and well, so I mentioned the
problem to them. You can contact both the Legislature and the Governor
via their number, or you can go directly to the Governor's office.
Legislative Hotline: 1 (800) 562-6000
Governor Locke's:
Office: (360)753-6780
Fax: (360)753-4110
TTY/TDD:(360)753-6466
E-Mail: Governor.Locke@Governor.wa.gov
WWW: http://www.wa.gov/governor/
Snail-Mail:
Governor Gary Locke
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Protesters - Store Sells Drug Wares - Puyallup Residents Picket New Shop
They Say Stocks Drug Paraphernalia (Undated Tacoma 'News Tribune' Article
From Last Year Provides Some Background On HB 2772)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:50:27 -0800 (PST)
From: bc616@scn.org (Darral Good)
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: HT: Re: pipes
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
***
Wow! This story is a little scary. South Hill seems to be going
ballistic over a new pipe shop. If anyone can make it to the new Silk &
Smoke, I'm sure the owners could use some support. This may end up being
a great advertisement for them, but when they start talking about passing
legislation to "outlaw drug paraphernalia altogether" it is time to start
paying attention.
There's good reason that pipes are not outlawed in this state, and that's
because you do not and cannot know what they will be used for, and they
may be being used for legal substances. But it's impossible to
determine to what end a piece of glass or wood will be used.
It seems a little crazy to me, but you be the judge...
***
Protesters: Store sells drug wares
Puyallup residents picket new shop they say stocks drug paraphernalia
Susan Gordon; The News Tribune
About two dozen people stood along South Hill's busy Meridian Avenue East
on Wednesday afternoon to protest a new business that they said sells drug
paraphernalia and pornography.
Some toted protest signs. Others brought along children, at least one in a
stroller.
They want to close down Silk & Smoke, which opened Monday in a quiet strip
shopping center at 13507 Meridian Ave. E.
"Silk & Smoke Profits From Dope" read one sign. "Parent Alert: Drugs &
Perverts," read another. "Keep Your Kids Close," read a third.
"Eighty percent of the products on their shelves are drug paraphernalia,"
said protest organizer Christine Wilson. "It reminds me of a head shop."
Wilson, one of the few protesters who actually went inside the store,
bought a yellow, tinted-glass bong - a water pipe typically used to smoke
marijuana - and showed others what Silk & Smoke sells.
Nicole So, her husband, Phil, and his brother Kevin, all of Gig Harbor, own
Silk & Smoke. They said they were shocked by the complaints.
They won't sell to minors, they said, but they don't plan to close, either.
"We can't leave unless we get more money," Nicole So said. "We put so much
into it."
In the still half-stocked store, dozens of so-called "hash pipes" line a
clean glass case. Other small, ornate pipes, bongs and hookas are displayed
elsewhere.
The store also sells an eclectic mix of cigarette lighters, tobacco,
costume jewelry, baseball caps, T-shirts, incense, toy cars and vitamins.
Plans to rent or sell videotapes have been scrapped, the Sos said. On
Wednesday afternoon, nothing pornographic was visible inside.
Nicole So insisted the pipes are for tobacco. "I don't call this drug
whatever," she said. "Whatever they want to do with it is their business."
"If they think these are bad, why don't they make them illegal?" asked
Kevin So. "We're not doing anything illegal."
Curt Benson, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department,
confirmed that state law doesn't bar the sale of such pipes, as long as
there's no direct connection to illegal drug use.
But state Sen. Cal Goings (D-Puyallup), who alerted the news media to
Wednesday's protest and carried a sign outside the store, wants to change
that.
In January, he said, he will introduce a bill in the Legislature that would
outlaw drug paraphernalia altogether, with double penalties for possession
within a school zone.
"People have a right to have a business, but not this kind of stuff," he
said. "This place is incredible, the stuff they have inside. Kids and drugs
and pot do not mix on South Hill."
Wilson is particularly upset about the store's proximity to two schools.
Both Ballou Junior High School and Firgrove Elementary School are within
walking distance.
"This is not an appropriate business to be located across from schools, and
we're going to do something about it," she said. She said she'd like Pierce
County to ban such businesses within a certain distance of schools.
Wilson is a mother of three who lives about a mile from the store. In
November, she won a seat on the Central Pierce Fire & Rescue Board of
Commissioners. She's also a board member of the South Hill-Summit View
Community Council, which will meet Tuesday to discuss the matter. Wilson
has asked Pierce County officials to attend, along with the Sos and their
landlord.
Stephanie Roberts, president of the PTA at Hunt Elementary School, also on
South Hill, said she will raise the issue at tonight's PTA gathering.
"I want them gone," she said of Silk & Smoke. "We don't need this up here.
If we get this, what next?"
The shopping center that houses Silk & Smoke also is home to many other
small businesses, including a tattoo parlor; a coffee, pizza and pasta bar;
a hairdresser; a dry cleaner; a dentist; and a children's clothing resale
shop.
The owner of the latter business, Litl Hands N'Feet, is Kim Hall. She and
her manager, Paula York, joined the protesters at the edge of the five-lane
highway.
"I didn't like having to explain to my children what this store was," said
York, whose youngsters are 11, 8 and 2. "It bothers me there would be
something of that nature three doors down."
Hall said she won't renew her lease if Silk & Smoke stays.
Also drawn to the protest was Stephen Dawson, a Safe Streets board member
who lives on South Hill.
"This is what Safe Streets stands for, to protest this kind of stuff," he
said. "We did this at the spur of the moment. We would have had 1,000 or
more (people) here if we had known (sooner)."
The Rev. Terry Oliver of nearby Pilgrim Lutheran Church joined the protest,
too. "The drug paraphernalia they're selling is exactly what kids are
using," he said.
Nicole So said her family didn't realize schools are close by. But she
didn't apologize for the inventory. The family sold some of the same things
at its Farm Boys Grocery at 5425 112th St. E. before the store shut down in
October, she said.
"Everybody's selling this kind of stuff," she said.
The Sos said they opened Silk & Smoke using Pierce County relocation money.
Their Farm Boys Grocery was forced to close because of a county
road-widening project, the Sos said.
SIDEBAR: Local council will discuss issue
The South Hill-Summit View Community Council will discuss the Silk & Smoke
shop at its next board meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Ballou Junior High
School, 9916 136th St. E., Puyallup. For more information, contact board
member Christine Wilson at 253-841-3504.
(c) The News Tribune
-------------------------------------------------------------------
They Tried To Ban Them In 1985 Too! (List Subscriber
Posts Two 'Seattle Times' Articles From 1985
About Another Pipe Shop Targeted By Extremists)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:51:52 -0800 (PST)
From: bc616@scn.org (Darral Good)
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: HT: they tried to ban them in 1985 too!
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
NewsBank, inc. - The Seattle Times - 1985 - Article with Citation
Headline: THE YEAR THAT WAS 1985
THE TOP NEWS STORIES
NORTH ZONE
Date: December 31, 1985
Section: NORTH TIMES
Author: CHARLES AWEEKA
JERRY BERGSMAN
DRUGS, PROSTITUTION
A Shoreline area shop that sold drug culture items called it
quits not long after King County police confiscated much of its
merchandise and charged the owner with possession with intent to deliver
drug paraphernalia.
Prostitution shot up along Aurora Avenue in North King County,
causing worried looks on the faces of business and church leaders,
school officials and politicians. The Parkwood Elementary School PTA
organized a community meeting and urged maximum penalties against
prostitutes.
The owner of a Mexican restaurant along Highway 99 north of
Lynnwood worried about the effect a new topless nightspot, Honey's,
would have on his business.
***
The Seattle Times - 1985
Headline: HEAD SHOP OWNER FUMES OVER CHARGES
Date: March 13, 1985
Section: NORTH TIMES
Author: CHARLES AWEEKA
TIMES NORTH BUREAU
Text:
King County Deputy Prosecutor Rick Martinez filed charges yesterday
against two men after police raided Pluto's Smoke Shop, an Aurora Avenue North
business that sells tobacco products and drug culture items.
Chris Tucker, the owner of the Shoreline shop, and Jay Lee
Brady, a store employee who is Tucker's brother-in-law, were charged
with possession with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia.
Tucker has been a favorite target of Shoreline PTA Council
members, who accused him of breaking the law by selling drug
paraphernalia at his shop. But the chain-smoking Tucker denies he is
doing anything wrong because the items he sells, such as bongs and water
pipes, are not intended for illegal use.
King County Detective Marc Edmonds said he has been
investigating Tucker for ``better than a year.'' Armed with a search
warrant, Edmonds and other officers marched into Pluto's last Wednesday,
ushered out the customers and confiscated much of the store's
merchandise.
Tucker, a former altar boy, was back in operation the next day
with a new batch of items.
But he said business has been sluggish since the police raid.
Many passers-by apparently think the shop is closed, he said. To help
draw them back, Tucker, used to doing a brisk trade, resorted to
something he's never had to do. He put out a ``Yes, we are open,'' sign.
``Our business is just dying,'' he complained.
In taking about $50,000 worth of inventory, mostly water pipes
and bongs, police ``made a shambles'' of his store, he said.
``This place was just swarming with cops,'' said Allen Berg, a
friend of Tucker who helped to restock Pluto's shelves.
Tucker can't understand why police haven't raided other Seattle
area head shops. ``Why me? I've been here the least amount of time,'' he
said. He also believes he is being singled out because of political
pressure brought by PTA members.
``I call them the oral minority,'' he said.
Tucker said he plans to fight the charge, but not in Shoreline
District Court where the charges are being processed. He wants to seek a
change in venue.
``I'm sure not going to let them try me in Shoreline,'' he said.
``They're not going to get the political witch hunt they want.
With all the publicity, I feel it would be impossible for me to get a
fair trial.''
Tucker also accused county police of dragging their feet on an
investigation to determine who broke two large windows at his shop last
month and left a note that threatened more violence unless he closed.
He has since installed bullet-proof glass.
Deputy Prosecutor Martinez said he brought the misdemeanor
charges against Tucker and Brady with the aid of undercover agents who
posed as customers in the store. The citations were sent by legal
messenger yesterday from the King County Courthouse to Shoreline
District Court.
At least three agents were used by police, according to a
document filed in the Shoreline court. Martinez said the undercover
personnel were told by the defendants that items they bought in the
store could be used for illegal drug purposes.
Martinez said the prosecutor's office studied the case for ``a
long time because of the relative subjective nature'' of the state law
dealing with drug paraphernalia.
He said Tucker's excuse that none of his paraphernalia is
intended for illegal use is just a ploy.
``I've been in head shops before _ there's no doubt that they
are catering to a special crowd,'' Martinez said. ``Very few people in
our society use water pipes for smoking tobacco.''
Please write a letter to [1]
Washington State Senator Calvin Goings The
prohibitionist, polly-anna-tician from Puyallup!
[2]1997 "let's GET THOSE HEADSHOPS!"
References
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Text Of Washington State HB 2772 (Contact Governor Locke's Office
And Ask Him Not To Sign It)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:51:05 -0800 (PST)
From: Turmoil
To: SCN User
cc: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: Re: HT: RED ALERT! CAN U VERIFY HB 2772?
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
I just got off the phone with the Govenor's office. (360) 902-4111
The nice lady said "the governor has not scheduled any action on this bill.
He has until April 4th. The text of the bill appears below. Please, it
only takes a second, call the Governor and let him know what you think
about this one:
HOUSE BILL REPORT
EHB 2772
As Passed Legislature
Title: An act relating to drug paraphernalia.
Brief Description: Revising provisions relating to drug paraphernalia.
Sponsors: Representatives McDonald and Kastama.
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Law & Justice: 2/4/98, 2/6/98 [DP].
Floor Activity:
Passed House: 2/13/98, 94-4.
Passed Legislature.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LAW & JUSTICE
Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 13 members: Representatives
Sheahan, Chairman; McDonald, Vice Chairman; Sterk, Vice Chairman;
Costa,
Ranking Minority Member; Constantine, Assistant Ranking Minority
Member; Carrell; Cody; Kenney; Lambert; Lantz; Mulliken; Robertson and
Sherstad.
Staff: Bill Perry (786-7123).
Background: It is a misdemeanor to use drug paraphernalia to produce or
use illegal drugs. It is also a misdemeanor to deliver drug paraphernalia
to another knowing that the paraphernalia will be used to produce or
use illegal drugs.
Drug paraphernalia is defined as material of any kind which is used,
intended for use, or designed for use in producing or using illegal
drugs. Drug paraphernalia includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) kits for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing,
or harvesting of a plant that is a controlled substance, or
from which a controlled substance can be made;
(2) kits for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting,
producing, processing, or preparing controlled substances;
(3) isomerization devices for use in increasing the potency of a
plant that is a controlled substance;
(4) testing equipment for use in identifying or in analyzing the
strength, effectiveness, or purity of controlled substances;
(5) scales and balances for use in weighing or measuring
controlled substances;
(6) dilutents and adulterants for use in cutting controlled
substances;
(7) separation gins and sifters for use in cleaning or refining
marijuana;
(8) blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and mixing devices for
use in compounding controlled substances;
(9) capsules, balloons, envelopes, and other containers for use in
packaging small quantities of controlled substances;
(10) containers and other objects for use in storing or concealing
controlled substances;
(11) hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects for use in
injecting controlled substances into the human body;
(12) objects for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing
marijuana, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human body,
such as:
(a) metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or
ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent
screens, hashish heads, or punctured metal bowls;
(b) water pipes;
(c) carburetion tubes and devices;
(d) smoking and carburetion masks;
(e) roach clips: meaning objects used to hold burning
material, such as a marijuana cigarette, that has
become too small or too short to be held in the hand;
(f) miniature cocaine spoons and cocaine vials;
(g) chamber pipes;
(h) carburetor pipes;
(i) electric pipes;
(j) air-driven pipes;
(k) chillums;
(l) bongs; and
(m) ice pipes or chillers.
Summary of Bill: A new civil infraction is created. It is a class I civil
infraction to sell or give drug paraphernalia to another person. The
maximum fine for a class I infraction is $250.
For purposes of this new infraction, the definition of paraphernalia is
the same as a portion of the definition that applies to the existing
criminal law. Paraphernalia, as applied to the new infraction,
specifically includes items used for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise
introducing marihuana, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human
body.
One element of the new infraction, however, differs from the crime of
delivering paraphernalia. Under the infraction, unlike the crime, the
prosecution need not prove that the offender knew that the recipient of
the paraphernalia would use it in connection with illegal drugs.
The legal distribution of syringes as part of an HIV prevention program is
specifically exempted from the infraction.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is
passed.
Testimony For: Stores are selling drug paraphernalia right next to
schools. The current law is impossible to enforce.
Testimony Against: None.
Testified: Representative McDonald, prime sponsor; Reverend Terry Oliver,
Pilgrim Lutheran Church (pro); and Jim Crane, Office of the King County
Public Defender (pro).
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Upstairs-Downstairs Dispute Overturns Drug Conviction
('Associated Press' Article In 'Minneapolis Star-Tribune'
Says A Wisconsin Man's Conviction For Possessing Marijuana
Has Been Overturned By The Third District Court Of Appeals
Because The Search Warrant Was For The Downstairs Apartment,
Not The Upstairs Apartment - Previously, Marathon County Circuit Judge
Greg Grau Ruled The Warrant Was Close Enough For Government Work)
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 14:23:15 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US WI: Upstairs-Downstairs Dispute Overturns Drug Conviction
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Mike Gogulski
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Contact: opinion@startribune.com
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Website: http://www.startribune.com/
Author: Robert Imrie, Associated Press Writer
UPSTAIRS-DOWNSTAIRS DISPUTE OVERTURNS DRUG CONVICTION
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- A man' s conviction for possessing marijuana has been
overturned on appeal because prosecutors never responded to his argument
that police illegally searched his upstairs apartment.
The warrant was for the downstairs apartment' s address, not the upstairs
one, Thomas A. Smith contended in his appeal.
"The state has done nothing" in response to the argument, the 3rd District
Court of Appeals said Tuesday in reversing Smith' s misdemeanor conviction.
Gene Linehan, Smith' s attorney, said the ruling was a victory for people "
who believe very strongly in their constitutional rights."
Individual rights regarding search and seizure have been "drastically
eroded" under the guise of drug investigations and more people need to
stand up for their rights, he said.
According to court records, police searched Smith' s apartment Feb. 6,
1996, and found evidence of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia.
The search warrant was for 1038 S. 7th Ave. in Wausau, but Smith lived
upstairs, at 1038 1/2 S. 7th Ave., court records said.
Smith, 47, contended the search violated his constitutional rights against
unlawful search and seizure because the warrant was not precise enough in
listing his specific address, thus police went further than the warrant
allowed.
Marathon County Circuit Judge Greg Grau denied Smith' s request to throw
out the drug evidence as unlawfully obtained.
Grau ruled the request for the warrant adequately explained that officers
sought to search the entire house, which included both the upper and lower
apartment.
The son of Smith' s live-in girlfriend lived in the lower apartment, court
records said.
Smith, who was fined $250 for the drug conviction, appealed Grau' s ruling
regarding the warrant.
However, the Marathon County district attorney' s office never responded to
Smith' s arguments, leaving the appeals court no alternative but to reverse
the conviction without ruling on whether the police search was proper.
"A troubling part of this case is the state' s failure to file a brief in
response to Smith' s arguments, " Appeals Judge R. Thomas Cane wrote. "
This court even extended the time for the state to file its response brief.
... Also, failure to file a response tacitly concedes that the trial court
erred."
Assistant District Attorney Ken Heimerman, who prosecuted Smith, said he
did not have time to do the paperwork.
"I had numerous other cases that were going, and I was not able to meet
(the appeals court' s) time limits, " he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Professor Gives History Lesson In Tobacco Industry Versus Minnesota
('Associated Press' Article In 'The Herald' Says Tobacco Companies On Trial
In St. Paul, Minnesota, Opened Their Defense Tuesday
By Calling A History Professor Who Said People Have Known The Health Risks
Of Tobacco For Centuries - The State And Blue Cross/Blue Shield Of Minnesota
Are Suing The Tobacco Industry For $1.77 Billion Spent Treating
Smoking Related Illnesses, Plus Punitive Damages, Even Though Smokers
Use Fewer Health Benefits Because They Die Younger)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 23:07:33 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Olafur Brentmar (olafur@cdsnet.net)
Subject: MN: US MI: Professor Gives History Lesson In Tobacco Industry Vs
Minnesota
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Source: The Herald, Everett, WA, USA
Contact: letters@heraldnet.com
Website: http://www.heraldnet.com
Author: Associated Press
PROFESSOR GIVES HISTORY LESSON IN TOBACCO INDUSTRY VS MINNESOTA
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Tobacco companies on trial in Minnesota opened their
defense Tuesday by calling a history professor who said people have known
the health risks of tobacco for centuries.
In sometimes lighthearted testimony, Hyman Berman gave a history lesson
that touched on tobacco-related writings of King James I and John Quincy
Adams.
Berman was called by the tobacco industry to testify about what the people
of Minnesota and the state knew about the health hazards of smoking, when
they knew it and what they did about that knowledge.
The state and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota are suing the tobacco
industry for $1.77 billion they say they've spent treating smoking related
illnesses, plus punitive damages. The plaintiffs claim cigarette makers
knew about the health hazards of their product and covered them up while
conducting a marketing campaign to addict smokers to nicotine.
Before Berman took the stand, the plaintiffs rested their case
provisionally after eight weeks of testimony. They may re-open it later if
the Minnesota Supreme Court upholds lower-court rulings granting them
access to 39,000 confidential industry documents.
Berman, a University of Minnesota history professor since 1961, outlined
King James I of England's 1604 publication titled ``A Counterblast to
Tobacco,'' in which he said that ``tobacco is a custom loathsome to the
eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain and dangerous to the lungs.''
John Quincy Adams came next. Berman noted that Adams wrote a letter to a
person named S.H. Cox in 1845 in which he admitted that in his youth he was
``addicted to tobacco in two of its mysteries - smoking and chewing.''
But he went back even farther.
``It started with Christopher Columbus,'' Berman testified, noting that
Columbus came across tobacco on his second visit to the New World.
When lead plaintiffs attorney Michael Ciresi objected, saying history that
far back was irrelevant to the case, District Judge Kenneth Fitzpatrick
added a bit of levity, asking whether Ciresi was objecting to what Columbus
said.
``None of us Minnesotans would be here without him,'' Fitzpatrick said.
Berman, who gave a deposition in the case last October, is expected to go
deeply into Minnesota's history as a leader in the anti-tobacco movement
from 1860 until the present day during his testimony this week.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hempstock VIII August 13-16 At Harry Brown's Farm In Starks, Maine
(A Press Release From Maine Vocals Lists The Band Schedule
And More Details)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:33:39 -0800
Reply-To: mevocals@somtel.com
Sender: owner-hemp@efn.org
From: Donald Christen (mevocals@somtel.com)
To: cannabis-patriots-l@teleport.com, STung61084@aol.com
Subject: MAINE -- HEMPSTOCK
HEMPSTOCK VIII
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRESS RELEASE
Maine VOCALS announces our VIII annual HEMPSTOCK assembly, to be
held on Aug. 13, 14, 15, and 16, 1998, at Harry Brown's farm in Starks,
Maine. Gate opens at 4 PM Thursday (13th). HEMPSTOCK VIII will feature
over thirty smokin' bands from all over the northeast, who all donate
their talents for the repeal of cannabis prohibition. Their will be hemp
activist speakers, with plenty of food vendors, as well as crafts, jewelry,
and clothing vendors on hand to offer their products to the public. Many
wares and goods on hand are made from the cannabis/marijuana plant and
there is sure to be a wide selection.
Tickets for this years assembly are $25.00 in advance, and $30.00 at the
gate, with a limited number of 1950 tickets available for on site camping,
which will go fast and are on a first come first serve basis. Off site
camping is available at other private locations in Starks for the rest of the
public with off site weekend passes for $25.00, when the on site camping is
filled up. Day tickets are $10.00 per day and can be purchased at the gate.
We will be collecting signatures for the Maine Citizens Referendum Petition
Drive For Medical Marijuana, and encourage all who attend to sign it, as well
as help us collect signatures so our people can vote on this issue. It is
apparent Maine legislators are uncaring and unwilling to go forward with any
legislation for medical marijuana. Maine citizens must go forward as the
citizens of California and Arizona did, to show the legislators that we the
people do care, and its time to do something about it!
(THIS IS NOT THE CALIFORNIA AMR PETITION, THIS IS MAINE
CITIZEN AND PATIENT SPONSORED, WORKABLE LEGISLATION)
For HEMPSTOCK tickets and anyone who would like to get involved in this
petition drive or donate funds, please call Maine Vocals / Maine
Citizens For Medical Marijuana @ 696-8167, PO Box 189, Anson, Maine.
HEMPSTOCK BAND SCHEDULE 98'
Friday
Headrush 1:00 PM
David's Playground 2:00 PM
Kick Down 3:00 PM
Ludivico Treatment 4:00 PM
This Black Earth 5:00 PM
Great Atomic Power 6:00 PM
Cradle 7:00 PM
Toy Chest 8:15 PM
Hail Mary 9:30 PM
Uncle Jack 10:45 PM
Gargantua Soul 12:00 Midnight
Saturday
Ekomstop 1:00 PM
Manifest 2:00 PM
Madd Hatter 3:00 PM
Puzzle Face 4:00 PM
Stream 5:00 PM
Felix 6:00 PM
Figurehead 6:30 PM
Between The Lines 7:00 PM
Big Bud & the Bone Boys 8:15 PM
Man Bites Dog 9:30 PM
Stoned Cross 10:45 PM
Holy Smoke 12:00 Midnight
Precious 12:45 AM
Sunday
Zingo Zango Jug Band 9:00 AM
Against the Law 10:00 AM
Smokin' Grass 11:00 AM
Loose Leaf 12:00 Noon
Medicine Head 1:00 PM
Smoke the Profits 2:00 PM
Stitch 3:00 PM
Stream 4:00 PM
Bad Mother Seed 5:00 PM
TBA 6:00 PM
LA Sound Company / Fatal Rewind
Jazz Pharmacy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Punishment And Treatment (Staff Editorial In New York's 'Times Union'
Says That, If The Pataki Administration Wants To Save New York Money
By Curtailing The Rockefeller Mandatory Minimum Laws, Instead Of Focusing
On The Practice Of Paroling And Then Deporting Illegal Immigrants
Convicted Of Big-Time Drug Offenses Before They Serve
Even Their Minimum Sentences, It Should Instead Look At Paroling
The Many Low-Level Drug Offenders Serving Equally Long Sentences)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 17:39:10 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service (mapnews@mapinc.org)
From: Richard Lake (rlake@mapinc.org)
Subject: MN: US NY: Editorial: Punishment And Treatment
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Walter F. Wouk
Source: Times Union (NY)
Contact: tuletters@timesunion.com
Fax: 518-454-5628
Website: http://www.timesunion.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
PUNISHMENT AND TREATMENT
The State Needs To Draw A Sharper Distinction Between Prison Terms For
Pushers And Addicts
It's time for some further examination of the Pataki administration's
parole policies. Not the proposal to end the all but routine procedure of
releasing violent felons upon completion of two-thirds of their sentences,
but the way drug cases are handled. The administration now says it's
determined to put a stop to the practice of paroling and then deporting
illegal immigrants convicted of big-time drug offenses before they serve
even their minimum sentences.
It's about time.
The policy allowed some drug felons to avoid some serious jail time. Ziv
Oved, who originally was sentenced to six years to life for his role in a
$1 million-a-week drug racket, was deported to Israel after serving just
two and a half years. That amounted to less time than U.S. authorities
spent looking for him after he fled the country after a previous conviction
on smuggling charges. Another drug felon, Gloria Murrugo, was deported to
Colombia after serving less than a year of a three-years-to-life term for
landing at Kennedy Airport with 10 ounces of heroin in her possession.
Another Colombian national, Javier Rodriguez, was sentenced to eight years
to life in prison after he was arrested with more than 40 pounds of
cocaine. But he was paroled and deported after spending less than two years
in prison.
The parole-and-deportation policy was supposed to save the state lots of
money. It did, in fact. The state says the savings totaled $85 million. But
at what larger price? Of the 1,277 inmates who went free before they should
have been eligible for parole, 158 had been convicted of the most serious
drug felonies of all. Why wouldn't an effort to cut costs and ease
overcrowding in the state's prisons be instead directed at the many
low-level drug offenders serving equally long sentences because of the
Rockefeller era drug laws?
Since mandatory sentences for even small-time drug offenses took effect
some 25 years ago, the state has had to build cells for a total of 40,000
additional inmates, at a cost of $4 billion, according to the Correctional
Association of New York. Even now, the same group estimates that more than
20 percent of New York's 70,000 inmates are nonviolent drug offenders
locked up because of the excessive Rockefeller-era drug laws.
A proposal before the Legislature would restore some sanity to the state's
drug policies. Illegal immigrants guilty of selling more than two ounces,
or merely possessing more than four ounces, of hard drugs like heroin and
cocaine would not be eligible for release and deportation.
Prosecutors would have to approve the release and deportation of illegal
immigrants guilty of selling more than half an ounce or possessing more
than two ounces of cocaine or heroin. About 500 people convicted of such
charges got out of jail early.
Long before addicts are released from prison, their sentences should
emphasize treatment as much as anything else.
Chief Judge Judith Kaye, for instance, wants more courts devoted solely to
dealing with nonviolent addicts. She points to a 3-year-old program in
Rochester where only 5 percent of 200 people sentenced have been
re-arrested. The overall recidivism rate for drug offenders in New York is
70 percent.
More effective enforcement of drug laws comes, ultimately, to this: The
harshest sentences should be reserved for the hard-core pushers. Leniency
should be restricted to the least serious and most easily rehabilitated
offenders.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Prince George's Needle Plan Wins Vote - Maryland House Backs Exchange Program
('Washington Post' Notes The Maryland House Of Representatives Yesterday
Approved A Needle Exchange Program In Prince George's County -
Washington, DC, And Baltimore Have Such Programs, But Prince George's
Would Be The First Suburban County In The DC Area
To Institute Such A Program)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 21:01:47 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US MD: WP: Pr. George's Needle Plan Wins Vote Md. House Backs
Exchange Program
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Source: Washington Post
Author: Robert E. Pierre, Washington Post Staff Writer
Page: A01- FRONT PAGE
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
PR. GEORGE'S NEEDLE PLAN WINS VOTE MD. HOUSE BACKS EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Maryland House members gave their preliminary endorsement yesterday to a
plan to expand to Prince George's County a controversial needle exchange
program intended to slow the spread of AIDS among drug users by allowing
them to swap used hypodermics for new ones.
Numerous federally funded studies have shown that needle exchange programs
nationwide have helped reduce new HIV infections by 20 percent or more by
making it less likely that drug users will reuse contaminated needles. But
critics have charged that the programs -- more than 100 nationwide -- send
the wrong message and amount to a backdoor sanctioning of illegal drug use.
Prince George's would be the first suburban county in the Washington area
to institute such a program. Up to now, needle exchanges have been limited
to the District and Baltimore. From 1986 to 1996, the number of new AIDS
cases diagnosed each year in Prince George's rose from 61 to 296. During
the same period, the percentage of those cases attributed to intravenous
drug use and the sharing of needles doubled to more than 26 percent of the
total cases, officials said.
"This is a bill that will save lives," said Del. Pauline H. Menes (D-Prince
George's), the bill's primary sponsor.
Needle exchange programs remain controversial in city halls and state
legislatures across the country and on Capitol Hill. The Clinton
administration has not allowed local governments to use federal funding for
needle exchange programs, arguing that although research has shown that
those programs can reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS, there is not adequate
research showing that they do not encourage drug use.
"It sends a terrible message to every young person in the state," said Del.
John S. Morgan (R-Prince George's/Howard), who opposes the program. "We
shouldn't be subsidizing heroin addiction. That's what this really is. I
don't want my tax money used for this."
The District first tried its needle exchange program in 1992, and the
program was rejuvenated last year with $200,000 in city funds. Baltimore
has handed out free needles to drug users for four years and experienced a
20 percent decline in new HIV infections while cases in surrounding
counties increased by 1 percent.
Two weeks ago, Maryland senators killed a proposal to permit needle
exchanges to occur throughout the state, not just in Baltimore. But a House
bill expanding the program to Prince George's County alone won preliminary
approval from the House of Delegates yesterday, after all but one of the
county's 21 delegates rallied to support the program, provided it was
coupled with enhanced drug treatment programs.
Should the measure be formally adopted by the House today, the proposal
would go to the state Senate. Because six of the eight Prince George's
senators back the idea, a bill affecting only Prince George's customarily
would win approval from the full Senate. State legislators traditionally
have deferred to the wishes of local lawmakers on legislation that affects
no other county.
Even with state approval, it still would be up to the County Council and
County Executive Wayne K. Curry (D) to decide whether to implement a needle
exchange program and when to do it. Curry has not taken a position on the
matter, but the County Council and Prince George's Health Officer Art
Thatcher already have expressed their support for a needle exchange.
"It makes sense for us to try to prevent the spread of disease and
illness," said Prince George's County Council member Stephen J. Del Giudice
(D-Hyattsville), who supports the measure.
Currently, the county has 375 patients in methadone treatment for drug
abuse problems. Thatcher said that for a needle exchange program to be
effective, the county would have to beef up the number of treatment slots.
State Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George's) said he would gladly approach
the governor about providing some state aid for such a program.
"There is a fair amount of largess in the state budget," said Pinsky, a key
supporter.
State lawmakers must approve the program because needles are considered
drug paraphernalia under Maryland law, and people caught carrying them are
subject to arrest. In Baltimore, people identified as being registered for
the program are not subject to arrest if they are caught with a needle. But
police said they are not immune to prosecution or arrest if police catch
them with illegal drugs.
"Without this bill, anybody caught with needles would be arrested," Menes
said.
Despite the overwhelming support of state lawmakers in Prince George's,
Sen. Gloria G. Lawlah (D-Prince George's) conceded that the idea may not
sit well with some residents in the affluent African American community.
"This is a very difficult issue to talk about," she said. "Successful
suburban neighborhoods don't have these kinds of problems. . . . But of
course we do. Actually admitting that we have a problem is the first step."
Staff writer Barbara Vobejda contributed to this report.
(c) Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Needle-Exchange Issue Shows Clinton's Lost His Edge
(Cox News Service Columnist Tom Teepen In 'Minneapolis Star-Tribune'
Suggests President Clinton's Scandals Inhibit Him From Showing Courage
On Needle Exchange Issue)
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 14:16:49 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US: Commentary: Needle-Exchange Issue Shows Clinton's Lost His
Edge
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Mike Gogulski
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Contact: opinion@startribune.com
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Website: http://www.startribune.com/
Author: Tom Teepen / Cox News Service
COMMENTARY: NEEDLE-EXCHANGE ISSUE SHOWS CLINTON'S LOST HIS EDGE
ATLANTA -- With his presidency trembling in the hot wind of alleged scandal
and hanging by the thread of an amazingly indulgent electorate, this is not
the time to expect Bill Clinton to take policy risks. For the record,
though, his own AIDS advisory council was right to read him the riot act.
The 30-member panel appointed by Clinton three years ago says the
administration's failure to support needle-exchange programs for
intravenous drug users mocks Clinton's proclaimed commitment to cutting the
spread of AIDS.
The efficacy of needle exchanges is past serious argument, but it remains a
political flashpoint as conservatives, building on their belief that
condoms cause sex, insist that the availability of clean needles would make
drug addiction sound like a swell idea.
"Say, Maude, d'you read where we could get clean needles if we become dope
fiends?"
"Well, lordy, Frank, what are we waitin' for? You just run on out now and
score us some of that fine smack."
Please.
Indeed, a research review by the National Institutes of Health found that
"a preponderance of evidence shows either no change or reduced drug use"
from exchange programs, the latter because turning in needles brings
addicts into contact with persons who can guide them to treatment.
This is not conjecture. We have experience from pilot programs in several
cities -- New York City and San Francisco among them -- and from Canada,
Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Studies last year by NIH and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City
found that exchanges slow the spread of HIV significantly. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention report that half of new AIDS cases are
contracted from used IV needles.
Dirty needles are expected to account for as much as 75 percent of the
increase within three years. The rate could be cut 38 percent by needle
exchanges. And cut at notable savings to the public, which picks up the
AIDS tab either through higher insurance premiums or public health costs.
The average case costs $119,000.
The idea doesn't lack for pedigreed endorsement. It is supported, the
president's council points out, by the American Medical Association and the
Public Health Association.
But Congress has forbidden funding for exchanges unless the secretary of
Health and Human Services certifies no increase in drug use would follow,
and Donna Shalala continues to balk, repeating her skepticism even in the
wake of the AIDS council's zinger.
Shalala's hesitance is loyal service to a president whose boat already is
rocking enough.
It is widely noted that the ring of accusations eating away at Clinton has
failed to knock down his high approval ratings. That's so. And that is
cited as evidence he remains unhampered in his office.
That's not so. Given his longtime concern about AIDS, signing off on needle
exchange is just the sort of mildly progressive step that might have been
expected from Clinton in his valedictory term. More, so far, in smallish
matters like this one than in large issues, his troubles do have the
president pinned down.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Review In 'Journal Of The American Medical Association'
Of The Revised 'Marihuana - The Forbidden Medicine,'
By Grinspoon And Bakalar (Reviewer Says Grinspoon And Bakalar's Summary
Of The Safety And Toxicology Data Is 'Clinically And Logically Unassailable,'
But Believes The Medical Marijuana Issue Has Advanced Since The First Edition
And The New Edition Should Consider Implementation Issues More Seriously)
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 06:35:54 EST
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: David.Hadorn@vuw.ac.nz (David Hadorn)
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: JAMA review of "Marijuana, The Forbidden Medicine"
Books, Journals, New Media - March 25, 1998
Marijuana
Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine, by Lester Grinspoon and James
B. Bakalar, revised ed, 296 pp, $35, ISBN 0-300-07085-3, paper, $16,
ISBN 0-300-07086-1, New Haven, Conn, Yale University Press, 1997.
The first edition of Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine was published in
1993 and reviewed in JAMA. [1] In it, Grinspoon and Bakalar (from
Harvard Medical and Law Schools, respectively) presented numerous case
reports of symptomatic relief from marijuana in a wide variety of physical
and psychological disorders. The patients were those who had been treated
less than adequately by more traditional methods and who did not
necessarily belong to a drug-abusing subculture.
In the intervening 4 years, much has happened in the "medical marijuana"
field. Voters in California and Arizona passed initiatives legalizing medical
marijuana and protecting physicians who recommend it. New clinical
research using marijuana in wasting syndrome of the acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is poised to begin. Research into the
pharmacology of the endogenous marijuanalike substances, the
anandamides, is progressing at a rapid pace. On the other hand, there were
600,000 marijuana-related arrests in the United States in 1995. The time
feels like a watershed for attitudes and policy regarding marijuana; something
has to change.
The ideal book entering the contemporary medical marijuana debate ought
to address at least three major issues: efficacy, safety, and policy. This
revised and expanded edition of Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine is
even more thorough in documenting cases of self-reported efficacy than the
original edition. It more than adequately covers safety issues. However, as in
the first edition, the book fails to consider practical policy or implementation
issues in a serious manner.
Grinspoon and Bakalar present over 30 new case reports suggesting
beneficial effects of marijuana. The conditions found in "Common Medical
Uses" include cancer chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting,
glaucoma, and mood disorders. Examples of "Less Common Medical Uses"
are asthma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and Crohn disease.
The anecdotal nature of these self reports is acknowledged as the
unfortunate state of the art. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the typical drug
trials using single, pure, synthetic compounds, required by the Food and
Drug Administration for a New Drug Application (NDA), will occur with
marijuana because of its chemical complexity. The whole plant contains
numerous biologically active components. An assessment of their therapeutic
effects, singly and in various combinations, is probably, for all intents and
purposes, not practical.
However, it may be less than prudent to conclude that "no double-blind
studies are needed to prove marihuana's efficacy." Rather, these reports
ought to stimulate clinical investigators to begin such studies of the whole
plant, using marijuana of standardized chemical composition, such as that
being grown by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. While the AIDS
wasting syndrome protocol has been subject to frustrating regulatory
inconsistencies, [2] its recent approval should now serve as a model for
future projects.
Grinspoon and Bakalar's summary of the safety and toxicology data is
clinically and logically unassailable. Undoubtedly there are batches of
mold-contaminated marijuana; coordination and motor reflexes are impaired
during acute intoxication; chronic use of marijuana subtly affects cognitive
function and produces upper respiratory problems. However, for the amount
being smoked, it is reassuring that no deaths directly resulting from marijuana
overdose have been reported, nor have there been documented cases of
lung cancer even in heavy chronic smokers. For a more thoroughly
referenced and argued, albeit rhetorically tinged, discussion of these issues,
Zimmer and Morgan's Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts (reviewed in
JAMA, February 25, 1998) is also worth reading.
The most enlarged chapter in this revised edition, "The Once and Future
Medicine," expands upon the authors' social and political analysis of what
prevents regulatory acceptance of marijuana as medicine. The analysis is
cogent as far as it goes, e.g., "saving face" by the government; vested interests
keeping marijuana illegal; and the antiestablishment stigma associated with
marijuana use. However, these issues seem less proximate and convincing
than those raised by these authors in a previous book. [3] These include
moral and ethical issues that reflect deep-seated psychological fears of losing
control, both individually and as a society, and the role of pleasure in our
culture.
Any current book proposing widespread availability of medical marijuana is
that much more valuable if it proposes models for a dispensing infrastructure
that take into account diversion, quality control, training and certification of
those who prescribe it, extant scheduling laws, and accessibility. The first
edition of this book waited until its final paragraph before proposing a
liquor-store model for sales of marijuana to individuals of legal age.
Regrettably, this second edition makes the same suggestion at the same point
in the book.
The authors do discuss why current models are unlikely to work: the
"compassionate use permit" (of which there are now only eight in the United
States); the over-the-counter pharmacist model (which is mentioned but not
described); the drug company-NDA model; reducing marijuana from
schedule I to II and having doctors prescribe it; and underground "buyers'
clubs." However, other possibilities come to mind. One is the creation of
specially licensed and certified clinics, like those dispensing methadone for
treatment of opiate dependence, but with a much broader distribution base.
It is difficult to see how the growing tide of acceptance of medical marijuana
might be stemmed much longer by accusations of "covert legalization
tactics." Grinspoon and Bakalar deserve credit for unstintingly keeping the
issue alive in the face of the medical profession's general reluctance to
consider such a thorny issue. However, they need to keep pace with their
own success. While Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine remains the
definitive collection of case reports of therapeutic effects of marijuana, we
must look elsewhere for models to put into practice what they so
convincingly argue must happen.
Rick J. Strassman, MD
University of British Columbia
Victoria
References
1. Strassman RJ. Review: Grinspoon L, Bakalar JB. Marihuana, The
Forbidden Medicine (New Haven, Conn Yale University Press; 1993).
JAMA . 1993;270:2878-2879.
2. Kassirer JP. Federal foolishness and marijuana. N Engl J Med.
1997;336:366-367.
3. Bakalar JB, Grinspoon L. Drug Control in a Free Society. New York,
NY: Cambridge University Press; 1984.
(JAMA. 1998;279:963-964)
(c) 1995-1998 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Favor Of Medical Marijuana (Staff Editorial In 'Glendale News-Press Leader'
Opposes US House Resolution 372, Opposing Medical Marijuana,
And Criticizes US Representative James Rogan,
Who Reversed His Previous Support For Medical Marijuana
In Order To Endorse The Resolution)
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 09:41:19 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US CA: Editorial: In Favor Of Medical Marijuana
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Glendale News-Press Leader
Section: Editorial
Contact: FAX: 818-241-1975
Mail: Dan Bolton, Executive Editor, 425 W Broadway #30, Glendale, CA 91204
Pubdate: March 25, 1998
IN FAVOR OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
If your cancer-stricken cousin can't keep any food down because of the
nausea from chemotherapy, shouldn't he be able to use, with a doctor's
prescription, anything that might help him?
If your daughter has AIDS, and can't keep any food down because of reaction
to her medications, shouldn't she be able to use, with a doctor's
prescription, anything that might help her? If your husband's sight is
deteriorating because of glaucoma, shouldn't he be able to use, with a
doctor's prescription, anything that might help him?
If your best friend has multiple sclerosis and can't control her muscle
spasms, shouldn't she be able to use, with a doctor's prescription,
anything that might help her?
The answer seems inarguable to us, and that's why we're in favor of the
tightly controlled use of marijuana for medical purposes. In fact, the
first example cited above is from the real life experience of Congressman
James Rogan. Rogan, the ascendant Republican who represents Glendale,
Burbank and the foothills, tells just such a story, of a cousin wasting
away and given six months to live, who ~ following his doctor's advice to
seek and use street marijuana ~ survived 10 years.
With that family background, Rogan, as a state assemblyman, was in favor of
a tightly crafted bill that would have allowed personal possession of
marijuana for medical purposes. Now, however, as a congressman, he's said
he supports a nonbinding House resolution stating the House "is
unequivocally opposed to legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes."
Unequivocally opposed?
Mr. Congressman, we know you haven't forgotten your cousin, and hope it's
not politics that prompts you to conssider putting your name to something
just because it plays in Peoria ~ or is that Pasadena? ~ and can be
rationalized away later because it's not binding.
The fact is, medical marijuana can raise the quality of life for many, if
not outright save the lives of some. For the national body of the people's
elected representatives to "unequivocally oppose" such use is
unconscionable.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Congress Hears Impassioned Testimony On Substance Abuse
('Minneapolis Star-Tribune' Says Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin,
Actress Mackenzie Phillips, Television Journalist Bill Moyers And His Son,
William Cope Moyers Of The Minnesota-Based Hazelden Foundation,
Spoke Tuesday Before The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee On Labor,
Health And Human Services And Education In Support Of Legislation
That Would Require Group Medical Insurance
To Cover Substance Abuse Treatment At The Same Level
As For Most Other Illnesses)
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 13:43:19 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US: Congress Hears Impassioned Testimony On Substance Abuse
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Mike Gogulski
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Contact: opinion@startribune.com
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Website: http://www.startribune.com/
Author: Sharon Schmickle and Maura Lerner / Star Tribune
Congress Hears Impassioned Testimony On Substance Abuse
Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., called it the most compelling testimony he'd
heard during 24 years in the Senate.
What he heard Tuesday was Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin declare that it
was easier to walk on the moon than it was to get a grip on alcoholism.
Actress Mackenzie Phillips told about the drunkenness that got her fired
from job after job. Television journalist Bill Moyers and his son William
Cope Moyers of the Minnesota-based Hazelden Foundation talked about the
family anguish in William's battle against addiction to drugs and alcohol.
The hearing in Washington, D.C., before the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education was part of
the buildup for legislation proposed by two members of the Minnesota
delegation: Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Democrat, and Rep. Jim Ramstad, a
Republican. It also served as an advancer on the five-part PBS series,
"Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home," which premières March 29.
The legislation would require group medical plans that cover substance
abuse to provide the same levels of coverage for that problem as for most
other illnesses. The bill has 39 cosponsors, including Minnesota Democratic
Reps. Bill Luther, David Minge and Bruce Vento.
The bill would prohibit group health plans from imposing annual or lifetime
limits, copayments, deductibles or visit limits for substance abuse
rehabilitation unless similar requirements exist for other medical
benefits. Businesses with fewer than 51 employees would be exempt, as would
employers whose premiums jumped by more than 1 percent as a result of the
coverage.
The witness list for the hearing did not include health insurers, and the
testimony supported the legislation. But many of the recovering addicts
testified to how complicated the issue can be. "What is the mystery behind
why some people can stay with recovery and some people have to fall back
again and again and again?" musician Shawn Colvin asked during her testimony.
Some insurance companies are worried that the proposal will drive up health
costs.
"We support what they're trying to do in terms of helping alcoholics and
drug addicts get the help they need," said Tom Lehman, lobbyist for Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. But, he said in an interview, "We're
forced to make some tradeoffs. The tradeoff is more benefits for fewer
people. And is that a tradeoff that we think is a good [one]? We would say
no at Blue Cross."
Lehman said Minnesota's experience proves that point. "We have more benefit
mandates on the books in Minnesota than any state other than Maryland," he
said. And they have driven up the cost so much, he said, that most
companies have switched to self-insured plans, which are exempt from state
mandates.
"The lesson from the Minnesota experience is as you add on benefits and you
add on mandates, it drives up costs," he said.
In Minnesota, a two-year-old state law already requires health plans to
treat chemical dependency like any other medical problem.
But there are some loopholes: Health plans still have the power to approve
or deny treatment on the basis of what they consider "medical necessity."
And the state law applies only to people in state-regulated health plans,
which leaves out the more than a million Minnesotans covered by
self-insured plans.
The bill before Congress follows legislation enacted in 1996 to create
limited parity for mental health coverage. Effective this past January,
insurers must provide the same annual and lifetime spending limits for
mental health care as for other medical problems.
A federal report released Tuesday estimates that the combined cost of
creating full parity for mental health and substance abuse coverage would
increase health insurance premiums by 3.6 percent on average. Mental health
care would account for most of the increase, according to the report by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of the
Department of Health and Human Services. Substance abuse alone would bump
up the premiums by an average of 0.2 percent, it said.
Minnesota was one of five states chosen for case studies in the report.
Premiums in the state increased only slightly as a result of the 1995 state
law, the report said.
Wellstone and Ramstad argue that society pays one way or another for
addiction and that the costs of treatment are a bargain compared with the
costs of letting the problems go untreated. Ramstad cited studies saying
that alcohol or drugs contribute to 80 percent of all crimes and that the
side effects of addiction -- from loss of productivity at work to health
care for related problems -- far outstrip the premium increases projected
in studies.
Wellstone added the untold cost from "the negative effects drug and alcohol
abuse can have on the lives of our families and loved ones."
Several of the witnesses added yet another measure: their lives. Aldrin
said he doubted he would be alive if not for his recovery in the 1970s.
Said Moyers, "There's no question in my mind that I would be stone dead
today."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Gingrich Names Own Anti-Drug Force ('Dallas Morning News'
Notes The Former Pot-Smoking Speaker Of The US House Of Representatives
Has Appointed A 30-Member Task Force That Will Propose Legislation
Designed To Cut The Flow Of Illegal Drugs Into The United States
By 80 Percent Within Three Years, And To Cut Use By 40 Percent)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:25:14 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US: Gingrich Names Own Anti-Drug Force
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Source: Dallas Morning News
Contact: letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Catalina Camia - The Dallas Morning News
GINGRICH NAMES OWN ANTI-DRUG TASK FORCE
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Newt Gingrich appointed his own anti-drug task
force Tuesday, saying the Clinton administration's plans for combating the
flow of illegal drugs and their use are inadequate.
Texas Republicans Pete Sessions of Dallas, Kay Granger of Fort Worth and
Henry Bonilla of San Antonio will serve on the 30-member task force.
"In the end, drugs is an American problem," Mr. Gingrich, R-Ga., said. "If
Americans weren't buying it, if our children weren't getting addicted, if
we weren't providing the cash flow, we wouldn't have much drugs being
developed in Colombia, Bolivia or Peru."
A spokesman for White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey said the Clinton
administration has a "realistic" plan aimed at reducing illegal drug use
and availability by 50 percent.
"He considers that a realistic and doable approach which is not designed to
fit into an election cycle," said Bob Weiner, spokesman for the Office of
National Drug Control Policy.
Mr. Gingrich's proposal calls for a multidisciplinary approach over the
next three years, including more money for interdiction and community-based
education programs aimed at teenagers. He did not give specifics.
This year, the Clinton administration plans to spend about $17.1 billion
fighting drugs, which will go toward more Border Patrol agents, drug
treatment programs for criminals, interdiction and efforts aimed at
preventing drug use among young people.
But Mr. Gingrich and other Republicans said the Clinton administration
plans would result in too many people still using drugs at the end of 10
years.
"We're not trying to pick a fight with the drug czar," said Rep. Dennis
Hastert, R-Ill., chairman of the task force. "We want results. We think we
can lick this problem in three years."
The GOP task force has set two goals: to cut the flow of illegal drugs into
the United States by 80 percent and their use by 40 percent.
Mr. Gingrich said the panel will rewrite existing laws or craft new
legislation as necessary and explore ideas such as training people in
countries such as Colombia on the use of anti-drug strategies.
Mr. Gingrich said the task force will also step up its oversight of the
Clinton administration's anti-drug efforts.
Next week, the House International Relations Committee will hold a hearing
on Colombia's drug-fighting efforts. A congressional delegation will also
visit Colombia, Peru, Chile and Bolivia in April to learn about their
anti-drug programs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Drug Lords Infiltrating Mexico's Banks ('Chicago Tribune' Says Information
From Mexican Officials Seems To Indicate Drug Barons Are Laundering Billions
Of Dollars Through Mexican Banks)
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 18:52:59 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Olafur Brentmar
Subject: MN: Mexico: Drug Lords Infiltrating Mexico's Banks
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Steve Young
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Section: 1, page 14
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
Author: Paul de la Garza
DRUG LORDS INFILTRATING MEXICO'S BANKS
Officials Concede U.S. Suspicions; Cartels Seek Money-Laundering Bases
MEXICO CITY - For U.S. drug agents working in Mexico, talking publicly
about Mexico's dismal record in fighting the drug war is discouraged by
Washington for fear of straining relations between the two neighbors.
Almost two years ago, Thomas Constantine, chief of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency in Washington riled the Mexican government when he said
that drug barons were laundering billions of dollars through Mexican banks.
Over the last few days, information from Mexican officials seems to have
vindicated Constantine, with charges that the nation's most powerful cartel
laundered $400 million through a Mexican bank it partly owned.
The scandal briefly ensnared architect Rodolfo Zedillo, the brother of
President Ernesto Zedillo. But more than anything, it forced the government
to admit what U.S. officials have said all along - that drug money has not
only tainted governors, law makers and the police in Mexico, but also the
banking system.
According to Mexican drug czar Mariano Herran Salvatti, the purchase of 20
percent of shares of the Finance Group Anahuac allowed the Juarez cartel to
launder money through electronic transactions in Mexico, Chile and Miami.
Until his death July 4, the Juarez group was run by Amado Carrillo Fuentes,
characterized by U.S. intelligence as the world's most powerful drug lord.
Carrillo Fuentes died during plastic surgery in Mexico City, setting off a
power struggle for control of the organization. The result has been the
deaths of dozens of people in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El
Paso, Texas.
"Using Anahuac, the organization laundered money through bank branches in
the Cayman Islands, a financial paradise where it is difficult to get
records of transactions," Herran said. "One estimate of the amount reaches
$400 million."
Last week, the newspaper Universal reported that a second bank, Banco
Obrero, was under investigation for money laundering. Bank officials had no
comment.
In response to the U.S. crackdown on smuggling routs in the Caribbean,
Colombian drug traffickers have turned to Mexican gangs, which have gained
power at the expense of the Colombians.
Although Colombia still ranks as the world's top producer of cocaine and is
a big supplier of heroin and marijuana, the deaths or arrests of some of
its most notorious drug barons have strengthened the Mexican organizations,
police say. American authorities estimate that $30 billion worth of illegal
drugs reach the U.S. from Mexico each year.
According to police, Mexican cartels are getting bolder about distributing
drugs in the U.S. In Chicago, for example, instead of relying on gang
underlings, sources say cartel leaders are traveling from Mexico to Chicago
in a strategy aimed at taking control of direct distribution. Cartel
leaders easily blend in, officials say, because of the large Latino
population in the Chicago area.
Last week, authorities in Chicago arrested a former Mexican federal
judicial police officer with ties to the Juarez cartel. Roberto Orozco
Fernandez, according to the Mexican attorney general's office, had $2
million in cash when he was arrested. Mexico has requested his extradition.
"Orozco Fernandez is accused of being a member of a criminal organization
dedicated to narcotrafficking, the traffic of arms and money-laundering,"
the attorney general's office said.
With so much cash changing hands, police say it becomes almost physically
impossible for drug barons to handle.
In Mexico, the money-laundering bank scheme that allowed the Juarez cartel
buy a controlling interest in Anahuac in 1995-96 has revealed a web of
connections involving some of the nation's most powerful people.
Last Thursday, authorities arrested Juan Alberto Zepeda Novelo, reportedly
a key player in negotiations to buy the bank, on money-laundering charges.
Others caught up in the accusations are relatives of Miguel de la Madrid,
the former president of Mexico. Jorge Hurtado Horcasitas, his nephew, was
the bank's president when the cartel bought its shares. De la Madrid's son
Federico was a vice president of the bank.
Hurtado has issued no comment. Federico de la Madrid told reporters he
never knew drug traffickers were involved with the bank.
According to authorities, Jorge Bastida Gallardo was the cartel's chief
envoy in the negotiations to buy Anahuac. Bastida was a union leader.
Last week, a newspaper in Guadalajara published an article that linked
President Zedillo's younger brother, Rodolfo, to a property deal with
Bastida and Zepeda. Rodolfo Zedillo denied the allegations, saying, "They
laid a trap for me."
Herran said there was no proof Rodolfo Zedillo did anything wrong.
On Sunday, the news magazine Proceso outlined narco-traffickers' strategy
for infiltrating the presidential palace, Los Pinos, using cash.
Raul Salinas, the brother of former president Carlos Salinas, already is
in jail on murder charges and charges of illicit enrichment.
Authorities discovered tens of millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts
belonging to Raul Salinas and allegedly linked to drug lords.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Drug Ring Infiltrated Mexico's Bank System (Slightly Different Version
In 'Orange County Register')
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 11:10:04 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: Mexico: Drug Ring Infiltrated Mexico's Bank System
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John W.Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
DRUG RING INFILTRATED MEXICO'S BANK SYSTEM
The cartel allegedly bought part of a financial institution, then used it to
launder about $400 million.
MEXICO CITY- Almost two years ago, Thomas Constantine, chief of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration, riled the Mexican government when he said
drug barons were laundering huge sums through Mexican banks.
Over the past few days, information from Mexican officials seems to have
vindicated Constantine, with charges that the nation's most powerful cartel
laundered about $400 million through a Mexican bank it partly owned.
The scandal briefly ensnared architect Rodolfo Zedillo, the brother of
President Ernesto Zedillo. But more than anything, it forced the government
to admit what U.S. officials have said all along - that drug money has
tainted not only governors, lawmakers and the police in Mexico, but also
the banking system.
According to Mexican drug czar Mariano Herran Salvatti, the purchase of 20
percent of shares of the Finance Group Anahuac allowed the Juarez cartel to
launder money through electronic transactions in Mexico, Chile and Miami.
Until his death July 4, Amado Carrillo Fuentes ran the Juarez group. He was
characterized by U.S. intelligence as the world's most powerful druglord.
Carrillo died during plastic surgery in Mexico City, setting off a bloody
power struggle for control of the organization. The result has been the
deaths of dozens of people in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El
Paso, Texas.
"Using Anahuac, the organization laundered money through bank branches in
the Cyman Islands, a financial paradise where it is difficult to get
records of transactions," Herran said. "One estimate of the amount reaches
$400 million."
Last week, the newspaper Universal reported that a second bank, Banco
Obrero, was under investigation for money laundering. Bank officials had no
comment.
Judges have issued 15 arrest warrants in the case, but only one suspect,
Juan Alberto Zepada Novelo, has been detained. Zepeda Novelo was the
director of oil projects at Bufete Industrial, one of Mexico's largest
construction companies, and was charged over the weekend with using drug
money to buy stock in Anahuac.
The presence of drug cartels in the heart of Mexico's financial system has
dismayed Mexican bankers. The cast of characters who have become trapped in
the scandal, however, provides a cautionary tale on the pitfalls of doing
business with strangers.
In 1995, Anahuac was a small, recently licensed bank, but it was careful to
hire a son and a nephew of Miguel de la Madrid, the former Mexican
president, to confer respectability on its operations and attract the right
kind of client.
De la Madrid's son, Federico, told the newspaper Reforma he knew nothing of
the alleged sale of Anahuac shares to drug traffickers. "I was hired to
promote new businesses and win clients. I was not privy to decisions taken
by members of the board," he said.
Meanwhile, Zepeda's son Juan, and his business partner, Jorge Bastida
Gallardo, who has evaded arrest, gained entry into Anahuac by bosting of
their close relationship with an influential trade-union leader who is also
a prominent member of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary party.
The two men then approached Rodolfo Zedillo, the president's brother, and
offered $50 million for a hotel project in the heart of Mexico City's
financial district. Architect Rodolfo Zedillo said the would-be financiers
"suddenly vanished" when his lawyers began making inquiries into the origin
of their funds.
"Organized crime does not respect hierarchies or professions," Rodolfo
Zedillo said. "We are all exposed to this threat."
Anahuac also raised suspicions because its brokerage charged extremely
small commissions. One representative of a European bank said: "We did
business through Anahuac for a while, but we began to suspect something was
amiss because we couldn't understand how they made a profit on such low
commissions."
Beginning in April, Mexican banks and brokerages will be required to report
this kind of "suspicion" to the National Banking and Securities Commission,
following the introduction of laws to detect and combat money laundering.
With Mexican cartels now controlling a third of the $50 billion market for
illegal drugs in the United States, according to U.S. officials, Mexican
banking regulators no longer doubt that drug money is being laundered
through Mexico's financial system, but decline to put a figure on it.
Charles Intriago, editor of Money Laundering Alert, a Miami-based
newsletter, agreed that accurate figures were hard to gauge, but said: "It
could be as much as $8 billion a year, which means $22 million a day."
Intriago believes most drug funds are spirited away to other financial
havens, but a significant portion stays in Mexico and is channeled into
real estate projects, car dealerships, transport companies,
foreigh-exchange bureaus and tourism developments.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannabis Cafe Is On A Roll In British Columbia ('Toronto Star'
Feature Story About The Cannabis Cafe In Vancouver,
Where The Tolerant Atmosphere Attracts Hempsters From All Over,
Including Some University Of Oregon Students Who Choose To Spend
Their Spring Vacation There)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Cannabis Cafe is on a roll in B.C.
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 08:10:47 -0800
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Toronto Star
Contact: LetterToEd@thestar.com
Pubdate: March 25, 1998
Author: Betsy Powell, Toronto Star Entertainment Reporter
CANNABIS CAFE IS ON A ROLL IN B.C.
VANCOUVER - The ceilings are high - like the clientele - but there's
nothing remotely seedy about the Cannabis Cafe: the food they serve is
organic; the atmosphere more health-food than hash-den. A sign in the
window reads: ``Cannabis is presently illegal in Canada. If you choose
to consume in this cafe‚ you do so at your own risk.''
Welcome to Vansterdam.
Vancouver gained the nickname for its booming pot trade and an
attitude of tolerance likened to Amsterdam - though weed isn't sold
over the counter as it is in that European city. The province even has
its own poster boy for B.C. grass - Olympic gold-medal snowboarder
Ross Rebagliati. As long ago as 1992, police were saying the retail
value of marijuana grown in Vancouver alone rivalled that of all the
agriculture in the province.
Vancouver ``is known as being tolerant'' and that reputation only
worsens the pot problem, Mayor Philip Owen said yesterday in an
interview.
``People are pouring in from Eastern Canada,'' he said. ``They've
decided it's mild weather, a nice place to be, so they're coming here
. . . and adding to an ongoing challenge.''
The perception that Vancouver is the cannabis capital of North America
- maker of potent ``one-toke'' pot - is also a big draw for young
Americans who are flocking across one of the border crossings from
Washington state.
Marijuana seizures are up ``substantially,'' said Gene Kerven, area
director for U.S. Customs in Blaine, Wash.
It comes down to profits - which are huge because of Canada's
relatively weak dollar.
A pound of pot bought for $3,500 can almost double in price stateside.
To help stem the flow of B.C. pot, U.S. authorities have increased the
number of customs agents and stepped up searches - resulting in longer
delays for travellers.
Back at the Cannabis Cafe, Robert - who asked that his last name not
be used - and four of his university pals from Eugene, Ore., didn't
wait for smugglers to deliver the dope.
Instead, on their spring break they travelled eight hours to sample it
at the source.
Early afternoon inside the caf‚, located between Vancouver's business
district and the city's skid row, the glassy-eyed group sits around a
large wooden table sucking in mouthfuls of smoke from a soapstone
carved pipe.
They filled it with green bud purchased ``across the street.''
The brick-walled caf‚ is filled with images of marijuana. Even the
glass candleholders on the tables are decorated with the leafy green
plant - the equivalent of the caf‚'s corporate emblem.
***
Cigarette smoking is banned
and no alcohol is served.
Visitors only
risk getting the giggles.
***
Cigarette smoking is prohibited and no alcohol is served.
``We wanted to come up here and experience what it was like for it to
be legal,'' said Robert, 20, before correcting himself, ``It's not
(legal), but you're able to do it here without getting caught.''
Indeed, the only risk to pot smokers lighting up in the caf‚ this week
- and there are others in the neighbourhood that allow public toking -
was a case of uncontrollable giggles and the munchies.
Mayor Owen said police have raided the caf‚ - opened by former London,
Ont., resident Marc Emery last July and now run by another Londoner,
23-year-old Adam Patterson. And indeed police have seized pot seeds
and arrested staff - including Emery.
Vancouver city council has refused to renew the caf‚'s business
licence.
Still, police are ambivalent about focusing their limited resources on
collaring cannabis users, especially when the consumption is kept
light and discreet, when they say heroin and crack cocaine are a far
more severe problem.
``We're aware of what's going on at Cannabis Cafe but we have to set
priorities,'' said Sergeant Carl Hetherington, head of Vancouver
police's drug enforcement unit.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise Addicts 'Damaging' Health - Quest For Perfect Body Leads Canadians
Into Grinding Regimes, Professor Says ('Ottawa Citizen'
Says University Of Toronto Physical Education Professor Brian Pronger
Will Release A Book Next Week, 'Body Fascism - The Culture And Science
Of Physical Fitness,' Pointing Out One More Thing People Get Obsessive About)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Exercise addicts 'damaging' health
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 10:29:09 -0800
Source: Ottawa Citizen
Contact: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca
Pubdate: Wednesday 25 March 1998
Exercise addicts 'damaging' health
Quest for perfect body leads Canadians into grinding regimes, professor says
Tom Spears
The Ottawa Citizen
Canadians are taking the fun and good health out of exercise by their
obsessive quest for perfect bodies, says a University of Toronto
physical education professor.
In a book to be published next year, Brian Pronger says too many
Canadians are trapped in grinding fitness regimes that actually damage
their health.
He's writing from experience.
At age 27, Mr. Pronger started pushing his body in a quest for
fitness, a young adult rediscovering the active life he hadn't
experienced since childhood.
He swam an hour and a half or more each day of the week. Ran several
kilometres five times a week. Cycled when he wasn't running or
swimming.
Today his 44-year-old knees are a mess from running through the pain,
and his shoulders, tortured by too much swimming, hurt whenever he
lifts his arms. He is a veteran of sports injury clinics.
The title of his book gives its flavour: Body Fascism: The Culture and
Science of Physical Fitness.
"Someone feels obliged to go to the gym five days a week, after a hard
day at work, not to have this joyful exploration of being alive but
because they've got to turn their body into a particular kind of
object," he says.
Not that he's against exercise or fitness. He still approves of both,
though he has switched to tai chi and yoga, and cycles only to commute
to work.
But Mr. Pronger says there's enormous pressure, once we start a
fitness regime, to force our bodies to perform. And that, he believes,
is bad for the body and bad for the soul.
"I believe there's vast potential for human freedom through physical
activity," he says.
"But the dominant way that physical education and fitness for adults
has been created actually negates that potential for freedom."
The fitness movement pushes ideas that just don't fit, he claims,
promising us youth, terrific sex and mental superiority if we can just
run a personal best or lift a heavier weight.
It's all illusion, he writes.
Youthful good health? "People want to be younger. Well, you can't be."
Personal fulfillment?
"Our bodies have been stolen from us and replaced with a narrow,
stylized consumer image.
"People are stuck with trying to adhere to these quite negative
images," he said in an interview.
"Most people don't think of (exercise) in the terms I'm suggesting.
They think of it as that horrible thing you have to do, and the people
who do it feel trapped by having to create this kind of body."
He's especially hard on bodybuilding, attacking it as an attempt to
mold an individual according to a superficial image.
He also feels we're frightened into chasing fitness for the wrong
reason -- because we're afraid of dying.
"It makes perfect sense to want to go for a run, but instead of taking
place in the negative terror of death, it should be a celebration of
life.
"At the University of Toronto this is becoming the dominant way of
thinking," he says. "For us, sport and physical education is part of
an education of the whole human being."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Police Chiefs Urge Ban On Cannabis Seed Sales (Britain's 'Independent'
Says The British Association Of Chief Police Officers Is Lobbying
For New Laws To Ban The Sale Of Cannabis Seed
And Marijuana-Growing Equipment, And To Force People Caught In Possession
Of Cannabis To Have Anti-Drug Counselling)
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 08:14:50 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: UK: Police Chiefs Urge Ban On Cannabis Seed Sales
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "(Zosimos) Martin Cooke"
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Author: Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
POLICE CHIEFS URGE BAN ON CANNABIS SEED SALES
New laws to ban the sale of cannabis seed and dope-growing equipment are
being urged by police chiefs, it was disclosed yesterday.
The Home Office is also being pressed to bring in legislation to introduce
a new penalty forcing people caught in possession of cannabis to have
anti-drug counselling. First-time users would be given a choice between
being prosecuted or receiving a caution, plus some treatment.
Both ideas are being promoted by the Association of Chief Police Officers
(ACPO), in an attempt to clamp down on the use and availability of
cannabis, which is the most popular drug in Britain.
There is concern about the an upsurge in the number of people growing
cannabis at home in the past five years, particularly the strong "skunk"
variety. Home-growers are exploiting a legal loop-hole that allows them to
buy cannabis seeds and the growing equipment legitimately from specialist
shops and mail order.
The cultivation of cannabis plants is illegal, but not the sale or purchase
of seeds. Many cultivators grow the drug for their own consumption, but
others produce crops worth tens of thousands of pounds to sell.
Colin Phillips, Chief Constable of Cumbria, and head of ACPO's drug
committee, said he had raised the issue with Keith Hellawell, the new
British "drugs tsar", and would be urging Jack Straw, the Home Secretary,
to introduce a new offence of possession of seed and plant-growing
equipment with the intention of cultivating cannabis.
He said: "A large number of shops, specialising in the supply of hydroponic
[water culture] growing equipment, have emerged throughout the country. it
is believed that some even supply small cuttings of cannabis plants. In
addition, cannabis seed is supplied wholesale through various distributors
nationwide. As the law stands there is no specific offence of either
supplying cannabis seed or supplying hydroponic systems."
There are an estimated 500,000 illegal cannabis plants being grown in
Britain. Seeds cost from £40 to £70 for a packet of 10, depending on
variety. Growing equipment, which includes trays and a lighting system,
starts at £75.
Mr Phillips is also keen for the Government to adopt a scheme known as
"caution plus", which is being piloted in a small number of voluntary
projects including West Yorkshire and Bristol.
Under the system, anyone caught in possession of a small amount of cannabis
on their first, second or possibly third time, is given the choice of
receiving counselling as well as a caution. Chief constables believe this
system should be made compulsory, although they acknowledge it would need a
huge injection of extra cash to pay for treatment centres and counsellors.
The number of cautions given for possession of cannabis has increased
almost tenfold in a decade, from 4,048 in 1986 to 40,391 by 1995.
Mr Phillips said that Home Office officials were "encouraging" about the
proposals and that discussions were on-going.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DrugSense Weekly, Number 39 (Summary Of Drug Policy News
For Activists, Including Original Commentary)
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 11:09:00 -0800
To: mgreer@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer
Subject: DrugSense Weekly March 25, 1998 #039
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
DrugSense Weekly
March 25, 1998 #039
A DrugSense publication
http://www.DrugSense.org
***
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
* Feature Article
"Futile War on Drugs"
* Weekly News In Review
US News-
Drug Policy
JAMA - The Public and the War on Illicit Drugs
Medical Marijuana
Four Mayors Ask Clinton to Stop Suit Against Marijuana Clubs
Needle Exchange
AIDS Advisers Express No-Confidence in Administration
White House Drug and AIDS Advisers Differ on Needle Exchange
Law Enforcement
Violent, Sadistic, Racist Officers of the Law
Tobacco Deal
Smoking Is An Informed, Pleasurable Choice
Hemp
Petition To Make Hemp Legal Prepared
Cinema
'Homegrown' in Hollywood
International News -
UK - Cannabis Campaign - The March Gains Momentum
Mexico - President's Brother Denies Making Cartel Deal
* Hot Off The 'Net
Nightline segment on Limbaugh says "Let's Legalize" Text and Tape online
* DrugSense Tip Of The Week
Help us help you - Fill out the MAP "Long Form"
* Quote Of The Week
Albert Einstein
***
FEATURE ARTICLE
Futile War on Drugs
BOB EDWARDS, HOST- Addiction to drugs, both legal and illegal, remains a
major problem in the United States. It's a public health issue that also
affects public safety. There's much debate over how to tackle both
aspects of the addiction problem.
Commentator Wendy Kaminer says some drugs clearly are more connected to
criminal behavior than others.
WENDY KAMINER, COMMENTATOR - A recent study by Columbia University
confirms what many criminologists have long known: alcohol is associated
with much more violent crime than any illegal drug. Twenty-one percent of
violent felons in state prisons committed their crimes while under the
influence of alcohol alone. Only 3 percent were high on cocaine and only
1 percent were using heroin.
Violent crimes linked to alcohol use include murder, rape, and domestic
abuse. We might add to this list drunk driving, which would not have
been covered by the Columbia study of prison inmates since it doesn't
often result in incarceration.
A sensible person reviewing these findings might wonder why we
criminalize the use of cocaine and heroin, not to mention marijuana,
while we tolerate and even celebrate alcohol consumption.
Of course, we learned long ago that prohibition of alcohol was bound to
fail, so a sensible person might propose that we end the prohibition of
drugs like cocaine and heroin that pose much less threat to the public
safety than alcohol. But sensible people have had little influence on the
nation's drug policies.
The war on drugs has been one of the biggest public policy disasters of
the last 25 years. It has not reduced drug use. It has instead increased
violent crime attendant on illegal drug trafficking, just as prohibition
of alcohol increased criminal activity some 70 years ago.
The war on drugs has greatly exacerbated the problem of gun violence. The
illegal drug trade not only creates violence, it pays for bigger and
better guns. The war on drugs has helped finance the arms race in the
streets.
It has also created a crisis in prison overcrowding. People are sent to
state and federal prison for long terms, five to 20 years, for
nonviolent, low-level drug offenses. Providing them with in-prison drug
treatment programs may be helpful, but it obscures the fact that many
drug users should not be in prison at all.
The nation's drug laws have turned many ordinary, relatively harmless
citizens with ordinary bad habits into convicted felons. What jobs will
they find when they're released? What will they contribute to their
families or communities? If we imprison people to protect society, we
have to ask what society gains in the end from their imprisonment. We
don't ask questions like this about the drug war.
It has been billed as an anti-crime measure, but in fact the war on drugs
is an anti-vice crusade. That's why its failure has not sparked popular
protests or a rational evaluation of its benefits and costs. It is driven
by moral fervor, not pragmatism or reason. Listening to bureaucrats and
politicians boast about the drug war, you have to wonder what they're
smoking.
EDWARDS- The comments of writer Wendy Kaminer, a public policy fellow at
Radcliffe College. Dateline: Wendy Kaminer; Bob Edwards, Washington, DC
***
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
***
*Domestic News*
***
Drug Policy
***
JAMA: The Public and the War on Illicit Drugs
COMMENT:
This confirms what some in the reform movement have known for some
time: the public knows the drug war is a failure, but is unwilling to
give it up. Describing the problem is simple: the public has bought
into the phony morality of the government position. Changing that
paradigm is our challenge and definitely not simple.
DESPITE LITTLE SUCCESS, PUBLIC STILL SUPPORTS WAR ON DRUGS
Surveys Find Opposition To Drug Legalization, Support For Medical
Use Of Marijuana
CHICAGO-Even though the majority of Americans do not feel the "War on
Drugs" has succeeded, they are not willing to give up on drug-fighting
efforts, according to an article in the March 18 issue of The Journal of
the American Medical Association (JAMA).
[snip]
On the final question, the researchers found a paradox: "Most Americans
(58 percent) do not see the nation's illegal drug problem getting better
after years of increases in national spending, and they see the War on
Drugs as having failed thus far (78 percent). Yet, despite this
assessment, they continue to support greater resources being expended in
generally the same policy direction as has been followed in the past."
[snip]
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA.1998;279: 827-832)
Section: Abstracts
Pubdate: 18 March 1998
Contact: JAMA-letters@ama-assn.org
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n201.a03.html
***
Medical Marijuana
***
Four Mayors Ask Clinton to Stop Suit Against Marijuana Clubs
COMMENT:
This story started a week earlier when the SF Examiner reported that DA
Terence Hallinan said The City would consider distributing marijuana to
patients if the buyers' clubs were shut down. By mid week, three other
mayors were on board and this letter to Clinton resulted. The story's
appearance in the NYT confirms its significance.
FOUR MAYORS ASK CLINTON TO STOP SUIT AGAINST MARIJUANA CLUBS
SAN FRANCISCO, March 21 -- The mayors of four California cities have
written to President Clinton, urging him to halt a federal lawsuit that
threatens to close clubs that distribute marijuana for medical use. The
letters follow an announcement last week by the San Francisco district
attorney that if the clubs close, city officials might distribute
marijuana to patients who say they need it.
Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco wrote to Clinton: "At stake is the
well-being of 11,000 California residents who depend on the dispensaries
to help them battle the debilitating effects of AIDS, cancer and other
serious illnesses. If the centers are shut down, many of these
individuals will be compelled to search back alleys and street corners
for their medicine."
[snip]
Source: The New York Times
Pubdate: 22 Mar 1998
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n204.a05.html
***
Needle Exchange
***
AIDS Advisers Express No-Confidence in Administration
White House Drug and AIDS Advisers Differ on Needle Exchange
COMMENT:
Despite publication in 1953, of definitive evidence that needle exchange
sharply reduces the spread of AIDS, the Clinton Administration has
stonewalled the issue for five years, dramatically underscoring the
dishonesty and cynicism of drug prohibition as policy.
Reports of dissension within the ranks of the President's AIDS panel
leaked earlier in the week, leading to speculation that some would
resign. The Times piece clarifies their differences and implies that
resignation is unlikely.
AIDS ADVISERS EXPRESS NO-CONFIDENCE IN ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In their harshest criticism yet, President Clinton's
AIDS advisers unanimously expressed no confidence in the administration's
commitment to reducing the spread of AIDS because of its failure to fund
programs that give drug addicts clean needles.
They demanded that the administration immediately free federal money for
the needle-exchange programs, which have been proven to prevent the
spread of the deadly virus.
"The administration's current policy on needle exchange programs
threatens the public health, and directly contradicts current scientific
evidence," said the resolution by the Presidential Council on HIV/AIDS.
[snip]
Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Tue, 17 Mar 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n191.a04.html
***
WHITE HOUSE DRUG AND AIDS ADVISERS DIFFER ON NEEDLE EXCHANGE
The debate over the propriety of handing out sterile syringes to people
who inject illegal drugs, to reduce the spread of AIDS, has reached the
White House, where President Clinton's two main policy advisers on the
issue have staked out opposing positions.
Their disagreement makes prospects for government financing of
needle-exchange programs more unlikely when a ban on such spending,
imposed by Congress in 1992, expires at the end of March.
[snip]
at a spirited meeting on Tuesday, the other adviser, Barry McCaffrey, the
retired Army general who is the administration's director of national
drug policy, ferociously opposed any government subsidy.
In a subsequent letter to Ms. Thurman, he reiterated his belief that
buying clean needles for drug users would send the wrong message to young
Americans who are being told that illegal drug use is wrong. The money,
he said, would be better used expanding drug treatment programs.
Source: New York Times
Author: Christopher S. Wren
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Mar 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n208.a06.html
***
Law Enforcement
***
Violent, Sadistic, Racist Officers of the Law
COMMENT:
Columnist Bob Herbert of the NYT, denounced police tactics used on drug
raids, in some scathing recent columns. They, in turn, prompted the
anonymous call from a policeman described here. Especially intriguing is
his explanation of the genesis of "negative" raids- not the wrong
address, just bad information.
VIOLENT, SADISTIC, RACIST OFFICERS OF THE LAW
NEW YORK---The police officer called late in the afternoon. He spoke
hesitantly, afraid that his identity would be revealed. I assured him
that it would not.
"I came on this job expecting to do the right thing," he said. "I like
people. I was gung ho. I wanted to help people."
[snip]
"They call it 'booming.' That's crashing the door down," he said. "What
happens is that the narcotics guys get these CIs [confidential
informants] who are trying to cut themselves sweet deals to get them out
of worse charges. They have to come up with something; so they give this
[expletive] information. They'll say this guy is selling pot or whatever.
But a lot of it's not true.
"The narcotics guys go and get a warrant from a judge. And then they boom
the door and totally trash the apartment, but a lot of times they'll come
up with nothing.
[snip]
Source: International Herald-Tribune
Contact: iht@iht.com
Website: http://www.iht.com/
Pubdate: Tue, 17 Mar 1998
Author: Bob Herbert of the NYTimes
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n191.a07.html
***
Tobacco
***
OPED: Smoking Is An Informed, Pleasurable Choice
COMMENT:
This piece by a respected economic pundit pleading for individual
choice, exhibits the same schizophrenia as most written on either side
of the tobacco controversy- looking right past the drug war as though it
had no connection to the tobacco issue. That confirms that most people
writing authoritatively about "drug control" issues simply don't
understand their subject.
SMOKING IS AN INFORMED, PLEASURABLE CHOICE
HAVING just about completed its No. 1 legislative task of the year --
providing nearly $200 billion to the states in a pork-greased
transportation bill -- Congress is now ready to tackle task No. 2: the
tobacco settlement.
[snip]
But far worse is the idea on which the settlement is founded: that
individuals aren't responsible for their own actions. They are too stupid
or crazed or manipulated to realize that smoking is dangerous.
This view, so satisfying to elitists of all political stripes, is
flat-out wrong. Americans know that smoking kills,
[snip]
Every individual is threatened, too, as the liberal ideals on which this
country was founded -- freedom of choice, personal accountability,
limited government -- are trampled in a stampede by some to get others to
behave the way they want.
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Mar 1998
Author: James K. Glassman
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n194.a04.html
***
Hemp
***
Petition To Make Hemp Legal Prepared
COMMENT:
Kentucky was once the hub of American hemp production; farmers there
would like it to resume that role. This article, one of several on hemp
posted this week, details the renewed interest in Kentucky prompted by
Canada's recent OK of hemp production.
PETITION TO MAKE HEMP LEGAL PREPARED
PLAN INCLUDES LICENSING FARMERS, TRACKING SEEDS
WASHINGTON -- Industrial hemp has 25,000 uses ranging from construction
material to paper to clothing, but smoking it to get stoned is not among
them. Yet proponents of hemp say it could give farmers a financial high.
[snip]
"I can't imagine that American farmers will sit by and watch U.S.
companies importing this crop from Canada," he* said. "That's what it is
going to take because I think the DEA will dig in their heels until
farmers get up in arms."
Gale Glenn, a Clark County (KY) farmer
Source: The Lexington Herald-Leader
Pubdate: Sat, 21 Mar 1998
Section: Business Section (Page C1)
Author: Staff, Wire Reports
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n204.a02.html
***
Cinema
***
'Homegrown' in Hollywood
COMMENT:
To my knowledge, this film was not known of within the reform movement
and seems to be another of the unanticipated effects of 215. If it's
ever released (no date was given), it should prove helpful to our cause.
"HOMEGROWN" IN HOLLYWOOD
Reefer Madness vs. the Studio System
When it comes to controversy, Hollywood usually runs scared. I've known
that for almost as long as I've been going to the movies.
[snip]
Not that much has changed in the past half century. I found that out
first hand when I went to Hollywood in 1980 and tried to sell the idea of
a picture about marijuana growers and dealers in Northern California.
Cheech and Chong's zany comedy "Up in Smoke" had come out in 1978, and
though I found it very funny, I envisioned a more serious take on the
subject, and characters who weren't complete buffoons. After all, I knew
potheads who were judges, lawyers, doctors, and school superintendents
and they seemed perfectly capable of keeping their heads out of the smoke
when they needed to.
[snip]
....but Gyllenhaal bought my idea - probably because it was so tidy - for
a small piece of change, and the promise that I'd receive story credit.
With the help of Nick Kazan, the son of the legendary director Elia Kazan
- who was ostracized by the Hollywood Left for naming names in the '50s -
we came up with a polished screenplay. But the project went nowhere fast.
Then in 1996, California voters approved medical marijuana, and marijuana
buyers clubs opened their doors for business all over the Bay Area.
Suddenly, the world of marijuana once again seemed like an intriguing for
a movie. We found financial backers, assembled a cast and shot the
picture quickly, quietly and without violating any drug laws.
[snip]
Source: San Francisco Examiner (Sunday Magazine)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: Sun, 22 Mar 1998
Author: Jonah Raskin
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n207.a06.html
***
*International News*
***
UK: Cannabis Campaign - The March Gains Momentum
COMMENT:
As noted last week, even one media outlet taking an activist role can
make a huge difference. The cannabis legalization campaign led by the
Independent on Sunday is set to take a giant step forward.
THE MARCH GAINS MOMENTUM
London is set for its biggest pro-cannabis demonstration for 30 years.
The clock is counting down to the biggest pro-cannabis demonstration in
Britain for 30 years. Next Saturday the Independent on Sunday's campaign
to decriminalise cannabis takes to the streets of London.
[snip]
News of the IoS initiative last week spread across the Atlantic with
delegates from the pro-cannabis alliance groups "Cures Not Wars" in New
York and "MassCan" in Boston both saying that they would be flying to
London to take part.
"We wish to endorse the action being taken in the UK and emphasize the
growing strength of the international movement against prohibitionist
drug policies," said Robert MacDonald of "Cures Not Wars".
Whilst in London, Mr MacDonald and his co-campaigner from Boston, George
Cewicz, plan to release details of their proposed "Million Marijuana
march" due to take place in the US next year.
[snip]
Pubdate: Sun, 22 Mar 1998
Source: Independent on Sunday
Author: Graham Ball
Contact: cannabis@independent.co.uk
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n204.a03.html
***
Mexico: WP: President's Brother Denies Making Cartel Deal
COMMENT:
The corruption of Mexico's institutions is so complete that no new
revelation has much capacity to surprise, let alone, shock. The
dishonesty of McCaffrey and fellow stooges in our federal government,
while not technically violating any laws, is just as reprehensible.
PRESIDENT'S BROTHER DENIES MAKING CARTEL DEAL
Powerful Drug Gang Offered to Fund Zedillo Project, Allegedly Tried to
Buy Bank to Launder Cash
MEXICO CITY, March 20-Alleged money launderers for Mexico's largest drug
mafia offered to finance a hotel construction project two years ago for
the brother of President Ernesto Zedillo, according to Rodolfo Zedillo.
The president's younger brother, who is an architect and heads a Mexico
City construction company, said in a letter released late last night that
he never entered into business arrangements with the two men, who since
have been named in a federal investigation that is revealing how deeply
the Ciudad Juarez cartel penetrated Mexico's business sector.
The attorney general's investigation has provided the first concrete
evidence that a cartel had tried to buy a bank and that its reach had
touched President Zedillo's family.
[snip]
Source: Washington Post
Author: Molly Moore and John Ward Anderson, Washington Post Foreign Service
Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Pubdate: Saturday, 21 Mar 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n204.a08.html
***
HOT OFF THE 'NET
Everyone should be aware of the great audio and video clips available
using RealAudio at http://www.legalize-usa.org Here are some great
examples:
The Nightline show dated 3/18/1998 accompanied by its transcript is
available at: http://www.legalize-usa.org/video2.htm (last entry).
The Rush Limbaugh show from 3/12/98 in which he came out in favor of the
legalization of drugs has been recorded and can be listened to at
http://www.legalize-usa.org/_private/rush.ram There is about 90 minutes
on line the comments start at about the 43 minutes into the broadcast
A transcript of the above Rush Limbaugh show can be reviewed at
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n186.a08.html
A comprehensive talk radio site has sprung up at http://www.audionet.com/
The site includes audio clips and links to many syndicated talk radio
program web sites.
Are you a "Cops" fan? Web surfers can now listen in on the police at
http://www.policescanner.com/
***
TIP OF THE WEEK
DrugSense offers two sign up sheets. The "In a hurry short form" at:
http://www.DrugSense.org/hurry.htm is designed for new or first time
visitors to get quickly signed up for the DrugSense Weekly, FOCUS Alerts
etc.
We also have the more comprehensive member form at:
http://www.mapinc.org/join.htm
We strongly encourage everyone to fill out the "long form" as soon as
possible. This gives us much more information on our membership, allows us
to meet your needs better, and sets us up to focus on specific reform
issues based on your topics of interest. It also gives us contact
information should your email start bouncing we will attempt to correct the
situation prior to removing you from our lists.
Please fill out the form on the MAP web page above as soon as possible.
***
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by
the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the
government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be
enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in
this country is closely connected with this."
Albert Einstein, "My First Impression of the U.S.A." 1921
***
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do
for you.
Editor: Tom O'Connell (tjeffoc@DrugSense.org)
Senior-Editor: Mark Greer (mgreer@DrugSense.org)
We wish to thank all our contributors and Newshawks.
NOTICE:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
Mark Greer
Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
MGreer@mapinc.org
http://www.DrugSense.org/
http://www.mapinc.org
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[End]
to 1998 Daily News index for March 19-25