-------------------------------------------------------------------
Gotta Call From A Juror (Portland Attorney Leland Berger
Recounts A Conversation With One Of The Jurors Who Convicted His Client,
Multiple Sclerosis Patient Craig Helm, Of Marijuana Cultivation On Thursday
In Hillsboro, Oregon)
From: LawBerger (LawBerger@aol.com)
Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 11:45:09 EDT
Subject: Gotta call from a juror....
Got a call yesterday, Friday May 8, from a juror (one of the three men, not
the foreman) who wanted to talk with me about jury deliberations. Thought you
might be interested to hear what he had to say. (In Oregon, lawyers can't
initiate contact with jurors, but are allowed to speak with them if the juror
contacts the lawyer.)
The bottom line for the juror was that the jury didn't feel they had any other
option. 6 or 7 jurors just felt Craig was guilty from the start. (Most of
these people (surprisingly to me) were the older women on the jury.) 3 or 4
(including the juror who contacted me) very much wanted Craig acquitted. 2 or
3 others were on the fence, but leaning towards guilty. (In Oregon it takes
10 to reach a verdict.)
The juror who contacted me thought the whole thing was ludicrous. He
also thought it moronic for the state to have spent so much money to prosecute
Craig. I reminded the juror that the DA is an elected position, and that
although the current DA (Scott Upham) is not seeking re-election, it was still
appropriate to write him a letter expressing these views. I also encouraged
him to copy the newspaper (more specifically Bob Landauer at the Oregonian.
Bob is the former editorial page editor and is currently an editorial page
columnist. He recently did a 3 column run on the issue of medical marijuana.)
I also encouraged the juror to say complimentary things about the DDA who
tried the case to insure that the focus of the complaint was on the fact of
prosecution, and not how it was handled. (I had, pre-trial, requested the
previous DDA to dismiss the case. He told me he took it up to Upham who told
him to "treat it like any other dope case")
(slight digression) The journalists covering the trial were universally
supportive. I brought my 9 year old son on the last day, and one reporter
thought it great that I brought him with me while I was doing 'the Lord's
work.' Another shared with me a story about her conservative straitlaced
father going out and finding marijuana when her mother had cancer chemotherapy
treatments. The overall impression I got is that the local (state) media are
on our side. (end digression)
The juror wanted to know why my client let the cops in his house. He
understood about being intimidated and I reminded him how much courage it
takes to stand up to the police.
The jury got the message that it really doesn't matter whether it's good
medicine or not and that the issue is the reasonable belief of the patient.
(For my part, I still believe you need an expert witness to get jurors to this
understanding).
Essentially, the jurors brainstormed about what options Craig had (what he
could have but did not do). They were especially concerned about the fact
that he had been able to obtain marijuana before and after the seizure of the
plants. Some thought the backlifin pump (a spinal implant which injects
medication directly into the spine) was an option. Some thought he could have
had someone else score pot for him. And they thought he could have tried to
change the law through the initiative process.
Responding to my question, the juror said the jury brought up the burden of
proof, but didn't dwell extensively on it.
Lastly, the juror told me that the Not Guilty juror was a younger woman who
said she had a feeling of not guilty, but could not defend the logic of it to
other jurors.
Lee
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San Jose Pot Club Shuts Its Doors After A Year ('San Jose Mercury News'
Version Notes Clients Were Cheered By An Appearance By Folk Singer
Joan Baez, Angered At Authorities Who Have Accused Executive Director
Peter Baez Of Wrongdoing, And Puzzled About How To Safely Obtain Marijuana
To Relieve Their Suffering)
Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 21:31:01 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: San Jose Pot Club Shuts Its Doors After a Year
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: Sat, 9 May 1998
Author: Raoul V. Mowatt - Mercury News Staff Writer
SAN JOSE POT CLUB SHUTS ITS DOORS AFTER A YEAR
The Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center closed Friday, with clients
cheered by an appearance by folk singer Joan Baez, angered at authorities
who have accused the center's executive director of wrongdoing and puzzled
about how to find the marijuana to relieve their suffering.
After running the center for more than a year, Executive Director Peter
Baez and Director Jesse Garcia said they lack the funds to continue. But
they may reopen as soon as next week if a judge orders the return of some
or all of the $29,000 prosecutors have seized from the club.
Some clients were upset at what they saw as authorities' attempts to
undermine Proposition 215, the 1996 initiative legalizing medicinal
marijuana. Others cried at the latest turn in the medicinal-marijuana
landscape.
Access problem
With the center's closing, its 270 clients have lost an easily accessible,
legal way to obtain pot. The next nearest pot clubs are in San Francisco
and Oakland.
``What a grave injustice to the people of this city,'' said Rose, a client
who wore a black veil over her face to mourn the center's demise. ``We need
this medicine, this God-given medicine.''
But amid the mixture of emotions, there was also hope. Even if the frozen
assets are not returned, Garcia said he hoped to talk with city and county
officials to see how to supply pot to those who need it.
``We'll give it one last try,'' Peter Baez said.
Clients said they hoped someone would step in to replace the center. Some
said they'd reluctantly go to marijuana clubs in other cities. ``It's a
medical office, because it's a lot cleaner, a lot more private'' than other
clubs, said Cynthia Elliott of Mountain View. ``You go into the city and
there's all these people around. But that's what I'm going to have to do.''
Others said they were too sick to travel as far as San Francisco or
Oakland. ``I guess I've got to become a criminal and get it from the best
place I can -- the nearest dealer,'' said cancer patient Ramon Mayo.
The gloom over the center contrasted strongly with the optimism in February
1997, when the center's operators first approached city officials about
supplying marijuana.
City officials responded by approving a unique ordinance regulating
medicinal marijuana dispensaries, trying to balance sympathy for those with
serious illnesses with concern about the welfare of neighborhoods. But the
police took a lax approach to enforcing that law until a chain of events
led to Peter Baez being arrested March 23.
Prosecutors asked police to check if a defendant in a marijuana-possession
case who belonged to the center was legitimately using the drug. Police
said they found that Peter Baez had sold the drug without obtaining a
required doctor's recommendation.
Baez's charges
Peter Baez, Joan's 36-year-old cousin, has been charged with six counts of
selling marijuana. A San Jose police sergeant has also alleged in an
affidavit that Baez overcharged clients, did not obtain doctor's
recommendations in nearly 70 cases, and spent center money on questionable
expenses.
Baez has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is the target of Proposition 215
opponents.
Police and prosecutors have said they wanted the center to stay open and
left it with enough cash and pot to continue. With the center's assets
frozen, however, Baez and Garcia said they could not function.
For many, the highlight of the club's last day was when Joan Baez appeared
to support her cousin and the cause of medicinal marijuana. She hugged many
of the center's clients, signed autographs and defended her cousin.
``I certainly wouldn't have come here if I didn't think Peter was straight
and clean,'' she said. ``Peter is not exactly felony material.''
-------------------------------------------------------------------
San Jose Pot Club Shuts Down ('San Francisco Chronicle' Version)
Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 21:34:46 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: San Jose Pot Club Shuts Down
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate: Sat, 09 May 1998
Author: Michaela Jarvis, Chronicle Staff Writer
SAN JOSE POT CLUB SHUTS DOWN
Assets Seized -- Director Faces 6 Felony Charges
With singer Joan Baez providing some star appeal and several sick people
offering some sad reality, San Jose's medical marijuana center closed its
doors yesterday.
Baez appeared in support of her cousin Peter Baez, the center's executive
director, who is battling both legal troubles and colon cancer.
The folk singer, famous for her support of political causes since the
1960s, said the marijuana dispensary's demise could be attributed to an
attempt by local law enforcement to ``impress a certain narrow segment of
society.''
"`Pot center busted' looks good,'' she said. "This has been a clean and
legal operation. Peter has been meticulous about that. Forcing it to close
is just some righteousness about stomping out drugs, and not even a
realistic attempt at that.''
The center's director was charged with selling marijuana without a valid
doctor's recommendation on March 23. After the center's patient files were
searched, county prosecutors filed five more felony counts against Baez and
seized a bank account holding about $29,000.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Denise Raabe said that Baez's
prosecution "isn't some governmental crackdown. Peter Baez didn't follow
the rules. He violated the law." Legally, Raabe said, the center can still
remain open if it follows state law, which requires a recommendation from a
doctor to dispense medical marijuana.
But Baez, who is out on bail, said yesterday that the center is unable to
pay its growers and rent and is forced to close its doors.
Yesterday, he talked about reopening if a hearing Monday gives him access
to the center's bank account, but county prosecutors say the account will
most likely remain frozen until the case against him is decided.
Baez faces a preliminary hearing on the felony charges June 16.
The mood at the closing gathering was mock funereal.
One of the center's patients, who called herself Rose, wore black from head
to toe, including a lace veil concealing her face. She pretended to sob as
she spoke to reporters and dropped rose petals on the clinic floor while
singing ``Amazing Grace'' to a circle of the clinic's supporters.
But some of those present at the closing were less theatrical about the
possibility that medically prescribed marijuana will no longer be available
to them. Lorraine Jones started coming to the marijuana clinic six months
ago, just after her ovarian cancer was diagnosed.
She said the center's closure and other attacks on the dispensing of
marijuana threaten the lives of patients undergoing chemotherapy who cannot
eat because of nausea. ``A lot of women are in the same position that I
am,'' the 65- year-old saleswoman from Santa Clara said. ``They can't eat.
They literally waste away.''
Thirty-six-year-old Alan Proz, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, said
that as long as the Santa Clara County club is closed, he will travel to
San Francisco's Cannabis Healing Center to get marijuana to help control
his pain and muscle spasticity. Proz is in a wheelchair. From his home in
San Jose, he will need to travel on three buses and BART to reach the San
Francisco club.
1998 San Francisco Chronicle
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Hemp Chocolate No Kin To Hash Brownies ('Vancouver Sun'
Interviews Richard Rose Of The San Francisco-Based Rella Good Cheese Company,
Which Makes Hemp Chocolate And Other Healthy Food Products - Rose's Company
Dehulls The Hemp Seed - He Calls It The Most Radical Advance In Hemp
In 10,000 Years - Which Leaves A Creamy-Colored Meat That Looks Like Sesame,
Tastes Like Sunflower And Can Be Added To Chocolate, Burgers,
Or Turned Into Anything From Aseptic Milk To Spreads)
Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 16:00:19 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Canada: Hemp Chocolate No Kin To Hash Brownies
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Chris Clay -- http://www.hempnation.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 09 May 1998
Source: Vancouver Sun (Canada)
Section: National News
Contact: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/
Author: Kim Covert
HEMP CHOCOLATE NO KIN TO HASH BROWNIES
TORONTO (CP) - Fans of industrial hemp call it the "wonder weed" whose
fibres can be used in everything from clothes to construction materials.
And now a company is pioneering the use of the plant's seeds in food like
hemp chocolate. But don't let that conjure up images of hash brownies and
lava lamps.
Judging by his sigh, the founder of San Francisco-based Rella Good Cheese
Company - which makes hemp chocolate, among other things - has obviously
heard the comparison before.
In fact, Richard Rose says Tonight Show host Jay Leno even did a skit about
it with Tommy Chong, formerly one half of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong,
who made their reputation with routines about marijuana.
"That's always the first question: 'Will this get me high?'" said Rose
while on a selling trip to Toronto.
"It's a valid question, and once people understand that it's not about
drugs, that they could literally eat 100 tonnes of hemp seed and not get a
buzz, they go on to find out more about it."
And what they find out, he says, is that chocolate with hemp seeds in it is
a pretty healthy food.
"I have a long history of pioneering in the tofu industry and (when) I
started reading about hemp seeds I realized it was more nutritious than
even soybeans," said Rose, who's been marketing a cheese alternative called
Tofurella since 1986.
"It's very high in essential fatty acids, very high in a protein that's
more complete and more digestible and higher quality than that of soy...and
it tastes better."
Rose's company dehulls the hemp seed - he calls it the most radical advance
in hemp in 10,000 years - which leaves a creamy-colored meat that looks
like sesame and tastes like sunflower. It can be added to chocolate,
burgers, or turned into anything from aseptic milk to spreads.
"Add it to chocolate and you suddenly have the most nutritious chocolate
ever made. It's high in essential fatty acids and high in very high-quality
protein without any dairy in it," said Rose.
"That's what will be driving hemp seed foods in the future, the fact that
whenever you add it to something you've suddenly made the most nutritious
whatever it is. The chocolate - one ounce (28 grams) of chocolate will give
us one gram of essential fatty acids and one gram of protein."
While the cheese alternative Hemprella can be found in health food stores
across Canada, the "Bite Me" HempNut Chocolate Bars may not be widely
available.
Industrial hemp is a cousin of the marijuana plant, but only contains trace
elements of the drug tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which produces a high.
"There's still a huge stigma about hemp that has lasted from 1937 when all
hemp was rolled under the same term and was treated as marijuana," says Jim
Hedger, who runs the Hemp Canada website.
"The `reefer madness' propaganda craze has left hemp with a very bad name,
even though it's a radically different species, or at least has radically
different properties."
A few farmers have been licenced to grow hemp in Canada over the last few
years, but only on an experimental basis, said Hedger. In February, Health
Minister Allan Rock lifted the ban on growing industrial hemp, although
there are still strict licencing requirements - like growers having to
prove they have a buyer for their crop before they can plant it.
Rose currently buys his hemp from suppliers in Europe, but is hoping to be
able to start buying from Canadian growers soon.
It may be a some time before Canada is producing enough to meet his needs -
Hedger says while farmers welcomed the lifting of restrictions on the crop,
there are still very few licenced growers.
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Libertarian Candidate Is Charged With Possession Of Marijuana
(According To 'The Associated Press,' David Ray Rosener, 30,
Of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, An Attorney And Candidate
For The State Legislature, Said He Didn't Know If His Arrest
Was Politically Motivated)
Date: Sat, 09 May 1998 19:46:41 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US MO: Wire: Libertarian Candidate Is Charged With Possession
Of Marijuana
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Chris Clay -- http://www.hempnation.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 09 May 1998
Source: Associated Press
LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATE IS CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo -- A Libertarian candidate for the state Legislature has
been charged with possession of marijuana.
David Ray Rosener, 30, of Cape Girardeau, said he didn't know if his arrest
was politically motivated, but he wasn't fazed by it.
"I don't know and I don't care," Rosener said. "I do know that marijuana
should be decriminalized. I am not a criminal."
Rosener, who is an attorney, was walking Thursday when Cape Girardeau
police officers stopped him and found a small quantity of marijuana in his
possession. Because the amount was less than 10 grams, Rosener was issued a
criminal court summons for a misdemeanor possession charge.
Rosener represented a Cape Girardeau strip club in its 1995 and 1996 legal
battles with the city over the city's efforts to restrict adult businesses.
He recently declared his candidacy for the Legislature.
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Vigil Protests Tough Drug Laws ('Associated Press' Article
In New York's 'Times Union' Says An Unspecified Group
Is Organizing Demonstrations Every Friday At Rockefeller Plaza
In Manhattan In Opposition To The Mandatory Minimums
Required By New York's Tough Rockefeller Drug Laws)
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 19:06:05 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US NY: Vigil protests tough drug laws
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Walter F. Wouk
Source: Times Union (NY)
Contact: tuletters@timesunion.com
Website: http://www.timesunion.com/
Fax: 518-454-5628
PubDate: Sat, 9 May 1998
Author: Associated Press
VIGIL PROTESTS TOUGH DRUG LAWS
Rockefeller-era mandates fail to deter drug abuse and reduce dealing,
organizers claim
NEW YORK -- Donna Charles was a 27-year-old single mother when she was
offered a job taking care of an elderly woman in Tennessee. A friend
offered to fly her to the state but asked her to carry a package and
deliver it upon arrival.
She did and was caught at the airport with 6 pounds of cocaine for which
she has been serving -- under New York state's tough Rockefeller drug laws
-- 15 years to life in prison. She is in her seventh year.
Charles' case and others like it were highlighted Friday in Manhattan's
Rockefeller Plaza at what organizers hope will become a weekly vigil to
protest the laws that have landed thousands of nonviolent drug offenders in
state prison cells. Protesters say these cells should be occupied by
violent criminals.
"It's like building cemeteries to solve the AIDS problem,'' said Rudy
Spyser, who stood in the rain with about 24 other people for the vigil.
The vigil was timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the drug laws,
which then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller signed on May 8, 1973. The laws mandate
prison terms of 15 or more years to life in prison for selling 2 ounces or
possessing 4 ounces of a narcotic substance.
When Rockefeller signed the laws, they were considered the strictest in the
country and became a model for other states.
Steven Belenko, senior research associate at the National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, said the laws have
greatly increased the prison population.
The laws were meant to deter drug use and drug dealing, but no research has
shown they've achieved that goal, Belenko said. "If the goal was to deter
drug use and reduce drug dealing, they don't work.''
The Center on Addiction recently completed a study, "Behind Bars: Substance
Abuse and America's Prison Population,'' which found that 80 percent of
prison and jail inmates are incarcerated for crimes related to drugs or
alcohol. The report also found drug treatment for inmates to be inadequate.
According to a state Correctional Association analysis, one-third of the
state's prison population are drug offenders. Of those roughly 22,670
inmates, about 8,880 prisoners were locked up under the Rockefeller drug laws.
Patrick McCarthy, a spokesman for Gov. George Pataki, said changing the
Rockefeller drug laws was not among the governor's legislative priorities
this session.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Street Business Sparks Clash Of Cultures ('The Sun' In Baltimore,
Maryland, Notes Chris Baugher Faces More Than 10 Years In Prison
For Selling Legal Hemp Seeds And Pipes At His Store In Bel Air,
On Main Street Next Door To The Harford County Circuit Courthouse
And Across The Street From The Sheriff's Office)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN"
Subject: MN: US MD: Main Street Business Sparks Clash Of Cultures
Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 19:40:24 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Rob Ryan
Pubdate: May 9 1998
Source: Sun, The (MD)
Contact: letters@baltsun.com
Website: http://www.baltimoresun.com
Author: Lisa Respers
MAIN STREET BUSINESS SPARKS CLASH OF CULTURES
Hemp : Chris Baugher says the sterilized hemp seeds and ceremonial pipes he
sells are legal. Police and prosecutors disagree.
Chris Baugher's store in Bel Air would seem an unlikely drug haven, nestled
on Main Street next door to the Harford County Circuit Courthouse and across
the street from the sheriff's office.
But in what he and supporters view as a clash of cultures, Baugher faces
criminal charges for selling what he says are sterilized -- and legal --
hemp seeds and ceremonial pipes at his shop, Global Roots.
Police and prosecutors say the seeds seized at Baugher's shop -- which
features an array of hemp-fiber clothing and other hemp products -- are
marijuana and that the pipes are "bongs" that can be used to smoke illegal
drugs.
"Obviously, we don't fit the mold of what a business on Main Street in Bel
Air should be," says Baugher, a tie-dye-wearing 22-year-old with dreadlocks
who is to be arraigned Tuesday on drug and drug paraphernalia charges that
could result in more than 10 years in prison.
The hemp-seed charges highlight a growing national awareness of -- and
controversy about -- the nonpsychoactive strain of cannabis, which is used
to make everything from dresses to the Hempen Ale produced locally by the
Frederick Brewing Co.
When treated with heat, hemp seeds are rendered sterile and unable to grow
into full plants. The seeds contain trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.
Advocates say hemp, which is prized as a source of industrial fiber and for
its use in herbal products, has suffered from its association with marijuana
and drug abuse.
Mari Kane, publisher and editor in chief of Forestville, Calif.-based Hemp
World magazine, said there is a "real backlash against hemp right now" and
that officials are eager to shut down stores that sell hemp and products
associated with it.
"This single crop could provide food, shelter, clothing and medicine," said
Kane, whose magazine has a circulation of 17,000. "The person who is
importing or buying the seeds should not be held responsible if a few seeds
survive the sterilization process."
Detective Dean Jager of the Bel Air Police Department said the charges
against Baugher are the result of a months-long investigation prompted by
concerns about drug paraphernalia, not opposition to hemp products.
"We received several complaints about the store from people in the
community," Jager said. "There were complaints about the type of memorabilia
being sold there."
The charges against Baugher are thought to mark the second time in Maryland
that authorities have prosecuted someone for possession of what were
described as sterilized seeds.
In 1993, marijuana activist Pamela Snowhite Davis was acquitted of
possession of several pounds of seeds found at her Westminster shop.
In a separate case, Davis was sentenced to five years in prison for
possession of marijuana and maintaining a common nuisance. She spent 56 days
in jail before she was released, and her conviction eventually was
overturned.
Baugher, a northern Harford County native, sees little reason for anyone to
be offended by his shop, which is crammed with jewelry, incense, hemp
clothing and beads, and which he says is similar to shops flourishing in
Fells Point and Ellicott City.
Baugher, a vegetarian, said he opened the business in 1996 to educate people
about a "natural way of living" and to raise funds for a community resource
and recreation center he would like to see built.
"The main reason we opened the store is because we know a lot of people are
moving here from the city and the kids are hanging out with no place to go,"
Baugher said. His inventory includes clothing and tote bags made of hemp,
and novelties such as Hungry Bear Seedy Sweeties, a chewy snack food.
Baugher said he is not advocating drug use but trying to raise awareness of
the nonintoxicating form of cannabis, which he calls a healthful alternative
food source.
His legal problems began March 17 last year, when members of the Joint
Narcotics Task Force raided the shop and handcuffed Baugher, his girlfriend
and his business partner, Lucia Santoro, 23.
Baugher said officers searched through files and medicinal herbs and
videotaped the hemp clothing on display. Officers seized merchandise worth
$2,500, including water pipes.
Baugher said the pipes -- which police say are drug paraphernalia -- are
ceremonial and are labeled "Not for sale to minors."
He said the hemp seeds are legal and that he buys them from the same
industrial supplier used by the brewing company. He displays paperwork from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture certifying the seeds as sterilized.
"Those seeds are harmless," Baugher said. "They were totally legal, and even
if they grew they would only sprout a tiny bit and never become a mature
plant."
A state police laboratory analysis found evidence of marijuana in the 21.5
grams of seeds taken from the store. Joseph I. Cassilly, state's attorney
for Harford County, said that report and other evidence were turned over to
a grand jury, which indicted Baugher.
"Obviously, there has to be some type of evidence for an indictment to be
handed down," Cassilly said.
Hemp enthusiasts are closely monitoring Baugher's case.
Steve Nordahl, vice president of brewing operations for Frederick Brewing
Co., which calls its Hempen Ale the first in the nation to be brewed with
hemp seeds, said his company is concerned about a precedent being set if
Baugher is found guilty.
"I am sympathetic for what he is going through, being dragged through the
court system, having his products confiscated and facing the possible loss
of his business," said Nordahl, whose company might take part in a May 23
event to raise funds for Baugher's legal expenses.
Andree Thrush, a Forest Hill vision training therapist, said she uses hemp
flour to treat people who are unable to properly digest bread products.
Thrush said Baugher is being harassed.
"I feel that if he had a normal haircut and wore a business suit, they would
have ignored him," Thrush said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Smaller Pot Patches Grown To Avoid Detection From Air ('Associated Press'
Says Marijuana Growers In West Virginia Are Cutting Down
On The Number Of Plants They Grow)
Date: Sat, 09 May 1998 19:24:23 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US WV: Wire: Smaller Pot Patches Grown To Avoid Detection From
Air
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Chris Clay -- http://www.hempnation.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 09 May 1998
SOURCE: Associated Press
SMALLER POT PATCHES GROWN TO AVOID DETECTION FROM AIR
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In the age of downsizing comes the revamped pot plant.
Marijuana growers in West Virginia are cutting down on the number of plants
they grow, apparently to keep police from seeing them through aerial surveys.
"Looking for marijuana is a lot like looking for needles in a haystack,"
said Steve Jones, marijuana eradication officer for the West Virginia State
Police.
In 1985, the average marijuana plot seized by West Virginia police had 338
plants. That figured had dropped to 119 by 1990 and to 78 plants last year.
"Before we started flying, people grew huge fields. After we started flying
a lot, people were making an effort to make smaller, less visible patches,"
Jones said.
Drug control officers hitch helicopter rides with the state police aviation
unit, the Civil Air Patrol, the Army National Guard or the Drug Enforcement
Administration.
Marijuana patches look unique from the sky, he said.
"Depending on how well fertilized it is, it often looks more vibrant than
the plants around it," Jones said. If it doesn't look like nature put it
there, it probably didn't."
Federal officials announced last week a $6 million grant to help detect and
stop drug cultivation and trafficking in rural West Virginia, Kentucky and
Tennessee.
Despite authorities' efforts, eradication and prosecution efforts are
difficult due to the region's makeup: a high poverty rate, an ideal climate
for growing marijuana and the geography, including rough terrain and
sparsely travelled interstate highways.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
'Habitual Drunkard' Is Not, Technically, An Alcoholic ('Roanoke Times'
In Virginia Describes An Interesting Attempt By Roanoke
To Enforce Alcohol Prohibition On An Individual Basis)
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 20:43:59 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US VA: 'Habitual Drunkard' is not, technically, an alcoholic
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Michael (Miguet@NOVEMBER.ORG)
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Contact: karent@roanoke.com
Website: http://www.roanoke.com/
Pubdate: Saturday, May 09, 1998
Author: Laurence Hammack
'HABITUAL DRUNKARD' IS NOT, TECHNICALLY, AN ALCOHOLIC
Roanoke defendant released from jail Judge rules 'habitual drunkard' is
not, technically, an alcoholic
The defense argued that because alcoholism makes him disabled, he should
have been given representation before he was interdicted.
A judge rejected the argument Friday that one of Roanoke's "habitual
drunkards" was illegally denied a lawyer before he was barred from
purchasing, possessing or consuming alcohol.
But at the same time, General District Judge Julian Raney also rejected a
prosecutor's request that Frank Graham be sentenced to 20 months in jail
for staggering around downtown Roanoke in a drunken stupor.
Graham, who was "interdicted" last December as part of the city's effort to
disband a group of chronic alcoholics who loiter downtown, challenged the
way he was treated under a law that makes it illegal for him to have
anything to do with alcohol.
Assistant Public Defender Steve Milani argued that because Graham's
alcoholism makes him disabled, he should have been appointed an attorney or
legal guardian before he was interdicted.
The substance of that argument was not addressed by Raney, who cited
procedural grounds as the basis for denying Milani's motion to dismiss the
charge.
Raney said he did not have the authority to overrule a Circuit Court judge
who had already found that Graham was not suffering from the disability of
alcoholism. "On the face of the record, there was a determination by the
judge that there was no need under the law" for an attorney or guardian to
be appointed, he said.
But the ruling was not a total defeat for Graham. He was released from jail
Friday after Raney sentenced him to the time he has already served -- about
60 days -- awaiting trial on two charges of violating an interdiction order.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Blaney had asked for an eight-month
sentence for Graham's second offense, and the maximum of 12 months for the
third time he went back to drinking.
"This is more than just a drunk-in-public case," she said. "Obviously,
something else has to be done" with someone who has amassed as many
drunk-in-public arrests as Graham, Blaney said.
The 38-year-old vagrant has estimated that he has been arrested thousands
of times for public intoxication, and testified Friday that he can only go
"maybe a few hours" without drinking when he isn't locked up.
While being drunk in public carries only a fine, violating an interdiction
order is punishable by up to 12 months in jail -- even if a so-called
"habitual drunkard" does no more than hold a bottle of booze or carry the
scent of alcohol on his breath.
Authorities have said interdiction is an attempt to deal with a small
number of people who account for the majority of disruptive behavior
downtown. Roanoke makes more drunk-in-public arrests than any other
Virginia city, and police turned to interdiction after repeated complaints
from downtown merchants.
Critics of the practice -- including the American Civil Liberties Union --
have called interdiction a misguided effort to criminalize what is a public
health problem.
Milani had argued that "logically it doesn't make sense" to argue that
Graham is a habitual drunkard yet not suffering from a disability.
State law requires that someone who is disabled -- which includes being an
alcoholic -- be appointed a legal guardian or attorney when he or she is
the target of a legal proceeding such as an interdiction order.
In written arguments to the judge, Blaney contended that Graham had not
presented sufficient evidence to show that he was an alcoholic -- even
though she had cited his long record of public drunkenness.
Blaney relied on an appellate decision that held "there is no necessary
correlation between alcoholism and unlawful conduct." In other words,
nonalcoholics sometimes drive drunk, and even the hardest drinkers
sometimes avoid criminal charges.
Even if Graham has shown himself to be an alcoholic, Blaney's argument
continued, he was procedurally barred from challenging the Circuit Court's
order.
Milani said after the hearing that he could appeal Raney's decision,
although Graham may not wish to do that for practical reasons now that he's
out of jail. But with interdiction cases beginning to appear regularly on
the city's court docket, Milani said the issue is likely to be raised again.
After denying Milani's motion, Raney went on to find that Graham was drunk
in public in violation of an interdiction order on Feb. 11, and again on
April 8 while free on bond for the first offense.
Police officers testified that they saw Graham staggering around the
downtown area, and that his eyes were glassy and he smelled of alcohol when
they confronted him. At the time, Graham had recently completed a
four-month jail sentence for his first conviction of violating an
interdiction order.
Roanoke prosecutors have had more than a dozen people interdicted without
legal representation since December, and Blaney said no changes have been
made in the procedure as a result of Graham's challenge.
LAURENCE HAMMACK can be reached at 981-3239 or laurenceh@roanoke.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DrugSense Focus Alert Number 64 (DrugSense Asks You To Call A Few Bookstores
And Ask Them To Stock 'Drug Crazy' By Mike Gray)
Date: Sat, 09 May 1998 13:23:59 -0700
To: mgreer@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Subject: DrugSense FOCUS Alert #64
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
DrugSense FOCUS Alert #64
A "Drug Crazy" Second effort!
YOU can help make a reform first. "Drug Crazy" by Mike Gray could be a
"Best Seller."
See below for more info on "Drug Crazy"
MAKE A FEW PHONE CALLS - HELP CHANGE THE WORLD
In this alert we again ask you to call as many local book stores as possible
to ask whether they have "Drug Crazy," When they will be able to get it,
and whether they will carry it in stock. Calling the same store again is
fine. It demonstrates additional public interest.
Since our last similar alert the publisher has doubled the size of the
initial printing of "Drug Crazy" and we are making waves all over the
country in many ways. Mike Gray has made a number of TV appearances and a
major marketing effort is underway.
Folks this is a real chance for not only a reform best seller but a
possible major movie deal. Can you imagine the potential impact? Time to
put it in high gear!
Your help matters. One phone call is better than none. Five is better than
one.
OTHER OPTIONS:
Forward this Focus Alert to your favorite reform chat lists and friends.
It's not what others do. It's what YOU do!
***
CONTACT INFO
Look in your yellow pages under "books" or "book stores". It is especially
important to contact major chains.
***
PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone calls, fax etc.)
Please post your letters or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you
are subscribed, or return a copy to this address by simply hitting
REPLY to this FOCUS Alert or emailing to MGreer@mapinc.org
***
Ask Your Local Bookstores: "When are you going to have Drug Crazy?"
Random House will soon be publishing "Drug Crazy: How We Got Into This
Mess and How We can Get Out," a gripping and dramatic review of the drug
war over the last 100 years. From the opening scene - a shoot out
between police and drug gangs in Chicago - the book draws you in with
human stories, amazing revelations and the whole sordid history of the
drug war.
"Drug Crazy" will capture the imagination of the public, convince many
that prohibition will never work, and open a dialogue on drug policy at
a level we have never seen before.
The author is Mike Gray, best known as the writer of the screenplay of
"The China Syndrone" (Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas) which
forever altered the public view concerning nuclear energy.
"Drug Crazy" is fascinating, informative, scary and rewarding. Everyone
who has seen an advance copy is enthusiastic about its potential to open
people's minds and change opinion.
You can help spread the word. Ask your local book store manager for
"Drug Crazy" by Mike Gray, published by Random House. If they don't have
it, ask when they will.
Comments on Drug Crazy
"Anyone who thinks the war on drugs is succeeding should read this book.
It shifts the burden of proof from the critics of existing policy to its
defenders. That is no mean achievement!"
- Elliott Richardson
Former United States Attorney General
"Never did I think one could learn so much about the drug crisis all in
one place. Mike Gray has written a book of profound compassion that
nevertheless deals intelligently with the facts. Drug Crazy is an
antidote for passivity."
- Daniel Schorr, National Public Radio
"The true story that Mike Gray tells so effectively is indeed stranger
than fiction. Who would believe that a democratic government would
pursue for eight decades a failed policy that produced tens of millions
of victims and trillions of dollars of illicit profits for drug dealers;
cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars; increased crime and
destroyed inner cities; fostered widespread corruption and violations of
human rights - and all with no success in achieving the stated and
unattainable objective of drug-free America."
- Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate
Fellow, Hoover Institution
"'Drug Crazy' is an oasis of clarity and common sense in a desert of
misinformation and hysteria."
- Ira Glasser, ACLU
"This urgent issue badly needs the exposure given in this book - a
chilling array of facts which hopefully will move the country."
- Henry Kendall, Nobel Laureate
Chairman, Union of Concerned Scientists
"This is an insightful book about the discriminatory nature of the drug
war in America and how our politicians have converted a chronic medical
problem into a criminal justice problem.
"It also explains how the increase in petty drug busts has been used to
make politicians look tough on crime, build jail cells and deny funding
for drug prevention and education programs for children."
- Dr. Joycelyn Elders
Former U.S. Surgeon General, Professor of Endocrinology, Arkansas
Children's Hospital
"Drug Crazy dramatically and in stark detail exposes the truths of the
futility of our Nation's self-destructive drug war over the past 80
years -- truths shamefully known by law enforcement officials, judges
and political leaders for almost just as long.
"This book is a must read for as much of the general pubic as possible,
for only when democratic government and the quality of life in our
country cause by a totally failed criminal drug policy, will our
political leaders find the courage to endorse drug sanity."
- Samuel Dash
Professor of Law, Georgetown University
Former Chief Counsel, Senate Watergate Committee
"I learned an enormous amount about the underside of drug politics from
reading Drug Crazy. It is an eye-opener. The book raises controversial
but reasoned suggestions for rethinking drug policy in the United
States. I highly recommend this book to everyone concerned about
developing an effective strategy toward drug abuse."
- Alvin F. Poussaint, MD
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
"This book sheds real light on what is happening in American cities
today and how current drug control strategies undermine our efforts to
keep our kids and streets safe. Anyone who is serious about finding
solutions to drug-related problems should read this book, debate it with
their colleagues and demand real solutions from their elected leaders."
- Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, City of Baltimore
"This book tells the public what many front line police officers know
from their experience - the drug war needs radical re-evaluation."
- Joseph McNamara
The Hoover Institution; Former Police Chief, San Jose, Califonia
"Drug Crazy provides an incisive historical analysis of America's
ongoing problem with drug control - from alcohol under Prohibition to
heroin and crack today. Gray suggests we're fighting the wrong battle in
the war on drugs, and makes a strong case for refocusing our attention
on the root of the problem, the kingpins behind the drug trade, not the
street players who now crowd our jails."
- Randy K. Jones
President, National Bar Association
(For Identification Purposes Only)
***
Mark Greer
Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
MGreer@mapinc.org
http://www.DrugSense.org/
http://www.mapinc.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sex, Drugs And Consenting Adults (Best-Selling Author Peter McWilliams
Plugs John Stossel's ABC News Special, Airing 10 PM Tuesday, May 26,
As 'The Most Important Hour Of Television This Year')
Date: Sat, 09 May 1998 18:27:11 -0700
To: jnr@insightweb.com
From: Jim Rosenfield (jnr@insightweb.com)
Subject: Sex, Drugs, and Consenting Adults
A NOTE FROM PETER McWILLIAMS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT HOUR OF
TELEVISION THIS YEAR
This is a personal note about what I think will be the most important hour
on television this year. It's John Stossel's ABC-News special, "Sex, Drugs,
and Consenting Adults"; It airs Tuesday, May 26, 1998, at 10:00 PM. The
question examined: "Should adults be imprisoned for acts that do not
physically harm the person or property of non-consenting others?"
Although I have not seen the special, Stossel has for almost two decades - in
one excellent piece of highly rated journalism after another--heroically
presented a pro-freedom, pro-responsibility, libertarian view. I have no
doubt that by the end of "Sex, Drugs, and Consenting Adults" millions of
Americans will be wondering, "Why on earth are we spending $50 billion a
year to arrest 5 million Americans for drugs, prostitution, gambling,
homosexuality, and pornography?"
The low point of the show, I have no doubt, will be me. On the day I was
interviewed, I had a terrible flu and a temperature so high I had to get in
my hot tub to cool down. Apparently, however, they were able to salvage
something from my meanderings, so I'll be there, along with my book, "Ain't
Nobody's Business if You Do; The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free
Country"; (Free at www.consenting.org). Nevertheless, I am certain the rest
of the show will be well worth watching.
Remember, this show will be everywhere. This is not cable. This is not even
PBS. This is ABC. John Stossel is one of the most popular journalist in the
country. His ABC News Specials regularly draw audiences of 20 million
people. That's more than ten percent of the adult population. Stossel is
also one of the most honored television journalists -- a Peabody Award and
19 (!) Emmys top a long list.
But perhaps most importantly, he is one the most effective and persuasive
journalists around. If you have not yet seen, for example, his brilliant
celebration of free economic markets, "Greed," by all means do so.
By looking at lifeguards (of all things) Stossel explains the wisdom of
capitalism as persuasively as Adam Smith or Milton Friedman. (Transcript of
"Greed" at www.abcnews.com/onair/specials/html_files/spe0203a.html. This
show is available on video tape from the Laissez Faire Book's online
catalog, along with several other Stossel freedom classics, at
http://laissezfaire.org/stossel.html.)
This is the show you can recommend to everyone you know. Those who have seen
the light of personal freedom will relish this breath of fresh air on
network television. Those friends, coworkers, and especially relatives, who
have not yet had an awakening may find this show an enjoyably packaged alarm
clock.
Please contact every organization you know that's devoted to liberty - from
CATO to COYOTE, from ACLU to UCLA, from NRA to ERA, from MADD to
FAMM - urging them to get out the word on this program. Post the information
on your web site and encourage posting on other sites. Call, write, or send
e-mails to elected officials, asking them to watch. (Yes, Stossel is that
persuasive.) Ask your local newspaper television critic to review it. (They
usually do so in advance, which will increase viewership.) Suggest that
print publications use the show as a launch-point for a broader article - or
set of articles - on consensual crimes. Call you favorite radio talk show
host and ask for a program about consensual crimes.
Maybe once a year network television broadcasts a truly educational program
on our Constitutional freedoms and responsibilities. This is one of them.
Let's make the most of it.
Thank you.
Enjoy,
Peter McWilliams
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Newspaper Says Drugs Documentary Was Faked ('Associated Press' Version
Of Recent News About 'The Guardian' Newspaper In Britain
Challenging The Authenticity Of A Television Documentary
About The Cali Cocaine Cartel Notes Part Of The Production Was Broadcast
In The United States On CBS' '60 Minutes')
Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 07:38:03 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: "Geoffery S. Thomas"
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Newspaper says drugs documentary was faked!
Newspaper says drugs documentary was faked
The Associated Press
05/09/98 6:31 AM Eastern
LONDON (AP) -- Much of a widely seen British TV documentary on the
Colombian drug trade was faked, a British newspaper alleges. Parts of the
documentary appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes."
In a series of articles this week, the Guardian newspaper said a Carlton
Television film on the Cali drug cartel contained a series of
misrepresentations.
Among them: A drug courier purportedly shown swallowing packets of heroin
had no drugs in his stomach when he arrived in Britain, and he was stopped at
Customs and deported rather than getting through to London as the film
said.
The documentary also claimed a man with only low-level connections to the
drug world was the No. 3 chief in the cartel, and showed a blindfolded film
crew being led to an interview that actually happened in producer Marc de
Beaufort's hotel room, according to the newspaper.
And the courier's flight, far from being a drug-smuggling mission arranged
by the Cali cartel, was made on a ticket bought by the producer, The Guardian
said.
De Beaufort denied the allegations and said he welcomed investigations under
way by Carlton Television and Britain's Independent Television Commission.
"I have repeatedly invited them (The Guardian) to interview me and view all
the film's rushes," he was quoted as saying in Thursday's Guardian.
The newspaper said a film researcher had written Carlton about the alleged
fraud before the documentary aired.
"60 Minutes" showed segments of the documentary in June and interviewed
de Beaufort, the paper said.
On Friday, it quoted "60 Minutes" executive producer Don Hewitt as saying,
"Any time any reputable news organization gives its readers or viewers
details that later turn out not to be true, they are obligated to tell the
truth."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CBS Probes Fake Footage Report (Different 'Associated Press' Version
With New York Instead Of London Dateline)
Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 18:23:34 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: WIRE: CBS Probes Fake Footage Report
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Rocamora53
Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Sat, 9 May 1998
CBS PROBES FAKE FOOTAGE REPORT
NEW YORK (AP) - ``60 Minutes'' is investigating a report that footage it
aired last year about a Colombian drug courier who carried heroin in his
stomach was fake.
The report, anchored by Steve Kroft, was based on a British documentary,
``The Connection.'' HBO acquired the U.S. rights to the documentary and
gave footage to ``60 Minutes'' for its report, which aired in June.
The Guardian newspaper in Britain published an investigation this week
alleging the documentary was a fake and that the courier was not carrying
drugs in his stomach.
Kroft will read a statement on Sunday's ``60 Minutes'' telling viewers
about the investigation, spokesman Kevin Tedesco said today. CBS is also
looking into whether the footage was a hoax, he said.
Before airing the documentary footage, CBS looked into it by interviewing
the producer and showing the documentary to a federal drug enforcement
official, who said that he thought it looked real, Tedesco said.
``We did as professional an investigation as we could,'' he said.
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Acclaimed Drug Expose Questioned ('Washington Post' Version)
Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 18:30:59 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US WP: Acclaimed Drug Expose Questioned
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: kevzeese@laser.net (kevin b. zeese)
Source: Washington Post
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 09 May 1998
Author: T.R. Reid
ACCLAIMED DRUG EXPOSE QUESTIONED
LONDON, May 8 That powerful expose on "60 Minutes" last summer about
Colombian drug runners was frank, fascinating and frightening. It was also,
quite possibly, false.
After a lengthy investigation, London's Guardian newspaper has charged that
the award-winning documentary "The Connection" made by a British TV
network and excerpted on CBS's flagship Sunday night program was
essentially fiction.
The program featured dramatic footage of a drug "mule" said to be smuggling
several million dollars' worth of heroin to London for Colombia's Cali drug
cartel. The Guardian reported, though, that the "mule" actually carried no
drugs, that his trip to London was paid for by the documentary's producers,
and that many of the report's dramatic moments were faked.
The film, replete with hidden cameras, disguised-voice interviews and other
favorite tools of documentary filmmakers, has been shown around the world
and has received eight journalism awards, including three in the United
States. HBO acquired the U.S. rights to the documentary and gave footage to
"60 Minutes" for its report, which aired in June.
But now the network that produced the film says it is "unable to
substantiate" the documentary and is investigating its accuracy. CBS said
today that it will report on Sunday's broadcast of "60 Minutes" that the
story may have been untrue, and will give viewers the full story when
investigations are completed.
The Guardian had spent six months on an exhaustive study of the documentary
made by Carlton Television, reflecting the furiously competitive atmosphere
of London journalism, where a dozen newspapers and four TV networks
regularly investigate and savage one another's reporting.
In the United States, newspapers and TV networks generally don't go on the
attack against the other guy's story; rebuttals to American reporting most
commonly come from political parties, private companies or interest groups.
The documentary was made by Marc de Beaufort, a London-based filmmaker of
Argentine ancestry. Its thesis was that Colombian drug lords had developed
sophisticated methods of smuggling that could outfox police and military
anti-drug efforts.
The film showed a heroin smuggler, or "mule," swallowing a series of
plastic capsules said to contain heroin. Hidden cameras followed the man on
his trip to London's Heathrow Airport.
When the report was shown on "60 Minutes," CBS reporter Steve Kroft said
that the mule had "no problem" slipping past British customs with the
heroin in his stomach. "Another pound of heroin was on the British
streets," the "60 Minutes" report said.
But the Guardian, which says it found the "mule," reports that he actually
swallowed Certs mints, not drugs. It says the flight to London took place
six months later, and was paid for by the filmmaker. And it says the "mule"
was actually turned back at Heathrow because he had a counterfeit passport,
and thus never entered Britain.
After the Guardian's first stories ran this week, de Beaufort, the
producer, declared, "I completely reject all their allegations." But in an
interview with yet another British TV network, Channel 4, de Beaufort said
that he does not know whether the mule actually carried any heroin and
cannot confirm that the smuggler got past the customs gate at the London
airport.
The documentary included a highly dramatized segment in which reporters
under armed guard were taken to a remote location for an interview with a
figure described as a high-ranking member of the Cali drug cartel. "60
Minutes" reported de Beaufort had to travel blindfolded for two days by car
to reach the scene of this secret rendezvous.
The Guardian, quoting a production team member, said the secret location
was actually the producer's hotel room in Colombia. Asked about this on
Channel 4, de Beaufort said he has "absolutely no idea" where the interview
occurred.
The newspaper's story has prompted a series of investigations in addition
to the inquiry by Carlton Television, which financed and broadcast the
film. Some of the journalism groups that gave the program their top prizes
last year are now rethinking the choice.
The British government's watchdog group, the Independent Television
Commission, has launched a study of its own. Unlike the United States,
where government has no power to police the content of news reporting,
there are official regulations here requiring that TV news demonstrate "a
respect for truth."
CBS has not undertaken an investigation of its own, but will report to its
viewers on the results of the British investigations, according to "60
Minutes" spokesman Kevin Tedesco.
Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. Dole Calls Viagra 'Great Drug' ('Associated Press'
Notes The Wife Of The Most Recent Republican Nominee
For President Stood Up Friday For Pfizer's New Impotence Drug)
Associated Press
found at:
http://wire.ap.org/
MAY 09, 04:12 EDT
Mrs. Dole Calls Viagra 'Great Drug'
NEW YORK (AP) -- Elizabeth Dole visited City Hall for a ceremony commending
the American Red Cross, but her remarks on a popular new impotence pill drew
the most attention.
Mrs. Dole, president of the American Red Cross on Friday echoed the verdict
of her husband, Bob Dole, who disclosed Thursday that he was among the men
who took part in trials for Viagra: ``It's a great drug. OK?''
Did she buy stock in the company that makes the pill, Pfizer Inc.?
``I wish I had,'' she said.
Bob Dole, 74, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, also called Viagra
``a great drug.'' The former U.S. senator from Kansas was diagnosed with
prostate cancer in 1991 and underwent surgery.
Since then, he has promoted the importance of early detection and encouraged
men to speak frankly with their doctors about prostate-related problems,
including impotence.
Dole said his cancer had been cured and urged other men to have prostate exams.
***
Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Send comments and
questions about The WIRE to feedback@thewire.ap.org.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jails To Take Softer Line On Cannabis (Britain's 'Independent'
Says More Than 16,500 British Prisoners, Mostly Cannabis Users,
Were Given Extra Time For Using Illegal Drugs Last Year,
Equivalent To Filling One And A Half Jails For A Year At A Cost
Of Over £10 Million - A New 23-Page Report On Drugs In Prison
To Be Released On Tuesday Says 'People Should Be Able To Smoke Cannabis
In Prison Without Fear Of Punishment' - 44 Per Cent Of Guards
Agreed That 'Personal Use Of Cannabis Is Not Detrimental
To Good Order And Discipline')
The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk
1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL England
letters@independent.co.uk
Saturday, 9 May 1998
Jails to take softer line on cannabis
By Ian Burrell, Home Affairs Correspondent
Prison governors are to be urged to take a softer line against
prisoners using cannabis as part of a new government strategy on drug
use in prison.
Instead, more resources will be directed at tackling heroin users by
subjecting them to repeated drug-testing and greater punishments.
The Independent has acquired a copy of the 23-page review document
which forms the basis for the new strategy, which will be announced on
Tuesday by drugs minister George Howarth.
Prison service officials have been concerned that the large-scale use
of mandatory drugs-testing has led to thousands of drug-using inmates
being given up to 35 "extra days" on their sentence. More than 16,500
prisoners - mostly cannabis users - were given punishments of extra
days in the last financial year. This is equivalent to filling one and
a half jails for a year at a cost of over £10m.
Governors are to be urged to "distinguish between drug markets which
generate the most harm to individuals and prisoner safety and those
that are less damaging". They are advised to "increase the
differential" between punishments for cannabis and for Class A drugs
and to consider alternative punishments such as loss of privileges and
restrictions on visits.
Both staff and prisoners indicated in the report that they believe the
system bears down too heavily on cannabis users. It states that 82 per
cent of prisoners agreed with the statement:
"People should be able to smoke cannabis in prison without fear of
punishment."
The review adds that "more surprisingly perhaps, interviews with wing
officers revealed ambivalent attitudes to reporting prisoners for
smoking cannabis". Some 44 per cent of staff agreed with the
statement: "Personal use of cannabis is not detrimental to good order
and discipline".
The review makes clear that drugs policies in prison will fall into
line with those recently announced by "drugs tsar" Keith Hellawell for
the wider public. This means a shift in emphasis towards improved drug
treatment and education in order to reduce demand.
The report carries some positive findings on the extent of drug use in
prison, which was running out of control only two years ago. Positive
drug tests among prisoners have fallen from 34.6 per cent in December
1995 to less than 20 per cent in the early months of this year.
The mandatory random drug-testing programme, which requires some 10
per cent of inmates to be tested, is expensive. The review recommends
that governors reduce the amount of mandatory testing and concentrate
resources on inmates who have previously been found to misuse a Class
A drug.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Guerin Gang Suspected In Importation Of Cannabis ('Irish Times'
Prints Police Speculation That Members Of The Dublin Gang
Who Murdered Journalist Veronica Guerin May Have Been Behind
The Shipment Of 30 Kilograms Of Cannabis And Two Machine Pistols
Found In Dublin Yesterday)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN"
Subject: MN: IRELAND: Guerin Gang Suspected In Importation Of Cannabis
Date: Sun, 10 May 1998 16:19:09 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie ((Zosimos) Martin Cooke)
Pubdate: Sat, 9 May 1998
Source: Irish Times (Ireland)
Contact: lettersed@irish-times.ie
Author: Jim Cusack
GUERIN GANG SUSPECTED IN IMPORTATION OF CANNABIS
Gardai were speculating yesterday that members of the Dublin gang which
murdered Veronica Guerin may have been behind the shipment of 30 kg of
cannabis and two machine pistols found in Dublin yesterday.
The shipment was discovered by chance yesterday after a tiler took delivery
of a number of boxes of what he thought were Spanish tiles.
The man picked up the boxes from a shipping agent in Dublin docks and
brought them to a job he was doing in a Terenure public house only to find
that some contained cannabis and guns. He alerted the gardai.
The shipment is similar in size to another intercepted by gardai in north
Dublin last November.
Two members of the gang, one the man who was probably Ms Guerin's principal
criminal contact and who is believed to have provided the gang with the
information about her movements, are believed to be in Spain. The other man
is also wanted for questioning in connection with Ms Guerin's murder as he
is suspected of helping in the preparations and disposal of weapons and
vehicles.
The two are known to have been in the company of other Dublin criminals who
travelled to Spain recently to attend a party. It is believed that they have
funds and are trying to re-establish the cannabis trade that had been the
major income source for the gang before it was broken up by the Garda
investigation into the journalist's murder.
The shipment found yesterday in Dublin would cost about £30,000 to buy from
a major cannabis supplier - based on a reckoning that the "wholesale" price
is about 10 per cent of the final street value, where cannabis sells for
about £10 a gramme.
A number of other gangs are involved in importing cannabis into the State
and gardai say the drugs could have been smuggled by other criminals. One is
a Co Down man, still in his 20s, who had associations with the gang which
killed Ms Guerin. Despite having republican connections, this man
exclusively supplies loyalist drug dealers in Belfast with cannabis imported
through this State.
Also yesterday, customs officers seized about 50 kg of the drug khat when
they searched luggage belonging to an Irish man on a stopover on a flight
from London to New York.
Khat is almost exclusively used by north eastern Africans, mainly Somalis
and Ethiopians. It is a natural amphetamine and causes erratic and
occasionally violent behaviour. Shipments of the drug are regularly taken to
New York for consumption by Somali and Ethiopian nationals there.
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[End]
to 1998 Daily News index for May 7-13