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

Lungren Sued Over Prop 215 Enforcement ('The San Francisco Chronicle'
Says Two Bay Area Attorneys Filed A Lawsuit Monday In San Francisco
Superior Court Against California Attorney General Dan Lungren,
Charging Him With Thwarting Implementation Of Proposition 215)

Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 00:23:05 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Lungren Sued Over Prop 215 Enforcement
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jun 1998
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Author: Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer

LUNGREN SUED OVER PROP. 215 ENFORCEMENT

Two Bay Area attorneys have filed a lawsuit against California
Attorney General Dan Lungren charging him with thwarting
implementation of Proposition 215, the 1996 medical marijuana
initiative that allows ill state residents to consume and cultivate
pot.

The suit was filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court on
behalf of ``John Dough,'' an anonymous plaintiff.

``We aren't going to reveal who he is right now because he is afraid
of retaliation,'' said Kenneth Frucht, a San Francisco attorney who
jointly filed the suit with Oakland lawyer William Simpich.

The suit follows recent court orders that have resulted in the closing
of several marijuana clubs, demoralizing supporters of medicinal pot.

Frucht said Lungren has carried out ``a relentless campaign'' against
Proposition 215 and has made it all but impossible for seriously ill
Californians to obtain medical marijuana legally.

``And he has done this using millions of dollars of the taxpayers'
funds,'' said Frucht. ``He is spending tremendous amounts of money
pursuing cases (against medical marijuana users) that shouldn't be
pursued.''

Frucht said the suit asks the court to order Lungren to stop
prosecuting consumers of medical marijuana and directs the attorney
general's office and the state Health Department to support the letter
and spirit of Proposition 215.

The suit also asks the state to allow counties and cities to
distribute medical marijuana to patients.

Lungren spokesman Matt Ross said no one in the attorney general's
office has seen a copy of the suit.

``We really can't comment on it until we've had a chance to look at
it,'' Ross said.

1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A18

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

Alameda Officials Give $ To Lungren (Medical Marijuana Defendants Peter Baez
And Jesse Garcia Of The Now-Defunct Santa Clara County Medical
Cannabis Center Post A List Of Alameda County Officials Who Made Donations
To The Gubernatorial Campaign Of Dan Lungren, Nemesis Of Proposition 215)

From: "ralph sherrow" (ralphkat@hotmail.com)
To: ralphkat@hotmail.com
Subject: Fwd: Alameda Officials Give $ to Lungreen
Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 21:46:02 PDT

>Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 20:49:02 +0000
>From: Peter Baez (sccmcc@garlic.com)
>To: ralph sherrow (ralphkat@hotmail.com)
>CC: ekomp@slonet.com
>Subject: Alameda Officials Give $ to Lungreen
>
>I just got done going over the 1/1/98 to 3/17/98 documents from Dan
>Lungren's political campaign contributions and I found an alarmingly
>high number of Judges and D.A.'s from Oakland and Alameda County
>giving him money. This is major due to Lungren's efforts to get
>Peron's trial from SF to Oakland....I spoke to J. David Nick today,
>Peron's atty, and he was livid when I told him the names of those
>involved with Lungren, this will be useful when a judge is appointed
>to Peron's trial and we can dismiss him/her for this reason, give an
>A+ to good Investigating!!! I also noted that the Sheriff of Ukiah
>gave bucks to Lungren, pass this around, I will get the names of
>these up online ASAP for you.
>
>Peter Baez

***

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Subject: DPFCA: LUNGREN'S DONATORS (fwd)
Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 14:57:13 -0700
Lines: 54
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/

-- Forwarded message --

Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 14:03:53 +0000
From: Jesse A Garcia (sccmcc@garlic.com)
To: Dale Gieringer (canorml@igc.apc.org)
CC: ralphkat@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Fwd: Alameda Officials Give $ to Lungren

Dale, I got it from the Sacramento Clerk on my payroll :)
it has all the names and home add of a lot of big people on it, and
a lot I feel questionable expenses Dan made from his contributions, he
got a check for $100,000.00 from a guy in Jackson, Wyoming, ten grand
from a guy in Vegas, he paid numerous Lungren's through P.O. boxes
over $50-60 thousand dollars as expenses for his campaign, etc. these
documents are over 150 pages, so can't fax them, but here is a little
list of the Alameda gang.

THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY MEDICAL CANNABIS CENTER, inc. TM

353 E. 10th Street Suite #E-232
Gilroy, Ca 95020
VOICE (408) 847-7008
FAX (408) 847-7008
Email: sccmcc@garlic.com

Peter Baez	 			
Executive Director 		

Jesse A Garcia
Director

ALAMEDA COUNTY OFFICIALS WHO GAVE TO THE LUNGREN CAMPAIGN 98'

1/9/98 SHERRIF, CHARLES PLUMMER, ALAMEDA COUNTY $100

2/9/98 JUDGE, STEPHEN DOMBRINK, ALAMEDA COUNTY $100

1/9/98 JUDGE, ALFRED DeLUCCHI, ALAMEDA COUNTY $150

1/9/98 D.A., PAUL DeLUCCHI, ALAMEDA COUNTY $200

1/9/98 COUNCILMAN SCOTT HAGAGARTY, CITY ALEMEDA $150

1/9/98 JUDGE, ROY HASHIMOTO, ALAMEDA COUNTY $100

1/9/98 JUDGE, JOSEPH HURLEY, ALAMEDA COUNTY $500

1/9/98 JUDGE, PERRY O. JOHNSON IV, OAKLAND, CA $150

1/9/98 JUDGE, KENNETH KINGSBURRY, SUP CT ALAMEDA $350

1/9/98 ASST. D.A., GROVER KLEMMER, ALAMEDA COUNTY $100

2/9/98 JUDGE, WILLIAM McKINSTRY, OAK SUP CT, $200

1/9/98 JUDGE, DENNIS McLAUGHLIN, ALAMEDA COUNTY $100

1/9/98 JUDGE, JON ROLEFSON, OAKLAND, CA $100

1/9/98 D.A. ALAMEDA COUNTY, ROY SCHEINGART $150

1/9/98 JUDGE, JULIA SPAIN, HAYWARD, CA $250

1/9/98 DEP. D.A., TERRY WILEY, ALAMEDA COUNTY $100

2/9/98 JUDGE, PATRICK ZIKA, ALAMEDA COUNTY $100

SPECIAL MENTION: CHIEF PD, FRED KEPLINGER, UKIAH $150

THIS WAS OBTAINED FROM FORM 490 LUNGREN FOR GOVERNOR TAX I.D.
950772 PERIOD 1/1/98 TO 3/17/98

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

Photos Document Drug War Victims ('The San Francisco Examiner'
Reviews 'Human Rights And The Drug War,' A Photo Exhibit
Continuing At The San Francisco Public Library Through June 19
That Details Dozens Of Case Studies On The Effect
Of Mandatory Minimum Sentences For Drug Offenders)

Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 00:32:12 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Photos Document Drug War Victims
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jerry Sutliff
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jun 1998
Section: Style, page C-1
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Author: Eric Brazil, SF Examiner Staff

PHOTOS DOCUMENT DRUG WAR VICTIMS

Given the prevailing attitude toward marijuana in San Francisco the
current exhibit in the main library's 6th floor Skylight Gallery is -
no other word for it - shocking.

Consider:

* The City has, de facto, decriminalized pot smoking.

* District Attorney Terence Hallinan tells the state legislature that San
Francisco should get into the business of growing and selling marijuana to
seriously ill people.

* Supervisor Tom Ammiano gets ready to introduce legislation establishing a
model ordinance for distributing medical marijuana.

* Pot promoter Dennis Peron fires up joints, with impunity, in full view of
cameras from every TV station in the Bay Area.

Meanwhile, James Ceddes, 45, is six years into a 90-year sentence in
an Oklahoma prison for cultivating and possessing five - count 'em
-five marijuana plants. "I honestly believe I have been kidnapped by
the state of Oklahoma," Geddes says.

And John Avery, a 58-year-old paraplegic, is serving a 20-year
sentence in Kentucky following his 1994 conviction that resulted from
the discovery of his underground grow room by the Drug Enforcement
Administration.

Ceddes and Avery are among dozens of case studies on the effect of
federal mandatory minimum sentence cases for drug offenses detailed in
"Human nights and the Drug War," the photo polemical exhibit that will
be on display through June 19.

The exhibit views federal drug policy prescribing mandatory minimum
sentences, even for first offenders, through the lens of the Bill of
Rights and the United Nations declaration on human rights and finds it
abhorrent.

While the U.S. drug policies are not as Draconian as those of some
other countries -- Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, for
example --- where some drug offenses call for the death penalty, it is
a world leader in incarceration.

The exhibit features a "POW wall" with photos of 100 inmates and their
families, a memorial to people killed by law enforcement in connection
with drug offenses and sections on medical marijuana and property seizure.

Viewers of the exhibit are invited to write their comments in a
notebook placed on a lectern in the gallery.

The comments indicate that the exhibit packs a punch.

* "I am a Nazi holocaust survivor, and I had no idea what is going on right
here in my own back yard."

* "It warms the heart of an old head."

* "Lock 'em up. Throw away the key. What a bunch of wasted tax dollars and
space. How about putting some books out somewhere?"

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

Denver Grants Early Release To 100 Inmates ('The Rocky Mountain News'
Says The Release Of Prisoners Convicted Of Violating Denver Municipal
And Traffic Ordinances Took Place A Week Before An Independent Auditor
Is To Inspect The Denver Jail To Make Sure Prisoners
Aren't Being Overcrowded, Leaving An Inmate Population Of 1,975
At The Smith Road Facility, Built To Hold 1,300 Inmates - No Mention
Of How Many People Are Being Imprisoned There On Marijuana Charges
Or Other Consensual Crimes)

Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 01:17:18 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CO: Denver Grants Early Release To 100 Inmates
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: cohip@levellers.org (Colo. Hemp Init. Project)
Source: Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998
Contact: letters@denver-rmn.com
Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/
Author: Lynn Bartels - Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Rocky Mountain News
400 W. Colfax
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: (303) 892-5000
Fax: (303) 892-5499

DENVER GRANTS EARLY RELEASE TO 100 INMATES

Denver jail officials this week sprang around 100 inmates to make room for
new offenders at the overcrowded facility.

The massive release on Tuesday put Wednesday's jail population at
1,975 -- down from the all-time high of 2,038 Saturday.

That was the first time in the county jail's 44-year history that the
number of inmates passed 2,000. The Smith Road facility -- build to
hold 1,300 inmates -- stayed above the 2,000 mark for four straight
days.

Undersheriff John Simonet said the inmates chosen for early release
had six days or less to serve on their sentences.

"We didn't open the gate like Moses and part the water," he said. "We
made it somewhat limited. Someone may have had only two or three days
left on a 60-day sentence."

The release comes a week before an independent auditor is scheduled to
inspect the jail to make sure prisoners aren't being crammed into too
small a space.

Inmates are double-bunked and sleeping in the middle of dormitories,
Simonet said. The influx of prisoners over the weekend required
deputies to place people in the chapel and the gymnasium.

"You need those places for recreation and for other activities to
reduce the tension," Simonet said.

The inmates given early release had been convicted of violating Denver
municipal or traffic ordinances.

Simonet said the jail did not release inmates who are serving
sentences for domestic violence, assault, menacing, gun offenses or
similar crimes.

"Hopefully, nobody who has been released has been picked up since
then," he said.

In the past, jail officials have released inmates early to relieve
overcrowding but usually in groups of 10 or 20, never 100 at a time.

"This is a first," Simonet said.

Denver has a constitutional requirement to provide a humane
environment for prisoners, Simonet said.

"There are no waivers to the Constitution," he said. "We have to
comply."

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

Judge Urges Truce In War On Drugs ('Rocky Mountain News'
Says John Kane Jr., A Senior Federal Trial Judge In Denver,
Believes The Drug War Already Is Lost And Has Been Making The Argument
In Articles And Speeches For About Six Months That Drug Abuse
Should Be Treated As A Public Health Problem Instead Of A Criminal Problem -
To Eliminate The Illicit Market, Drugs Ought To Be Provided To Anybody,
Under Medical Supervision - At No Cost, If Necessary)

Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 09:27:08 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CO: Judge Urges Truce in War on Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: cohip@levellers.org (Colo. Hemp Init. Project)
Source: Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Contact: letters@denver-rmn.com
Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998
Author: Karen Abbott - Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

JUDGE URGES TRUCE IN WAR ON DRUGS

Giving drugs to users would unclog courts and eliminate illegal market for
substances

A Denver federal judge wants the government to give free drugs to drug
abusers and stop prosecuting them as criminals.

John Kane Jr., a senior trial judge, believes the drug war already is lost.
He advocates treating drug abuse as a public health problem instead.

Kane, who has been making the argument in articles and speeches for about
six months, said he doesn't advocate making all drugs legal for anybody who
wants them.

"Prosecution and severe criminal penalties should still be maintained for
the illegal manufacture, distribution for sale and illegal importing of
drugs," Kane said.

"But I think that the use of drugs should not be treated by the criminal
law," he said.

"Either through public health clinics or through physicians and
pharmacists, drugs ought to be provided to anybody, under medical
supervision -- and at no cost, if necessary."

The purpose isn't to encourage people to use drugs, but to eliminate the
illegal market for them, he said, comparing the "war on drugs" to
Prohibition's failure to end alcoholism.

Kane said courts are drowning in criminal drug cases while other crimes go
unprosecuted and civil disputes wait for trial time.

Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., who is seeking re-election to Congress in
November, called Kane's idea a bad one.

"I think that sends a real signal to society, and to young people, that
this is really OK because, after all, the government is doing it," Hefley
said.

"Even with legalized liquor, we still have bootleggers and we still have
alcoholism," he said. "And I'm not sure, from a social standpoint, that it
would reduce those who abuse drugs."

Andrew Hudson, spokesman for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, said the mayor
disagrees with Kane's view.

Kane said other federal judges across the country -- most notably, a senior
federal trial judge in Manhattan, Robert Sweet -- are saying publicly that
the war on drugs has failed.

The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, headed by Barry McCaffrey,
known as the nation's "drug czar," has heard that message before and is
vehemently opposed.

"Drugs are a real danger, even in small amounts," spokesman Brian Morton said.

He said drug abuse nationwide has dropped about 50 percent in the past 15
years, largely because "drugs are against the law, and police uphold the
law, and the societal disapproval that comes from that."

"To say this is a 'war' that has failed doesn't serve the public, doesn't
do any service to the good people out there working in treatment centers,
the law enforcement community and the citizens and parents and teachers and
ministers who are trying to stop this scourge on America's cities," Morton
said.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., seeking re-election to Congress in November,
delivered a carefully worded statement on Kane's views through spokesman
Jamin Spitzer: "A proposal such as this is unlikely to be considered by a
Congress that recently voted against funding needle exchange."

But DeGette's statement didn't disclose her own views.

"Right," Spitzer said.

Needle exchange programs seek to control some drug-related health problems
by giving illegal users a sort of amnesty to turn in used needles for new
ones, reducing the spread of disease.

In April, Kane made a speech to Colorado's municipal judges at their annual
convention about what he sees as the drug war's failure.

"I think some of them were stunned," Kane said. "And some of them said,
"Well, you know, maybe we agree -- but what is a judge doing talking about
controversial issues?"'

Kane said he cleared his plan to be outspoken on his views with Stephanie
Seymour of Tulsa, Okla., the chief judge of the federal 10th Circuit, and
with a federal judiciary committee on judges' ethics.

"Not only is it all right, but I have an affirmative duty to speak out on
critical legal issues," he said.

On the bench, Kane does not handle drug cases or any other criminal cases
-- an option for senior federal trial judges, who choose the cases they
take.

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

Vitamin C Not Immune From School's Drug Policy
('The Rocky Mountain News' Says An 8-Year-Old Was Suspended
From Big Thompson Elementary School In Loveland, Colorado,
On Tuesday For Giving A Chewable Vitamin C Tablet To A Classmate)

From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" 
Subject: MN: US: CO: Vitamin C Not Immune From School's Drug Policy
Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 20:57:27 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: cohip@levellers.org (Colo. Hemp Init. Project)
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998
Source: Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Contact: letters@denver-rmn.com
Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/
Author: Cathy Cummins

VITAMIN C NOT IMMUNE FROM SCHOOL'S DRUG POLICY

LOVELAND -- Jordan Edmondson is 8 years old and he knows the rules against
drugs in school, but he wonders how a chewable vitamin C tablet made the
list.

He was suspended from Big Thompson Elementary School on Tuesday for giving a
tablet to a classmate "because she kept asking me for it," the second-grader
said Wednesday.

Another classmate told school officials, and Annalies Edmondson, Jordan's
mother, was asked pick up her son.

"They say it's like a controlled substance," the boy said. "I don't know why
they say that."

His mother is confused, too. She wonders why the principal suspended Jordan
rather than explain that giving classmates a vitamin tablet isn't
appropriate.

"It's totally asinine," she said. "It's vitamin C; we give them to our kids
every day. I got it at Target; tell me it's a controlled substance."

Jordan returned to school Wednesday.

District policy forbids students to possess or distribute controlled
substances, including vitamins, said Ron Lauterbach, Thompson School
District's director of instructional support services.

"There's a chance there could be a disastrous reaction," Lauterbach said.

Jordan's family supports the drug policy, but Annalies Edmondson said the
suspension was extreme. She talked to Jordan about the incident Tuesday.

"She told me not to give stuff to people," Jordan said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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

Math Teacher Arrested On Drug Charge ('The Sun' In Maryland
Says A 20-Year-Veteran Towson University Professor Is Charged
With Buying Cocaine At A Public Housing Complex In Northeast Baltimore)

Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 19:20:20 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US MD: Math Teacher Arrested on Drug Charge
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Rob Ryan
Source: Sun, The (MD)
Contact: letters@baltsun.com
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998
Author: Peter Hermann

MATH TEACHER ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGE

Police pose as dealers at public housing complex

A Towson University math professor has been charged with buying cocaine at
a public housing complex in Northeast Baltimore, the latest of more than
100 suburbanites arrested in the city this year on drug charges.

John Morrison, 49, of the 200 block of Midlass Drive in Middle River, was
arrested at the start of a weeklong undercover initiative in Hollander
Ridge by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City police force, authorities
said.

Morrison, who was not teaching this semester, and two women in a Toyota
minivan were arrested about 10: 50 p.m. Monday when, police say, they
walked up to a vacant ground-floor apartment being watched by police.

Officers obtained warrants and arrested seven people on drug-dealing
charges early yesterday. They returned last night to the community posing
as drug dealers and by the end of the operation arrested 16 people accused
of drug buying.

Morrison, who earned a master's degree and a doctorate from the University
of Maryland system, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to
distribute. Police accused him of buying 16 small bags of crack cocaine.

Pamela Kendig, 36, who lives with Morrison, and Lauren B. Caldwell, 36, of
the 300 block of St. George Road in Middle River, were each charged with
conspiracy to buy drugs.

The three suspects were released Tuesday on bail and have court hearings
scheduled for next month. Kendig and Caldwell could not be reached for
comment.

Morrison, who has taught at Towson University for 20 years, also could not
be reached. His lawyer, George Psoras Jr., declined to comment.

Baltimore County police charged Morrison with possession of drug
paraphernalia in February; that case is pending.

Michael Anselmi, a university lawyer, said Morrison taught a few classes
last semester but would not say why Morrison was not teaching. "Any
personnel action is confidential," he said.

Hollander Ridge is a crime-troubled neighborhood near Moravia Industrial
Park, east of Interstate 95, near the Baltimore County line.

Police have conducted similar operations throughout the city this year,
arresting more than 100 people who live outside the city. They accounted
for half of the city's drug-buying arrests, police say.

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

NORML Alert - '60 Minutes' To Revisit Medical Marijuana Debate
(NORML Says On July 12 CBS News Will Re-Run Their 1992 Piece
On Barbara & Kenny Jenks, Two AIDS Patients Who Were Allowed
In The Compassionate IND Program - With Help From NORML,
Morley Safer Has Written New Opening And Closing Segments)

Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 18:26:41 EDT
Errors-To: manager@drcnet.org
Reply-To: NATLNORML@aol.com
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
Precedence: first-class
From: (NATLNORML@aol.com)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: NORML Alert: 60 Minutes to revisit Med. Mj. debate

Hello Reformers:

Another mark for your 'reformers' calendar: NORML's been informed by
CBS News that 60 Minutes will re-run their awesome and compelling 1992
piece on Barbara & Kenny Jenks (two AIDS patients caught with cannabis,
sentenced by the judge to love each other for the rest of their days and
got into the incredibly limited government program that distributes
cannabis to a lucky few medical patients). If you missed this news piece
the first time...have your VCR rolling. The date for the re-broadcast is
July 12, 1998

Morley Safer (with help from NORML) has written a new and updated
opening and closing for the piece.

-NORML
www.norml.org

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

Activist Holds Last Protest After Death (UPI Says Washington, DC,
AIDS Activist Steve Michael Holds His Final Protest Today,
More Than A Week After He Died Of AIDS- Related Illnesses -
In Accordance With His Dying Wish, The Body Of The Man Who Spearheaded
Two Ballot Initiatives In Washington To Legalize Medical Uses Of Marijuana
Will Be Marched To Lafayette Park In Front Of The White House
For A Memorial Service Meant To Draw Attention To
President Clinton's AIDS Policies)

Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 10:37:08 -0700 (PDT)
X-Sender: showquality@pop.seanet.com (Unverified)
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
From: Kelley (showquality@seanet.com)
Subject: HT: dying wish granted for medicinal marijuana activist
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Thursday June 4 9:50 AM EDT

Activist holds last protest after death

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) - A Washington, D.C., AIDS activist is set to hold
his final protest, more than a week after he died of AIDS- related illnesses.

In fulfillment of his dying wish, Steve Michael's body will be marched to
Lafayette Park in front of the White House for a memorial service at 12:30
p.m. today meant to draw attention to President Clinton's AIDS policies.

Michael is remembered for his two symbolic presidential runs and for
reviving the Washington chapter of ACT UP, an AIDS activist group.

He died May 25 at the age of 42, after spending one month in the intensive
care unit at the Washington Hospital Center.

His partner, Wayne Turner, said Michael wanted to use his illness to
highlight the pain of AIDS wasting syndrome and AIDS patients' need for
access to medicinal marijuana.

Michael spearheaded two ballot initiatives in Washington to legalize
medicinal uses of marijuana.

But the two men spent most of the last seven years following Clinton's
campaign trails and pressuring him in television advertisements and protests
to follow through on promises to establish a large-scale project to find an
AIDS cure.

ACT UP, which stands for AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, plans to bring
busloads of activists from New York and Philadelphia for the memorial.
Michael's mother, Barbara Michael, is coming from California for the service.

Copyright 1998 by United Press International.

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

AIDS Activists Hold Protest Funeral ('Associated Press' Version)

Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 19:03:37 EDT
Errors-To: manager@drcnet.org
Reply-To: GDaurer@aol.com
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: 
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: AIDS Activists Hold Protest Funeral

6/4/98

AIDS Activists Hold Protest Funeral

By EUN-KYUNG KIM

WASHINGTON (AP) - Friends of a local AIDS activist marched his body along
Pennsylvania Avenue on Thursday before coming to a stop outside the White
House to accuse President Clinton of being a ``murdering liar.''

About 100 people participated in the half-mile procession for Steve Michael,
founder of the Washington chapter of ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition To Unleash
Power. Organizers said Michael, who died May 25 of AIDS, requested the
``political funeral'' to protest the Clinton administration's AIDS-related
policies.

``Bill Clinton is a murderer, and this death, and tens of thousands of others,
must be laid at his doorstep,'' said Ann Northrop of New York. ``He is a liar,
and he is letting people with AIDS die on purpose. We will not rest until this
crisis is over.''

ACT UP and other AIDS activists accuse Clinton of going back on promises they
say he made in his presidency's early days to make fighting the disease a
priority of his administration. They also criticize Clinton for not being
sufficiently aggressive about AIDS education programs in schools or providing
the poor with guaranteed health care access. His decision against creating a
federally funded needle exchange program for drug addicts also was denounced
Thursday.

Pallbearers wearing black arm bands carried Michael's casket. They walked
behind a single drummer and Michael's partner, Wayne Turner, who held an
altered picture of Clinton with a long, Pinnochio-like nose. Turner walked
arm-in-arm with Michael's mother, Barbara Michael, who held her own photo - a
black-and-white photocopy of her son as a baby.

The casket was opened in front of the White House. Michael's mother stroked
her son's forehead and gave it a kiss; Turner leaned in close, whispered a few
words, and instructed organizers to begin the eulogies.

Friends hailed Michael as a soldier of human rights while reviling Clinton.

``In 1992, the occupant of that house made very clear and specific promises,
commitments, to people living with HIV disease, ... and where are we now?''
said Bill Freeman, former executive director of the National Association of
People with AIDS.

Turning and pointing to the White House, Freeman said: ``This is a president
who continually said the right thing and did the wrong thing.''

The protest stood in stark contrast to past ``funerals'' the organization has
held in front of the White House. Two years ago, more than 300 protesters
gathered to watch as ashes of another AIDS victim were thrown onto the mansion
lawn.

In comparison, the march for Michael was relatively calm. Police blocked off
traffic as protesters carrying the casket and a number of black banners,
including one that said ``Over our dead bodies,'' walked by onlookers.

Michael's body was being returned to a funeral home after the protest, Turner
said. It will be cremated Saturday.

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

Contending With Illegal Drugs At Home And Abroad (A So-Called 'Fact Sheet'
From The US State Department Includes Some Official Statistics
On How Many Millions Of Dollars The United States Spends On Various Fronts
In The War On Some Drug Users)

Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 18:42:34 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service 
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Fact Sheet: Contending With Illegal Drugs At Home And
Abroad
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: isenberd@DynCorp.com (Isenberg, David)
Source: United States Information Agency
Author: State Department
Pubdate: 4 Jun 1998
Website: http://www.usia.gov/
Note: Following is a State Department fact sheet on U.S. efforts to combat
the domestic and international drug problem.

FACT SHEET: CONTENDING WITH ILLEGAL DRUGS AT HOME AND ABROAD

The president's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) presents to
the administration each year a national drug control strategy. This year's
(1998) strategy embraces five broad goals:

-- Educate and enable America's youth to reject illegal drugs as well as
alcohol and tobacco;

-- Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing
drug-related crime and violence;

-- Reduce health and social costs to the public of illegal drug use;

-- Shield America's air, land, and sea frontiers from the drug threat; and

-- Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply. The vast majority of
the budget for counter-narcotics programs is applied to the first three goals.

The overall budget for counter-drug activities, which includes large
research and development requests tied primarily to the Counter-drug
Technology Assessment Center (CTAC), amounted to $26,731 million in 1996,
$35,838 million in 1997, and a requested $36,016 million in 1998. For 1996,
$16,000 million went to research, while that figure was $18,000 million for
both 1997 and 1998. The remaining budget amounts represent money to be
spent on operations, or better stated, activities that directly impact on
the daily lives of millions of U.S. citizens.

The overall budget request for counter-narcotics operations for fiscal year
1998 (FY98) is $15,977 million. This amount includes money specifically
authorized by Congress for counter-narcotics programs. The $15,977 million
figure represents a 5.4 percent increase over the FY97 total of $15,159
million and is nearly 16 percent greater than the $13,454 million spent in
FY96.

The annual budgets in millions of dollars is broken down into the following
broad categories:

1996         1997       1998

Criminal justice system

6267         6961       7249

Drug treatment

2554         2809       3004

Drug prevention

1301         1648       1917

International programs

 290          296        289

Interdiction

1321         1639       1610

Research

 609          632        674

Intelligence

 115          146        159

(Figures are in millions of U.S. dollars)

U.S. criminal justice programs include the federal judiciary, Bureau of
Prisons, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), Immigration and Naturalization (INS), INTERPOL, local
policing initiatives, among others. Drug treatment includes federal funding
and counterpart spending on drug treatment programs across the nation.

Drug prevention is specifically aimed at demand reduction and education,
especially for at-risk teen populations. Interdiction is targeted at
blocking the free movement of illicit narcotics into the U.S. and
narcotrafficking organizations that prey on U.S. citizens. The
international spending is program money spent specifically supporting
counter-narcotics efforts in supply source countries.

The international component of counter-drug operational spending has never
exceeded 6 percent of the total spending (1991 and 1992) and it currently
represents only 2 percent of the overall budget request for FY98. When the
1997 and 1998 budgets are broken down into functional areas by dollar
amounts and percentages, it looks like the following:

1997     %       1998     %

Demand reduction

4692     35      4440     33

Domestic law enforcement

6983     53      7402     55

International

 296      2       289      2

Interdiction

1280     10      1321     10

(Annual figures are in millions of U.S. dollars)

The U.S. government expends the bulk of its anti-narcotics resources
fighting the drug war within its own borders. More than five of every ten
dollars is spent on domestic law enforcement programs, while nearly nine of
every ten dollars is spent on demand reduction or law enforcement.

Counter-drug program accomplishments have been considerable. The number of
people 12 years and older who regularly use drugs in the United States has
dropped from 14 percent in 1976 to just 6 percent in 1996. The number of
cocaine users dropped 70 percent in a decade, from 5.7 million in 1985 to
1.7 million in 1996.

Teen drug use has dropped in the latest survey for the first time in
several years, from 10.9 percent in 1995 to 9.0 percent in 1996. There is
also a declining trend in the use of crack cocaine, with the majority of
large cities in the U.S. showing significant declines in use, and only a
handful with increasing use of this dangerous drug. Likewise, most cities,
including the eight with highest reported rates of use, report that
methamphetamine abuse is declining. Drug-related crimes have also declined
in the last few years across America.

The number of drug-related arrests in the United States has risen
dramatically as the federal government has increased its commitment to
making America's streets safer. In 1992 about 1 million individuals were
arrested in drug-related crimes; that figure rose to 1.5 million in 1996.
Beginning in 1995, the federal drug law enforcement efforts began to target
kingpin and mid-level dealers, dismantling several important East Coast
trafficking networks. In 1995, 94.3 percent of all federal drug convictions
were for trafficking (as opposed to sales) of illicit narcotics. The
primary means for extending this work is the creation of more High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) programs.

The five HIDTAs in FY97 expanded to 17 in FY98. The HIDTA program provides
supplemental funding to federal agencies and provides money to make these
organizations joint ventures with local and state law enforcement joining
their federal counterparts.

The U.S. government has also targeted foreign trafficking organizations
with significant influence in the U.S. illicit narcotics market. Working
with the government of Mexico since 1995, targeting the Amado Carillo
Fuentes organization has led to more than 100 indictments in the U.S., the
seizure of 11.5 metric tons of cocaine, 6.9 metric tons of marijuana, and
more than $18.5 million in assets.

Prosecution of the Arellano Felix organization has led to 14 indictments.
One of the Arellano Felix brothers, Ramon, is on the FBI's top ten most
wanted list while the Department of State is offering up to $2 million for
information that will lead to his arrest and conviction. The U.S.
government has also dismantled important Colombian, Nigerian, and Jamaican
organizations that imported multi-ton shipments of a variety of drugs into
the United States, such as heroin, methamphetamines, and marijuana.

Most importantly, though, the message about drugs is being heard by
Americans. More Americans are concerned about drugs and the influence of
drug use on our society than ever before. Polling data consistently shows
that Americans rate drugs as one of the most serious problems facing our
youth. Likewise, Americans are getting personally involved in counter-drug
programs and projects to treat chronic drug users.

The greater concern about the problems associated with drugs has increased
media coverage about the problems.

The U.S. government is committed to the most comprehensive national drug
control strategy ever. The ten-year plan and five-year budget establish
priorities, match funding, and provide means to measure progress. The
goal-oriented strategy will move the United States further toward a
drug-free environment. The first measure of commitment is innovative
programs that:

-- Target the youth with a media campaign that will use all of the power
available (newspapers, television, radio, internet) to reach America's
youth with the message that drugs are dangerous;

-- Assist our communities with grants that will strengthen 14,000 anti-drug
community coalitions in cities and towns across the country;

-- Create even more High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area programs (HIDTA)
that target cities particularly susceptible to the problem of drug use.

A second measure of commitment to counter-drug programs is the budget
itself. Growing by more than 25 percent since 1992, the current operational
budget of $16,000 million shows the commitment of the U.S. government to
counter-drug programs. Within the budget, the largest one-year increase
came in demand reduction efforts, where allocations jumped 22 percent. The
administration has made prevention of drug use and abuse its highest
commitment.

Finally, the new strategy details measures of effectiveness that will show
where the programs are not meeting pre-established goals. These measures
are quantifiable, attainable, and practical. These measures make the
government programs accountable to Congress and the American people.

The charge that the United States only fights its drug war abroad is false.
The figures cited above show that the vast majority of the U.S. commitment
is domestic and involves reducing demand, preventing sales, treating abuse,
and targeting the suppliers of drugs to U.S. citizens. The comparatively
small amount of money spent on international programs is intended to reduce
the supply of illicit narcotics to the United States. At the same time,
however, it helps those countries that receive U.S. assistance reduce the
influence of narcotics traffickers in their societies and economies. The
use of U.S. budgetary resources abroad will assist both the United States
and its allies in making drugs less available in all countries.

The international budget may also be the most productive in terms of "bang
for the buck." In 1996, working closely with its allies, the U.S.
international program was responsible for removing 300 metric tons of
cocaine from the trafficking system. This was accomplished despite the
ability of the narcotraffickers to outspend the United States, manipulate
corrupt officials, and otherwise sabotage anti-drug operations. For the
annual investment of about 2 percent of the federal counter-drug budget,
the programs eliminated $30,000 million worth of cocaine profits for the
traffickers. While much still needs to be done, especially in the area of
demand reduction, the U.S. government is committing the necessary resources
to attack our domestic drug problem.

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

Lawmakers Call For Mandatory Drug Testing In House ('The Associated Press'
Notes The Bill Introduced Thursday By US Representatives Gerald Solomon
Of New York And Joe Barton Of Texas Would Not Include Testing
For Alcohol Abuse)

Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 09:22:20 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Wire: Lawmakers Call for Mandatory Drug Testing in House
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: David.Hadorn@vuw.ac.nz (David Hadorn)
Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998

LAWMAKERS CALL FOR MANDATORY DRUG TESTING IN HOUSE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- All 435 House members and many on their staffs would be
tested for drug use under a bill introduced Thursday by two Republicans.

Reps. Gerald Solomon of New York and Joe Barton of Texas say there's no
evidence of illegal drug use among their colleagues, but they believe
random testing would send a good message.

``Over half of all American workers are subject to some sort of drug
testing, and when you do have drug testing, one thing that's true in every
case is illegal drug use goes down,'' Barton said.

If passed, the bill would become a House rule and would not apply to the
Senate. House Republicans tried to pass a similar measure about two years
ago but were blocked by the Democrats.

The outcome of the lawmakers' drug tests would be published every two years.

Solomon said he believes Congress should impose drug testing to set an
``unmistakable example'' and show that lawmakers are serious about fighting
drug abuse.

``Illegal drug use in America is so, so serious,'' said Solomon. ``It is
literally threatening another generation of Americans.''

Several members of Congress said privately they think the measure is
insulting and unnecessary, but said they'll probably vote for it
nonetheless for political reasons.

Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., has opposed mandatory drug testing
in the past and will continue to do so.

``Members are free to test themselves and their staffs at any time and
several offices have already instituted their own policies,'' said Gephardt
spokesman Erik Smith. ``Mr. Gephardt doesn't think a sweeping mandate
should be placed on the House.''

Members of Congress who failed drug tests could not be fired from the
House, but the results would be made available to voters and offenders
would be referred to the Ethics Committee.

Members would not be tested for alcohol abuse.

``I believe you can tell when a person is intoxicated. They have a smell
about them,'' said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, a cosponsor of the measure.
``With drugs you cannot tell.''

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

Tobacco Tax Talk Brings Cheers On The Black Market ('Baltimore Sun'
Op-Ed In 'The San Jose Mercury News' By Anne MacDiarmid Of FORCES Canada,
A Non-Profit Group Lobbying For Smokers' Rights, Says The US Congress
Should Consider The Experiences Of Canada, Sweden, Britain, Denmark
And Germany Before It Passes Prohibitionary Taxes On Tobacco)

Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 01:02:26 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: CANADA: Tobacco Tax Talk Brings Cheers
On The Black Market
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Marcus-Mermelstein Family 
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author: Anne Macdiarmid

TOBACCO TAX TALK BRINGS CHEERS ON THE BLACK MARKET

TAX tobacco like crazy, squeeze billions of dollars out of the tobacco
companies and save a generation of kids from smoking.

That's the formula government and anti-tobacco activists are pushing these
days. If the government cracks down enough, some believe, tobacco use might
dwindle to nothing in our lifetime.

Congress recently began debating far-reaching tobacco legislation that
includes a hefty tax on cigarettes. But politicians would do well to heed
the recent experience of other countries that have tried such measures in
attempting to reduce tobacco consumption.

Take Canada. Under similar pressures from the anti-smoking lobby, the
Canadian government cranked up tobacco taxes in the early 1990s.

In the late 1980s, a carton of cigarettes cost about $25 in Canadian
currency. By 1993, a legal carton of cigarettes cost between $40 and $60,
while illegal cartons were going for between $20 and $30, according to an
estimate by the office of Canada's Solicitor General.

The result was predictable: a black market. After being exported to the
United States, Canadian cigarettes were brought back over the border and
sold at a high profit, with organized crime gangs vying aggressively for a
share of the market. The Akwesasne Mohawk Indian reserve, at the crossroads
of the U.S. border and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, became
a key point of entry, with police scrambling in vain to curb
well-organized, armed smugglers.

For a while, Canadian smokers seemed free and easy about the illicit thrill
of buying cigarettes from ``a friend of a friend.'' Small retailers endured
slumping cigarette sales -- and holdups from bandits seeking to make off
with cigarettes.

Soon, an estimated one-quarter to one-third of cigarettes consumed in
Canada were coming from the black market. The loss of federal taxes to
smuggling was estimated at about $1 billion Canadian, with provincial
governments losing about the same amount.

In 1994, the Canadian government responded by knocking down combined
federal and provincial tobacco taxes by as much as 50 percent. At the same
time, it announced new smuggling enforcement initiatives. But sharp
differences in taxation levels between Canadian provinces have remained.
Interprovincial smuggling continues to be a significant problem. In 1996,
Canada's auditor-general estimated that approximately $630 million in
tobacco revenue was being lost to smuggling.

Some might argue that a certain amount of social and financial pain is
worth the creation of a smoke-free generation. But do high prices keep kids
from smoking?

In fact, it is entirely possible that the combination of high-priced legal
cigarettes, a black market and strong-arm enforcement against sales to
youngsters have an effect opposite of what is intended -- tempting some
youngsters into illegal activity and thereby subjecting them to the
influence of hard-core criminals.

Canada is not the only place where high taxes have spawned criminal
activity and loss of government revenues and control.

After steep tax increases in Sweden, the quantity of smuggled cigarettes
jumped from 6 million in 1995 to 39.5 million in 1997. The government
responded by dropping the tax by 27 percent. Denmark is also looking to
reduce cigarette taxation.

In Britain, high taxation has led to an exploding black market of
cigarettes from countries in continental Europe where prices are lower.

During the last couple of years, German streets have seen violent gang
warfare over control of the illicit tobacco trade.

Smugglers have taken advantage of the discrepancy in taxes from one
jurisdiction to another. But if governments persistently tax tobacco past
what the market will bear, we can expect even more sinister innovations
from black marketeers.

The economics of this are obvious. Cigarettes cost only about 30 cents a
pack to manufacture and transport. In a black market, the difference
between that and the price to the final purchaser is pure profit for the
smuggler.

Now consider this. In the United States alone, there are 49.1 million
smokers -- 26 million men and 23.1 million women -- according to the
American Heart Association. Other estimates indicate that approximately
one-quarter of the North American population smokes. With that sort of
market potential, how long will it take the drug cartels to grow and
manufacture tobacco products?

Today's persecution of legitimate, taxpaying tobacco companies could pave
the way. And if you don't like the legal tobacco trade, hold onto your hat.
The next chapter of the Tobacco Wars might feature counterfeit Marlboros or
Camels purchased illegally by distributors from international organized
crime and sold in your local corner store, bar or schoolyard.

Does this all sound impossibly alarmist? It might to those in the United
States who have a sensitive nose for tobacco smoke and no sense of history.
During Prohibition, drinking bootleg booze took a certain amount of
courage, and not just because it involved breaking the law.

Many people were blinded or killed by so-called bathtub gin --
incompetently home-brewed liquor that was sometimes sold in "name brand"
bottles to attract unwary customers. Could a black market lead to the loss
of government control on cigarette content?

Today, it is U.S. legislators who appear to be blinded by the prospect of
filling government coffers with easy tobacco bucks while getting the
political fix that comes from appearing to be on the right side of a public
health issue. But to be truly responsible, they should consider the
probable consequences of their actions. If they don't, they might be
remembered as the architects of the worst social experiment since
Prohibition.

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

US Undercover Agents Wanted For Trial ('The Chicago Tribune'
Says Mexico Has Told The United States That It Will Prosecute
US Customs Agents And Informers Who Carried Out
An Undercover Money-Laundering Sting, 'Operation Casablanca,'
On Mexican Soil And Will Seek The Agents' Extradition To Face Trial)

Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 18:50:49 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Mexico: U.S. Undercover Agents Wanted for Trial
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998

U.S. UNDERCOVER AGENTS WANTED FOR TRIAL

MEXICO CITY - Mexico has told the United States that it will prosecute U.S.
Customs agents and informers who carried out an undercover money-laundering
operation on Mexican soil and will seek the agents' extradition to face
trial.

Mexico is preparing to accuse the agents of entrapment, engaging in
money-laundering and usurping the authority of Mexican law enforcement,
Foreign Secretary Rosario Green said Tuesday.

The three-year undercover operation was described by officials of the U.S.
Customs Services as the largest and probably most successful in U.S. law
enforcement history.

According to indictments in Los Angeles stemming from the investigation,
employees of 1y2 [sic] Mexican banks laundered at least $110 million for
drug organizations based in Colombia and Mexico.

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

Breast Implants - RCMP Probes All - Refused Eight Years Ago To Investigate
Same Complaint ('The Toronto Star' Says The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Refused To Investigate An Alleged Health Canada Cover-Up Eight Years Ago -
A Case The Mounties Are Now Investigating Anew)

Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 09:33:45 -0400
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
From: Dave Haans (haans@chass.utoronto.ca)
Subject: TorStar: Breast implants: RCMP probes all
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Source: The Toronto Star
Pubdate: Thursday, June 4, 1998
Page: A1
Website: http://www.thestar.ca
Contact: LetterToEd@thestar.ca
Author: Laura Eggertson

Breast implants: RCMP probes all

Refused 8 years ago to investigate same complaint

By Laura Eggertson

Toronto Star Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to investigate an
alleged Health Canada cover-up involving breast implants eight years ago -
the case the Mounties are now probing, The Star has learned.

Officials from the RCMP's commercial crimes division are seeking
documentation and questioning former Health Canada officials and others
about accusations first brought to then-commissioner Norman Inkster's
attention in 1990.

RCMP Constable Robert Chartrand's investigation involves not only Health
Canada's regulation of the Même breast implant, as the department said
Monday, but its regulation of all silicone gel implants, he said yesterday.
That includes devices made by Michigan-based Dow Corning Corp., which
recently agreed to pay $2 billion (U.S.) to women suffering health problems
after having implants.

Linda Wilson, co-founder of a support group for women with implants, wrote
to Inkster in 1990 asking him to investigate why Health Canada exempted a
distributor of the Même implants from having to register the devices and
ensure they were safe for women. About 25,000 Canadian women used the Même
implants.

Wilson had two Même devices, manufactured by Wisconsin-based Bristol-Myers
Squibb, implanted after a double mastectomy. She later suffered serious
infections and had to have both removed.

In her letter to Inkster, Wilson accused Réal Laperrière Inc., the Quebec
distributor, of ``certain illegalities'' Health Canada officials knew about.

``As a person who has been seriously injured by the Même implants I wish to
know why this is being covered up,'' she wrote.

``Perhaps if registration had been applied for at the correct time this
product would of (sic) come under better scrutiny before being allowed on
the market and injuries to women, like myself, could of been avoided.''

Inkster told Wilson there was no evidence of criminal activity and referred
her back to Health Canada - the department Wilson was accusing of wrong-doing.

Reached yesterday at his new job as head of KPMG Investigation and Security
Inc. in Toronto, Inkster said he didn't remember the letters or Wilson.

``Over the course of six years and 10 months you sign a lot of letters, see
a lot of correspondence - (it's) impossible to remember them all,'' said
Inkster, who retired from the RCMP in 1994 after nearly seven years as
commissioner.

Eight years later, and using additional information from a more recent
complaint, Chartrand is attempting to reconstruct just what happened all
those years ago. He recently contacted Wilson to find out what she knew.

An estimated 150,000 Canadian women received silicone gel breast implants
from 1969 until 1993, when Health Canada banned them. Some of the devices
were exempt from regulations requiring safety tests because they were on
the market prior to 1982, when the regulations came into force.

Health Canada officials initially argued that Laperrière forgot to register
the Même implants, which the company had said it was selling in Canada
before 1982. That would mean the company didn't need to provide studies
showing they were safe.

Later, the department was unable to produce any sales receipts and admitted
officials had made a mistake. They said they'd confused the Même with
another kind of implant.

But instead of sanctioning Laperrière for failing to register his devices
or provide the information, officials ``grandfathered'' them, saying they
were advertised for sale in a medical journal prior to 1982 and so did not
require safety data.

Chartrand confirmed yesterday there was no RCMP investigation done in 1990
and no one followed up on Wilson's allegations then. Officials are looking
into that, he said.

He said the recent complaint that prompted his probe concerned Health
Canada activities from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, and contained
more information than Wilson gave Inkster at the time.

In 1990, Wilson asked Inkster to find out why Laperrière was given what she
called ``special treatment'' by Health Canada.

``Mr. Laperrière sold these implants from late 1984 until October, 1988,
without the required registration, yet no action has been taken against him
for failing to comply with the regulations,'' Wilson wrote in her Feb. 6,
1990, letter to the commissioner.

``I ask WHY is this person getting what appears as `special treatment'?''

Wilson pointed out that Laperrière was a former Progressive Conservative
riding association president in the Montreal riding of Rosemont.

She offered the RCMP documents she had concerning the distributor's
operations.

Inkster responded in writing, telling Wilson on April 9, 1990, the RCMP had
contacted Health and Welfare Canada about her charges. Health Canada told
him it was conducting an internal investigation and had contacted Wilson,
Inkster said.

``Unfortunately the Royal Canadian Mounted Police cannot investigate as
there is no evidence to indicate a criminal act has taken place,'' he said.

The commissioner did not ask Wilson for her documents or interview her in
person. In a follow-up exchange of letters, Wilson said she'd never been
contacted by investigators. Inkster again told her: ``There is no evidence
to indicate that a criminal act has taken place and there are no grounds
for a police investigation.''

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

Forget Such A Foolish Tribute (Staff Editorial In The Norwich, England,
'Evening News' Says The Decision By The CLCIA To Lay A Wreath
At The City War Memorial In Tribute To Victims Of The Drug War
Is 'Simply Offensive')

From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" 
Subject: MN: UK: Forget Such A Foolish Tribute
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 22:04:56 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: webbooks@paston.co.uk (CLCIA)
Pubdate: Thu, 4 Jun 1998
Source: Evening News (Norwich UK)
Contact: EveningNewsLetters@ecn.co.uk
Website: http://www.ecn.co.uk/

FORGET SUCH A FOOLISH TRIBUTE

Campaigners who want cannabis legalised are fully entitled to fight their
cause.

We don't agree with them but our columns are regularly used to express their
views and to give balanced opinions on the issue.

But their decision to lay a wreath at the city war memorial in tribute to
victims of the drug war is simply offensive; a crass way to pursue a
legitimate campaign.

Its timing, on the eve of D-day, is unnecessarily provocative - an abuse of
the freedom which millions died defending in two world wars.

Yes, it will attract publicity but we believe it harms rather than helps the
credibility of the campaign.

We are not demanding the wreath laying is banned, we just hope the
campaigners have the sense and decency to call it off themselves.

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

Weekly Action Report On Drug Policies, Year 4, Number 14
(Summary For Activists Of International Drug Policy News,
From CORA In Italy)

Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 15:13:35 EDT
Errors-To: manager@drcnet.org
Reply-To: cora.belgique@agora.stm.it
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
Precedence: first-class
From: cora.belgique@agora.stm.it
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: CORAFax 14 (EN)

ANTIPROHIBITIONIST OF THE ENTIRE WORLD ....
Year 4 No. 14, June 4 1998

***

Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies
Edited by the CORA - Radical Antiprohibitionist Coordination, federated to

- TRP-Transnational Radical Party (NGO, consultive status, I)
- The Global Coalition for Alternatives to the Drug War

***

director: Vincenzo Donvito All rights reserved

http://www.agora.stm.it/coranet

mailto:cora.news@agora.stm.it

PROHIBITIONISM ON DRUGS IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
9th CORA CONGRESS: PARIS 5 - 7 JUNE 1998

INFORMATIONS AND BOOKING:
Guendaline De Sario, phone 0032-2-2482827
Ottavio Marzocchi, phone 0032-2-2842258
Email: cora.belgique@agora.it

***

NEWS FROM THE CORA

9th Congress of the CORA

Participation in the congress has been confirmed by: Emma Bonino,
European Commissar; Marco Pannella, Honorary President of the CORA;
Jean-Francois Hory, French Deputee of the European Parliament; Olivier
Dupuois, Leader of the Transnational Radical Party (B); George
Papandreu, Secretary of European Affairs (GR); Jean-Luc Benhmias,
Secretary-General of the Green Party (F); Francis Caballero, President
of the "Mouvement pour la legalization controlee"; Howard Marks, of
the Antiprohibitionist Movement (UK); Monique Herold, of the League
for Human Rights; Andre' Bellon, President of "Initiative
Republicaine" (F).

***

CONGRESS OF THE CORA \ ANTIPROHIBITIONIST MARCH

The March is entitled "Legalize the debate on drugs" , and will go
from the Bastille to the Quai de la Tournelle, on Sunday the 7th at 3
pm. It has been organized together with the "Collectif pour
l'abrogation de la loi de 1970".

***

RUSSIA \ GLOBAL DAYS AGAINST THE DRUG WAR \ PRT

From the 5th to the 10 of June the Transnational Radical Party is
organizing an antiprohibitionist week in Moscow. A demonstration of
civil disobbedience is forseen to take place against Article 46 of the
new law on drugs that even prohibits distribution of informative
material on the issue. For further information: Nikolaj Khramov: tel
() 7-095-923.91.27; mailto: rp.moscow@agora.stm.it

***

NEWS FROM THE WORLD

***

000053 01/06/98
AMERICA
DRUG MAFIA / ELECTIONS
LE FIGARO

The Narcos are conditioning results of political elections in Columbia
and Ecuador. In Eastern Columbia three civilians and one soldier have
been killed. In Ecuador the winning candidate in the polls has been
accused by his rival of having ties with the Narcos.

***

000054 31/05/98
E.U. / SPAIN
DRUG MAFIA / FIGHT / COMMITTMENT
EL PAIS

In sight of the General Assembly of the United Nations against drug
traffic, the Spanish Government has committed itself to help the fight
against recycling of drug money.

***

000055 28/05/98
E.U. / GB
DRUGADDICTION
THE TIMES

The Director of the Government Department for Anti-Drug Strategies
says that the E-Z test that has been distributed by the Green Party
doesn't give reliable results on the degree of harmfulness of Ecstasy.

***

000047 31/05/98
AMERICA / VENEZUELA
LAWS
FINANCIAL TIMES

After the recent arrest of three bankers, Parliament will soon approve
a new law against organized crime which should allow proceeding on the
basis of mere suspect, even when there's no proof of either actual
involvement in drug traffic or drug detention.

***

000048 03/06/98
AMERICA / PANAMA
LAWS
FINANCIAL TIMES

Panama has a new law that foresees extradition for crimes related to
drug dealing. Jos=E8 Castrillon, a Columbian drug trafficker of the
Columbian cartel will in fact be extradited in the United States
together with other 15 accused.

***

000049 29/05/98
E.U. / FRANCE / PARIS
LAWS / ANTIPROHIBION / DEMONSTRATION
LIBERATION

The Green Party, the League for The Rights Of Man and the Union of
Magistrates have organized a demonstration to abrogate article L630 of
the Sanitary Code, which prohibits use of drugs. The slogan that will
be used is: 'Legalize the debate on drugs'. The event is being
organized also with the help of Act Up, Asud, Parti Radical de
gauche...

***

000050 28/05/98
E.U. / GERMANY
LAWS / CAR DRIVING / SANCTIONS
NEUE ZUERCHER Z.

Starting the first of August there will be new and severe
sanctions for those who drive under the effect of drugs. The law
foresees a fine of 500 Dm and withdrawal for one month of driver's
licence. In case of relapse the fine will double, and suspension of
the licence becomes effective for six months.

***

000051 01/06/98
E.U. / PORTUGAL
LAWS / LEGALIZATION / BILL
EL PAIS

After a meeting with politicians and intellectuals of every colour,
the Portuguese Antiprohibitionist Organization has asked the
Government to promote a public debate on the theme of drugs and
legalization, especially in consideration of the failure of repressive
strategies.

***

000052 31/05/98
E.U. / NL
LAWS / MARIJUANA / THERAPIES
EL PAIS

The Ministry of Health has authorized the production of 180.000 pills
of cannabis extract, to be used in therapies against cancer, AIDS and
multiple sclerosis. For this it will be necessary to import 10
Kilograms of Marijuana from the United States, because Holland still
prohibits its cultivation on a large scale.

***

000056 05/06/98
ASIA / AFGHANISTAN
WAR ON DRUGS
L'ESPRESSO

The United Nations have promised 250 million dollars to the Talebanis
if they destroy two tons of opium. Will the regime actually burn the
poppy fields, or will it merely engage in symbolic actions?

***

000057 30/06/98
AMERICA / MEXICO
WAR ON DRUGS
FINANCIAL TIMES

22 Banks caught in the net: This is the outcome of 'Operation
Casablanca' in Mexico, where drug traffickers control 70% of cocaine
entering the USA.

***

CLIPPINGS

CHINA- In 1997 350 tons of Acetone and Efedrine have been sequestered.
These substances are needed to produce heroin and synthetic drugs.
This is a real record, considering that the country is under
continuous police control...

ITALY- The Mafia is reorganizing its extortion systems: The "pizzo" (a
sum to pay in exchange of protection) may now be anticipated,
deductible or selective. Just like in real tax collection.

***

CORA

-COORDINATION RADICALE ANTIPROHIBITIONNISTE
-ANTIPROHIBITIONIST RADICAL COORDINATION
-COORDINAMENTO RADICALE ANTIPROIBIZIONISTA

Federated with the Transnational Radical Party NGO
with category I consultative status at the UN

Emailto:cora.news@agora.it

http://www.agora.stm.it/coranet

Emailto:cora.belgique@agora.it

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

[End]