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Airway Heights Prison A Model For State ('The Associated Press'
Says 70 Percent Of Offenders Are Classified As 'Violent'
At The State Prison In Airway, Heights, Washington,
But Doesn't Say How 'Violent' Is Defined)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen - Olympia" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: Airway Heights prison a model for WA state
Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 17:27:56 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
Airway Heights prison a model for state
The Associated Press
06/17/98 3:39 AM Eastern
AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. (AP) -- The state prison here holds more than 2,000
men convicted of murder, kidnapping, drug and sex crimes. But there are no
stone walls, no bars and no barking dogs at Airway Heights Corrections
Center.
In this prison, two inmates share 70 square feet of white concrete cell
they call a "house." In the evenings, after work or school, they use their
own keys to go "home."
The 100-acre compound, which has operated since 1992, is a model for future
prisons in Washington, according to a series of articles by The
Spokesman-Review newspaper called "City of Second Chances."
"Sometimes it looks like a college campus and the bell just rang and
everyone is walking by with books," said corrections Sgt. James Nozawa.
Yet inmates who lived here just three years ago wouldn't recognize the
place. New inmates -- entering the Washington prison system at a rate of 95
a month -- are squeezing offenders into increasingly crowded living units
at Airway Heights.
Built for 1,936 inmates, Airway is counting infirmary beds to boost
capacity to 2,096.
Many of the newcomers are younger and more aggressive.
"The character of the entire population has changed. We are now 70 percent
violent offenders," says prison Superintendent Kay Walter.
Inmates at the prison have built pipe bombs, made homemade liquor, shot up
black tar heroin and plotted to rape an officer.
"We take people who have been failures in everything they've done in their
lives and who have been thrown out of communities and expect correctional
staff to have them behave and have no problems," says Eldon Vail, assistant
deputy secretary of the state Corrections Department. "That's not
realistic."
Members of the Aryan Nations live here, also the Crips and Black Gangster
Disciples. Four men with life sentences. Dozens who speak no English.
"Every time I walk in, I think, `What will happen today?' " says Sgt. Dan
Van Ogle.
The $113 million prison is actually two prisons: a minimum-security camp
for about 440 inmates and a medium-security prison for about 1,600.
The entire compound has 35 buildings that include five dining rooms, two
libraries, five factories, a gymnasium, a sweat lodge, a woodshop, a dental
office and an inmate store that sells nearly $100,000 a month in soap,
snacks, cigarettes and TVs.
More than 587 people now report for work, including 281 custody staff. But
the whole operation hinges on just a few people.
Two correctional officers work inside each housing unit with as many as 256
felons and little to protect them other than their personalities. Officers
don't carry guns or even pepper spray.
"Our survival skills come from our vocal chords," Capt. Robert Herzog says.
Old prisons were built to separate offenders from officers by glass and
bars. Airway Heights is the state's full-scale trial of "direct
supervision."
This form of prison management was created by the Federal Bureau of Prisons
in the early 1970s for use in short-term jails. It saves money, costing
about 40 percent less than a traditional prison, the National Institute of
Corrections says.
Its popularity spread when studies showed the officers' presence among
inmates dramatically cut assaults, homosexual rape, vandalism and response
time in emergencies.
Fewer staff are needed because officers don't stay isolated in control
booths. They are constantly moving. At Airway, officers work surrounded by
inmates.
They talk to inmates frequently, gauging their baseline or normal behavior,
and using common courtesy to get inmates to comply.
"When I first came here, I hated it," says Van Ogle, who transferred from
Clallam Bay. "I thought, `I can't do this. You expect me to be out here
with them?' "
With salaries starting at $24,000 with full medical benefits, corrections
is a hot career for a high school graduate. An eager officer can earn
$50,000 a year with overtime.
For years, the joke was that Washington prisons hired anyone who wanted the
job and didn't have a felony record. Guards used physical force daily.
Today, all physical contact with inmates is videotaped and professional
standards are stressed.
"The job is much more complex than it used to be," Vail says. "Officers
today have to know an incredible amount about infectious diseases. We have
a much higher percentage of mentally ill inmates and gang members, a whole
array of folks we didn't have to deal with before."
Safety depends on the proper classification of inmates so the most
dangerous ones never arrive, and misbehaving ones are sent elsewhere. But
as the state prison population swells, there is no place to send them.
Old-timers at Airway Heights miss the "good old days" when there were fewer
inmates and more predictable cellmates. Still, Airway appeals to many.
"This place is a summer camp compared to Georgia," says Michael Gallagher,
26, convicted of auto theft.
Inmates with jobs get a $50 a month stipend for full-time work. They cook
the meals, clean the units and keep the grounds. They attend classes and
can get their own oatmeal at night before bedtime.
They also make medical co-payments, pay to lift weights and to take
ceramics. Thirty-five cents from every dollar they earn or are sent goes to
a savings account, victim's compensation and the cost of their upkeep.
(c)1998 Oregon Live LLC
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Statement By Barry R. McCaffrey, Director, Office Of National Drug Control
Policy, Before The Senate Committee On The Judiciary (Text
Of The Drug Czar's Written Testimony)
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 22:54:19 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: McCaffrey: Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Richard Lake rlake@mapinc.org
Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy
Pubdate: 17 June 1998
Contact: ondcp@ncjrs.org
Website: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
Author: Barry McCaffrey
Editor's note: This is a written statement, submitted for the record, which
should be published by the GPO in something, I think. What I would really
like to obtain but have been unable to find on the web so far, is a
transcript of the actual hearing. If anyone knows where it is, or how to
obtain it, please drop me a note. (posted in two parts due to item size
limits)
STATEMENT BY BARRY R. McCAFFREY, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL
POLICY BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY JUNE 17, 1998
Introduction
The purpose of this written testimony is to outline drug use trends among
our nation's teens and discuss our efforts to address youth drug use. All
of us in the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) thank the
Committee for this opportunity to focus attention on the threat illegal
drugs pose to America's young people.
ONDCP appreciates the support that you Mr. Chairman and Senator Leahy have
provided the office. Your good counsel and tireless efforts to protect our
nation and our young people from drugs have been invaluable. The members of
this Committee as a whole -- Senators Biden, Grassley, Kohl, Specter,
Feinstein, Abraham, to name just a few -- are among the most knowledgeable
people on this issue in America today. From Senator Grassley's help in
building the Drug Free Communities Act, to Senator Kohl's work with us on
the media campaign, to Senator Biden's efforts on ONDCP reauthorization,
your efforts are making a difference.
Chairman Hatch, Senator Leahy, members of the Committee, your interest in
all aspects of drug control policy and your leadership has helped ensure
that U.S. drug-control programs take a balanced approach to both supply and
demand. Because of your leadership, the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997
will help create thousands of additional anti-drug community coalitions.
Your determination to protect our nation's sixty-eight million children
from the drug threat was also instrumental in securing bipartisan support
for ONDCP's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. As you know, we are
working in close partnership with Jim Burke and the Partnership for a
Drug-Free America to develop the unprecedented paid advertising campaign
which forms the core of this initiative. It will be supported and extended
through a variety of non-advertising communication activities. By
harnessing the potential of an integrated communication campaign -- using
both mass and interpersonal channels -- ONDCP intends to influence the
lives of youth, their parents, and mentors using multiple approaches that
will encourage young people to embrace a drug-free lifestyle. We look
forward to the expansion of our Youth Media Strategy from twelve pilot
cities to the entire nation in July 1998.
Drug Use and Young People
America's most vital resources are our young people. They are literally our
future. We have no higher moral obligation than to safeguard the lives and
dreams of our nation's children. The dangers of illegal drug use pose the
greatest risk facing the generation of youth coming of age in the next
millennium. One-in-four twelfth graders is a current user of illegal drugs
(past month). Among eighth graders the percentage of current users stands
at one-in-eight. The 1996 National Household Survey (NHSDA) found that nine
percent of twelve to seventeen year olds are current drug users. While this
number is well below the 1979 peak of 16.3 percent, it is still alarmingly
higher than the 1992 low of 5.3 percent. A survey conducted by the Columbia
University Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that 41 percent of
teens reported attending a party where marijuana was available, and 30
percent had seen drugs sold at schools.
The Demographics of Drug Use Trends
Moreover, because the number of young people in this nation will
dramatically increase with the next generation (the "Millennium
Generation"), even if we reduce the percentage of young people actively
using drugs, we remain likely to be faced with increasing raw numbers of
young people with initial exposure to drugs. Between 1997 and 2007, public
high school enrollment will increase by roughly 13 percent. Beyond 2007,
long-range projections are that births will increase by 4.2 million in 2010
and 4.6 million in 2020. Unless we can prevent this next generation from
ever turning to drugs, we will face a far larger problem than we see today.
Growing numbers of two-wage-earner households and single parent families
are increasing the ranks of latch-key kids. Studies show that the time
periods when children are out of school and without adult supervision are
the hours when they are most likely to get into trouble with drugs and
other high risk behaviors. Adult -- and in particular parental --
involvement is critical to reducing youth drug use. With more parents
working, the role of the extended family, coaches, law enforcement
officers, clergy, health professionals, and other youth mentors becomes
even more critical.
Marijuana
Among young people, marijuana continues to be the most frequently used
illegal drug. The 1997 Monitoring the Future Study (MTF) found that 49.6
percent of high school seniors reported having tried marijuana at least
once -- up from 41.7 percent in 1995. After six years of steady increases,
the rate of current marijuana use among eighth graders fell from 11.3
percent in 1996 to 10.2 percent in 1997. However, this small shift must be
put into perspective. Modest declines notwithstanding, roughly one-in-ten
eighth graders have tried marijuana. We should not miss the point. Roughly
40 percent of youngsters, ages 15 to 19, who enter drug treatment have
marijuana as the primary drug of abuse. This is a dangerous drug,
particularly for adolescents.
Heroin
Increasing rates of heroin use among youth are truly frightening. While
heroin use among young people remains quite low, use among teens rose
significantly in eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades during the 1990s.
(However, past-year heroin use decreased among 8th graders and remained
stable among 10th and 12th graders between 1996 and 1997.) In every grade
(eighth, tenth and twelfth), 2.1 percent of students have tried heroin. A
frightening statistic for such a horrible drug. The heroin now being sold
on America's streets has increased in purity, which allows for the drug to
be snorted or smoked, as well as injected. The availability of alternative
means of delivery, which young people see as less risky and more appealing
than injecting, has played a major role in the increases in youth heroin
use. The number of young heroin users who snort or smoke the drug continues
to rise across the nation. The NHSDA found that the average age of
initiation for heroin had fallen from 27.3 years old in 1988 to 19.3 in 1995.
Cocaine
Cocaine use, though not prevalent among young people, is far too frequent
an experience for our youth. The 1997 MTF survey found that the proportion
of students reporting use of powder cocaine in the past year to be 2.2
percent, 4.1 percent, and 5 percent in grades eight, ten, and twelve,
respectively. This rate represents a leveling-off in eighth-grade use and
no change in tenth and twelfth grades. Among eighth graders, perceived risk
also stabilized in 1997, and disapproval of use increased -- both after an
earlier erosion in these attitudes. The 1996 NHSDA found current use among
twelve to seventeen-year-olds to be 0.6 percent, twice the rate of 1992 yet
substantially lower than the 1.9 percent reported in 1985. The fact that
young people are still experimenting with cocaine underscores the need for
effective prevention. This requirement is substantiated by NHSDA's finding
of a steady decline in the mean age of first use from 22.6 years in 1990 to
19.1 years in 1995. Crack cocaine use, according to MTF, leveled-off in the
eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades during the first half of the 1990s.
Other Drugs
The 1997 MTF reports that inhalant use is most common in the eighth grade
where 5.6 percent used it on a past-month basis and 11.8 percent did so on
a past-year basis. Inhalants can be deadly, even with first-time use, and
often represent the initial experience with illicit substances. Current use
of stimulants (a category that includes methamphetamine) declined among
eighth graders (from 4.6 to 3.8 percent) and tenth-graders (from 5.5
percent to 5.1 percent) and increased among twelfth graders (from 4.1 to
4.8 percent). Ethnographers continue to report 'cafeteria use' -- the
proclivity to consume any readily available hallucinogenic, stimulant or
sedative drugs like ketamine, LSD, MDMA, and GHB. Young people take
mood-altering pills in night clubs knowing neither what the drug is nor the
dangers posed by its use alone or in combination with alcohol or other
drugs. Treatment providers have noted increasing poly-drug use among young
people throughout the country. NHSDA reports that the mean age of first use
of hallucinogens was 17.7 years in 1995, the lowest figure since 1976.
These numbers in large part reflect the continuing popularity of drugs,
such as methamphetamines, inhalants, and psychotherapeutics (tranquilizers,
sedatives, analgesics, or stimulants), within the youth "club scene." Raves
-- late night dances, in which drug use is a prominent feature -- remain
popular among young people. The "rave scene," which is now firmly rooted in
popular culture -- from MTV to music, to movies -- has been a major
contributing factor to youth drug deaths in Orlando, Florida, and
escalating drug use in other regions.
The Dangers Are Growing
The dangers for today's young people are particularly pronounced. The
purity of heroin available on our streets is much higher than ever before.
Higher purity means higher risks. "Speedballing" -- combining heroin with
cocaine -- is increasingly common. Treatment providers report that 75
percent of clients in heroin treatment report cocaine abuse as well. In
California, methamphetamine use is so widespread that the drug is no longer
considered an emerging threat -- it has arrived. Meth use on the East Coast
is a growing problem. Ketamine, GHB and Rohypnol -- all "club drugs" -- are
also emerging threats from coast to coast. Marijuana use among young people
is increasing and indications are that the age of initiation is falling.
For example, treatment providers report that over one-third of all clients
receiving treatment for marijuana abuse are under the age of twenty.
Alcohol and Tobacco
Youth drug use rates for illegal drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, are
also linked to the high percentage of our young people who use tobacco.
Overall, 4.5 million young people under the age of eighteen now smoke;
every day another three thousand adolescents become regular smokers.
One-third of these new smokers will die from tobacco-related disease.
According to the NHSDA, an estimated 18 percent of young people ages twelve
to seventeen are current smokers. Daily cigarette smoking rose 43 percent
among high school seniors between 1992 and 1997. The 1997 MTF similarly
found that daily cigarette smoking among high school seniors reached its
highest level (24.6 percent) since 1979. Among eighth graders, this study
found that nine percent report smoking on a daily basis; 3.5 percent smoke
a half-pack or more per day. Study after study finds a high correlation
between young people who start smoking during their adolescents and then
turn to other more dangerous drugs.
Similar concerns are raised by the rate of underage drinking. In 1997, the
MTF found that 15 percent of eighth, 25 percent of tenth, and 31 percent of
twelfth graders reported binge drinking in the two weeks prior to being
interviewed. The 1996 NHSDA found past-month alcohol use among 18.8 percent
of twelve to seventeen year olds. New research indicates that the younger
the age of drinking onset, the greater the chance that an individual at
some point in life will develop a clinically defined alcohol disorder.
Young people who began drinking before age fifteen were four times more
likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who began drinking at age
twenty-one. Among eighteen to twenty-five year olds, the number jumps to
almost six-in-ten. Between 1996 and 1997, the incidence of "binge" drinking
rose by 15 percent among twelve to seventeen year olds. "Heavy" drinking
has increased by almost 7 seven during the same period. Here again,
underage alcohol use is a risk factor that correlates with higher
incidences of drug use among young people.
Attitudes Drive Actions
Youth drug use rates today are the product of attitudinal trends that
experts say began in the late 1980s. (By 1990 at the latest, young people's
perceptions of risk in drug use peaked and began to fall.) Most
disturbingly, even though the average young person is not using drugs,
almost one-in-four twelfth graders say that "most or all" of their friends
use illegal drugs. They tend to believe that abstinence from drug use
places them in the minority -- something all children fear. The danger is
that this false impression becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This
misperception puts tremendous pressure on the average youth to yield to
peer and societal pressures to experiment with drugs -- oftentimes a tragic
decision.
Attachment A to this testimony documents the role of attitudes in
determining the rate at which our young people turn to illegal drugs. It
shows the rate of 12th grade marijuana use in relation to the rate at which
these same young people see the drug as both dangerous and wrong. As the
chart shows, in 1990, the rate at which young people disapprove of
marijuana use starts to drop. In 1991, the rate of risk perception begins
to follow suit. Then, in 1992, the rate of use begins to increase. As
attitudes continued to soften for the next six years (only in 1997 do we
begin to see a modest strengthening of youth attitudes against drugs) the
rate of twelfth grade marijuana use continues to increase until it reaches
today's alarming levels.
One of the principal reasons for the alarming rate of drug use among teens
is the lack of understanding within large segments of our society about the
risks inherent in using illegal drugs. Movies like "Half-Baked" and others
portray marijuana use as comical. Pop culture continues to both normalize
and glamorize drug use. The legalizing and harm reduction crowd argues
vociferously -- and yet without a scintilla of factual basis -- that drugs
like marijuana are benign. All of this gives our young people a false sense
of security about using drugs. However, the facts are that drugs are
neither funny nor safe. They are tragic and deadly.
Science, for example, increasingly shows that marijuana -- the drug most
often misunderstood as benign -- impairs the workings of the human brain.
Attachment B to this testimony is a comparison of PET scans of two brains,
which documents the effects of marijuana on the normal neurochemical
activity of the human brain. The four images at the top of the slide show
normal brain activity. The four images at the bottom show the brain
activity of a marijuana abuser. The color red indicates the highest level
of activity. Yellow, green, and lastly blue, show respectively diminishing
levels of brain activity. Compared to the normal slides, the brain slides
of the marijuana abuser clearly show diminished activity in all cross
sections, particularly in the cerebellum. Lower cerebellar metabolism
explains not only defects in motor coordination, but also seems to account
for some of the reported learning disturbances found in chronic marijuana
users. These are the facts about marijuana; they make a compelling case why
a young person should never want to try this drug.
Yet, the real dangers to our young people inherent in marijuana and other
drug use have not yet broken through the current haze of misinformation.
There is an carefully-camouflaged, exorbitantly-funded, well-heeled,
elitist group whose ultimate goal is to legalize drug use in the United
States. However, because the impacts of legalization -- heroin being sold
at the corner store to children with false identifications, the driver of
an eighteen-wheeler high on methamphetamines traveling alongside the family
minivan, skyrocketing numbers of addicts draining society of its
productivity -- are so horrifying to the average American, the legalizers
are compelled to conceal their real objectives behind various subterfuges.
(Currently, 87 percent of Americans reject legalization on its face.)
Through a slick misinformation propaganda campaign these individuals
perpetuate a fraud on the American people -- a fraud so devious that even
some of the nation's most respected newspapers and sophisticated media are
capable of echoing their falsehoods.
As a result, at a time when we need to be sending our young people a clear
message that drugs are wrong, the message they hear is far too often
muddled. We have been down this path before with disastrous results. In the
1970s and late 1980s, when we did not adequately explain to our young
people the dangers of drug use, we failed our children -- we allowed far
too many lives to be wasted by these deadly poisons. It is incumbent upon
all Americans to see these efforts for what they truly are -- political
movements aimed solely at legalizing drugs -- and reject them outright. We
need to be united as a society in making it clear to America's youth that:
"drugs destroy lives, don't let your life be wasted."
Despite these troubling facts, we have the opportunity now to dramatically
reduce youth drug use. Over the last two years, with this Committee's help
we have put in place a balanced National Drug Control Strategy that can
reduce drug use in the United States by half over the next ten years. The
bulk of this decline will come through prevention efforts targeted at our
young people -- prevention is Goal 1 of our Strategy.
The National Drug Control Strategy focuses on youth for both moral and
practical reasons. Children must be nurtured and protected from drug use
and other forms of risky behavior to ensure that they grow up as healthy,
productive members of society. As youngsters grow, they learn what they are
taught; they develop values and habits that will last them a lifetime. If
boys and girls reach adulthood without abusing illegal substances, they
probably will never develop a chemical-dependency problem.
The Strategy's mid-term objectives are to reduce past-month drug use among
youth by 20 percent and increase the average age of first use by twelve
months before the year 2002. The long-term objectives are a 50 percent
reduction in current drug use and an increase of thirty-six months in the
average age of first use by the year 2007.
To achieve these objectives, we are putting the needed resources behind
efforts to keep kids away from drugs. In FY1998, we will spend 1.76 billion
dollars to reduce youth drug use. In FY1999, the President's budget calls
for over $2 billion for youth prevention efforts, a 14 percent increase
over FY1998 -- the largest percentage growth of any component of our Strategy.
It is too soon to be overly optimistic. However, there are signs that the
Strategy is working. After yearly growth since 1992, current drug use by 12
to 17 year olds living in households declined between 1995 and 1996 (from
10.9 percent to 9 percent). Use of marijuana, which had fueled past
increases, stabilized at 7.1 percent. Current use of alcohol among teens is
down. Attitudes are also beginning to improve. A 1997 Harvard University
poll found that adults believe the number one problem facing America's
children is drug abuse. A 1997 study by the Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse, found that over half of our young people support drug
testing in their schools and say they are willing to report a drug user to
school officials.
However, we can not afford to confuse progress with ultimate success. We
still have far too many children trying -- and dying -- from drugs. We have
to redouble our efforts To this end, we are substantially increasing our
prevention-based efforts. What follows is a snapshot view of our current
efforts to cut youth drug use.
The Youth Media Campaign
This July our Youth Media Campaign will go "national." The campaign,
created with the bipartisan support of Congress and in conjunction with Mr.
Jim Burke and the Partnership for a Drug Free America, will play an
important role in turning youth attitudes around. Now when children turn on
the TV, surf the "net," or listen to the radio, they will get a simple
message that drugs are deadly and wrong. The campaign will also speak
directly to parents to encourage them to talk to their children about the
perils of drug use. When fully operational, the effort will be an
integrated campaign, planned and executed by some of the brightest minds in
the media and advertising world -- just like Nike or Pepsi run to sell
their products. Corporate partners, like the Florida Marlins and Major
League Soccer, are already teaming up to help us get the message heard and
understood. The campaign's goal is to reach 90 percent saturation within
the target audiences, four times a week.
The preliminary results of the 12 city pilot phase of the campaign are
already out-stripping expectations. The volume of calls to local coalition
help numbers listed on the ads are two to three times higher than before
the campaign. Calls to the national clearinghouse numbers from the twelve
cities are up by over 25 percent. And, we are receiving an unprecedented
dollar-for-dollar media match -- for every dollar we spend buying ads,
local media are matching with a dollar's worth of donated PSA time.
Last week, at the United Nations, the President announced that he would
work with Congress to extend this program into a five-year effort, which
with the private sector match will total over $2 billion. ONDCP looks
forward to working with the members of this Committee to make this a reality.
The Drug Free Communities Program
We are also in the process of making the first grants under the Drug Free
Communities Program. The program, created with the bipartisan support of
this Congress, will help build thousands of new community anti-drug
coalitions over the next five years. At the same time we will also
strengthen the 4,000 existing coalitions. Our nation's drug problem is, in
reality, not a national problem; instead, it is a series of local drug
epidemics. These coalitions will take on the drug problem street-by-street,
neighborhood-by-neighborhood, and child-by-child. Their efforts are
critical to stamping out these local epidemics in towns and communities,
big and small, all across the country.
Safe and Drug Free Schools
America's schools must be safe havens where our children are protected from
the evils of drugs and violence. Although the greatest risks to children
are currently in the "out of school hours," we still need to do more to
ensure that our schools are truly safe and drug free.
The Safe and Drug Free Schools Program funds anti-drug efforts in over 97
percent of the nation's school districts. Despite its current success, we
need to strengthen the program. Drugs and drug dealers remain far too
common a sight in our schools. As part of this effort, the President's
budget calls for a $50 million pilot program to provide drug prevention
counselors to 6,500 schools. These counselors will become the nucleus from
which we can build a Safe and Drug Free Schools Program that will deliver
the maximum "ounces of prevention."
In 1998, the Department of Education will also implement principles of
effectiveness for the program. These principles will help grantees use
program funds more effectively. The Department of Education will develop an
Expert Review Panel to help identify promising or exemplary drug and
violence prevention programs. School-based prevention programs that are in
widespread use include the Hilton Foundation's Project Alert, Drug Abuse
Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), the University of California's Self
Management and Resistance Training (SMART), and LifeSkills. The President's
budget also calls for $140 million "High Hopes Initiative" to expand
mentoring for disadvantaged children; and, $146 million Youth Tobacco
Initiative to prevent underage smoking.
These new initiatives can play a major role in helping us reduce youth drug
use and gateway behaviors that lead to drug use among our young people. The
bipartisan support of this Committee, and the Congress as a whole, is
critical if we are to succeed in realizing the full potential these
programs have to offer.
Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention on College Campuses
Illegal drug use and the abuse of alcohol and tobacco also are serious
problems on our college and university campuses. In the 1997/1998 academic
year, several students died as a direct result of binge drinking, and many
more were admitted to hospitals for treatment of alcohol-related injuries
and alcohol poisoning. In 1998, Secretary Riley and the Department of
Education will lead efforts to identify those programs and activities that
have been successful in reducing alcohol and drug use on college campuses.
The Department of Education will also provide funding and technical
assistance to a limited number of colleges and universities so they can
adopt those programs that have been identified as successful.
Parenting and Mentoring
Positive parental involvement in children's lives reduces the likelihood of
drug use. Parents must understand that they -- not schools, community
groups, or the government -- can make the biggest difference in children's
attitudes and values. A number of initiatives are underway to strengthen
the role of parents and mentors. Secretary Shalala of Health and Human
Services (HHS) has launched a Youth Substance Abuse Initiative to reduce
drug use by youth aged twelve to seventeen. The cornerstone of the
initiative is the effort to mobilize resources through state and federal
collaborative activities and partnerships with national organizations. A
key component is the State Incentive Grant Program, which will assist
states in developing coordinated statewide substance-abuse prevention
systems. The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration's Center
for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMSHA/CSAP) program, and the Centers for
the Application of Prevention Technologies will help the dissemination and
application of proven prevention strategies. Other aspects of the HHS
initiative include awareness-raising activities, parent mobilization,
regional prevention research symposia, and measurement of outcomes. ONDCP,
in cooperation with Dr. Nelba Chavez and the Substance Abuse Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA), is supporting a "Parenting is Prevention"
initiative to mobilize national anti-drug organizations and strengthen
their role in schools and communities. We are extremely proud of the
leadership of Dr. Alan Leshner and The National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA). NIDA's pamphlet, Preventing Drug Use Among Children and
Adolescents, provides research-based information for parents, community
leaders and prevention providers -- this pamphlet is the first
research-based guide to prevention.
Promoting Media Literacy/Critical Viewing Skills
Media literacy teaches critical thinking so that individuals can discern
the substance and intention of messages relating to drugs, tobacco, and
alcohol. Media-literate youth understand the manipulative component of such
material and are more likely to reject it. Last year, NIDA, SAMHSA,
SAMSHA/CSAP, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Office of Justice
Programs of the Department of Justice incorporated media literacy in their
drug-prevention programs. In 1998, ONDCP, HHS, SAMSHA/CSAP, and SAMHSA will
support an American Academy of Pediatrics "Media Matters" campaign to
provide media-literacy training for parents and physicians. ONDCP is also
sponsoring a Mediascope-conducted content analysis of music videos and
videotapes (two of the most popular forms of entertainment among youth) to
quantify and describe how drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are depicted.
In conjunction with CDC, SAMHSA/CSAP has developed a curriculum called
MediaSharp as a key component of the HHS Secretary's Youth Substance Abuse
Prevention Initiative. It consists of a video and print media literacy
education resource guide for educators and community leaders who work with
middle school and high school age youth and focuses on alcohol and tobacco
advertising and marketing, as well as messages about alcohol and tobacco in
the entertainment and news media. SAMHSA/CSAP is also a major partner in
the 3rd National Media Education Conference scheduled for June 28-July 1,
in Colorado Springs, CO, and will sponsor media training for pediatricians
in Boston on July 11-12.
Civic and Service Alliance
In November of 1997, ONDCP organized and led a White House Conference with
leaders of forty-five national and international civic and service
organizations, representing fifty-five million volunteers. To date,
thirty-four of the organizations have signed an historic agreement creating
a civic alliance: "Prevention Through Service." Highlights of the alliance
include increasing public awareness, promoting communication about
effective prevention, networking among organizations and communities,
providing leadership and scholarship, and encouraging volunteerism, as well
as service to families. Collectively, the organizations will support
prevention efforts across the nation with one million volunteer hours.
Expanding Partnerships with Health-Care Professionals
Health-care professionals are vital sources of drug-prevention information.
They can help parents influence children in positive ways, prevent drug
use, and treat abuse. Last year, ONDCP coordinated the distribution of the
Prescription for Prevention pamphlet by fifteen pharmaceutical companies to
primary-care physicians throughout the country. ONDCP will continue
promoting the involvement of medical organizations in drug-prevention
programs.
Working with the Child Welfare System
The safety of children and well-being of families are jeopardized by the
strong correlation between chemical dependency and child abuse. For
example, in 1997, an average of 67 percent of parents involved with the
child welfare system needed substance-abuse treatment. If prevention and
treatment are not provided to this high-risk population, the same families
will remain extensively involved in the welfare and criminal-justice
systems. With funding from ONDCP, the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and SAMHSA, the Child Welfare League of
America is developing resources and other tools for assessing and reducing
substance abuse among parents and preventing drug use by abused children
from substance-abusing families.
Preventing Alcohol Use and Drunk and Drugged Driving Among Youth
The Strategy recommends educating youth, their mentors, and the public
about the dangers of underage drinking; limiting youth access to alcoholic
beverages; encouraging communities to support alcohol-free behavior on the
part of youth; and creating incentives as well as disincentives that
discourage alcohol abuse by young people. Dr. Enoch Gordis and the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), along with Dr. Alan
Leshner of NIDA, and SAMSHA/CSAP, are examining possible causal
relationships between exposure to alcohol advertising and alcohol
consumption among youth. NHTSA and OJJDP are addressing alcohol and
drug-related crashes among young people in support of the President's
"Youth, Drugs, and Driving" initiative. NHTSA is providing law enforcement,
prosecutors, and judges with training and education for detecting,
arresting, and imposing sanctions on juvenile alcohol and drug offenders.
States are urged to enact zero-tolerance laws to reduce drinking and
driving among teens. Civic and service organizations are encouraged to
collaborate with organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and
Students Against Destructive Decisions.
Under Secretary Shalala's Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative,
several programs target reducing drinking and driving among underage youth.
These efforts include 1) a National 2000 by 2000 Campaign to reduce the
number of youth killed in alcohol-related crashes; 2) a National Zero
Tolerance Campaign to promote the "no use" message regarding alcohol and
illicit drugs; 3) an increased number of Teen Court Program training
opportunities for State and local participants; 4) a Youth Summit in
conjunction with the National Organizations for Youth Safety quarterly
meting; and, 5) collaboration with the Department of Transportation in
their Partners In Progress initiative addressing impaired driving deaths
and injuries.
SAMHSA/CSAP, as a founding member of the North American Partnership for
Responsibility Hospitality, is working with five pilot sites to support
State/local hospitality panels comprised of prevention, law enforcement,
restaurant/tavern/bar, alcohol regulatory, public health and other
representatives who are receiving technical assistance, training, program
support regarding server intervention, voluntary alcohol control measures
and other effective responsible hospitality practices. SAMHSA/CSAP's
National Center for the Advancement of Prevention is also developing a
variety of products that deal with alcohol availability, including
estimates of the costs of problems resulting from availability of alcohol
to underage drinkers, cost analyses of problems that occur as a result of
privatizing of State-run alcohol outlets; and evaluations of policy
strategies targeting alcohol availability. A new SAMHSA/CSAP Prevention
Enhancement Protocol (PEP), entitled "Preventing Problems Related to
Alcohol Availability: Environmental Approaches" and a wide variety of other
alcohol-specific publications are available from the National Clearinghouse
on Alcohol and Drug Information.
Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth
Several federal agencies are involved in increasing awareness among youth
of the dangers of tobacco use. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is
enforcing regulations that reduce youth access to cigarettes and smokeless
tobacco products. The FDA also will conduct a publicity campaign in 1998 to
encourage compliance by merchants. State enforcement of laws prohibiting
sale of tobacco products to minors, as required by the Public Health
Services Act, will be monitored by SAMHSA/CSAP. CDC supports the "Research
to Classrooms" project to identify and expand school-based
tobacco-prevention efforts; CDC also will fund initial research on
tobacco-cessation programs for youth. The tobacco legislation pending
before the Congress represent an opportunity to set the conditions for a
dramatic reduction in underage smoking. The Administration's goal is to
reduce juvenile smoking rates by 60 percent in ten years.
Targeted Treatment Services for Youth
While substance abuse prevention for youth is critical, there is also a
need for treatment services which specifically target adolescents. This
need is particularly acute for those youth whose treatment needs will not
be met by insurance or family resources. In FY 1998 SAMHSA/CSAT will fund a
new grant program which is designed to identify exemplary treatment
approaches for adolescents, with an emphasis on adolescent heroin abusers.
In addition, SAMHSA/CSAT has launched its Targeted Capacity Expansion
Program which will allow States and local communities to apply for funding
to target specific treatment needs, including the need for services
targeting adolescents.
Athletics
ONDCP will kick off an Athletic Initiative this summer. Athletics play a
major role in young people's lives. Our children look up to sports stars as
heros and emulate their behaviors -- good and bad. Sports can also play a
major role in building core values, teaching life-long lessons, educating
children about the dangers of drugs, and giving them positive alternatives
to hanging out on the streets and getting involved in risky behaviors.
Studies show that children involved in organized sports tend to use less
drugs than their peers who are not involved.
The goals of the ONDCP initiative are two-fold: work with the leagues and
teams to ensure that the messages being sent to children by athletes
reinforce the understanding that drugs are a deadly game; and, use sports
to help send kids the right messages about drugs. We are already seeing
great enthusiasm by sports organizations for this program. ONDCP worked
closely with the U.S. Olympic Committee in helping the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) close the marijuana loophole that stemmed from the
snowboarding incident at the 1998 Nagano Games. (After a gold medalist
snowboarder tested positive for marijuana, an international tribunal ruled
that the Olympic rules did not apply to "nonperformance enhancing drugs."
The decision of the IOC closed the gap opened by this ruling.) We have been
working with the NBA and the NBA Players' to try to close the league's
marijuana loophole. (Under the players' contract, the NBA drug testing
rules do not apply to marijuana). Just this last week, the Florida Marlins
became the first Major League Baseball team to agree to "team up" with
ONDCP in both our Media Campaign and the Athletics Initiative. The Marlins
have also agreed to show anti-drug PSAs at every single one of their
homegames this season. The Boston Red Sox were the first team to show these
PSAs during a game at Fenway Park earlier this month, and we are now
working with them to sign them up to the full initiative.
Conclusion
The key to ending drug use in the United States is to prevent it before it
happens. Prevention begins with our young people. Our National Drug Control
Strategy's first objective is to stop our young people from ever making
that first bad decision to try an illegal drug. If we are able to keep them
-- by their attitudes and actions -- free from drugs through their teens,
they are likely to remain drug free for the rest of their lives.
However, the success of the Strategy in safeguarding our young people
hinges upon the will and commitment of the American people. The first
defense is the kitchen table. If parents talk to their children about the
harm that drugs do -- their children will listen. If teachers, health care
professionals, coaches, clergy, community leaders, law enforcement and
other youth mentors will steer our young people away from risks and toward
bright futures -- young people will listen. If our society sends young
people the unequivocal message that drug use will destroy their lives and
futures -- they will listen. The commitment, will and guidance of
responsible adults who care for the health and well-being of our young
people can work miracles in keeping our youth drug free.
We are grateful for the bipartisan support of Congress, in particular the
members of this Committee. The successes we have had to date in addressing
youth drug use have been based on the united, nonpartisan efforts of the
Congress and the Executive working together. With your continued support we
can make difference. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
They Always Get Their Cut (Staff Editorial In 'The Ottawa Citizen'
Says That Finding The Mounties Ignoring The Law, Deceiving Our Allies,
Concealing Things From Cabinet, Disregarding Court Orders,
And Making A Profit Laundering Drug Money Internationally Is Like Finding
The High School Valedictorian Slumped In The Gutter Drinking Rotgut
From A Paper Bag - 'This Sorry Episode Perfectly Illustrates The Corruption
Inherent In The War On Drugs')
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 00:50:03 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Canada: Editorial: They Always Get Their Cut
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
Contact: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Pubdate: Wednesday 17 June 1998
THEY ALWAYS GET THEIR CUT
To find the Mounties laundering drug money across international borders is
like finding the high school valedictorian slumped in the gutter drinking
rotgut from a paper bag. What happened to the red-clad heroes celebrated in
story and song because "They always get their man"? Should we change that
to "They always get their cut"?
At first glimpse, the drug money operation has a kind of French Connection
feel: Police officers who have torn loose of any supervision, ignoring the
law, deceiving our allies, concealing things from cabinet, disregarding
court orders, making a profit laundering drug money internationally.
But in the end, it is Jacques Clouseau who predominates. Normally, when
vice squad members slip over the line, it is for personal, illicit gain.
They break the law and deceive their superiors in order to enrich
themselves and sometimes their friends as well. In this case, whatever laws
may have been bent, the entire operation was conducted without a hint of
personal corruption. The RCMP set out to launder drug money as a means to
the end of catching big-time dealers, and then through bureaucratic inertia
wound up laundering the money as an end in itself. None of the proceeds
were pocketed. Still, in a larger sense, this sorry episode perfectly
illustrates the corruption inherent in the War on Drugs.
All undercover work is perilous, not just in the immediately obvious sense
that the operative might be discovered and killed. Too often the reverse
happens: The cover becomes the reality, and those who began by pretending
to sell or use drugs end up doing so for real.
It is no accident that this kind of police work tends to cluster around
victimless crimes. The normal job of the police is to protect honest
co-operators from those who use force and fraud. When it comes to vice, the
exact opposite is true.
Neo-Puritans may claim that drug use, or prostitution, is not "victimless,"
that all participants, and even their families, are "victims." That may be
true in the sense that neither prostitute nor client should engage in that
transaction. But from a philosophical point of view, to call them "victims"
when their actions are voluntary is to use the Leninist definition of
freedom: The right to do what we say you should, rather than what you
believe you should. Whatever one may say about drug use, no one's rights
have been violated by it, neither their abstract nor their legal ones.
For some, including this editorial board, that is reason enough to repeal
vice crime laws. For others, perhaps the growing evidence of
insurmountable, practical problems will persuade. Enforcing laws against
victimless crimes is very difficult because there is no aggrieved party. In
a murder, others must press for action on behalf of the victim. But in most
normal crimes there is an aggrieved party whose rights have been violated
and who wants redress. When it comes to drugs, or prostitution or gambling,
the buyer and seller are usually equally unwilling to complain to or assist
the police. "All right! I scored!" is the junkie's normal reaction, not
"Aaaargh, I've been cocained!"
The police, therefore, are compelled to enter into these transactions,
posing as co-operators in order to defeat co-operative action. That is the
opposite of their normal task of pursuing, on behalf of decent folks, those
who use unco-operative means. Policemen do not imitate rapists to fight
rape, nor burglars to fight burglary. But they regularly do, and must,
imitate prostitutes or their clients to fight prostitution, and dealers or
buyers to fight drugs. That not only puts individual officers at risk, it
turns the police into enemies of the populace. The cop on the beat is
hoping you won't break the law. The cop undercover is hoping you will. The
result is a demoralizing loss of the ability to fight any kind of crime,
and of citizens' trust.
In this particular caper, Jacques Clouseau seems to have triumphed over the
French Connection, in the sense that there was no individual corruption and
no sinister purpose involved, only monumental stupidity. But there is a
missing person: Dudley Do-Right. And as one attempts to imagine him
laundering Columbian cocaine money, it is hard to avoid the idea that the
war on drugs is helping to ruin the image, and the reality, of our police
forces.
No one can say what we've gained from the War on Drugs, but if the cost is
the ruin of the Mounties, it's too high a price.
Copyright 1998 The Ottawa Citizen
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DrugSense Weekly, Number 51 (Summary Of Drug Policy News For Activists,
Featuring A Lead Article By Dr. Rick Bayer, Chief Petitioner For The Oregon
Medical Marijuana Act, About The California Medical Association Backing
The Rescheduling Of Marijuana)
Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 09:08:47 -0700
To: mgreer@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Subject: DrugSense Weekly June 17, 1998 No. 051
***
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
***
DrugSense Weekly June 17, 1998 No. 051
A DrugSense publication
http://www.drugsense.org/
***
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
* Feature Article
CMA Backs Rescheduling of Marijuana
By Rick Bayer, MD
Weekly News In Review
UN General Assembly-
Chirac, Rising From Electoral Blunder, Seeks to Lead Again
Clinton Urges International Stand Against Drugs
U.N. Aide Would Fight Drugs With 'Alternative Development'
Colombia, Myanmar Urge Alternative Crops
Big Names Sign Letter Criticizing War on Drugs
UN Special Session: Response-
U.S. Proved 'War on Drugs' is Insane
U.N. should take lead in fighting this scourge
Cheerleaders Against Drugs
Open Letter: Response-
The Drug War; A War On Poor, Lower Classes
Stand Up Against Soros' Drug Liberals
Pointing The Finger
500 Drug Geniuses
Concern Over Drug Legalization
Domestic News-
Test Of `Heroin Maintenance' May Be Launched In Baltimore
Fruit Flies Open New Understanding About Effects Of Alcohol
Report Shows More Cops Involved In Illegal Activities
International News-
Canada - Government Defies Court Order To Open Files On "Illegal"
Drug Sting
A Bolivian Legislator Who Just Says `Yes' To Coca
Sweden - Stockholm Is The Chicago Of Northern Europe
* Hot Off The 'Net
Ask Newt Gingrich a Question On-Line
* DrugSense Tip Of The Week
New "Top Stories Feature"
* Quote of the Week
Martin Luther King
***
FEATURE ARTICLE
CMA Backs rescheduling of marijuana
By Rick Bayer, MD
During the California Summit on Medical Marijuana recently, the
California Medical Association (CMA) came out in favor of rescheduling
marijuana (mj) away from Schedule I, a drug schedule that prohibits
medical prescribing, into an unspecified schedule that presumably would
allow physician prescription of marijuana as medicine. The actual CMA
Board of Trustees wording was:
"Due to the lack of scientific justification for Schedule I
classification of marijuana and the consequent virtual standstill in
research on its medical benefits or harm, CMA's Board of Trustees last
week voted to support efforts to reschedule marijuana."
"In addition, the Board supported efforts to obtain federal approval
for a safe, reliable source of marijuana in California for research.
Reacting to the hazardous and completely uncontrolled distribution of
marijuana for medical use through buyers clubs and street sources, the
Board also supported federal control over distribution for medical use
in California through closely regulated sources."
Although this appears somewhat cryptic and conservative, it is moving
in the right direction and should not be taken for granted. In Oregon,
on this fall's ballot, recriminalization of < 1 oz. of marijuana
threatens our 25 years of decriminalization history. Therefore, it
appears that even "standing still" cannot be taken for granted.
I recently worked very hard to help my Oregon Medical Association (OMA)
House of Delegates (governing body) see the wisdom in "not supporting"
rather than "opposing" the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA). My main
opposition called it "neutrality" and so did "The Oregonian" newspaper
(the largest in the Pacific Northwest). This is a big victory for
patients and other activists in Oregon and elsewhere. Among the doctors
present at the OMA House of Delegates, compassion won out. The
consensus and mood was that 'our patients should not be sent to jail
for using marijuana to seek relief from their medical problem'.
To some activists, these may seem relatively small gestures on the part
of the California and Oregon Medical Associations. To others, however,
these are momentous albeit glacial-like evolutions. Today, a friend
faxed to me an editorial from an Eastern Oregon newspaper [The LeGrande
Observer] attacking the OMA for its neutrality on OMMA. The newspaper
felt the OMA should have opposed OMMA.
Maybe it would be helpful if many of us in the medical marijuana
movement acknowledged and thanked these associations for supporting
dying and suffering patients. If we take a moment to thank them, it may
help the executive staffs and boards feel like the associations made
the right decisions. The Website of the OMA is
http://www.ormedassoc.org/ and that of the CMA is
http://www.cmanet.org/. It would be foolish to take anything for
granted and we need momentum to maintain our current gains as well as
to achieve our future goals.
Watching medical associations and others agree with some of our
positions is a sign of progress that should generate enthusiasm for our
efforts. In Oregon, it should be much less traumatic to win our OMMA
campaign since we do not have to campaign against the OMA. Please
recall that the CMA was opposed to Proposition 215. In California and
the entire world, it is now important that the CMA now endorses
rescheduling of marijuana away from Schedule I. This is the type of
mainstream support we need to encourage in order to win electoral
contests and pressure our federal government.
Let us acknowledge and be encouraged by this evolution of opinion among
some very conservative medical institutions. Things will never change
as fast as we desire but these changes still remain very desirable.
Most importantly, these new positions should be used to change laws and
attitudes that currently criminalize dying and suffering patients for
medical use of marijuana. On this, we can all agree.
Rick Bayer, MD
Board Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine
Spokesperson and Chief Petitioner, Oregon Medical Marijuana Act
Director, Oregonians for Medical Rights
6800 SW Canyon Drive
Portland, OR 97225
503-292-1035 (voice)
503-297-0754 (fax)
Email: ricbayer@teleport.com
URL: http://www.teleport.com/~omr/
***
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
COMMENT:
Without question, the 2nd week of June was the most important news
week in the recent history of the drug war, perhaps as much a
watershed as after the February '96 Buckley editorial in National
Review or the November '96 passage of 215 in California.
A measure of progress within our movement is the extent to which we
are now able to both monitor and exploit developments in the news.
What made the past week momentous was the focus of the world press on
the UN Special Session in New York and the success of the reform
movement in exploiting that focus.
***
UN General Assembly, Special Session on Drugs-
***
COMMENT:
It's ironic that hard core drug warrior Chirac, by insisting that
heads of state attend the General Assembly on Drugs, set the stage for
the reform message to receive the widest possible coverage.
Clinton's muddled message (the drug war is both a success and a
failure) started things off. Editorial comment from around the world
was decidedly mixed
Pino Arlacchi's resurrection of previously tried (and failed) crop
substitution was to receive little support, except predictably, from
two of the more corrupt drug producing nations, Burma and Colombia,
which both stand to be beneficiaries.
The biggest news from New York was not what went on within the UN,
but what was barred from the Assembly- a plea for alternative strategies
voiced in an open letter to Kofi Annan.
***
CHIRAC, RISING FROM ELECTORAL BLUNDER, SEEKS TO LEAD AGAIN
PARIS---There was still a tinge of shock in Jacques Chirac's voice
as the French president recounted discovering in mid-May that
President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Tony Blair and other leaders
attending the Group of Seven summit meeting did not intend to go to
the United Nations for the special session on the world's drug
problems that begins Monday.
"This seemed unthinkable to me," recalled Mr. Chirac, who
immediately began lobbying the leaders of the world's richest
countries and Russia to add a trip to New York "as an act of faith"
and compassion. "How could we have this meeting be meaningful
without the participation of the leaders of major drug-consuming
countries, which contribute so much to the problem?" he asked.
[snip]
Source: International Herald-Tribune
Contact: iht@iht.com
Website: http://www.iht.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 8 Jun 1998
Author: Jim Hoagland, Washington Post Service
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n439.a05.html
***
CLINTON URGES INTERNATIONAL STAND AGAINST DRUGS
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Armed with plans for a $2 billion media
campaign to help stanch the flow of narcotics across international
borders, President Clinton today asked world leaders to ``stand as
one against this threat'' without blaming each other for the
problem.
In an opening address at the U.N. General Assembly special session
on drugs, Clinton told representatives of about 150 countries,
including 35 heads of state and government, that it is time to stop
bickering over whether blame for international drug trafficking
lies with countries that demand drugs or those that supply them.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tue, 9 Jun 1998
Source: Associated Press
UN GE: Wire: United Nations To Hold Drug Summit
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n430.a04.html
***
U.N. AIDE WOULD FIGHT DRUGS WITH 'ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT'
UNITED NATIONS -- With President Clinton and other world leaders
coming here Monday for a special session of the General Assembly on
the world's drug problems, the U.N.'s top anti-narcotics official
has submitted a two-pronged strategy that moves beyond the
conventional approach of intercepting illegal drugs and arresting
traffickers.
Pino Arlacchi, the executive director of the U.N. International
Drug Control Program, proposes the ambitious target of eliminating
opium poppies and coca plants, the raw ingredients of heroin and
cocaine, in 10 years as well as substantially reducing marijuana.
[snip]
Author: Christopher S. Wren
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jun 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n427.a13.html
***
COLOMBIA, MYANMAR URGE ALTERNATIVE CROPS
Leaders from two of the world's major sources of narcotics told a
U.N. drug conference Tuesday that programs to wipe out illicit
crops will fail without money to help farmers grow alternative
crops.
The United States has been noncommittal to a U.N. proposal to
provide financial incentives to Third World farmers to stop growing
cannabis, opium poppies and coca, the raw ingredient of cocaine.
[snip]
Pubdate Wed, 10 Jun 1998
Source: Orange County Register ( Ca)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n438.a01.html
***
BIG NAMES SIGN LETTER CRITICIZING WAR ON DRUGS
UNITED NATIONS---A drug reform institute financed by the
billionaire philanthropist George Soros has amassed signatures of
hundreds of prominent people around the world on a letter asserting
that the global war on drugs is causing more harm than drug abuse
itself.
The signers include a former United Nations secretary-general,
Javier Perez de Cuellar, a former U.S. secretary of state, George
Shultz, the Nobel peace laureate Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, the
former CBS television anchorman Walter Cronkite, two former U.S.
senators Alan Cranston and Claiborne Pell, and the South African
human rights activist Helen Suzman.
[snip]
Pubdate Wed, 10 Jun 1998
Source: Orange County Register ( Ca)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n438.a01.html
***
UN Special Session: Media Response-
***
COMMENT:
Separate editorial responses to the substance of the UN debate and to
the open letter are interesting to examine. The former range from the
frank jeering of Canadian Media Awareness Project participant Tim
Meehan in the Ottawa Citizen to the obvious confusion of the Dallas
Morning News. Most were openly skeptical, as exemplified by the New
York Times. The Times' "Cheerleader" editorial may have been the most
important single development of the week.
***
U.S. PROVED 'WAR ON DRUGS' IS INSANE
While addressing the United Nations General Assembly regarding illicit
drugs ( "New 'war on drugs' has familiar ring," June 9), U.S. President
Bill Clinton mentioned in passing that "For the first time in history,
more than half the world's people live under governments of their own
choosing. In virtually every country, we see the expansion of
expressions of individual liberty."
It's a shame this can't be said for the U.S., where the wasteful,
futile and insane War on Drugs has:
* made the U.S. the world's highest per capita jailer of its own
citizens;
* rendered the U.S. Constitution, once the envy of the world, not worth
the paper it is printed on because of the jihad against drugs;
* made alcohol prohibition and Vietnam look like roaring successes by
comparison.
[snip]
Source: Ottawa Citizen ( Canada)
Contact: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jun 1998
Author: Timothy J. Meehan
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n441.a03.html
***
U.N. SHOULD TAKE LEAD IN FIGHTING THIS SCOURGE
Ambitious is the word to use in describing the global anti-drug
strategy crafted by former anti-Mafia crusader Pino Arlacchi. Because
the plan by the current head of the U.N. anti-drug agency is so
sweeping - promising as it does massive reductions in the worldwide
availability of cocaine and heroin - it virtually sets itself up for
skepticism. But instead of carping at such a vision, the nations of the
world should eagerly second Mr. Arlacchi's overriding message: the need
to reduce demand and supply at the same time.
Fortunately, the approach generally dovetails with the views of another
influential player in the fight, President Clinton. In a speech Monday,
he used the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly's first session in a
decade dedicated exclusively to drug-related issues, to warn that
merely pointing fingers helps no one.
[snip]
Source: Dallas Morning News
Contact: letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com
Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jun 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n451.a04.html
***
CHEERLEADERS AGAINST DRUGS
Manhattan is filled this week with world leaders attending a
well-intentioned but misdirected United Nations conference on drugs.
With drugs more plentiful and cheaper than ever worldwide, the leaders
are mostly extolling failed strategies to combat the problem.
Pino Arlacchi, the Italian official who heads the organization's
International Drug Control Program, is promising to eliminate coca leaf
and opium poppies, the basis of cocaine and heroin, in 10 years.
Such claims get in the way of effective programs to reduce drug use.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tue, 09 Jun 1998
Source: New York Times (NY)
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Editorial page editors
***
Open Letter: Response-
***
COMMENT:
As revealing as the editorial skepticism with which the world's media
greeted the UN deliberations, was the publicity and endorsement they
accorded the open letter to Kofi Annan.
Alexander Cockburn's op-ed in the LA Times may be the most realistic
appraisal of all. If accurate, it warns us not to become too elated
over our present success in embarrassing the drug war.
Also revealing is the outrage provoked among hard-core
prohibitionists- in Sweden, at the Wall Street Journal, and from a
lonely Abe Rosenthal at the Times.
Finally, Barry McCaffrey's attempt to make light of the legalization
movement while also confessing that it worries him reveals his
thinking to be as muddled as Clinton's.
***
THE DRUG WAR: A WAR ON POOR, LOWER CLASSES
Historically, the drug wars have been a pretext for social and political
repression.
"We believe the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug
abuse itself." This was the banner on a double-page ad in the New York
Times on Monday, timed to coincide with the big United Nations' special
session in New York on drugs. Hundreds of prominent people from around
the world signed on to the view that the drug war has been a disaster
and "the time has come for a truly open and honest dialogue about
future global drug control policies."
[snip]
So to call for a "truly open and honest dialogue" about drug policy, as
all those distinguished signatories in the advertisement requested, is
about as realistic as asking the U.S. government to nationalize the oil
industry. Essentially, the drug war is a war on the poor and the
dangerous classes, here and elsewhere. How many governments are going
to give up on that?
Source: Los Angeles Times - COLUMN/OPED
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Author: Alexander Cockburn
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n447.a08.html
***
STAND UP AGAINST SOROS' DRUG LIBERALS
Governments of the world must stand up against drug liberalism. The UN
session on narcotics is promising. Politicians must never fall for the
cynical surrender that the legalization movement stands for. Today the
Swedish social minister Margot Wallstrom will address the UN about the
importance to fight against drugs. Queen Silvia of Sweden is taking
part of the panel discussion about children, youth and narcotics during
the UN meeting about drugs. It is nice that Sweden can show a broad
unity on the narcotics issue.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tue, 9 Jun 1998
Source: Aftonbladet ( Sweden)
Contact: birgitta.edberg@aftonbladet.se
Website: http://www.aftonbladet.se/
Translation: Olafur Brentmar
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n441.a11.html
***
POINTING THE FINGER
The three-day meeting on fighting drugs was one of the more useful
United Nations conferences in decades.
It was well led by Pino Arlacchi, the Italian Mafia-buster, drew chiefs
of state and narcotics specialists from every part of the world, and
wound up with a plan to eliminate the growing of illegal heroin and
cocaine in 10 years -- certainly difficult but certainly doable.
So, months before the opening Monday, a campaign to attack the
conference was planned.
It was worked out by Americans who devote their careers and
foundation grants not to struggling against narcotics but
legalizing them under one camouflage or another.
[snip]
Source: New York Times (NY)
Author: A. M. Rosenthal
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jun 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n447.a06.html
***
500 DRUG GENIUSES
With 500 of the world's prominent people serving as foot soldiers,
there's now a war on against the war on drugs. As the U.N. General
Assembly opened a special anti-drugs session this week, an
international group of eminences urged the world to cede victory to the
drugs' allure and concentrate its money and attention on making the
addicts more comfortable.
[snip]
The letter is mostly the sort of high-minded pabulum needed to attract
such famous names as former U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de
Cuellar or former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. The word
"legalize" never appears. Nor do the words cocaine, heroin, marijuana,
methamphetamine or designer drugs. For the "We Believe" signers, it's
all just "drugs." We hope all these sophisticated folks won't feel
their judgment is being too terribly offended if we say quite bluntly:
They have just been enlisted in Mr. Soros's legalization crusade.
[snip]
Pubdate: Wednesday, 10 June 1998
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Section: Lead Editorial
Contact: editors@interactive.wsj.com
Website: http://www.wsj.com/
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n439.a04.html
***
CONCERN OVER DRUG LEGALIZATION
UNITED NATIONS, ( June 9) IPS - The United States admits it is
concerned -- but not alarmed -- by the growing new demand for the
legalization of drugs in the country.
"We are very disturbed by the trend," Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director of
the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said and added that, if
polling data was considered, there was "not a shred of support" for
legalization.
McCaffrey, however, dismissed as insignificant the increased support
for legalization within the intellectual and academic communities. "It
is a case of the mouse that roared," he told reporters here today.
[snip]
Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jun 1998
Source: Inter Press Service
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n450.a03.html
***
Domestic News
***
COMMENT:
A couple of highly significant developments with great potential for
affecting drug policy were nearly eclipsed by events at the UN: there
is a good chance that a heroin maintenance trial may be conducted in
Baltimore under the auspices of Johns Hopkins. Predictably, opposition
from the feds will be fierce.
At UCSF, researchers have moved closer to the elusive goal of
establishing a genetic basis for alcoholism.
Unsurprisingly, the lure of easy money from thriving illegal markets
is corrupting record numbers of law enforcement officers. The numbers
are still small, but may be just the tip of a big iceberg.
***
TEST OF `HEROIN MAINTENANCE' MAY BE LAUNCHED IN BALTIMORE
Health Commissioner, Experts Back Plan To Give Drug To Addicts;
`Will Be Politically Difficult'
Johns Hopkins University drug abuse experts and Baltimore's health
commissioner are discussing the possibility of a research study in
which heroin would be distributed to hard-core addicts in an effort to
reduce crime, AIDS and other fallout from drug addiction.
The plan for a trial of "heroin maintenance" for some Baltimore addicts
who have refused or failed in traditional drug treatment is still at a
preliminary stage. Conscious that the issue could be politically
explosive, the doctors involved are treading carefully and trying to
persuade colleagues in other cities to launch such studies
simultaneously.
[snip]
Pubdate: Wednesday, 10 June 1998
Source: Baltimore Sun ( MD)
Author: Scott Shane, Sun Staff
Contact: letters@baltsun.com
Fax: 410-332-6977
Toll free number: 800-829-8000
Mail: The Baltimore Sun Company 501 N. Calvert Street P.0. Box 1377
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n443.a06.html
***
FRUIT FLIES OPEN NEW UNDERSTANDING ABOUT EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL
BOSTON (AP) -- Drunken flies that carry a genetic mutation named
``cheapdate'' are helping scientists unravel one of life's mysteries:
why some people can hold their liquor better than others.
The research found that fruit flies -- and perhaps people, too -- are
especially apt to get inebriated if they naturally produce low levels
of a chemical called cyclic AMP.
These are, of course, just flies, but scientists have long known that
the basic processes of life in such simple creatures often turn out to
be virtually identical to the ones involved in more complicated
animals, like people.
[snip]
Pubdate: Thurs, 11 Jun 1998
Source: Associated Press
Author: Daniel Q. Haney, AP Medical Editor
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n446.a01.html
***
REPORT SHOWS MORE COPS INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
WASHINGTON - In greater numbers and in more places than ever, police
are succumbing to the temptations posed by huge sums of cash from
illegal drugs.
Official corruption, which has raged for years in the nation's big
cities, is spreading to the hinterlands. So rampant has it become that
the number of federal, state and local officials in federal prisons has
grown fivefold over the last four years, increasing from 107 in 1994 to
548 today, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Although only a tiny fraction of the nation's law-enforcement officials
are behind bars, the increase in their numbers reflects a harsh
reality: Despite the government's "war on drugs," the problem is
defying concerted efforts to stamp it out.
[snip]
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jun 1998
Author: Jack Nelson and Ronald J. Ostrow, Los Angeles Times
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n455.a02.html
***
International News
***
COMMENT:
We're used to thinking of the RCMP as squeaky-clean, as opposed to the
police of Mexico or certain American cities, but this article in the
Ottawa Citizen suggests that they may be humanly fallible after all.
The Bolivian story amply illustrates just one of the reasons that
Arlacchi's simplistic crop substitution idea won't work.
We couldn't resist the report on crime in Stockholm as a companion
piece to the militant drug prohibitionist sentiment expressed in the
editorial above.
***
GOVERNMENT DEFIES COURT ORDER TO OPEN FILES ON 'ILLEGAL' DRUG STING
Privy Council Refuses To Release Secret Cabinet Documents; Justice
Department Stops Trial In Mountie Money-Laundering Operation Privy
Council Clerk Jocelyne Bourgon said the documents are exempt from
disclosure.
VANCOUVER -- The federal government, defying a court order, is blocking
the disclosure of legal opinions and other documents showing how RCMP
brass approved undercover currency exchange operations in Montreal and
Vancouver.
Deputy RCMP Commissioner Terry Ryan and Jocelyne Bourgon, Clerk of the
Privy Council, have each filed sworn affidavits in British Columbia
Supreme Court, saying the documents about the police-run currency
exchanges are confidential.
[snip]
But, as the Citizen has reported this week in a series of articles
examining the Montreal operation, the cash-strapped and short-staffed
undercover unit was overwhelmed by the amount of business it received
and could keep track of only a fraction of the illicit drug loot and
suspected cocaine dealers passing through.
[snip]
Pubdate: Sat, 13 Jun 1998
Source: Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
Contact: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Author: Andrew McIntosh, The Ottawa Citizen
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n452.a02.html
***
A BOLIVIAN LEGISLATOR WHO JUST SAYS `YES' TO COCA
LAUCA ENE, Bolivia -- Like congressmen all over the world, Evo Morales
hugs babies and makes fist-thumping speeches. But that's where the
similarities end. For starters, this congressman chews coca leaves in
public.
In fact, as Morales returned to his district recently, he was not at
all embarrassed to be photographed caressing the coca bushes that grow
on his property. During his election campaign last year, he ran on the
slogan "Vote for coca!" He won 70 percent of the vote in a field of 10,
which is perhaps not particularly surprising since his district, the
tropical region of Chapare, produces 85 percent of the refined cocaine
produced in Bolivia every year.
[snip]
Since President Hugo Banzer Suarez announced in January his intention
to eradicate the coca industry in Chapare by the year 2002, Morales has
been leading road blockades and accusing the president and his family
of being international traffickers themselves -- charges that he has
failed to substantiate but that have won him screaming newspaper
headlines and considerable national television exposure.
[snip]
Pubdate: Sat, 13 Jun 1998
Source: New York Times ( NY)
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Clifford Krauss
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n453.a09.html
***
STOCKHOLM IS THE CHICAGO OF NORTHERN EUROPE
Open War in the Underworld
Peaceful Stockholm is well on the way to changing from the Venice of
the North into the Chicago of the North. Gangster wars have taken
dozens of lives already this year. The latest victim was a well known
45 year old iraqi. He was mowed down in broad daylight at the weekend.
Shootouts in cafes, well planned murders in public places, hired
killers bomb explosions, bullets in the back of the neck, machine gun
fights and other serious crimes have taken place in Stockholm this
year. A common element in all of these crimes is that they have been
carried out by foreigners or immigrants with connections to the
underworld
Smuggling of narcotics and cigarettes as well as the night club
business is behind these violent crimes. Owning a night club is a good
way of laundering dirty money.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tue, 9 Jun 1998
Source: Vestra Nyland ( Finland)
Contact: vnred@eta.fi
Language: Swedish
Translation: "John Yates" (bobo@personal.eunet.fi)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n453.a09.html
***
HOT OFF THE 'NET
Ask Newt Gingrich a Question On-Line
Gingrich Announces New Internet Service/Live Chat Tomorrow
Speaker Will Respond to Questions from the Public Via RealAudio, Text
House Speaker Newt Gingrich today announced the launch of "Ask the
Speaker," a new Internet feature that will allow Americans to ask
questions and get answers directly from the Speaker on the legislative
and policy issues they care about. Twice a month, the Speaker will
select a question from those submitted and answer it in RealAudio
format, which will then be made available to the public via SpeakerNews
(http://speakernews.house.gov). A text version of the answer will also
be made available.
Ask your question at http://speakernews.house.gov/asknewt/
***
TIP OF THE WEEK
***
A new "Top Stories Feature" has been added to both the MAP and DrugSense
web pages. They enable you to quickly read or review the hottest
drug-related news articles of the day. See:
http://www.drugsense.org/
or
http://www.mapinc.org/
***
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
***
The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the
status quo and has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the
greatest pain is the pain of a new idea. - Martin Luther King Jr.
***
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
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[End]
to 1998 Daily News index for June 11-17