-------------------------------------------------------------------
Opposing Groups Object To Ban On Drug Use In Assisted Suicides
('The Oregonian' Says That, For Different Reasons, Both The American
Medical Association And The Compassion In Dying Federation Are Opposing
Legislation Introduced In Congress That Would Prevent Physicians
From Prescribing Drugs For Use In Assisted Suicides)
The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Opposing groups object to ban on drug use in assisted suicides
* The AMA and the Compassion in Dying Federation oppose
the congressional legislation for different reasons
Thursday, July 2 1998
By Patrick O'Neill
of The Oregonian staff
Congressional legislation that would outlaw drugs for use in
physician-assisted suicide is drawing opposition from the American Medical
Association, a staunchly anti-suicide organization, as well as from groups
that support the practice.
The bill, scheduled for a hearing July 14 before the Constitution
subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives, would ban the use of
narcotics in assisted suicides. And it would establish a medical review
board within the Drug Enforcement Administration to determine whether a
physician had violated the ban.
The bill, introduced June 5 by Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., is intended to gut
the Oregon law that allows physicians to prescribe life-ending medication
for terminally ill patients who have less than six months to live. A Senate
version of the bill was introduced June 9 by Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla.
Oregon's law has been in effect since Oct. 27, 1997.
It's unusual that the AMA, which opposes assisted suicide, and the
Compassion in Dying Federation, which has promoted it, should be on the same
side of the issue. But each organization opposes the legislation for
different reasons.
AMA sees chilling effect
The AMA, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the nation, fears that
it would exert a "chilling effect" on physicians who prescribe painkilling
medication for dying patients.
Compassion in Dying sees it as a direct threat to assisted suicide.
Dr. Thomas Reardon, a Portland physician and president-elect of the American
Medical Association, said Wednesday that the organization would support
congressional efforts to ban assisted suicide outright.
"We're unalterably opposed to physician-assisted suicide," he said. "But
with this bill, you'd do much more harm than good."
Reardon said the AMA has begun an educational campaign, encouraging doctors
to administer pain medication aggressively for terminally ill patients.
For years, physicians across the country have risked censure from state
licensing boards for giving enough narcotics to ease the pain of dying
patients. During the past few years, particularly in Oregon, the trend has
begun to reverse itself as health-care workers and society in general have
recognized the necessity for better care of the terminally ill.
He advocates better care
"If we do a much better job on care at the end of life, we think patients
will not feel the need for physician-assisted suicide," Reardon said. "We
are opposed to anything that would have a chilling or dampening or
inhibiting effect on that."
Reardon referred to the bill's medical review board as a tribunal that would
be involved in inquisitions of doctors who prescribe painkilling medication
for terminally ill patients.
"We think that's wrong," Reardon said.
Doctors frequently write prescriptions for medications that, if taken all at
once, would be lethal, he said.
"We'll write prescriptions for 100 digitalis, 100 Valium, 100 beta
blockers," he said. "What do you think would happen if a patient took them
all at once? Physicians don't intend them to be lethal. They intend them to
be therapeutic.
"We oppose physician-assisted suicide on ethical grounds, and we still stand
for that," he said. "However, we also oppose using the DEA as an enforcement
method."
Barbara Coombs Lee, director of Compassion in Dying Federation and a chief
petitioner for Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law, said she, too,
opposes the bill.
"My take is that it's a pretty audacious attempt (by Congress) to substitute
their own moral judgment for that of Oregonians," she said. "It's an attempt
to usurp a state's power and replace the local regulatory mechanism through
the Board of Medical Examiners and other state authorities with federal power."
Like Reardon, Lee raises the specter of the Drug Enforcement Administration
looking over doctors' shoulders as they prescribe painkillers to dying patients.
"It will have a chilling effect on the prescribing of controlled
substances," she said. "It gives these drug police the power to inquire,
prescription by prescription, and ask, 'What did you prescribe that for?'
It's very intrusive."
Ann G. Jackson, executive director of the Oregon Hospice Association, said
the consequences of the bill could be devastating.
"All of us who have been looking at these issues from across the country are
concerned about the dampening effect on pain and symptom management for the
terminally ill," she said. "Even though there is the caveat that dying
patients won't be denied drugs, even if they hasten death, that's subject to
interpretation by whoever's looking at it."
Jackson said Oregon leads the nation in the medical use of morphine. But she
said Oregon and other states could see the use of morphine drop sharply if
the bill becomes law.
"Regardless of what your position is on assisted suicide, broadening the
authority of the DEA is probably harmful," she said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Double Hanging In Public Shocks Witnesses In Portland ('The Oregonian'
Notes A Man And Woman Who Hung Themselves Wednesday Afternoon
From The Steel Bridge Downtown Left Behind A 13-Page Suicide Note
Written By The Man, Detailing His Heroin Addiction)
The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Double hanging in public shocks witnesses in Portland
* A man and a woman apparently commit suicide together by throwing
themselves off the Steel Bridge
Thursday, July 2 1998
By Dionne D. Peeples
of The Oregonian staff
A man and woman apparently hanged themselves from the south side of
Portland's Steel Bridge Wednesday afternoon during rush-hour traffic and
potentially in full view of a passing Amtrak train.
The pair was identified as Michael Shannon Douglas, 29, and Mora Kathleen
McGowan, 25, both of Portland. Autopsies will be conducted this morning,
said Terry Sparks, deputy Multnomah County medical examiner.
The hangings were reported about 3 p.m. when passers-by saw the bodies
dangling from a rope beside the bridge, said Detective Sgt. Cheryl Kanzler,
a Portland Police Bureau spokeswoman.
The bodies hung in midair for more than an hour as police conducted an
investigation. The pair apparently hanged themselves with separate nooses
tied together.
Investigators found a handwritten 13-page suicide note in Douglas' backpack,
Sparks said.
In the letter, Douglas detailed his drug abuse problem and said he wanted to
die, Sparks said. Investigators said they found syringes in the backpack.
"I think I've decided on an old-fashioned public hanging. . . . Thirteen
loops in a hangman's noose," the letter said. It continued: "The Steel
Bridge shall be my gallows . . . Mora and I go together on the Steel Bridge."
Douglas wrote that he had sold most of his assets to finance his heroin habit.
McGowan did not have a suicide note with her, Sparks said.
Witnesses had seen the pair walking on the bridge about 2:30 p.m. and said
the couple seemed fine, Kanzler said.
Isaac Frankel was working at his computer terminal in an office building on
the west side of the Willamette River when he noticed someone suddenly jump
off the bridge.
"What caught my attention was someone flying over the edge," said Frankel,
an assistant analyst for NW Natural.
Although he was too far away to notice details about the two victims, he
said the sight made a powerful impression on him.
"It was a gruesome, gruesome sight," he said. "At first I thought it was a
mannequin, like it wasn't real, just dangling in the wind. But when the
police were there, you realized they were real humans."
Police closed one eastbound lane of traffic on the bridge for about an hour.
They also delayed an approaching Amtrak train for 17 minutes before it
reached the bridge.
Scott Hurd, an Amtrak station agent, said 411 passengers on the
Seattle-bound train were warned to close their curtains before the train
approached the bridge.
Amtrak did not offer counseling for passengers once the train reached Union
Station on the northwest side of the river, Hurd said.
"When they got off the train, I didn't hear anyone talking about it," Hurd said.
McGowan, her red hair tied in a ponytail, was dressed in a red plaid shirt,
black shorts and black ankle boots. Douglas, with short black hair, was
dressed in a black sweatshirt, olive-green shorts and black Army-style
boots. He also had two tattoos on his lower left leg and a backpack slung
across his chest.
Members of the Portland Fire Bureau lowered the bodies about 4:10 p.m. into
a boat operated by members of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office River
Patrol, Kanzler said.
Jan LeFlore, 28, watched as the bodies were lowered into the boat.
"Life is precious," LeFlore said. "I think about giving up sometimes, but I
have a wife and a baby, and life is precious."
Kanzler, who was a homicide detective for three years, said that usually it
is elderly couples who commit suicide together, especially if one is
terminally ill.
Dr. Michael G. Conner, a clinical and medical psychologist, said people who
commit suicide publicly usually are angry people determined to make a public
statement.
"Its intention is to inflict harm and to punish others," Conner said. "It's
also a way to end a painful emotional problem."
Connor said suicide pacts usually are between people who at one time
encouraged each other to live. "But eventually they lose hope, and the pain
and fear of living becomes worse than the fear of dying."
Romel Hernandez of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Evil Weed No More - Hemp Plants Are Ideal For Creating Beauty Products
('The Houston Chronicle' Says Cannabis Sativa Is One Of The Best Moisturizers
Around, Jam-Packed With Essential Fatty Acids And Amino Acids,
Making It An Ideal Ingredient For Soaps, Face Creams, Shampoo,
Healing Salves And Lip Balm)
Subj: US TX: Evil Weed No More: Hemp Plants Are Ideal
For Creating Beauty Products
From: C. Wells
Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 15:07:34 -0400
Newshawk: C. Wells
Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jul 1998
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Section: 3F
Contact: viewpoints@chron.com
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Author: Alev Aktar, W magazine
EVIL WEED NO MORE: HEMP PLANTS ARE IDEAL FOR CREATING BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Here's the dope: The hemp plant, also known as cannabis sativa or marijuana,
is one of the best moisturizers around.
The evil weed is, in fact, jam-packed with essential fatty acids and amino
acids, making it an ideal ingredient for beauty fare ranging from soaps to
face creams, shampoo, healing salves and even lip balm.
Hemp seeds can be pressed to produce a protein-rich oil that is particularly
well suited for dry skin.
Using cannabis-based cosmetics may bring to mind substance abuse, but in
fact the plant used to make beauty products -- industrial hemp -- is
altogether different from the smokable kind. It's virtually drug-free.
While it's true that the two plants are different varieties of the same
species, industrial hemp is cultivated for its seeds and stalks, which are
used to make everything from textiles and paint to margarine and paper
products.
That's why, in addition to being incredibly versatile, hemp saves trees,
prompting such eco-correct celebrities as Peter Fonda and Woody Harrelson to
sing the herb's praises.
Harrelson is regularly spotted wearing hemp outfits. Last year, he even
commissioned Giorgio Armani to design a deluxe hemp tux for the Golden Globe
awards.
"You can make anything out of this stuff," raved the actor. "And it's
non-psychoactive."
The only hitch is that the Controlled Substances Act, passed in 1970, made
it illegal to grow marijuana in the United States, and hemp companies are
forced to source the fiber overseas.
Nonetheless, in recent years, a bumper crop of hemp beauty brands has
sprouted around the nation.
The earth-friendly products are sold in alternative fashion boutiques,
environmental stores and hemp shops, such as Planet Hemp in New York's Soho
district, Frankel Bros. Hemp Outfitters in San Francisco and Hemp in the
Hollow in Laguna Beach, Calif.
For those who want to make a meal of it, The Galaxy Global Eatery in New
York stocks a cabinet of hemp cosmetics and a full menu of hemp delicacies
(including hemp burgers, which actually taste better than they sound).
Most hemp beauty lines have heady, aromatic fragrances -- not recommended
for those who dislike perfume. The packaging often has a homemade feel, with
boxes made of hemp or bamboo paper.
Body Dope, a provocatively named line of shampoos, conditioners, soaps,
massage oils and lip balms from the Berkeley, Calif.-based Two Star Dog, is
one of the best-sellers at Planet Hemp, according to John Powell, the
store's managing director.
"If people are worried about the name," he says, "their resistance is
overcome when they try the products."
There are many excellent handmade hemp soaps, such as Hempola's hand-cut
bars and All Around the World's cleansing soaps, which contain high levels
of essential oils.
There's also a strange dark brown soap from Virgin Body Care called Dirty
Dan's that gently exfoliates skin with a blend of corn meal, pumice and
crushed hemp seed.
Parched hands will benefit from an application of Sun Dog's hand cake, a
superstrength emollient packaged in a metal tin.
In the realm of hair care, Alterna has a new line called Enzyme therapy that
is sold only in salons. The products are formulated with hemp seed oil and
each is packaged with a tiny packet of seeds roped to its neck. Sterilized
hemp seeds, that is.
Not one to miss out on a natural-ingredient trend, Body Shop is introducing
a line of hemp products this summer. The company intends to make the most of
the herb's rich and varied history.
"The first draft of the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp
paper," a spokeswoman says. "We intend to recycle that wisdom."
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
They Speak For The Fallen In War On Drugs ('The Boston Globe'
Says The Case Of Kemba Smith, A Young Black Woman Sentenced To 24 Years
In Prison, Even Though She Never Used, Handled, Or Benefited From
Her Boyfriend's Illegal Cocaine Business, Is Galvanizing Activists, Students,
Mothers, And Criminal-Justice Advocates Across The Country To Call
Not Only For Her Release But For Radical Reform Of The Mandatory
Drug Sentencing Laws)
Date: Sun, 05 Jul 1998 11:24:32 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service (mapnews@mapinc.org)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US MA: They Speak For The Fallen 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: emr@javanet.com (Dick Evans)
Pubdate: Thu, 2 Jul 1998
Source: Boston Globe
Author: Zachary R. Dowdy, Globe staff
Contact: Letters@globe.com
Website: http://www.boston.com/globe/
THEY SPEAK FOR THE FALLEN IN WAR ON DRUGS
BLACK WOMEN'S GROUP URGES CLEMENCY FOR DEALER'S GIRLFRIEND
An audience of 1,500 professional black women sat in a hotel ballroom
yesterday and gasped at details of how a young woman, whose dreams of
business success reminded them of their own daughters, fell in love with a
smooth-talking drug dealer and ended up sentenced to prison for a quarter
century.
Members of The Links Inc., a national group, expressed outrage over the
case of Kemba Smith, 26, who is serving a 24 1/2-year sentence under
federal mandatory drug sentencing laws - even though prosecutors said she
never used, handled, or benefited from her boyfriend's illegal trade.
''Every informed and educated parent should say, `But for the grace of God
that could be my child,''' said Sarah Brown-Clark, a college professor from
Youngstown, Ohio. ''Too often now we're seeing our children getting trapped
in this situation.''
The case of Kemba Smith is galvanizing activists, students, mothers, and
criminal-justice advocates across the country to call not only for her
release but for radical reform of the mandatory drug sentencing laws. They
maintain that laws designed to bring down crack dealers are ensnaring
low-level offenders and locking up a generation of blacks.
The Links, which is devoted to community service, used its national
conference at the Boston Marriott Copley Place to initiate a letter-writing
campaign yesterday to President Clinton, demanding clemency for Smith. She
is serving time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn.,
and is ineligible for parole.
''Kemba is everybody's child, anybody's child, and our child,'' said
Patricia Russell-McCloud, national president of the 10,000-member group,
which has 270 chapters in 40 US states, Nassau, the Bahamas, and Frankfurt.
''We will free Kemba.''
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has filed an appeal on Smith's
behalf in the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va.,
said Elaine R. Jones, president of the legal agency.
''Kemba represents the tip of the iceberg,'' Jones said, referring to the
thousands of blacks who serve time under mandatory minimum sentences. ''We
hope to get a new trial.'' Such state and federal laws allow judges no
discretion, officials say.
The laws have come under fire in Massachusetts and elsewhere, partly
because of their impact on African-Americans - with penalties 100 times
more severe for crack cocaine, a drug used mostly in black communities,
than for powder cocaine, used often by white people.
Smith, a Virginia native, was attending Hampton University when she met
Peter Michael Hall, who prosecutors say ran a violent $4 million drug
operation between Virginia and New York.
Smith's father and mother, Gus and Odessa Smith, who spoke at the
conference yesterday, said Hall had abused their daughter severely in their
three-year relationship. The Smiths said their daughter had a miscarriage.
She became pregnant again with Hall and gave birth to a boy, Armani, who is
being raised by her parents.
Hall eluded law enforcement officers and was shot dead in a Seattle
apartment while on the run.
Smith, on advice of counsel, later pleaded guilty to charges of money
laundering, conspiracy, and lying, said Gus Smith. He said the money
laundering charges were filed because his daughter signed an apartment
lease and a contract for the purchase of a car for Hall. He said she also
denied knowing Hall's whereabouts when a prosecutor had asked, and faced
conspiracy charges since she knew about the drug operation.
''We believe even the staunchest conservative politician would agree that
these laws were not designed for people like Kemba to get caught in the
system,'' said Odessa Smith.
The impact of the laws, drafted at the height of the nation's so-called war
on drugs in the 1980s, has been vast, imprisoning thousands and sparking an
exponential rise in incarceration rates for black women.
From 1986 to 1991, young African-American women in state prison for drug
offenses increased 828 percent, according to the Sentencing Project in
Washington.
A 1994 Justice Department study showed that women were overrepresented
among low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with minimal or no criminal
history, such as Kemba Smith.
''This punishment by far exceeds the crime,'' said Barbara Lord Watkins, a
Dallas member of The Links. ''We need to develop strategies to move
collectively and make sure this doesn't happen again.''
(c) Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Peddling Viagra Online (According To 'The San Francisco Chronicle,'
Authorities In California And Colorado Said Yesterday They Are Beginning
An Investigation Of An Online Pharmacy, Performance Drugs Inc.,
Which Has Been Supplying Viagra And Other Medicines Over The Web
Without Prescriptions - The Sensationalist Newspaper Alleges 'Viagra
And The Internet Appear To Be Ushering In A New Brand Of High-Tech
Drug Abuse')
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 11:40:34 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Peddling Viagra Online
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)
Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jul 1998
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Author: Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Science Writer
PEDDLING VIAGRA ONLINE
You Can Get Hot New Drug, And Others, On The Net - Without Ever Seen A Doctor
Viagra and the Internet appear to be ushering in a new brand of high-tech
drug abuse.
Authorities in California and Colorado said yesterday that they are
beginning investigations of an online pharmacy operation, Performance Drugs
Inc., which has been supplying Viagra and other medicines through the Web
without traditional prescriptions.
The investigations were prompted in part by inquiries from a Chronicle
reporter, who had ordered 10 tablets of Viagra, the wildly popular new
anti-impotence pill, and 10 doses of ``Stimula,'' a purported ``female
erectile cream,'' through the Web site.
Performance Drugs is just one of a growing crop of Web-based pill mills
exploiting the phenomenal demand for Pfizer Inc.'s impotence remedy. A
record 2.5 million Viagra prescriptions have been filled since the drug was
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Pfizer has issued statements decrying loose prescribing of Viagra -- a
potentially dangerous medicine linked to 174 reports of side effects and 31
deaths, although it's not clear whether the drug itself or underlying
health problems were to blame.
However, the New York-based pharmaceutical giant conceded that it has
done nothing to stop questionable sales through the Internet. Nor has the
company been systematically monitoring the Internet.
A company spokeswoman said Internet sales appear to be legal in many
states, ``so there's not much we can do about it.''
State regulators said anyone, including the manufacturer, could prompt an
investigation simply by filing a complaint.
The pills received by The Chronicle appear to be genuine -- blue-colored,
oblong tablets stamped with Pfizer's logo. The newspaper is having the
pills tested for authenticity.
To get them, the reporter was only required to fill out a short ``medical
history'' online through an easy-to-find, well-promoted Web site. Besides
agreeing to a $99.50 charge on a credit card, he also agreed to pay a $50
``physician review charge'' for first-time customers.
The form did not ask whether the reporter was suffering from impotence --
the only condition for which the Food and Drug Administration has approved
Viagra. He did not even have to reveal his age or gender. No doctor or
pharmacist contacted him.
Since The Chronicle submitted its order, the online form has been revised,
and customers must now provide more detailed information.
Calls to Performance Drugs were answered by Mike Takano, who identified
himself as president of Alliance Marketing in Seattle, which he said has a
partnership with Performance Drugs to handle the phone calls and other
business generated by the Web site.
He said the drug company was founded by a Colorado physician, Dr. Benjamin
Taylor Johnson. Johnson, 31, is a 1994 graduate of Creighton University in
Nebraska who practices at a clinic in Denver called the Center for Body
Enhancement. Records of the Colorado medical board indicate that Johnson
has a valid license to practice in that state and has no record of
disciplinary action against him.
Bad Practice
Johnson's name appeared on the drug packaging received by The Chronicle as
the prescribing doctor. He did not return repeated telephone calls this
week.
Physicians and regulators said it is bad practice, and possibly illegal,
for a doctor to order prescription drugs for patients he has never met or
examined. Nor does Johnson have a license to prescribe medicine to someone
in San Francisco, according to a record check by the Medical Board of
California.
``It is absolutely not legal unless there's a good-faith examination by a
doctor licensed to practice medicine in California,'' said Doug Laue,
deputy director of the state board.
Susan Miller, program administrator of the Colorado Board of Medical
Examiners, said, ``The board may have problems with what he is doing and
certainly we will be investigating that.'' Regulators said the willy-nilly
sale of Viagra and other prescription drugs over the Web is a growing
problem.
``We have this on our radar screen,'' said Carmen Catizone, executive
director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which is
developing a ``seal of approval'' for Web sites that follow what are
considered sound guidelines.
It `Won't Pass Muster'
``It's against the law to dispense a prescription drug to someone without a
legitimate prescription,'' he said, adding that filling prescriptions based
only on Web questionnaires, without any semblance of a patient-physician
relationship, clearly will not pass muster.
One Web site in Wisconsin jumped on the Viagra bandwagon soon after the
drug was approved but promptly closed under pressure from state medical
authorities. Another site with a sponsor based in Arizona also has
apparently come and gone. In California, however, officials said they had
not looked into the matter until questioned this week by The Chronicle.
State telemedicine statutes and other provisions traditionally allow
physicians to conduct business over the phone or by fax, as long as they
exercise sound judgment and act in good faith.
Few doctors consider it good judgment to fill a telephone prescription
requested by someone they have not physically examined before.
Issuing Viagra prescriptions to total strangers, even if they fill out
detailed forms on the Internet, ``is not a good idea,'' said Dr. Tom Lue, a
nationally known urologist on the faculty of the University of California
at San Francisco.
Although Viagra is by far the main attraction, Web sites also are
advertising baldness treatments, female ``sexual enhancement'' creams and
other drugs that usually cannot be purchased legally without a prescription.
`Worldwide Access'
Performance Drugs, one of the more visible Viagra-peddlers on the Internet,
has made no secret of the business. The company even issued a press release
in May advertising ``worldwide access'' to Viagra, even though the drug has
been approved only in a few countries outside the United States so far.
Takano said the service is extremely popular with customers all over the
country. He declined to offer details other than saying that the Web
service has received no complaints. As for the legalities, Takano said the
Web service employs plenty of lawyers to make sure no laws are broken.
Still, he added, ``this kind of falls into the frontier; it's in uncharted
waters.'' ``There are no real statutes for or against it,'' he said. ``We
meet with doctors. We pay doctors quite a bit of money to review
prescriptions. The doctors can reject every order if they want. We're
relying on the physician's judgment.''
The Chronicle's Viagra-Stimula order was shipped by U.S. mail from
Pencol-Medisave Pharmacy, which listed a Denver address.
A man who answered a telephone request for an interview at the pharmacy
identified himself as Marshall Tobin. He initially refused to answer any
questions, and he ended the conversation shortly after a reporter declined
to grant him anonymity.
`The Wrong Thing To Do'
``I know I'm not in any jeopardy,'' Tobin said, claiming that he did not
know all the details about the Web supply operation when the Chronicle
reporter's order was filled.
But he then added that he has since stopped filling such orders. ``It was
the wrong thing to do,'' he said.
Viagra still appears to be safe and effective when used as intended,
according to the FDA. The most serious known side effects have been listed
on the drug label since it was approved.
One known risk is the strain that sexual activity could have on newly
potent men in poor health. The drug can trigger potentially fatal drops in
blood pressure in heart patients taking nitrate drugs -- an increasingly
common problem in emergency rooms.
It's also potentially dangerous to combine Viagra with the inhaled
recreational nitrates known as ``poppers.'' But part of the demand for the
drug, doctors say, is in recreational use by men who are not impotent but
seek to enhance their sexual prowess, even though the drug evidently does
nothing for men who have no problems achieving erections. The pill also is
being tested by the manufacturer as a sexual aid for women.
Health authorities said the Viagra traffic on the Internet opens the
possibility that the drug will fall into the hands of children or people
refused prescriptions by their doctors, presumably for fear of side effects.
`Bad Medicine'
``We are very concerned about this,'' said Dr. James Winn, executive vice
president of the Federation of State Medical Boards, a Texas-based
organization that advises state physician-licensing agencies across the
country. ``This is bad medicine.'' Winn's organization issued a memorandum
last week warning state medical boards about the Performance Drugs Web site.
The operation is ``technically not illegal,'' the memo stated, but ``does
raise flags about the quality of medicine being practiced by physicians who
have agreed to write prescriptions for the individuals placing orders.''
Ubiquitous gossip about what the medication might do for normally
functioning men -- or perhaps even women -- has prompted phenomenal demand
for the pills, even at $9 or more a pop.
In some Bay Area neighborhoods, the pills can be had on the street with
little more difficulty than copping a bag of marijuana.
``It's true,'' said one San Francisco police investigator, confirming that
Viagra is being passed around in some bars for $20 or $30 a pill.
Merely A Misdemeanor
But local authorities noted that it's merely a misdemeanor to possess
prescription medications without a prescription. A felony could be charged
if large quantities are involved, but successful prosecution would require
showing intent to sell the drug -- and that's not easy to do.
Nor can the Food and Drug Administration step in. The agency has no
authority over how pharmacies and physicians use an approved drug.
Dr. Stuart Nightingale, associate FDA commissioner for health affairs, said
some Web sites may be treading on dangerous legal ground, however, citing
at least two past instances of a provider being shut down by state and
local authorities.
The FDA has joined in a global effort through the World Health Organization
to reach effective cross-border agreements to monitor pharmaceutical
marketing in the online era.
Officials in several countries hope to reach agreements for a cooperative
program that would force pill mills out of business wherever they might
arise.
The world health group has even adopted a resolution against unlicensed
cross-border sales of prescription drugs, although the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America, a Washington trade group, said WHO
lacks authority to deal effectively with the problem.
HOW THE CHRONICLE ORDERED VIAGRA ON THE INTERNET
1. June 15: Customer makes quick internet search for ``Viagra'' and finds
Performance Drugs Inc. one of several sites that fills orders for drugs
online.
2. Customer completes a short order form and agrees to pay:
-- $99.50 for 10 Viagra tablets
-- $20 for 10 doses of ``Stimula'' for women
-- $50 ``physician review '' change
3. Form is transmitted instantly to Seattle to the company's telemarketing
partner
4. Form is transmitted to Denver, where physicans and Performance Drug Inc.
co-founder Dr. Ben Johnson decides soley on the information found on the
form whether to prescribe the drug.
5. The presciption order is sent to Pencol-Medisave Pharmacy in Denver,
where the order is filled.
6. Prescription arrives in San Francisco by regular mail.
1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A1
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DEA Panel - The Future Of Drug Law Enforcement (A Second,
Somewhat Different Commentary By Jon Gettman About The Panel Discussion
Broadcast Yesterday On CSPAN2)
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 11:16:25 EDT
Errors-To: manager@drcnet.org
Reply-To: Gettman_J@mediasoft.net
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Jon Gettman (Gettman_J@mediasoft.net)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: DEA Panel: "The Future of Drug Law Enforcement"
"The Future of Drug Law Enforcement"
reviewed by Jon Gettman
Note: This article does not contain verbatim transcripts. This is a
description of a DEA panel discussion and with a few exceptions does not
contain direct quotations. Some of the topical descriptions are very
brief, most are fair descriptions of what was said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is commemorating its 25th anniversary.
On July 1 they held a 90-minute panel discussion on "The Future of Drug Law
Enforcement". The panel discussion was broadcast July 1, 1998 on CSPAN2, a
US public affairs cable channel, at 10 pm EST..
Columnist Robert Novak moderated a discussion by John Ingersoll (Dir. of
the Bur. of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, successor agency to DEA), Myles
Ambrose (head of the transition agency between BNDD and DEA), Peter
Bensinger (former DEA Adm.), John Lawn (former DEA Adm), and Thomas
Constantine (current DEA Adm.)
John Ingersoll began by emphasizing the need for strong leadership in
discouraging drug use. Myles Ambrose explained the need for one agency to
be in charge of drug law enforcement.
Peter Bensinger complimented agency personnel for their experience,
sacrifices, and dedication to their work. Source country efforts can work.
It is easier with heroin because there is more public support here and
abroad. In the late 1970's [when Bensinger served at the agency] there was
a major misunderstanding about the danger of marijuana. Regarding all the
various anti-drug tactics and programs, the country has to do all of it.
John Lawn said that a war on drugs was necessary in the early 1980s because
of the "benign neglect" of the 1970's. There was no change in the number
of DEA employees in the seventies, but this began to change dramatically
during Lawn's service in the early 1980s. Resource support increased
considerably. Drug problems are getting worse in the nineties. DAWN
statistics for heroin have doubled in the nineties, so have statistics for
methamphetamine. Violence is up. There was a real war on drugs in the
1980s, defined in terms of increased funding. Constantine has been able
to increase manpower considerably over any time in DEA history and is able
to build on the promise of the early days. We shouldn't forget the
marijuana issue. The public needs to know more about marijuana's link with
binge drinking on college campuses. Alcohol use among 6th - 8th graders is
also increasing, and this is a serious problem. The proliferation of drug
enforcement agencies has always been a problem. There are now 50 agencies
doing drug law work, but only one of them [DEA] is held accountable by the
public. "Benign neglect" also characterized the 1990's. Heroin and
Methamphetamine are now "major problems". Marijuana is now a "significant
problem."
Thomas Constantine began by explaining his concern that the country just
doesn't understand the trouble we're now in, despite acceptance of the
status quo. In 1960 only 4 million people had ever used drugs, while in
1990 over 80 million people in the US had ever used drugs. Some of the
solutions suggested in Washington are "mystifying," despite being requests
from "decent" people, although a bit misguided. These mystifying
suggestions include cordoning of the US with the military to keep drugs
out, using US intelligence satellites and operatives to pinpoint all drug
shipments, and using and directing every single police officer in the
United States against the drug problem. Theoretically, addressing the
proliferation of agencies, there should be just one drug law enforcement
agency. The reality of the situation, Constantine has found, is that it's
too big to change. Rather than waste his time, he tries to cooperate and
avoid turf battles. Besides, "monopoly over service" does not necessarily
provide "good service". The US has some 16,000 police agencies, and if
someone proposed that there be 15,999 there would be a cry that that was
one too few. The American people prefer not to concentrate police power.
The DEA tries to work hard and be recognized as a leader on that basis
rather than to be designated so by statute.
Robert Novak: What is your response to the charge that the war on drugs is
a failure and that the country should legalize drugs, that if we have legal
alcohol and legal tobacco, why not narcotics?
Peter Bensinger: Alcohol and drugs are different. Drugs are banned in
many countries around the world whereas alcohol is accepted in most parts
of the world. Legalizing drugs would increase crime and violence. It's
not just getting money to buy drugs, illegal drugs cause changes in people
that make them more likely to commit crimes. If legal marijuana was set at
a potency of 2%, there would be a black market in 6% potency. So the
illegal market would still be there. The Soros supported proposals of harm
reduction were characterized by Bensinger as reducing restraints on illegal
drug use. In the 1970s legalizers were largely unfunded; they were
"counter-culture" types without an "aura of respectability". Today Soros
funded and other organizations are misleading the public. A new threat has
been creeping into the debate.
Thomas Constantine: Polls show that 85% of the public is against
legalization. There is a new phenomenon, though, consisting of a wealthy
elitist structure favoring legalization. One aspect involves class and
race. These wealthy people think it is only the poor that are affected by
drugs, and this allows them to be detached and abstract about the problem
and its consequences. In all his travels, no one has come up to
Constantine and said the solution to the drug problem is to make more drugs
available. The problem is that many of these illegal drugs provide great
pleasure without any medical benefit. Considering legalization, what
drugs? Marijuana? Heroin? What amount? After we provide addiction
opportunities, who pays for the use of the drugs? Should we allow these
drug users to be surgeons? Teachers? These addicts would be unemployable.
They would eventually become too sick to work. Who will take care of
them? What age limit should there be? A 21 year old age limit did not
eliminate teenage drinking. What about women? Should we allow them to
become addicted to drugs -- what about if they become pregnant? Richard
Daley Jr. had a good suggestion, let these legalizers try this first with
their own kids, in their own neighborhoods, and we'll see how it goes there
for a few years before we try it in the rest of the country.
John Lawn: Marijuana potency is very different today than before. Drugs
are illegal because they are bad, not the other way around. Marijuana use
in the 1960s is irrelevant to use today because the drug is so much
stronger. Use of marijuana by children is very dangerous. The British
system was an abject failure. The Dutch actually have a substantial drug
problem. The Swiss are having a disaster with illicit drugs.
Decriminalization doesn't work. It is not a victimless crime. There are,
for example, countless thousand crack babies that will wreck havoc as a
problem for our society for the next 25 years. There is no positive aspect
to decriminalization.
Robert Novak: What about the need to place more emphasis on the legal
substances, that is, tobacco use precedes marijuana use . . .
Myles Ambrose: The legalizers conduct a masterful public relations
campaign. Harm Reduction is masterful advertising. It probably came from
the same advertising agency that came up with the term pro-choice. It's
that good. Ambrose is "appalled" by Soros, appalled to see a former
Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State on "that damn
advertisement". It was a "national disgrace." Prohibition did not work
with alcohol and it won't work with tobacco. Try it with caffeine and see
what happen. It is an addiction. As far as the illegal drugs go, the
government can't do much else than it is. They just have to target the
worse drugs, and that includes marijuana. One problem is whether or not
there is some medical use of marijuana and heroin. Ambrose doesn't know
the answers, but some serious research is required.
Thomas Constantine: The DEA made a comprehensive study of marijuana as
medicine during John Lawn's service. Every major medical organization
stated that there was no therapeutic use. In those proceedings only
psychiatrists claimed that there were some benefits, but they could provide
no peer-reviewed studies and they refused to testify under oath. In
regards to its use against nausea from chemotherapy, every doctor I've
spoken to indicates that so many drugs are now available and better that it
would be unprofessional to recommend it to patients. As far as wasting
goes, there are steroids and other alternatives.
"The problem that is laid out with medical use of marijuana, it was used
very specifically-- we've reviewed the reports-- as a stalking horse for
the legalization of drugs."
"So it has been unfair to patients who see that as a benefit and do not
seek out appropriate medical treatment."
"It is even more unfair to the young people of the country who are the most
vulnerable, who hear people talking about 'this is a medicine, not a drug
that is dangerous' and thereby allowing them to rationalize behavior."
"And I go back to having been a smoker -- and to go back to the argument
mentioned, I'll answer that question -- legalized drugs and smoking and
alcohol lead to drug use -- that argues in the face of logic. Because from
my era everybody smoked and everybody drank and there was no drug use. So
there was not a step progress that occurred at that point in time."
"But the one thing that did happen, I'm sure, to my generation was there
was any number of ads on the backs of magazines that had physicians smoking
cigarettes and saying this suited you to a t . . .and when people gave you
cigarettes you assumed they we're good for you. I think once you do that
you rationalize dangerous behavior in the minds of impressionable kids."
"So these people who are now telling these young children that these drugs
can be beneficial for them, they're not dangerous -- when it occurs that it
impacts even one in my opinion, but it will impact many -- there is a
special place in hell, I think, for individuals who pronounce such behavior
that so seriously hurts young kids as they go along."
John Lawn: There is a threshhold problem. Illegal drug users cause much
of the violence in our society.
John Ingersoll: Thirty years ago heroin came from poppies grown in Turkey
and processed into heroin in the south of France. There was a great effort
to shut down this pipeline. Now no one hears about heroin from Turkey and
France. What worked? Crop substitution and government cooperation. Why
not the same in Mexico today? Corruption, high level corruption. It's
been like this for more than 30 years in Mexico. Mexico has not done its
part. Thomas Constantine tells me that Colombia has turned around.
Myles Ambrose: One problem in Mexico is that the economy is controlled by
30 to 40 families in Monterey, and they tolerate corruption in the
government and only care about their money. The Mexican government has
always been corrupt.
Peter Bensinger: The lack of will and corruption in source countries is a
problem, but the demand problem here in the US is also important. For the
most part cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are imported into this country.
Since 1990 demand has gone up. So Mexico does not control the crops, we
need far better enforcement of our existing laws. We should not slack off
just because the prisons are full. We should also give a lot more money to
support families. We need more activity like the parents groups of the
1980s. Their mobilization is as important as Mexico.
John Lawn: Demand is important. Mexico is a problem. The certification
process is a problem. Colombia is dedicated to this, while Mexico is not
doing all they can do. Are we doing all we can? We need treatment for
everyone who wants it. We need better education. Our college-bound kids
are smoking too much pot.
Audience Question from retired DEA agent - what about better social and
health services?
Myles Ambrose: Treatment providers are in the depths of despair over
funding. Treatment programs do work. Overcoming heroin addiction, for
example, takes a long long time. It's not a matter of a 30 day program.
It is very expensive. But the successful treatment of one addict probably
stops 10 others from becoming addicted. Recovered addicts have
considerable contributions to make to our society. The DEA has to tell
Congress how important treatment is.
Thomas Constantine: There is always argument in Washington over the
"strategy of the year". Actually, there has never been a drug war in this
coungry, which Constantine defines as total expenditure. But we can't
denigrate the police and prisons and what they do. Police protect people
and make a difference in their lives. Police and prisons bring "order out
of chaos" and if not for them the other programs would not work.
Audience Comment and Question from career DEA employee working in Demand
Reduction - The employee said she was really bothered by the NY times
article, especially by Walter Cronkite's participation, and if this was the
caliber of the other side it was even more important to ask who should take
the lead to counter the money of George Soros? Many people in the country
are not educated enough about the drug problem to understand it. If it is
not appropriate for government to take the lead here, how do we reach
middle America?
Peter Bensinger: With private industry. Many people can't come to work
today with drugs in their system thanks to urine testing. Companies can
not get government contracts without drug testing programs. The answer is
more work with employers. Parents also need to recognize the health
consequences. We need a parent to parent movement to pressure Congress.
We need parents to take on the harm reduction folks.
Audience Question: Constantine is asked to comment on the money laundering
sting in Mexico.
Thomas Constantine: Anywhere organized crime flourishes they corrupt law
enforcement. The only effective tactic to use against them is the use of
honest and dedicated law enforcement personnel. The US and Mexico are in
very close proximity, and crime groups from Mexico are sending large
numbers of criminals into the US to sell drugs. Regarding Operation
Casablanca, it was a Customs operation and they deserve the credit for it.
The issue really should be the hundreds of millions of dollars made from
crime, and not some manufactured and overblown diplomatic incident.
Robert Novak: The DEA budget is a fraction of what we spend on individual
military hardware, it is dwarfed by non-military spending. We have a
massive government surplus, call it $500 billion. We have the money, but
our political leadership does not have the will to get rid of this scourge.
Both Clinton and the republican leadership in Congress have failed in
this. Politicians changed on tobacco in just a few years. The public
supports a real war, and the government should too.
The CSPAN2 broadcast concluded with a notice to send any comments to:
Drug Enforcement Administration
700 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22202
CSPAN Programming Details - Broadcast Date Wednesday, July 1, 1998.
10:00pm to 11:37pm ET
07:00pm to 08:37pm PT
Forum
The Next 25 Years of Drug Law Enforcement
Drug Enforcement Agency
Arlington, VA
ID : 108184
Length : 1 hr 37 min
Event date : 07/01/98
Constantine, Thomas, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration
Novak, Robert, Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Americans Addicted To Hypocrisy (An Op-Ed In Britain's 'Daily Telegraph'
Says America's Political Class Has Slipped The Bonds Of Sanity
About Smoking - A Simple Question Of Choice - For Example, In Florida,
The Government Is Using £130 Million To Pay For Maoist Propaganda
To Persuade Children Not To Smoke, Including Little Red Books
About The Evils Of Smoking.)
Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 18:48:28 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Australia: OPED: Americans Addicted To Hypocrisy
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: mistyron@bigfoot.com (Misty)
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Contact: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Pubdate: 2 Jul 1998
Author: Hugo Gurdon
AMERICANS ADDICTED TO HYPOCRISY
Hugo Gurdon in Washington reports on the pop-eyed hysteria that has gripped
the chatterati on a simple question of choice - smoking
"Welcome to killing Field", says a cheery billboard to motorists driving
into Tampa, Florida. If you had regarded the Sunshine State as a place
where the only dangers were heat-stroke and an overdose of Disney, think
again. The billboard bears two death tolls side by side. The first - 43,363
Americans wiped out annually in car crashes - is dwarfed by the second -
430,700 innocents putatively extinguished by cigarette smoke.
Florida takes this very seriously. Or rather, it is so outraged about
smoking that it has passed clean through seriousness and emerged on the
other side of pop-eyed hysteria.
Having sued Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man and won £6.5 billion in damages
because of smokers' extra health care burdens, the government is using £130
million to pay for propaganda to persuade children not to smoke. Among its
many Maoist features, the campaign will provide children with little red
books about the evils of smoking. They are to be herded to state-organised
anti-tobacco rallies. Police will write smoking tickets, like parking
fines, for teenagers caught surreptitiously puffing behind the bicycle
sheds. Television advertisements will attack cigarette makers with the
slogan "Their brand is lies. Our brand is truth", and a "Truth Train" will
trundle across the state proselytising for pink-lunged purity. A Ministry
of Truth will be set up in the capital, Tallahassee, to oversee it all.
I made up the bit about the new ministry, actually, but you can be forgiven
if you were fooled, because everything else is gospel. America's political
class has slipped the bonds of sanity and declined into foam-flecked rage
about smoking. Without cigarette-makers changing what they do, which is to
sell a legal product to willing users, the chatterati have come to regard
them as baby-killers.
More people smoke than voted for Bill Clinton, but politicians are in no
mood to let inconvenient facts deprive them of righteous anger. Cigarette
companies are easy targets, having concealed evidence about smoking and ill
health, and secretly marketing to children. But the real hypocrites are the
anti-smoking crusaders. A detailed analysis has shown that, far from
costing society money, smokers contribute 20p a pack to the general welfare
by dying young and not collecting their pensions, and a further £200 each
year in tobacco taxes. Neither Florida nor any other state has lost money
because of smoking. They have all gained.
The anti-smoking war is based on the falsehood that smokers were ignorant
of the risks of lighting up. It is 35 years since my parents first
attempted to bribe me not to start smoking. Cigarettes were known as
"gaspers" before the First World War; even James I condemned the noxious
"weed". No one alive today was born into a world ignorant of the risks.
Rebellious youth wants to take risks. My parents' bribery did not work.
Like many others on the cusp of adulthood, I started smoking because it was
a relatively harmless way in the short term of doing what my parents wished
me not to do.
The demonisation of smoking in America has increased teenage smoking,
probably, say psychologists, because children realise they can give their
parents conniptions without being so silly as to take hard drugs. They
smoke by choice and then, like me, they choose to give it up.
This is not as hard as some people pretend; there are fewer smokers than
ex-smokers. But choice is not something that Big Brother government is
inclined to give the ignorant serfs of the general public. When Congress
put together a whopping £400 billion tax increase on cigarettes, ostensibly
to stamp out teenage smoking, it was based on the false premise that
ordinary people do not have the gumption to make the decision themselves.
They had to be regarded as innocent cattle led to the slaughter by big,
bad, Machiavellian business.
Fortunately, conservatives woke up at the last minute and voted against the
legislation that they realised would not stop smoking, but would finance a
giant extension of an overweening, over-funded state. Left-liberals were
outraged by their defeat. "If this is a tax," frothed Senator John Kerry,
"this is the one tax in America that nobody has to pay - nobody - unless
you buy a pack of cigarettes."
Hey, what was that, Senator? Smokers are not in the grip of a cast-iron
addiction, not dupes of wily advertisers? How odd, then, that the
government needs to whip up hysteria and raise hundreds of billions in
taxes to stamp out a simple, pleasurable, personal choice.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 48 (The Drug Reform Coordination
Network's Original News Summary For Activists, Including The Original
And Fascinating Article, 'FDA Orders Books Destroyed')
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 00:31:29 EDT
Errors-To: manager@drcnet.org
Reply-To: manager@drcnet.org
Originator: drc-natl@drcnet.org
Sender: drc-natl@drcnet.org
From: DRCNet (manager@drcnet.org)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drc-natl@drcnet.org)
Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 48
THE WEEK ONLINE WITH DRCNet, ISSUE No. 48 -- JULY 2, 1998
-- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --
(To sign off this list, mailto: listproc@drcnet.org with the
line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of the message, or
mailto:drcnet@drcnet.org for assistance. To subscribe to
this list, visit http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html.)
(This issue can be also be read on our web site at
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html.)
***
CONTENTS
1. Join the DRCNet Thousand
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#thousand
2. Point and Click for Drug Policy Reform
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#eyegive
3. U.S., U.K. Plan Biological Warfare in Opium-Producing
Nations
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#biowar
4. Canadian Doctors Call for Opiate Maintenance, but
Attorney General Cites "Bad Message"
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#dosanjh
5. Treatment-Resistant AIDS Spreading, Bolstering Case for
Syringe Exchange
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#newstrains
6. On Polling Numbers and Syringe Exchange in New Jersey
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#njpoll
7. FDA Orders Books Destroyed
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#bookburning
8. Crop Eradication Leaves Lebanon Peasants Hungry
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#lebanon
9. News Briefs
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#briefs
10. Orlando, Florida: Statewide Medical Marijuana
Conference, 7/25
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#camm
11. Washington State Medical Marijuana Initiative Submits
Signatures
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#i692
12. Independence Day for KY Farmers: University of Kentucky
to Release Hemp Research
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#ky-hemp
13. EDITORIAL: Who's a Fraud?
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/48.html#editorial
***
1. JOIN THE DRCNET THOUSAND
Enthusiastic response to our end-of-the-quarter appeal has
propelled our paid membership beyond our goal of 960. While
it's too soon for a final count, we're pretty sure that
DRCNet's member database is within 10 or 15 of the 1,000
mark. (Total e-mail subscribership has passed 6,000.)
Are there 15 of you out there, willing to help DRCNet break
the 1,000 mark in time for the July 4th weekend? Your
support leading up to Independence Day symbolizes a future
when humanity will live free of our nation's immoral drug
laws. Cast a vote and take a stand today against the war!
To make a donation online with our encryption-secured web
form, visit http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html, and make
sure to follow the link to the encrypted version (https at
the beginning of the URL). You can also use this form to
prepare a printed statement with which to send in a check;
this will help us process your information more quickly.
Or, send your check or money order, $25 for full membership
and $10 for "virtual" e-mail only membership to: DRCNet,
2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036. Please
note that contributions to DRCNet are not tax-deductible.
***
2. POINT AND CLICK FOR DRUG POLICY REFORM
Since our appeal earlier this week, participation in the
eyegive fundraiser has increased dramatically -- 42 new
people have signed up, and daily revenues have doubled! As
mentioned before, we received the first checks from eyegive,
last month, totaling more than $775 -- but the next one can
be much bigger than that, with your help. If you haven't
signed up yet, you can select DRCNet automatically by
visiting http://www.eyegive.com/html/ssi.cfm?CID=1060.
Then, the easiest way to keep up with it (or to get back on
track if you signed up but stopped visiting) is to set the
eyegive home page, http://www.eyegive.com, as the default
start-up page in your web browser -- use edit-preferences in
Netscape or view-Internet options in Internet Explorer.
For those of you who didn't read the bulletin, here is a
brief recap: Eyegive is a web site through which people can
earn money for their favorite non-profit organization, just
by clicking on a page of ads that appears when you visit the
site. Clicking up to five times per day earns DRCNet
valuable funds, if you have selected us as your recipient
non-profit.
Your wrist and finger clicks can add up to earn DRCNet
thousands of dollars -- money that can pay for part-time
help, advertise for new members, any number of things.
Please check it out, and those of you who have taken part
already, keep up the good work!
***
3. U.S., U.K. Plan Biological Warfare in Opium-Producing
Nations
According to the Sunday Times, Britain's largest Sunday
newspaper, a joint scientific effort is underway in
Uzbekistan which has developed a mutant fungus which attacks
opium poppies, signaling the beginning of a campaign of
biological warfare next year. The project, which involves
both British and American intelligence agencies, is being
carried out at Uzbekistan's state genetics institute, which
was formerly used to develop and manufacture germ agents for
the destruction of food crops of Soviet enemies. The Times
reports that some of the 30 researchers who are working on
the project are veterans of secret Soviet biological weapons
programs.
The mutated fungus, a strain of a tomato-eating variety
called Fusarium Oxysporum, is said to be advantageous over
chemical herbicides because it is self-replicating, and is
transferred via airborne spores from dying plants.
According to the Sunday Times, the deal with the government
of Uzbekistan was brokered by senior staff of the United
Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), but some U.N.
officials are concerned that use of the fungus in a country
like Afghanistan (where the majority of British heroin
originates) will open the West to charges from Islamic
countries of waging biological warfare. Such charges could
result in a strengthening of ties between fundamentalist and
moderate Islamic states.
Fusarium is well-known in the U.S. where farmers in Florida
and Georgia have had crops destroyed by a virulent mutation
called "Race 3", which has proven resistant to even the
strongest fungicides. In other parts of the world, Fusarium
fungi have been responsible for the destruction of
watermelons, chickpeas, basil, bananas, and numerous other
crops. Any of the fungi's variations is capable of lying
dormant in soil for years waiting for a host plant.
***
4. Canadian Doctors Call for Opiate Maintenance, but
Attorney General Cites "Bad Message"
The Health Officers Council of British Columbia, a 20-doctor
panel responsible for controlling outbreaks of communicable
diseases in the province, called for a trial which would
provide heroin to addicts in an effort to stem the spread of
AIDS and Hepatitis C. The doctors also called upon the
federal government to amend the Canadian Controlled Drug and
Substances Act to make the drugs available. Canadian
Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh offered a second opinion in
opposition to the esteemed physicians' group, saying "the
only place where there have been heroin trials has been
Switzerland and there have been mixed reviews of that.
There is no clinical evidence that this works."
Dosanjh also stated that expansion of methadone programs
would be better than the doctors' proposal, adding, "it's
not OK to take drugs, and we need to send that message."
(Dosanjh does not appear to be accurately informed on the
issue. Substantial clinical evidence favoring maintenance
programs does indeed exist, from the Swiss experiment all
the way back to the early maintenance clinics from 1915 in
the U.S. Much more information on this topic is available
on the Lindesmith Center web site, drug maintenance section,
at http://www.lindesmith.org/library/subject.html.)
***
5. Treatment-Resistant AIDS Spreading, Bolstering Case for
Syringe Exchange
A report released this week (7/1) at the 12th International
AIDS Conference in Geneva said that new strains of the AIDS
virus have appeared which are resistant to protease
inhibitors as well as to medications such as AZT. "We are
seeing the emerging edge of a new aspect of the epidemic,"
proclaimed Dr. Frederick Hecht of the University of
California.
Ever since the development of protease inhibitor therapy,
researchers have worried that patients who miss even a few
doses on their strict medication regimen would face the
possibility of the emergence of a mutated virus, resistant
to all known treatments. Many believed, however that such
viruses might not replicate or be transmitted as easily.
The report issued this week indicates that this is likely
not the case.
Keith Cylar, founder and co-executive director of Housing
Works, a New York City AIDS and harm reduction service
provider, told The Week Online, "This report underscores the
absolute necessity of stopping the spread of this disease
through proven strategies like education and syringe
exchange. It is just incomprehensible to me that in this
day and age, there are cities and states where syringe
exchange is still illegal. There are politicians, elected
leaders like Governor Whitman in New Jersey, who talk about
what message we send by allowing syringe exchange. Well,
exactly what message are we sending when we fail to take
adequate steps to insure the public health, the lives of
citizens? Truly, truly, I don't know how some people live
with themselves."
Dawn Day, director of the Dogwood Center in Princeton New
Jersey, and author of the "Health Emergency" AIDS Report,
told The Week Online, "The human tragedy is that the
findings of this report will likely be used to justify the
withholding of treatment to the addicted and other drug
users. There has always been a sense among the AIDS
treatment community that they cannot hold to complex
regimens of medication. Before this report, the fear of the
development and spread of untreatable strains was
hypothetical, but now that has been reinforced. This
information is another reason why it is imperative to stop
the spread of this disease among that population."
***
6. On Polling Numbers and Syringe Exchange in New Jersey
A poll conducted this week by the Gannett News, publisher of
five New Jersey daily newspapers, reached interesting, if
seemingly contradictory opinions on syringe exchange in the
Garden State (where it is still illegal.) When asked if
they favored "supplying addicts with clean needles," 53% of
the 653 respondents were opposed, while 34% were in favor.
But when the same people were asked, in the same poll, if
they would support "needle exchange if it would reduce the
spread of AIDS," 62% replied that they would.
Dawn Day, director of the Dogwood Center in Princeton, New
Jersey, told The Week Online, "These numbers replicate what
we have seen again and again. When couched in terms of
slowing the spread of AIDS -- and there's simply no doubt
that syringe exchange does so -- clear majorities, over 60%
of nearly every poll, support the implementation of syringe
exchange."
Diana McCague, Coordinator of the New Jersey Harm reduction
Coalition and director of the Chai Project Syringe Exchange
told The Week Online, "I'm not the least bit surprised at
these results. They clearly reflect the fact that when you
give people the facts -- that syringe exchange reduces the
spread of AIDS and HIV -- the majority are in favor. This
is also reflective of the advocacy that we've been doing in
this state for the past several years. It's time for
Governor Whitman, along with New Jersey legislators, to pay
attention. New Jersey has one of the highest rates of
injection-related HIV and AIDS in the country. These people
were elected to represent the people of this state, and when
it comes to the enormous problem of injection-related AIDS
in New Jersey, it's time that they started representing."
***
7. FDA Orders Books Destroyed
Stevia is an herb, native to South America, which has been
approved for use in the United States as a dietary
supplement. In South America, however, Stevia has been used
for centuries as a natural sweetener. But the FDA has not
approved Stevia as a food additive and, apparently, feels
that its jurisdiction extends to controlling information or
destroying books which talk about Stevia's sweetening
properties.
Oscar Rodes owns Stevita Co., an importer and distributor of
Stevia since early 1996. In mid-1996, Rodes attempted to
import Stevia, both in ground and extract forms under the
trade name "Stevia Sweet". The FDA, however, held his first
shipment at customs and ordered him to change the labels so
as not to suggest that the herb would, in fact sweeten foods
or beverages to which it was added. Rodes complied.
Then, in October of 1997, the FDA came to Rodes' warehouse
to inspect his operation. "They took samples of the product
and copied everything off of our web site," Rodes told The
Week Online. In addition to the Stevia, the FDA also
noticed three books that Rodes had in stock. The books,
James Kirkland's "Cooking with Stevia: The Naturally Sweet
and Calorie-Free Herb," David Richard's "Stevia Rebaudiana:
Nature's Sweet Secret" and Linda Bonvie et al.'s "The Stevia
Story: A Tale of Incredible Sweetness and Intrigue," told of
Stevia's properties as a natural, calorie-free sweetener.
"They took copies of each book as well" said Rodes.
In February of 1998, a shipment of Stevia, bound for Rodes'
warehouse, was detained by the Dallas, TX office of the FDA
at customs. The Dallas office notified him that the
shipment was being held up for "investigation", "even though
this product, and the labels on the product, had already
been approved by Washington," said Rodes. The Dallas office
later told Rodes that if they released the product, it would
be "contaminated" by the presence of the literature already
in circulation.
Then on March 6, Rodes received a warning letter from the
FDA stating that the presence of the books, and the contents
of his web site "rendered the product adulterated." The
letter told him that he had five days to reply or to take
corrective action.
Rodes called his attorney, James Turner, in Washington, DC.
Turner sent a letter requesting a fifteen day extension. On
March 26, Turner answered the FDA letter, saying that Rodes
had agreed to all of their requests, except for the books,
which he wanted to continue to offer for sale.
On April 27, FDA agents came back to Rodes' place of
business and took inventory. They inspected the product
labels and looked at his records.
On May 12, with over 14,000 units of product being held up,
Rodes, through his attorney, sent a letter to the FDA
agreeing not to sell the books. "I felt I had no choice" he
said. "We had over 250 unfilled back orders. We had
already been forced to let employees go, and it was down to
just my wife and I. This is my business. We have to eat."
On May 19, Rodes received a fax from the FDA which said, in
part, "...a current inventory must be taken by an
investigator of this office, who will also be available to
witness the destruction of the cookbooks, literature and
other publications for the purpose of verifying compliance."
Upon receipt of the above-mentioned fax, alerting him that
FDA agents would be in later in the day, Rodes attempted to
contact his attorney, but he was unavailable. When the
agents arrived, they did yet another inspection. Rodes
alerted the agents that he himself would not destroy the
literature, but if they insisted upon doing so, he would
videotape their actions for his records. At that point, the
agents called their office and, instead of destroying the
books, took a marker and signed and dated the title page of
each one in stock. The agents returned to Rodes' place of
business on both May 12 and May 13.
Shortly after this incident, Rodes was contacted by a Dr.
Julian Whitaker, who asked if he could purchase the three
books. Rodes explained his situation and refused to sell
them. Thereafter, Dr. Whitaker contacted Jonathan W. Emord,
a Washington, DC first amendment attorney, who then
contacted the FDA stating an intention to commence legal
action if the books were not released for sale.
On June 5, Emord received a faxed letter from Annamarie
Kempic of the FDA's enforcement bureau stating that Mr.
Rodes was free to sell the books to his client and that "we
have contacted Rodes and advised him not to destroy the
books at this time." On June 8, Mr. Emord received another
fax from Ms. Kempic stating that "The FDA Dallas District
informs me that it was Mr. Rodes who chose the option of
destroying the books."
"That's absurd," Rodes told The Week Online. "I don't want
to destroy my own books! How would I ever recover the
cost?"
At this time, the FDA is withholding two separate shipments
of Stevia from Rodes. These shipments contain legal product
with labeling approved by the FDA. The only answer that
Rodes has gotten is that the presence of the literature in
the marketplace somehow "adulterates" the product. "They
had told me that I should recall the 4,000 books that I had
already sold," Rodes said. "That is impossible."
At this time, the FDA is withholding two separate shipments
of Stevia from Mr. Rodes. These shipments contain legal
product with labeling approved by the FDA. The only answer
that Mr. Rodes has gotten is that the presence of the
literature in the marketplace somehow "adulterates" the
product. "They had told me that I should recall the 4,000
books that I had already sold." Mr. Rodes said. "That is
impossible."
In the end, the FDA's Stevia crackdown may provide more
protection to the artificial sweetener industry than the
public. Stevia is highly regarded both in South America and
in industrialized nations like Japan as a natural, calorie-
free sweetener. It is legally available in the US, intended
for human consumption; the only thing that the FDA doesn't
want people to know is that it is sweet.
The FDA did not return phone calls seeking comment on this
story.
***
8. Crop Eradication Leaves Lebanon Peasants Hungry
In Lebanon, the United States funded illicit drug crop
eradication efforts appear to have succeeded (locally). The
opium poppies and cannabis plants have been almost totally
eliminated after six years of troops burning fields and
helicopters spraying contaminants on crops. Clinton's
administration has gone so far as to remove Lebanon from its
list of major drug-producing nations.
While this may seem like great news for the United States'
"war on drugs", it has left tens of thousands of peasants in
Lebanon impoverished. The United Nations had planned to
help them build irrigation systems and to help plant
cherries, apricots and potatoes as substitute crops.
Farmers in the area say inadequate international aid,
economic depression and broken promises have left them with
little money to buy food. The $13 million in aid over the
past several year covered only a fourth of the funds needed
to provide adequate irrigation for the new crops. The drug
eradication has been destructive to local economies and
without long term alternative development programs farmers
have had little choice but to return to the highly
profitable farming of cannabis and poppy plants.
The situation has become so grave in Central Bekaa in
Lebanon that a revolt has risen up under religious leader
named Sheik Sobhi Toufeili. The Hunger Revolution, as it is
called, has harnessed the resentment among farmers who feel
the west has betrayed them. In Beirut, western officials
have conceded that international aid programs provided for
by the UN have failed to meet their objectives. Phil
Coffin, policy analyst for The Lindesmith Center, a drug
policy think-tank in New York, told the Boston Globe, "It is
part of the misguided global drug war by the U.S. and the
U.N., which ignores the economics of the drug trade and the
fact there will always be poor farmers who will grow as long
as there is demand for drugs."
Despite an apparent supply reduction in Lebanon, demand
seems to have won the day in the end -- government reports
show that global cultivation of opium has more than doubled
since 1986.
***
9. News Briefs
* The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1998 passed the House of
Representives this week. The legislation calls for grants to
help small buisnesses develope a drug-free workplace
programs, such as instituting drug testing and employee
training. "This bill is a part of a measured federal
response to... the growing problem of substance abuse in our
society, and a move toward a drug-free America," stated Rep.
Rob Portman (R-OH), the sponsor of the bill.
* Two suspected drug dealers were shot to death by police
in Homestead, Florida after a botched drug bust. Police
detectives were selling a small amount of cocaine to several
suspects in a crowded apartment complex. The police and
suspects got in an argument and violence broke out, leaving
2 dead, 1 officer wounded and 3 others injured. Community
members question why the bust was being held in such a
public area.
* A helicopter searching for marijuana plants in
northeastern Tennessee crashed, leaving both crew members
dead. It took 135 people 3 days to find the wreckage of the
helicopter.
* Sheriff's deputies have warned hikers in Tehama County to
watch out for walking into marijuana gardens. Recently,
several hikers have unknowingly walked in such farms, which
are reported to be heavily guarded and dangerous.
* Over 100 clandestine landing strips in rural Honduras
have been detected by the DEA. Officials believe that many
of the runways are being used as stopping points for
traffickers shipping drugs to the United States. The DEA
and the Honduras government are working together to identify
planes using the strips for drug shipments, but many are
located in remote mountainous regions.
* The World Bank is planning to examine the need for reform
of Latin American banking systems during a two-day
conference in El Salvador. El Salvador's president, Armando
Caderon Sol, called for a united effort to control and
supervise the financial system to fight drug related crime
such as money laundering.
* Delegates at the World AIDS Congress urged, on July 1,
that needle exchange be increased worldwide, to stem the
rising global epidemic of injection-related AIDS, but noted
that harsh government attitudes as well as poverty stand in
the way of addressing the problem. "The law-and-order
approach has not been successful in eliminating drug
use," said Palani Narayan of the Thailand-based Asian Harm
Reduction Network.
***
10. Orlando, Florida: Statewide Medical Marijuana
Conference, 7/25
The Coalition Advocating Medical Marijuana (CAMM) is
sponsoring a statewide medical marijuana conference, from
10:00am - 5:00pm, at the Downtown Orlando Library, 101 East
Central Boulevard on July 25. Speakers include Attorney
Norman Kent, speaking on the medical necessity defense,
Attorney Dick Wilson, a 1st Amendment specialist, CAMM
founder Toni Leeman, Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy
Project, medical marijuana patients Elvy Musikka and Greg
Scott, and others. A benefit concert will be help on the
evening of July 24, at The Go Lounge, 25 Wall Street Plaza,
Orlando.
For information, contact Toni Leeman at (954) 763-1799, e-
mail tleeman@medicalrights.org, or visit the Floridians for
Medical Rights web site at http://www.medicalrights.org.
***
11. Washington State Medical Marijuana Initiative Submits
Signatures
Washington Citizens for Medical Rights, a broad coalition of
doctors, patients and state citizens, reports submitting
more than 230,000 signatures today (July 2) to place
Initiative 692, the Washington State Medical Use of
Marijuana act, on the November 3 ballot.
"These signatures represent thousands of citizens who care
about relieving the suffering of patients with terminal or
debilitating illnesses such as cancer and AIDS," states
Tacoma physician, Dr. Rob Killian, sponsor of the
initiative. "We have worked with doctors, patients, law
enforcement an
