Portland NORML News - Wednesday, July 29, 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Oakland Passes Groundbreaking Ordinance (Oakland, California Attorney
Robert Raich, Who Represents The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative,
Says The Oakland City Council Early This Morning Unanimously Passed
On Second Reading An Ordinance Designed To Shield Medical Cannabis Providers
From Federal Civil And Criminal Liability Through A Novel Application
Of The Controlled Substances Act)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 03:33:27 -0700
To: dpfca@drugsense.org
From: raich@jps.net (robert raich)
Subject: DPFCA: Oakland Passes Groundbreaking Ordinance
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/

OAKLAND PUSHES THE ENVELOPE, BLAZES NEW DRUG LEGISLATION TRAILS

The City of Oakland, California has once again positioned itself at the
forefront of the movement for a more rational and just drug policy. The
Oakland City Council early on July 29, 1998, Unanimously passed on second
reading an ordinance designed to shield medical cannabis providers from
federal civil and criminal liability.

The ordinance, relying on the immunity section of the federal Controlled
Substances Act, instructs the City Manager to designate one or more medical
cannabis provider associations, whose agents are deemed "duly authorized
officers" of the city, thus securing federal immunity.

The ordinance, the first of its kind anywhere, presents a novel application
of Section 885(d) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 USC 885(d)). The
legislation is designed to provide immunity to the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative, which is defending against a lawsuit by the federal government
seeking to shut down the facility.

Because the ordinance relies on provisions of federal law, it is replicable
in cities throughout the country, not just in California or other states
that may pass laws similar to Proposition 215. Moreover, the legal
underpinnings of this new ordinance do not apply merely to distribution of
medical cannabis, but would apply equally well to any other controlled
substance, including in heroin maintenance programs.

-- Robert Raich
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July 28 Oakland City Council Meeting (A Local Correspondent
Notes Council Member La Fuentes Changed His Mind, Opting To Protect
Medical Marijuana Providers - The Heaviest Nay-Sayer Opponents
Could Muster Was Lyndon LaRouche)

From: "ralph sherrow" (ralphkat@hotmail.com)
To: ralphkat@hotmail.com
Subject: July 28 1998 Oakland City Council Meeting
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 03:15:43 PDT

It's 3am wednesday July 29. Thought I'd write a few lines about tonights
City Council meeting in Oakland.

The vote was 9 to 0, unanimous in favor. La Fuentes changed his mind.
The vote last tuesday was 8 to 1. This was the final vote

There were 3 or 4 speakers against. Does the name LaRouche mean anything
to you? Their lies were totally ignored by the City Council.

The vote was on the designation of a City agency to dispense Medical
Cannabis. I guess the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative is the
designee. Wonderful news. Precedence setting. A guide-line.

The paperwork should be out soon & I will forward it to you as soon as I
get it. Ralph
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Final Approval Of Oakland Medical Marijuana Ordinance
(A California NORML Press Release Provides More Details)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:40:39 -0800
To: aro@drugsense.org, dpfca@drugsense.org
From: canorml@igc.apc.org (Dale Gieringer)
Subject: DPFCA: Final Approval of Oakland MMJ Ordinance
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/

OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL VOTES AGAIN TO SUPPORT
MEDICAL CANNABIS

OAKLAND, CA July 28, 1998. The Oakland City Council unanimously
approved a medical marijuana ordinance designed to protect the Oakland
Cannabis Buyers Cooperative from federal prosecution for distributing
medical marijuana.

The Oakland ordinance, sponsored by councilman Nate Miley, allows
the city to officially designate the Oakland club to enforce the state's
medical marijuana law. The ordinance is aimed to protect the club from a
federal injunction against distributing marijuana by making use of a
loophole in the federal controlled substances act that exempts duly
designated city officers.

California NORML coordinator and Oakland resident Dale Gieringer,
thanked the council for its strong support of the Oakland CBC and its 1,700
patients: "The City Council has forcefully demonstrated the depth of
Oaklanders' opposition to the federal government's outrageous campaign to
deny seriously ill Californians access to medical marijuana."

Copies of the Oakland ordinance are available by FAX/snail-mail
from California NORML.

***

Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml@igc.apc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114
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Peter McWilliams Special MAP Focus Alert And Funding Appeal
(The Media Awareness Project Asks You To Write A Letter On Behalf
Of The AIDS/Medical Marijuana Patient And Prisoner, Denied Vital Medication
While Being Held Prior To His Federal Trial For $250,000 Bail)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 14:40:41 -0700
To: mgreer@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Subject: PETER McWILLIAMS SPECIAL FOCUS ALERT No. 75 AND FUNDING APPEAL

PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE

SPECIAL FOCUS ALERT No. 75 AND FUNDING APPEAL FOR PETER McWILLIAMS ET AL

ITEM ONE - FUNDING

Mr. Steve Markoff has launched an effort to raise bail for Peter McWilliams
and secure his release so that he can be freed from the clutches of a
ruthless federal government that is refusing to allow him much needed
medication.

If you can help in providing money for this purpose please contact Steve
Markoff. The funds can be in the form of a donation to the defense fund or
a loan that will be repaid upon trial completion.

Mr Steve C. Markoff
A-MARK
100 Wilshire Blvd
3rd Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Lisa Sutherland Executive Secretary
310 587 1470

ITEM TWO FOCUS ALERT - LETTERS OF SUPPORT
Link to a similar appeal with more media addresses
As many of you know Peter McWilliams, Todd McCormick and six others have been arrested on charges relating to conspiracy to cultivate large amounts of marijuana for commercial sale, according to a federal grand jury indictment. According to Steve Markoff, McWilliams was crying and obviously under incredible stress as he is being held on $250,000 bail, and has been denied crucially needed medication. McWilliams suffers from AIDS, and cancer. It appears the federal government, either deliberately or through unconscionable negligence, is intentionally harming McWilliams by denying him medication. McWilliams has been a leading advocate of medical marijuana for many years is a nationally acclaimed author of many books including the best selling "Life 101" and "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do." The last time the feds had a run in with McWilliams was shortly after he published a full page ad in Variety last December criticizing the DEA. See: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n412.a02.html The government doesn't like people who disagree with them and McWilliams may be their latest victim. As a result of marijuana laws a seemingly harmless individual with a solid reputation is being held on an exorbitant bail and is being denied much needed medication. This is a life threatening situation. This would be an unlikely event in Communist China and seems unconscionable, even unbelievable, in the United States. Please write a letter to the newspapers below and/or take the other actions suggested. Express your views on the treatment of McWilliams. WRITE A LETTER TODAY- LIVE IN A FREER WORLD TOMORROW Just DO it! *** PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post your letters or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you are subscribed, or return a copy to this address by simply hitting REPLY to this FOCUS Alert and pasting your letter in or by E-mailing a copy directly to MGreer@mapinc.org *** CONTACT INFO Please send your letters to all of these papers all of whom had articles on the McWilliams arrest: Los Angeles Times letters@latimes.com Contra Costa Times cctletrs@netcom.com Antelope Valley Press letters@avpress.com "EXTRA CREDIT" Call or write your Congressman or senator to express outrage at this treatment of a sick individual. Call or write Amnesty International and ask whether this qualifies as a human rights violation. Amnesty International USA General Address admin-us@aiusa.org *** ORIGINAL ARTICLES NOTE: Most articles were quite similar but we have provided additional URLS for those who wish to review them http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n621.a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n617.a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n612.a04.html McWilliams full page ad in Variety can be viewed at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n412.a02.html PRIMARY LA Times Article Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org) Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jul 1998 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Contact: letters@latimes.com Website: http://www.latimes.com/ Author: David Rosenzweig MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES ACCUSED OF CULTIVATION FOR SALE [snip - ed.] *** Dear Editor: Re: MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES ACCUSED OF CULTIVATION FOR SALE (LAT 7/24) Peter McWilliams is the latest victim of a control mad government that can't stand scrutiny or criticism of its immoral, illogical, degenerate, failed, and wildly expensive "War on Drugs." Not only has McWilliams been indicted for what appears to be the "heinous crime" of growing medicine for sick people but this nationally famous author is being held on $250,000 bail as if he were likely to flee the country. To say I am ashamed of my government doesn't begin convey my feelings. To add insult to injury, McWilliams is being denied medication. He is an AIDS and cancer patient, and withholding this medication for any serious length of time amounts to a death sentence for this "dangerous criminal." I guess we have come full circle. The country that used to be proud of its freedom and openness now puts a death sentence on an individual without trial. Communist China is looking better and Drug Czar McCaffrey is looking more sinister and wicked all the time. Mark Greer Executive Director DrugSense WRITE AWAY! *** Mark Greer Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc. d/b/a DrugSense MGreer@mapinc.org http://www.DrugSense.org/ http://www.mapinc.org
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Urgent! Re - Busted, Ravaged And Not Charged (A List Subscriber
Asks You To Provide A Little Financial Help For The Reverend 'Gene' Weeks,
And Forwards A Sad Update From The Medical Marijuana Patient
Who Now Faces Homelessness Because The San Bernardino County
Sheriff's Department Refuses To Comply With Proposition 215)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:38:04 EDT
Errors-To: jnr@insightweb.com
Reply-To: friends@freecannabis.org
Originator: friends@freecannabis.org
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: Remembers@webtv.net (Genie Brittingham)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: URGENT ! Fwd: Re: busted ravaged and not charged

This man is my friend, and a true warrior for all causes. He needs help
NOW! He only has 2 days left to pay his electric bill, or he will be
shut off and left to suffer in the 115 degrees heat of the high desert.
He needs food and support from any of us who can help. The nazi cops
took all his money and medicine, threw him in jail for three days (where
he experienced severe pain) and haven't even charged him. We need to
help our brothers and sisters who are getting busted, even though the
people of California demanded that our patients have the right to use
the one sacred herb they need to releive their pain, and help heal
themselves. This man is not a criminal; he needs our help. Please email
or call him, asap, if you can help. This is urgent, we cannot afford to
lose another precious warrior. Please forward this to everyone on your
lists. Gene's emaiil address is: merlin7@primenet.com / his phone number is:
(760) 246-3974. Peace.

She Who

She Who Remembers
remembers@webtv.net
www.remembers.com

***

Reply-To: (merlin7@primenet.com)
From: "Gene Weeks" (merlin7@primenet.com)
To: "Genie Brittingham" (Remembers@webtv.net)
Subject: Re: busted ravaged and not charged
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 12:22:47 -0700

Well I wish I could report that the government has realized their mistake
and returned my money and medicine, however quite the opposite is true:
I have been left destitute; this week on friday the edison company is going
to shut my electricity off in 115 degree temps (the bill is $408, for
3 months) and the gas co isn't far behind. Social services has told me to
move to a different county! I'm totaly disabled with spinal stenosis and
diabetes. I am waiting on a vetran's pension of $740 per month but it will
take a few more months. I've been calling every church and agency here to
no avail, It seems that they are manipulating me into self destruction;
they took all my money when they raided my garden along with all my
medicine, I am left with no money, no food (the rice crispys, and cherrios
are gone, there is one more can of food for my 8yr old dog) and now we face
no utilities and an eviction process that was begun over 1 1/2 months ago.
while the cops hold my money and medicine on the guise of a investigation
that they have 3 years to complete.

desperate, hungry and near homless,

Rev Gene Weeks
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More Bad News In Orange County, California (A List Subscriber
Angrily Passes Along The News That The Attorney Of Marvin Chavez
Won't Appeal Friday's Ruling By Santa Ana Superior Court Judge
Robert Fitzergald That The Founder Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op
Cannot Use The California Compassionate Use Act Of 1996 As A Defence
In His Upcoming Traffickng Trial, And Gave Up Former Co-Op Members'
Medical Records Without A Fight)
Link to earlier story
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 11:25:48 -0700 To: dpfca@drugsense.org From: R Givens (rgivens@sirius.com) Subject: Re: DPFCA: Fwd: More Bad News in OC Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org Reply-To: dpfca@drugsense.org Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/ >Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 10:05:00 -0700 >From: Dan Bunnell (danrb@earthlink.net) >To: John Gault (danrb@earthlink.net) >Subject: More Bad News in OC > >Folks, > >I don't know a lot of legalese, plus I was deeply asleep when he called, >but I just talked with Attorney Robert Kennedy (Marvin's attorney). He >said that the medical records were delivered to asst. D.A. Carl >Armburst this morning. Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald, gave >the defense 72 hrs. in which to file a writ seeking to prevent the >Prosecutor getting the records. In addition, no writ has been filed to >challenge the judge's "No Prop 215 defense" ruling. Mr. Kennedy said >that he did not file the writs and cited work load, expenses and his >belief that the writs would be denied. Attorney Kennedy is a loser! He's making up alibis instead of doing his job which is a sure sign of LOSER. If at all possible, this inept barrister should be replaced immediately. Kennedy's incompetence has already greatly increased the risk of a conviction by not keeping patient records out. Any attorney who doesn't know enough about doctor-patient confidentiality and how to defend it in court is incompetent to defend felony cases! Kennedy's failure to bother submitting writs challenging Judge Fitzgerald's "No Prop 215 defense" ruling and the admission of personal medical records makes me wonder why this guy bothers to show up in court. A lawyer who refuses to defend on the grounds that "the writs would be denied anyway" should be fired on the spot! The fact that Kennedy doesn't even know applicable law does not bode well for Chavez. I recommend an all out publicity assault on the court, the prosecutor, the law, jury nullification and the whole nine yards. R Givens
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Re - America's Drug Warrior (Six Letters To The Editor
Of 'The San Diego Union Tribune' Criticize The Newspaper's
Recent Staff Editorial Praising The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey,
For Trying To Spread Misinformation Abroad)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 10:56:12 -0700
To: Editor@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Subject: PUB 5 LTES San Diego Union Tribune - McCaffrey
Cc: tjeffoc@sirius.com

San Diego Union Tribune
Circulation 385,000
Ad value $3,873 (all 6 LTE's)

The following LTE's were all published in the San Diego Union Tribune as a
result of the outstanding efforts of many MAP letter writers in response to
our recent FOCUS Alert. I got a call from the Trib yesterday to confirm my
authorship. When I expressed surprise that they were printing my letter (It
was quite harsh) the person I talked to said "We had to print some of these
letters. We got lots of them."

It is worth noting that the original article praising McCaffrey's Euro trip
was only 479 words. The published LTE's combined represent 671 words. Yesss!

I believe this is the first time the Trib has ever published out of area
LTE's. This is significant because it indicates the paper is in phase 2 of
our oft proven "conversion process." The Trib started out completely pro
drug war. After 2 years of fairly constant LTE's they are changing to
"sometimes" pro drug war. The next phase will be "rarely" pro drug war.
Which will be another win in our column.

BTW My letter at least was severely edited. The collection of 6 letters,
however, made the points that needed making quite well.

Thanks once again to all who participated. You are making a difference.

***

Letters to the Editor
San Diego Union Tribune
July 29, 1998

***

The drug czar's journey resulted in embarrassment

Re: "America's drug warrior -- McCaffrey commits truth during European
tour," (Editorial, July 24).

Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey is a "stand-up guy" only in the many comic gaffes
he committed in relation to his European "fact-finding tour":

He pronounced the Netherlands drug policy an "unmitigated disaster" before
he had even set foot in the country, much less been presented with evidence
of their many successes.

He proclaimed the Netherlands a much more violent country than the United
States, citing an erroneous murder rate as "proof." "That's drugs" he said.

When it was pointed out that the murder rate in the United States is
actually 4.5 times higher than in the Netherlands, he gave no consideration
to their nonviolent, nonpunitive, police managed soft-drug policy or
medically managed hard-drug policy as positive factors. Rather he credited
everything from the quality of public education to health care coverage.
Drug policy couldn't possibly be a factor for our country being more violent.

In the wake of McCaffrey's trip, the Dutch press pronounced U.S. drug
policy an "unmitigated disaster." And to our embarrassment, our drug czar
had given them ample evidence.

LYNN CAROL San Diego

***

It is interesting that your newspaper's respect for McCaffrey had led to
your emulating his strategy for drug use prevention: contorting the facts
until they say what he wants them to say.

Believe it or not, the countries with the harshest anti-marijuana laws also
have the highest percentage of young users; Ireland is the best example,
where marijuana use among teens is almost three times that of Holland.

You refer to McCaffrey as a "real leader," when in fact he is a man
desperately fighting a losing war on drugs which has led him to using
increasingly ridiculous "statistics" to get his message across, a message
that only gets harder to swallow when it is delivered by a man who is a liar.

DEVIN SHOECRAFT San Diego

***

In your editorial in which McCaffrey is praised for his gutsy put-down of
the Netherlands for its drug policies, a statement is made that teen use of
marijuana is up 100 percent, and teen use of cocaine, heroin and LSD is up
150 percent; we're talking here of drug use in the United States, not in
the Netherlands.

If our own drug policies produce such a miserable result, how can we so
smugly put down the policies of another country?

R.E. MOSELEY San Diego

***

There are few papers in the country that could be so uninformed or
purposely misleading as to call Drug Czar McCaffrey's trip to Holland a
success. To insinuate that McCaffrey "committed truth" is not only wildly
inaccurate but supports the general for getting his facts wrong. In
virtually every category, the Dutch have shown that their policies are
superior to ours.

That McCaffrey was roundly criticized for his numerous inaccuracies by
Dutch officials, and for this paper to report otherwise, not only flies in
the face of facts but puts a complete reverse spin on what most papers
accurately reported as at least a blunder by McCaffrey.

MARK GREER Porterville

***

It seems that Robert Scheer's article on the drug war, "Fighting a drug war
with bad statistics" (Opinion, July 24), cites statistics while your
editorial states, "McCaffrey commits truth."

I recall a professor at Cal State Northridge stating, "If you want facts,
study mathematics; if you want truth, study philosophy." I believe it's all
about money, and while there is nothing proprietary about marijuana, there
is no money to be made. On the other hand, alcohol produces taxes, profits,
violence, medical bills, premature death, spousal abuse, divorce, attorney
fees, thousands of highway fatalities, etc.

Say no to drugs; say yes to booze!

BRAD LARSON Oceanside

***

Your unbelievable endorsement of Barry McCaffrey's trashing of simple truth
before, during and after his recent European junket confirms my long-held
suspicion that your anonymous editorial writer(s) are as contemptuous of
truth as McCaffrey himself, or, for that matter, Joseph Goebbels.

In their cases, however, at least their names are known.

THOMAS J. O'CONNELL, M.D. San Mateo

***

Mark Greer
Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
MGreer@mapinc.org
http://www.DrugSense.org/
http://www.mapinc.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Corcoran Guards Thwarted Probe, District Attorney Tells Lawmakers
('The San Francisco Chronicle' Says King County DA Greg Strickland
Told Legislators Yesterday That Guards Used A Code Of Silence To Block
His Investigation Of Brutality At California State Prison At Corcoran)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 11:07:22 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Corcoran Guards Thwarted Probe, DA Tells Lawmakers
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998

CORCORAN GUARDS THWARTED PROBE, DA TELLS LAWMAKERS

Special Hearing On `Blood Sport' Fights

A district attorney told legislators yesterday that prison guards used a
code of silence to block his investigation of brutality at California State
Prison at Corcoran.

The prosecutor testified before a special committee looking into operations
at the San Joaquin Valley prison, where eight guards were indicted in
February on federal charges of staging ``blood sport'' fights among inmates
in which one convict was killed.

King County District Attorney Greg Strickland told the committee that
guards refused to speak to his investigators unless they were accompanied
by a representative of their union, the California Correctional Peace
Officers Association.

``In every incident we have been involved in, they have refused to speak
unless they have their union representative present,'' Strickland said. ``I
can't put a gun to their head and tell them to talk to me.

``They (prison guards) are sworn officers, but they refused to cooperate
with the district attorney's office and tell us what has occurred in
prison,'' he said.

The prosecutor's testimony echoed that of James Maddock, special agent in
charge of the FBI's Sacramento office, who openly criticized state
authorities at the time the indictments were announced.

``Despite intentional efforts on the part of correctional and other
officials to stymie, delay and obstruct our inquiry, we will continue until
all culpable parties are brought to justice,'' he said.

Corcoran is California's most violent prison and houses a ``security
housing unit'' for the most violent convicts in the system. The only other
SHU is at Pelican Bay, which is under investigation by the FBI for possible
violations of inmates' rights.

Much of the Corcoran controversy centers on how vigorously the Department
of Corrections and Department of Justice investigated wrongdoing.

Governor Pete Wilson's office insists that the Department of Corrections
withdrew from the investigation after being told by the FBI that it was
handling the case.

A corrections investigation of the 1994 shooting of inmate Preston Tate
found no wrongdoing, and Attorney General Dan Lungren, the Republican
candidate for governor, opened a criminal investigation but did not look
into issues being probed by other agencies.

To back its contention that the FBI urged corrections investigators to stay
away, the Wilson administration released letters from the FBI.

``I would like to take this opportunity to request that your Special
Services Unit personnel refrain from conducting any further investigation
regarding the shooting death of inmate Preston Tate and the ongoing pending
civil rights inquiry,'' the FBI's Richard Ross wrote the department on Oct.
13, 1994.

But Ross' successor, Maddock, wrote last week to Senator Ruben Ayala,
D-Chino, ``The FBI did not seek to limit the scope of the renewed CDC
investigation or the investigation conducted by the attorney general.''

Maddock said the initial letter was partly ``prompted by a confrontation
between FBI agents and SSU personnel in the Fresno area.'' At that time,
state investigators chased FBI agents at speeds of as high as 90 mph for 45
miles. The federal agents had a state witness in their car.

The Department of Corrections has denied that the incident ever occurred.
1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A16
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Union Pressure Helped Block Prison Probe, Prosecutor Says
('The Associated Press' Version In 'The Orange County Register')

Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 10:55:47 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Union Pressure Helped
Block Prison Probe, Prosecutor Says
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk:John W.Black
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Author:John Howard - The Associated Press

UNION PRESSURE HELPED BLOCK PRISON PROBE, PROSECUTOR SAYS

Brutality: Allegations of Stonewalling Surround the Corcoran State
Investigation.

Sacramento-A code of silence and pressure from the prison-guard union
repeatedly blocked brutality probes at maximum-security Corcoran State
Prison, a Kings County prosecutor testified Tuesday.

Prison officers stonewalled investigations, including the notorious case of
an inmate who said he was deliberately tossed into the cell of a husky
sexual predator who repeatedly raped him, witnesses said.

"(Prison guards) are sworn officers, but they refused to cooperate with the
District Attorney's Office and tell us what has occurred in prison," said
Kings County District Attorney Greg Strickland.

"In every incident we have been involved in, they have refused to speak
unless they have their union representative present," he said. "I can't put
a gun to their head and tell them to talk to me."

He testified Tuesday before a joint legislative hearing investigating
allegations of wrongdoing at Corcoran, in the San Joaquin Valley south of
Fresno.

Corrections Department spokesman Tip Kindel said officers" are legally
entitled to legal representation. Any police officer on the street would be
legally entitled to this representation."

Kindel said the officers' silence was "not a 'code of silence' where they
are protecting one another," but an exercise of their legal rights.

Representatives of the department, the union and the Wilson administration
have denied any allegations of cover-up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Blowing It By Blowing Grass? (The Television Columnist
For 'The San Jose Mercury News' Expects Controversy Next Month,
When The Fox Network Will Premiere Its New Fall Sitcom, 'That '70s Show,'
Which Includes A Scene In Which Three Of The Show's Main Characters
Are Stoned From Smoking Marijuana In The Basement)
Link to earlier story
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 22:43:12 -0400 To: mapnews@mapinc.org From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) Subject: MN: US CA: Blowing It By Blowing Grass? Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Marcus/Mermelstein Family (mmfamily@ix.netcom.com) Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Contact: letters@sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 Author: Ron Miller, Mercury News Television Editor BLOWING IT BY BLOWING GRASS? PASADENA -- IN THE 1970s, it was routine to see comical scenes in movies where hip young boys and girls were getting high smoking pot. Meanwhile, on TV, Richie Cunningham and the kids down at Arnold's Drive-In were acting out their retro-1950s ``happy days'' with soda pop and malts. But now that TV is starting to do retro 1970s sitcoms, will America still think doing dope is funny? We're about to find out. Next month, the Fox network will premiere its new fall sitcom ``That '70s Show,'' which includes a scene in which three of the show's main characters are stoned from smoking marijuana in the basement. We don't actually see them toking on a joint, but we see them trying to clear the air of smoke when a grown-up appears. More important is the fact we see them giddy and goofy from the pot, obviously quite pleased with the rosy glow it has given them. When one teenager talks to his parents a few minutes later, we see the wall shifting around behind them because we're seeing them through his eyes. We're not supposed to be shocked. We're supposed to be laughing ourselves silly. Message: Smoking pot is cool, especially when your folks don't catch on. Though the general public hasn't seen ``That '70s Show'' yet, the buzz about it already has Fox running slightly scared. Fox Entertainment Group President Peter Roth has asked the producers to come up with a scene that will amount to a ``cautionary note'' to soften the blow for the millions who probably won't find the scene funny. The show's old title -- ``Feelin' Alright'' -- also has been dropped, no doubt because it seemed like coded language for ``That Getting Stoned Show.'' Executive Producer Bonnie Turner clearly doesn't like the idea: ``We're still talking to Peter. The last thing we want to do is contrive a situation, because then it won't look like an honest show. The show is not about drugs.'' ``We're still wrestling with it,'' her husband and fellow executive producer, Terry Turner, told TV critics. The Turners and the other executive producer, Mark Brazill, still don't quite know how they're going to show the consequences of smoking marijuana on that same episode, which is expected to be the premiere show, on Aug. 23. It airs right after ``The Simpsons,'' the animated series loved by kids, teens and adults. Why put such a scene in a situation comedy on a Sunday night, the night that traditionally has the largest viewing audience, especially at a time when millions of Americans are deeply concerned about the use of drugs by their children? The Turners, who do ``3rd Rock From the Sun'' for NBC, say it would be ridiculous to try doing any kind of program about 1970s teenagers without showing some of them smoking grass. ``If we had done a show that was strictly about the clothes and the hair, it would be a very empty show indeed,'' Terry Turner said. ``It would be like doing `The Untouchables' and never mentioning Prohibition.'' Much of the story material in the series comes from the producers' own experiences in the 1970s. They expected the issue to provoke discussion. ``I think there's room for a comedy to create a dialogue,'' Terry Turner said. ``That's been relegated strictly to dramas in recent years. This is a historical piece. This is looking back at a set of values that was in America at the time.'' Like so many shows about teens, this one spends lots of time showing how the kids try to pull the wool over their parents' eyes. In that same pilot episode, the main character, Eric Foreman (Topher Grace), is told not to take the car out of town, so he takes the car out of town, pressured by his pals into taking them to a rock concert. The prevailing attitude involves winking at the naturally rebellious ways of 1970s teens because, presumably, they'll all turn out all right. Terry Turner said he'd prefer to have the kids in the show learn the disadvantages of smoking grass in a more natural way, over a period of time, as he did in real life. ``I'll be very honest with you,'' says Turner. ``It showed up in my life when a girl I was with said, `I wish you wouldn't do that. You're a complete idiot when you do that.' It was the first time it ever dawned on me that maybe this was not the right thing to do and it wasn't cool.'' Are we living in a more repressive time for writers because TV pressure groups are so primed to fight programs that take the ``wrong'' attitude about certain subjects? ``There's a tendency to blame popular entertainment for the ills of the culture,'' says Terry Turner. ``I think we might be in one of those waves right now.'' 1997 - 1998 Mercury Center. .
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Drug Proposition Backers Want `Biased' Ballot, Booklet Changed
('The Arizona Daily Star' Says The Backers Of Arizona Proposition 300
Have Filed A Lawsuit Seeking To Revamp How Their Referendum Drive
Is Described Both On The November Ballot And In Pamphlets Published By
The Secretary Of State's Office, Contending The Wording Is Designed
To Persuade People To Vote To Repeal Provisions Of Proposition 200,
The Law That They Approved Only Two Years Ago)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 22:45:11 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US AZ: Drug Proposition
Backers Want `Biased' Ballot, Booklet Changed
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: Arizona Daily Star
Contact: letters@azstarnet.com
Website: http://www.azstarnet.com/
Pubdate: Wednesday, 29 July 1998
Author: Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services

DRUG PROPOSITION BACKERS WANT `BIASED' BALLOT, BOOKLET CHANGED

PHOENIX - Backers of the medical use of illegal drugs have gone to court to
block what they call biased descriptions of their latest ballot fight.

Attorneys for The People Have Spoken are asking a Maricopa County Superior
Court judge to revamp how their referendum drive is described both on the
November ballot and in pamphlets published by the Secretary of State's
Office. They contend the wording is designed to persuade people to vote to
repeal provisions of the law that they approved only two years ago.

No date has been set for a hearing.

In 1996 voters approved Proposition 200, which allows doctors to prescribe
otherwise illegal drugs such as marijuana to terminally ill patients if
they can show there is scientific research to back the use of the drug to
control pain.

Last year, the Legislature repealed much of the initiative, contending that
voters were misled. That legislation specifies that doctors cannot
prescribe controlled drugs unless either Congress or both the Food and Drug
Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency specifically approve
marijuana for medical use.

Initiative backers then went back to the streets and gathered enough
signatures to hold up the repeal until the issue goes back to voters. It
will be on the ballot in November as Proposition 300.

Attorneys for the organization claim the Legislative Council violated state
laws requiring ballot measures be described impartially. They argue the
description of Proposition 300 is ``fatally flawed in its inaccuracy,
incompleteness and clear bias in favor of one result over another.''

For example, they note, while their original measure would affect more than
100 drugs, the description lists only a few ``that are most likely to
inflame the senses of some voters,'' including heroin and PCP, an animal
tranquilizer sometimes abused by addicts. Beyond that, they note, PCP isn't
on the list of drugs that would be affected by the law.

They also claim the description fails to point out that the original law
they want reinstated does not give doctors unlimited rights to prescribe
controlled substances. Instead, it requires not only scientific research
but a written second opinion from another doctor.

A separate lawsuit challenges descriptions drawn up by Secretary of State
Betsey Bayless, who is required by law to describe on the ballot the effect
of voting ``yes'' and ``no'' on various measures. Backers of medical use of
illegal drugs contend these descriptions are similarly flawed.

Both sets of descriptions have another problem - one caused by the
Legislature itself.

The original plan by lawmakers in 1997 was to remove the ability of doctors
to prescribe any of the now illegal controlled drugs. Only marijuana was to
be excepted, and only after federal approval.

A drafting error, however, said that if the federal government approves
marijuana, then doctors are free to prescribe any of the restricted drugs,
albeit still subject to the requirements for scientific research and a
second opinion. This drafting error, while part of the law, is not pointed
out to voters.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dopers Try Again For Legalization ('Arizona Republic' Columnist
And Drug War Hawk David Leibowitz Rudely Characterizes Proponents
Of Proposition 300 And Their Motives, Failing To Note Two Doctors
Would Have To Justify Prescribing A Schedule 1 Substance By Citing
Credible Scientific Research)

Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 08:36:38 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US AZ: OPED: Dopers Try Again For Legalization
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: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Source: Arizona Republic (AZ)
Contact: Opinions@pni.com
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/indexmain.html
Author: David Leibowitz
Note: Leibowitz can be reached at 444-8515, or at david.leibowitz@pni.com.
Watch Channel 12 (KPNX) for his commentary Monday and Wednesday at 4:35 p.m.
on "12 News First at Four."

DOPERS TRY AGAIN FOR LEGALIZATION

Again, here come the drug legalizers, with their deep pockets and
half-truths, all manner of lies.

In 1996, they used $1.5 million from a few millionaires to buy Proposition
200 in Arizona. That con was sold as the compassionate "medicalization of
marijuana." The dopers failed to mention their law also "medicalized"
heroin, LSD and several cousins of PCP and meth.

And you thought Walgreens had a field day selling Viagra.

Thankfully, this push to legitimize hard drugs marked the one time in memory
our 90 Dwarfs stood tall: The Legislature trumped Prop. 200 with House Bill
2518. Said law kept it illegal to prescribe pot, heroin, acid, etc., until
Congress or the FDA and DEA signed off on marijuana to fight illness.

This history lesson leads us to Election '98 and the latest pro-drug calumny.

Their new initiative is called Prop. 300. This time, the drug peddlers need
a few hundred thousand dupes to vote "no." That "no" would gut HB 2518, and
implement Prop. 200 in full-flower.

Would allow 116 drugs

Not just "medicalized pot." Prescribed heroin. Prescribed LSD. Prescribed
legitimacy for all 116 Schedule I drugs. All addicts would need are two
quacks to agree in writing, plus some "scientific research" the law never
defines.

As I said, keep that truth in mind. Repeat it over and again: Not pot alone.
Heroin, LSD and 113 drugs besides.

Tell a friend, too, because the dopers have sued the state to strike those
words from an analysis in the election publicity pamphlet and from the Nov.
3 ballot.

"Plaintiffs," they rant in one of two lawsuits, "seek to correct inaccurate,
incomplete and biased language that is about to be printed in the publicity
pamphlet for the upcoming general election, and that grossly distorts the
meaning and significance of a referendum measure to be voted on by the people."

This from the same con artists who used ads starring glaucoma victims to
sneak heroin into the mainstream. The alleged distortion in question:

"(Prop. 200) allowed medical doctors to prescribe 116 Schedule I drugs, such
as heroin, LSD, marijuana and PCP . . . "

Sure, it's exactly true. But that clause -- used twice in the pamphlet's
analysis section and once on the ballot -- strikes the dopers as biased.
Their lawyer, John Tuchi, notes that PCP is a Schedule II drug -- three
derivatives are Schedule I -- and complains that the mere mention of
"heroin" inflames.

The pro-drug solution? Only say "marijuana." Or, better yet, use the phrase
"Schedule I drugs."

Do me a favor, Tuchi. Name a dozen Schedule I drugs.

"No, I can't name what the Schedule I drugs are. . . . I have no idea."

Neither does anyone else, which explains the dopers' lawsuit and campaign
strategy: Keep it vague, keep the electorate uninformed. Then smuggle in a
drug-loaded Trojan horse come Election Day.

Pushers find no shame

Rep. Mike Gardner lobbied the Legislative Council to add that clause to the
analysis. "That's a ridiculous argument, to say the public doesn't have the
right to know that Schedule I drugs also means heroin, LSD and analogs of PCP."

Ridiculous or no, millionaire drug advocates like John Sperling and George
Soros find no shame in shouting it loud. No surprise there. In Washington
state last year, they spent another $1.5 million to float the same
soft-peddling of drugs. Their foes -- outspent 15 to 1 -- seized on the
heroin angle. The prop flamed out, 60 percent to 40 percent.

"They learned from that. They don't want the truth to be used in this
particular battle," says Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, a member of
Arizonans Against Heroin, the group seeking "yes" votes to sink the dopers'
latest scheme. "It's a fraud. Actually, fraud's too nice a word. It's
another lie."

Sure is. You'd have to be stoned to fall for it. Or on heroin or LSD, or any
one of 116 drugs no one can name.

If the dopers win, you will indeed get that chance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Brown Disturbed By Shooting, Has Faith In Houston Police Department
('The Houston Chronicle' Says Houston Mayor Lee Brown, The Former Police
Chief In Houston And Portland, And President Clinton's First Drug Czar,
Doesn't Think The Fact That Local Prohibition Agents Forced Their Way
Into The Apartment Of An Innocent Man, Pedro Oregon Navarro,
Without A Warrant And Shot Him 12 Times, Including Nine Times In The Back,
Is Indicative Of A Larger Problem)
Link to earlier story
From: adbryan@ONRAMP.NET Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 08:25:54 -0500 (CDT) Subject: ART: Brown disturbed by shooting, has faith in HPD To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org) Cc: editor@MAPINC.ORG Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org Lee P. is "disturbed" but he probably won't lose any sleep. 7-29-98 Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com viewpoints@chron.com Brown disturbed by shooting, has faith in HPD By JULIE MASON Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle Mayor Lee Brown said Tuesday he is concerned by allegations surrounding the death of Pedro Oregon Navarro, but said he maintains faith in both the Houston Police Department and Chief C.O. Bradford. "I am very disturbed about the incident of going into someone's home without a search warrant and someone ultimately losing their life, I am disturbed about that," Brown said. Oregon, 23, was shot to death July 12 after members of the gang task force assigned to the Southwest Patrol Division raided Oregon's apartment. The raid reportedly was on the basis of information from a confidential informant. Police who forced their way into Oregon's apartment without a warrant shot him 12 times, including nine times in the back, an autopsy showed. Brown said he welcomed investigations by HPD, the Harris County district attorney and the FBI, to determine whether any civil rights violations occurred in the incident. "One of the things I have always preached as a public servant, particularly as police chief, is that you can't break the law to enforce it," Brown said. "It's just that simple." But Brown called a spate of recent incidents at the Police Department -- including allegations that bicycle patrol officers falsified time cards and claims of drunkenness on duty -- coincidental and not indicative of a larger problem. "I think it would be coincidental that they happened in a short period of time together, I don't consider that to be an indictment against the Police Department," Brown said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Some Say Hemp Products Send Wrong Message (A Knight Ridder News Service
Article In The St. Paul, Minnesota, 'Pioneer Press' About The Resurgence
Of Hemp Gives Ample Coverage To The Drug Warriors' Perspective)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 14:50:06 -0500
From: davewest (davewest@pressenter.com)
Reply-To: davewest@pressenter.com
To: DRChemp (drchemp@drcnet.org)
Subject: Pioneer Press 7/29: hemp story
PUBDATE: Wed. July 29, 1998
SOURCE: PIONEER PRESS, ST PAUL
CONTACT: Reader Advocate Nancy Conner 651-228-5446 nconner@pioneerpress.com
LTE FAX: 651-228-5564
WEBSITE: http://www.pioneerplanet.com

[Photo: model in head-to-toe hemp + paper:
CAPTION: "Some say hemp is a versatile crop. Others call it an evil weed.
Whatever it is called, it's in more places than you think. Everything
that this model is wearing and holding is made from industrial hemp: the
hat, shirt, jacket, skirt, socks, shoes and journal . . . even the
purse, teddy bear and keychain."]

HEADLINE: Some say hemp products send wrong message
[How do you get a job writing headlines? - dpw]

AUTHOR: LEE HILL KAVANAUGH

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
KANSAS CITY, MO.

Nestled among the lotions, oils and soaps on a shelf at the Body Shop on
the Kansas City's Country Club Plaza is a 2-foot display that's hard to
miss: An illustration of a familiar-looking leaf, Cannabis sativa L.,
otherwise known as hemp.

Reactions from customers have been mixed -- including one woman who
began crying after she rubbed a smidgen of the hemp lotion on her hands.
"She just freaked out," clerk Micah Schuler said. "She was rushing
around saying, 'I need water! Where can I wash my hands?' She said her
company did drug testing and she didn't want to be fired."

That customer had nothing to worry about, said manager Peggy McEwen,
who explained that the hemp products have negligible amounts of Delta-9-
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
In May, the British-based company began selling products made from hemp.

"I was concerned too, when I first heard we would be carrying this
line," McEwen said. "But I ,was misinformed. I'm a parent. And as a
parent you certainly don't want to promote drugs."

The controversy over hemp seems to be growing as fast as wild ditchweed
on back-country roads. As hemp appears in everything from BMW brake pads
to clothing to veggie-burgers and beer, consumers face mounting
contradictory information.

What hemp is - a versatile cash crop or an evil weed - depends on whom
you ask.

Is it marijuana? All marijuana is hemp, but not all hemp is marijuana,
said Paul Mahlberg, a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington and
a molecular biologist who has studied Cannabis for 30 years.

"Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant genus, just like sweet
corn, field corn and popcorn come from the same plant genus," he said.
"But the strain of industrial hemp" - used in consumer products - "has
a much lower concentration of THC."

Low THC means that the plant has high concentrations of cannabidiol,
which is antagonistic to the mind-altering properties of THC. In other
words, smoking a hemp plant with low THC would produce a strong headache
-- and that's all. But it is impossible to verify THC levels without a
chemical analysis, Mahlberg added.

Industrial hemp is cultivated to encourage a woody stalk, so it is
densely planted and often grows to 16 feet. The plants are harvested
within 100 days. Marijuana is cropped to promote a bushy plant with
bigger leaves. It is harvested after 190 days.

Hemp advocates insist marijuana is a distant cousin to industrial
varieties. But the Drug Enforcement Administration just says no. "Hemp
is marijuana, period," said Shirley A. Armstead, a special agent and
public information officer in the St. Louis DEA office. "Ditch
weed[sic,dpw] is marijuana. We do not distinguish between the two. Our
Cannabis eradication program is about eliminating marijuana."

Industrial hemp advocates distance themselves from recreational
marijuana users. In fact, any hemp organization that even hints of
supporting recreational use is denied entry to the North American
Industrial Hemp Council, a group lobbying to change current DEA
restrictions on growing industrial hemp.

Twenty-five countries, including Canada, England, France, Germany and
China, currently produce industrial hemp. Both the North American Free
Trade 'Agreement and "the General Accord on Tariffs and Trade recognize
hemp as an agricultural crop. All members of the Group of Seven
Industrialized Nations permit hemp cultivation -except the United States.

"In the United States we are living on an island of denial, surrounded
by a sea of acceptance," said Erwin Sholtz, chairman of the North
American Industrial Hemp Council. "The rest of the world says yes to
growing industrial hemp, But we stick our heads in the sand and say no,
The federal government has to say it's marijuana because the minute that
it's proved otherwise, their ditchweed eradication program goes out the
window... right along with their money,"

To Leawood, Kansas policeman Mike Pelger, it's more complicated than
that. When Pelger, who is also a DARE (drug abuse resistance) officer,
sees third-graders wearing hemp jewelry, he sees a society sending the
wrong message to children.

Pelger said he has arrested students for marijuana use who often were
wearing hemp products. Using a hemp product is a step away from
advocating marijuana's recreational use, he said.

"There are organizations on the Internet that are promoting hemp where
you can click on their next site and learn how to roll a joint," he
said. "Companies advertise hemp products by playing up the drug aspect
with lots of visuals. That makes it a real attention grabber. There are
plenty of people who buy this stuff because they think it's cute.

"This controversy is hard for adults, it's even more confusing to kids,"
he said. "Hemp products make it very difficult when you're teaching
about the dangers of drug use."

Some advertisers do play up the drug aspect. At the Body Shop, the Hemp
Handprotector package says it "softens your hands without short-term
memory loss." Hemp 3 in 1 Oil is promoted as "the best moisturizer in
the world and we promise you won't get the munchies." Hemp Soap: "No
buzz, great sudz."

The Mill Creek Brewery in Westport sells a beer called 420 Hemp Ale.
Kira Pinsky, a clerk at Gomer's Fine Wine & Spirits in Kansas City, Mo.,
said that she has noticed many young people buying hemp beer there as well.

"There does seem to be a young clientele that is finding out about
marijuana and doesn't understand how hemp is different," she said. "For
example, the 420 beer is named after the code for police officers doing
a drug bust. Now a lot of kids say that '420' is the best time to smoke
dope, whether 4:20 a.m. or p.m."

In a letter to President Clinton last July, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy warned that it had two major concerns with the
legalization of hemp cultivation: It would send the wrong message to
youths, and it "may mean the de facto legalization of marijuana cultivator."

"...Supporters of the hemp legislation effort claim hemp cultivation
could be profitable to U.S. farmers. However, the profitability of
industrial hemp is highly uncertain and probably unlikely," the agency
wrote. "Hemp is a novelty product with limited sustainable value even in
a novelty market."

A $23,000, 18-month economic study by the University of Kentucky's
Center for Business and Economic Research came to a different
conclusion, said one of its authors, researcher Steve Allen.

The study, released July 3, focused on the economic impact that growing
hemp would have on Kentucky farmers. It concluded that at current market
prices, a hemp crop would be second only to tobacco. "We estimated
yields conservatively but if the technology advances, it would grow into
a huge market," Allen said.

John Roulac agrees.

Roulac is the author of the books "Hemp Horizons" and "Industrial Hemp"
and the founder of Hemp Tech, a California consulting firm that tracks
the usage of hemp products around the world.

"Hemp is the Rip Van Winkle of fabric, the aloe vera of the 21st
century," he said. "There are over 25,000 documented uses for it."

Hemp is much more than a novelty product, Roulac added. "How do we know
that it'll be a major crop? We don't. But who ever thought that organic
farming, even 10 years ago, would become the $3 billion to $5 billion
industry it is today?"

And hemp is versatile in more than just farming, Roulac said. "The
most exciting usage for hemp products is using it in composite plastics,
to replace fiberglass," he said. "It's lighter and it's a renewable
resource. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and the Ford: plants in Great Britain are
utilizing hemp in their air bags and brake lining. These companies have
a mandate to make cars by the year 2000 that can be recycled.

"Retail sales of hemp worldwide was $75 million in 1997. It's expected
to rise to $250 million: in 1999. We believe that the hemp industry has
the potential to be a billion-dollar industry in 25 years. It's
definitely coming down the tracks."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Media Blitz Is Effective Against Drugs (An Op-Ed In 'The Chicago Tribune,'
Whose Fact-Checker Is Apparently On Vacation, By General Barry McCaffrey,
The US Drug Czar, Rationalizing The Government's New $2 Billion
Advertising Campaign For The War On Some Drug Users)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 22:01:22 -0700
From: owner-maptalk-digest@mapinc.org (Maptalk-Digest)
To: maptalk-digest@mapinc.org
Subject: Maptalk-Digest V98 No. 302
Reply-To: maptalk@mapinc.org
Sender: owner-maptalk-digest@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/
Subj: Gen. McCaffrey's ad patronage pays off at the Chicago Tribune
From: Steve Young (theyoungfamily@worldnet.att.net)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 23:25:32 -0500

MAP people:

I knew it was only a matter of time. Barry McCaffrey got the lead letter in
today's (7/29/98) Chicago Tribune.

Some observations:

1. The Trib has run at least two full-page ONDCP/PDFA ads since the initial
kick-off of the campaign. (There may have been more. I read the Tribune's
print edition with some care every day, but to be honest, I completely
missed the first ad until a friend pointed out to me, so I may have missed
others. So much for spending "billions of dollars on advertising because it
works.")

2. Unlike every other letter I have forwarded to the list from the Tribune
in the past five months or so, this letter was *not* published in the
Trib's online edition. Perhaps just an oversight, but it seems a little
odd. Did the General insist that this be only for local consumption, and
not for those pesky Internet activists?

3. The failure of American drug policy is acknowledged in very explicit
terms, even though it is attributed to a simple lack of advertising:
"Such an initiative is necessary because, even though overall drug use
dropped by half in the last 15 years, teenage drug use rose steeply. Use
among 8th graders nearly tripled during the past five years. During this
period the number of anti-drug service announcements fell by 30 percent,
and many of those aired in time slots that attract few children.

In many areas of the country, drug-related arrests increased dramatically.
In 1997 more than half the males arrested for any crime in various cities
tested positive for drugs, as did large percentages of males arrested for
property offenses and violent acts. Drug-related admissions at emergency
rooms also increased in many locations."

4. Get ready to grind your teeth. I know I did.

Steve Young

***

Newshawk: Steve Young (theyoungfamily@worldnet.att.net)
Pubdate: 29 July 1998
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
web: http://chicago.tribune.com
Author: Barry R. McCaffrey
Section: Sec. 1, p. 16

Media blitz is effective against drugs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Office of National Drug Control Policy has just
launched a national advertising campaign to stop illegal drug use aimed at
young people, 9 to 17 years of age, and the adults in their lives. After
test ads in 12 cities throughout the U.S., the campaign has gone national,
with regional adjustments for target audiences.

In some pilot cities, requests for information related to drug prevention
and treatment increased 500 percent after the ads appeared, and calls to a
national clearinghouse for anti-drug publications rose 300 percent.

An unprecedented $2 billion will be spent during the next five years in
government funds and matching monies pledged by the private sector.
Congress provided $195 million this year for the campaign, which represents
but 1 percent of the total federal anti-drug effort. The $2 billion over
the next five years for the anti-drug campaign compares with the $7 billion
yearly that the alcohol and tobacco companies spend on advertising to
promote their products.

Corporations are willing to spend billions of dollars on advertising
because it works. The electronic media - television, radio, film, videos,
Internet, CD-ROM and multimedia (including print journalism augmented by
color photography) - constitute the strongest educational tools.

Such an initiative is necessary because, even though overall drug use
dropped by half in the last 15 years, teenage drug use rose steeply. Use
among 8th graders nearly tripled during the past five years. During this
period the number of anti-drug service announcements fell by 30 percent,
and many of those aired in time slots that attract few children.

In many areas of the country, drug-related arrests increased dramatically.
In 1997 more than half the males arrested for any crime in various cities
tested positive for drugs, as did large percentages of males arrested for
property offenses and violent acts. Drug-related admissions at emergency
rooms also increased in many locations.

The media initiative is only the beginning of a greater educational
campaign to reach youngsters. Documentaries about the history of drug use,
the impact of narcoterrorism on American foreign policy, and the link
between drugs, crime and the justice system can be supplemented by factual,
dramatic shows about the consequences of substance abuse. Young viewers
would be more likely to shun addictive substances if they were better
informed about the violence associated with this criminal industry and the
health risk posed by drugs.

Today's kids spend more time watching television than attending academic
classes. By high school graduation, youth have seen approximately 15,000
hours of TV compared to 12,000 hours spent in the classroom. Whether we
like it or not, electronic media have revolutionized the way people learn,
much as Gutenberg's printing press and movable type revolutionized
Renaissance Europe.

The idea is not to control young minds. Our purpose is to offer accurate
data that enables maturing individuals to make rational choices. Drugs are
wrong because they hurt people. We cannot stand by idly while toxic,
addictive substances endanger children, family, friends and neighborhoods.

Barry R. McCaffrey
Director
Office of National Drug Control Policy
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge Allows Short Delay For Elderly Couple To Go To Federal Prison
('The Associated Press' Notes A 79-Year-Old Retired House Painter
In New Haven, Connecticut, And His 72-Year-Old Wife, A Lifelong Homemaker,
Are Going To Separate Prisons In Texas For Five Years Each
For Laundering Money From The Cocaine Business Of Their Son
Who Got A 55-Year Term - Another Son Got Six Years And A Daughter
Got Five Years)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen - Olympia" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Judge allows short delay for elderly couple to go to federal prison
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 18:13:17 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Judge allows short delay for elderly couple to go to federal prison
By Brigitte Greenberg, Associated Press, 07/29/98 10:42

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A judge today granted a last-ditch effort by an
elderly couple to delay reporting to federal prison for helping their son
with his drug-laundering operation.

But U.S. District Court Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford only delayed the
trip to prison until Monday - not the full week that attorneys for the
couple had hoped for.

James Monaco, a 79-year-old retired house painter, and his 72-year-old wife,
Mary, a lifelong homemaker, originally were scheduled to report to separate
prisons this Thursday.

Thompson said he granted the small delay because the U.S. Bureau of Prisons
were late in assigning the Monacos to their prisons and the couple needed
time to make travel arrangements. No further delay was warranted, he said.

The Monacos have been assigned to different prisons in Fort Worth, Texas.

``It's hard to get these old folks to where they've got to go,'' said
attorney Jeremiah F. Donovan, who represents the husband.

Meanwhile, the attorneys also have asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in New York to allow the Monacos - who have four children and four
grandchildren - to remain free pending appeal. The earliest the court would
hear arguments on that would be sometime next week.

Earlier this month, Thompson ordered the husband to spend five years in a
prison that has access to medical care, and three years on supervised
release. Mrs. Monaco was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison,
plus three years' supervised release.

The Monacos were convicted in February of hiding millions of dollars of
their son's drug profits.

Defense lawyers portrayed the Monacos as elderly parents in failing health,
blindly devoted to - and cowed by - their son, 49-year-old James R.
``Jimmy'' Monaco. The younger Monaco is serving a 55-year prison sentence in
an Illinois prison for drug trafficking in Florida.

But prosecutors said the parents directed how the money should be spent,
including the purchases of two waterfront homes, a warehouse in Florida and
several cars, a Ferrari among them.

Donovan has said his client is not expected to live more than two years and
must take 10 medications a day for heart troubles, hypertension, diabetes,
kidney problems, arthritis and gout.

Mrs. Monaco has a heart blockage and needs a catheter, and also suffers from
depression, hypertension, numbness in her hands, dizzy spells, and back and
shoulder problems, according to her lawyer, William T. Koch Jr.

Another son, David J. Monaco, 38, was scheduled to go to a prison in
Lewisburg, Pa., on Friday. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison for his
role in the drug operation.

David Monaco was originally scheduled to report to the prison on Thursday,
but the government asked for a one-day delay to allow him and his parents to
attend a settlement conference Wednesday on a civil case. That case concerns
assets the government wants to seize, including the Monacos' Branford home
and their bank accounts.

The Monacos' daughter, Linda DeMaio, 46, a former Middlefield town clerk,
was sentenced to five years in the case. She was to report to a prison in
Alderson, W.Va., on Thursday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Driver Claims Viagra Caused Crash (The Bend, Oregon 'Bulletin'
Notes A New Jersey Man Is Suing Pfizer For $110 Million
Because Its New Drug For Impotence Caused A Blue Tinge
Impairing His Vision)

From: cwagoner@BENDNET.COM
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 17:16:56 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Driver claims Viagra caused crash
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org
Newshawk: Curt Wagoner (cwagoner@bendnet.com)
Pubdate: 7-29-98
Source: The Bulletin (bulletin@bendbulletin.com)
Section: Newsbriefs
Page: A-5
Website: www.bendbulletin.com

DRIVER CLAIMS VIAGRA CAUSED CRASH

NEWARK N.J. - Joseph Moran took Viagra for a date. He did not have
sex that night, but said the anti-impotence drug caused blue flashes from
his fingertips - and made him crash his car.

Moran, a used-car salesman, has sued drug maker Pfizer Inc. for
$110 million. His lawyer said it's the first lawsuit over what those who
take the wildly popular drug described as a side effect - a blue tinge in
the vision.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Expulsions On Rise In Orange Schools (According To 'The Orlando Sentinel,'
A School Board Report Says The Number Of Fifth-Grade Students Being Expelled
From Schools In Orange County, Florida, Has More Doubled In The Last
Three Years, And The Number Of Fourth-Graders Expelled For Such Offenses
As Using Alcohol Or Other Drugs Has More Than Tripled)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 22:01:22 -0700
From: owner-maptalk-digest@mapinc.org (Maptalk-Digest)
To: maptalk-digest@mapinc.org
Subject: Maptalk-Digest V98 No. 302
Reply-To: maptalk@mapinc.org
Sender: owner-maptalk-digest@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/
Subj: Expulsions on rise in orange schools
From: Pat Dolan (pdolan@intergate.bc.ca)
Source: Orlando Sentinel		
Subject: Expulsions on rise in orange schools
Pubdate: July 29 Midday Edn.
Contact: feedback@MAIL.ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM
Website: http://www.orlandosentinel.com
Newshawk:Pat Dolan

NEWS
Expulsions on rise in orange schools

An escalating number of young Orange County students are committing offenses
severe enough for expulsion. The number of fifth-grade students committing
such offenses has more doubled in the last three years. Among fourth-graders
it has more than tripled, according to a school district analysis. Offenses
that can lead to expulsion include alcohol and drug use, assault and weapon
possession. Those figures were part of a report on serious school offenses
that went to the School Board this week.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

60 Mexico City Police Suspended For Drug Use ('Reuters'
Says The City's Attorney General, Samuel Del Villar,
Told A News Conference That Nearly All The Officers
Had Tested Positive For Cocaine Use)

Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 06:44:22 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Mexico: 60 Mexico
City Police Suspended For Drug Use
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: David.Hadorn@vuw.ac.nz (David Hadorn)
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Source: Reuters

60 MEXICO CITY POLICE SUSPENDED FOR DRUG USE

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- Sixty officers from Mexico City's police force were
suspended Tuesday after failing a drug test, the latest blow to an already
dismal reputation for Mexico's capital police force.

The suspended officers included delegates to two of the city's biggest
districts and two other high-ranking officials, the city's attorney general
Samuel del Villar told a news conference.

The scandal came days after 15 policemen were arrested in a brutal rape and
kidnap case of three teenage girls.

``They were suspended immediately,'' Del Villar said of the latest
suspensions, adding later to reporters that nearly all the officers had
tested positive for cocaine use.

The news added to intense pressure on city mayor Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, a
leading opposition figure to the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI), to clean up the city's notoriously dirty police and stop rampant crime.

Cardenas, of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), won the
first-ever modern vote for Mexico City mayor last year and is seen as a
likely contender for the key 2000 presidential race.

Earlier this week, city residents reacted with disgust to news that 15 local
policemen were arrested for the kidnapping and gang rape of three teenagers.

The girls, aged 13, 15 and 18, were kidnapped after asking police for
directions and held for more than four days in horse stalls of the mounted
police before managing to escape.

On Tuesday, the policemen's lawyer, Alejandro Guzman, said the three girls
were prostitutes and had seduced the police.

``These are girls who often sold their bodies for a meal,'' Guzman told
reporters.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

British Columbia Cries Uncle ('Reuters' Says Vancouver Police Chief
Bruce Chambers Is Among Those Voicing Support For A Plan
Proposed By British Columbia's Top Medical Officials To Overhaul
The Province's Anti-Drug Strategy That Could Eventually Include
Free Prescription Heroin For Some Addicts)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 17:41:28 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Canada: Wire: British Columbia Cries Uncle
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Source: Reuters
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998

BRITISH COLUMBIA CRIES UNCLE

VANCOUVER (Reuters)- If Vancouver's top cop needed evidence to support his
declaration that the war on drugs in western Canada's largest city was in
trouble he could find it Wednesday on a downtown street.

A drug addict witnessed by a Reuters photographer calmly pulled down her
pants and planted an injection needle in her leg as cars and pedestrians
passed by seemly oblivious to the scene.

Police Chief Bruce Chambers is among those voicing support for a plan to
overhaul British Columbia's anti-drug strategy that could eventually
include free prescription heroin for some addicts.

``We cannot claim to be winning any more. We're not even having decent
skirmishes,'' Chambers complained to reporters as the proposed strategy was
unveiled by health officials Tuesday.

The plan was proposed by British Columbia's top medical officials as part
of a broad strategy to fight a drug problem that is among the worst in
Canada with a death toll that could surpass an addict every day.

Health officials said steps must be taken quickly to address a drug
addiction problem they fear will claim more than 400 lives in British
Columbia this year and cost the province's non-drug users more than $100
million.

The province has an estimated 15,000 addicts, with cocaine or heroin use
among the biggest problems. Most are in the Vancouver area, where treatment
programs have an 8-month waiting list.

The 30-page report also calls for C$6 million expansion of methadone
treatment for heroin addicts, a 50 percent increase in detoxification
programs and a new agency to coordinate social service and drug treatment
efforts.

British Columbia Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh said he was worried that
allowing heroin prescriptions would attract addicts to the province if it
was not done as part of a federal anti-drug effort.

``I won't rule it in, but I won't rule it out. But only in the context of a
national strategy,'' Dosanjh said.

The head of the British Columbia Medical Association's committee on drugs
and alcohol said he would oppose the prescription effort, although he
praised the other proposals in the strategy.

``It is likely more harm will result from this than good and there is
insufficient evident to say it would help,'' Dr Ray Baker told the
Vancouver Sun.

Provincial health officials recognizing the controversy of a prescription
heroin program took pains Tuesday to stress it would done on a trial basis
and implement only after existing treatment programs are expanded.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

British Columbia Seeks New Ways To Battle Drugs
(The Complete 'Reuters' Story)

From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" (mapnews@mapinc.org)
Subject: MN: Canada: Wire: British Columbia
Seeks New Ways To Battle Drugs
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 07:08:04 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Source: Reuters

BRITISH COLUMBIA SEEKS NEW WAYS TO BATTLE DRUGS

VANCOUVER (Reuters)- If officials needed evidence to support claims the
fight against drugs in western Canada's largest city was in trouble they
could find it Wednesday on a downtown Vancouver street.

A drug addict witnessed by a Reuters photographer calmly pulled down her
pants and planted an injection needle in her leg as cars and pedestrians
passed by seemly oblivious to the scene.

Vancouver Police Chief Bruce Chambers is among those support for plan to
overhaul British Columbia's anti-drug strategy that emphasizes treatment and
could eventually include free prescription heroin for some addicts.

``If were' going to address this problem we need adequate resources. The
business of law enforcement to drugs will continue, but we need a balanced
approach,'' Chambers said a day after the proposal was unveiled.

Other officials went even farther on Tuesday, with some declaring as the
plan was unveiled that the current war on drugs was lost.

The plan was proposed by British Columbia's top medical officials as part of
a broad strategy to fight a drug problem that is among the worst in Canada
with a death toll that could surpass an addict every day.

Health officials said steps must be taken quickly to address a drug
addiction problem they fear will claim more than 400 lives in British
Columbia this year and cost the province's non-drug users more than $100
million.

The province has an estimated 15,000 addicts, with cocaine or heroin use
among the biggest problems. Most are in the Vancouver area, where treatment
programs have an 8-month waiting list.

The 30-page report also calls for C$6 million expansion of methadone
treatment for heroin addicts, a 50 percent increase in detoxification
programs and a new agency to coordinate social service and drug treatment
efforts.

British Columbia Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh said he was worried that
allowing heroin prescriptions would attract addicts to the province if it
was not done as part of a federal anti-drug effort.

``I won't rule it in, but I won't rule it out. But only in the context of a
national strategy,'' Dosanjh said.

The head of the British Columbia Medical Association's committee on drugs
and alcohol said he would oppose the prescription effort, although he
praised the other proposals in the strategy.

``It is likely more harm will result from this than good and there is
insufficient evident to say it would help,'' Dr Ray Baker told the Vancouver
Sun.

Provincial health officials recognizing the controversy of a prescription
heroin program took pains Tuesday to stress it would done on a trial basis
and implement only after existing treatment programs are expanded.

Chambers said he was also worried too much emphasis would be put on the
heroin prescription idea, but said it offered an option to a small
percentage of the addicts who cannot be helped with other treatments.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

British Columbia Declares Defeat In Its War On Drugs ('The Toronto Star'
Version)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 10:06:27 -0400
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
From: Dave Haans (haans@chass.utoronto.ca)
Subject: TorStar: B.C. declares defeat in its war on drugs
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Source: The Toronto Star
Pubdate: July 29, 1998
Page: A9
Website: http://www.thestar.ca
Contact: LetterToEd@thestar.ca

B.C. declares defeat in its war on drugs

Police and coroner urge province to focus on prevention, treatment for addicts

VANCOUVER (CP) -- British Columbia's top coroner and the city's police
chief are declaring defeat in the war on drugs and urging the province to
kick an extra $6 million into addiction treatment.

The call, delivered yesterday at a packed news conference, was part of a
blunt report from the province's top health officer on HIV, hepatitis and
injection drug use in B.C. called Pay Now or Pay Later.

Vancouver police Chief Bruce Chambers said new tactics are required.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what we are doing now no longer works," Chambers said.

"Filling prisons or hospital beds with substance abusers does not make any
public policy sense," said Chambers, endorsing "a very heavy investment" in
treatment for drug abusers.

Chambers even offered cautious support for a program that would help treat
heroin addicts by prescribing them free heroin.

Chief coroner Larry Campbell was equally blunt.

"It's time somebody steps forward and says the war on drugs is lost," said
Campbell. "We cannot even pretend to be winning the war."

The document suggests $6 million in new spending now could generate $36
million in annual savings, sliced off the $209 million illicit drug use is
costing the B.C. government.

It costs $20,000 a year for full treatment of an injection drug user,
including detoxification, residential care and counselling.

"Pay now or pay later implies an investment now will save costs later,"
said deputy health officer Shaun Peck.

The money could treat an additional 1,500 heroin addicts -- mostly by
providing the heroin substitute methadone in Vancouver.

"We can make money by helping these people get better," Campbell said.

The report says treatment for injection drug users costs the B.C.
government about $100 million every year.

The appeal comes as health officials warn of record levels of overdose
deaths in British Columbia.

As of last Friday, 224 British Columbia residents had died from overdoses
in 1998. Campbell warned of 400 deaths for the year - a record - if the
rate continues.

"(It) has to be some sort of a signal of society that we have to start
doing things differently," Campbell said.

In unusually blunt terms, the former Mountie spoke of a procession of
overdose dead who are streaming through his morgue after being struck down
by the "completely preventable disease" of drug addiction.

"This is coming to a neighbourhood near you, believe me. The people I have
seen die from this are your neighbours, your brothers, your sisters, your
fathers and your mothers."

Within hours of the report's release yesterday, British Columbia's attorney
general said any move to offer heroin to drug addicts would have to be part
of an Ottawa-driven initiative.

"It has to be part of a national strategy, otherwise you will have people
travelling all over from Canada to Vancouver," Ujjal Dosanjh said.

"That's not desirable."

Health Minister Penny Priddy said she wants to discuss the report with its
author, especially the recommendation for more money.

Priddy said she would need more details to decide how to proceed. Her
department spends more than $23 million on drug-treatment programs, but
other funding is spread widely through other B.C. ministries.

There are about 15,000 injection drug users in B.C. Heroin is at the base
of the problem, but many addicts are also shooting up on cocaine.

One-quarter of the addicts are thought to have HIV, the virus that leads to
AIDS, largely due to the exchange of dirty syringes, frequent injection and
cocaine use. About 90 per cent of the addicts have hepatitis C.

Of the province's estimated 15,000 users, 4,000 are enrolled in methadone
therapy. About 400 B.C. doctors have been prescribing methadone.

Officials yesterday conceded that calls for decriminalization have hijacked
the debate of dealing with the legion of injection drug users.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Free Heroin Urged For Addicts As War On Drugs `Lost' ('The Vancouver Sun'
Version)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Free heroin urged for addicts as war on drugs `lost'
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 08:43:13 -0700
Lines: 100
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Vancouver Sun
Contact: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Pubdate: Wed 29 Jul 1998
Section: News A1 / Front
Authors: Pamela Fayerman and Kim Pemberton

Free heroin urged for addicts as war on drugs `lost'

Law enforcers have lost the war on drugs and the problem should be
treated as a health issue rather than a criminal matter, Vancouver
Police Chief Bruce Chambers said Tuesday .

Chambers made the admission at a news conference called to unveil a
report that recommends, among other things, that heroin be given to
addicts at no cost in tightly controlled trials.

``We cannot even pretend to be winning any more -- we're not even
having decent skirmishes,'' he said of the war on drugs that costs the
province $79 million a year for law enforcement.

Asked if he supports making heroin available to addicts, Chambers
responded: ``Filling prisons does not make sense. Drug use is a
serious health problem . . . what we're doing now no longer works.''

The heroin recommendation was one of 10 in the report by provincial
health officer Dr. John Millar.

Others include:

- Creation of a Substance Abuse Commission to coordinate and develop
strategies for reducing drug abuse. At present, the attorney-general's
ministry, the ministry for children and families and the health
minister are all involved in addiction issues.

- An increase in detox, residential care and counselling for injection
drug users.

- Reduced jail time for those convicted of drug possession.

- Improved social services for drug users, including housing, street
outreach and needle exchange.

- Spending an additional $6 million to supply 1,500 more addicts --
5,400 in total -- with methadone, a synthetic heroin substitute.

B.C. chief coroner Larry Campbell said there have been 224 cocaine and
heroin-related deaths so far this year, meaning the final death toll
could reach 400 by the end of the year -- 100 more than 1997.

Drug addiction is the leading cause of death in adults aged 30 to 49.
And the 30-page report says the drug epidemic is tied to an HIV/AIDS
epidemic because of needle sharing by addicts.

While describing drug addiction as a medical condition not dissimilar
to other chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, the
report says the epidemic costs the economy an estimated $209 million a
year.

That includes direct costs of about $100 million for treatment and law
enforcement and indirect costs that include theft by addicts to
support their habit -- an amount estimated at $500 to $1,000 per
addict per day.

Responding to the report's suggestion that heroin be made available to
addicts on a trial basis, Campbell said that while he has advocated
the decriminalization of heroin in the past, he is putting it ``on the
back burner'' and concentrating on trying to get more treatment and
other resources for addicts now.

````I fear as long as we stress decriminalization we will never get
the [detox] beds, the treatment, the other alternatives out there at
the present time.''

Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh said his support of heroin trials is
contingent on whether other provinces take part, because Vancouver
would be flooded with drug addicts from across the country seeking
free heroin if it were the lone participant in such a program.

``I will never rule out heroin trials but I won't rule it in either
unless it is in the context of a structured, comprehensive program
with the end objective of getting people off it.''

Dr. Ray Baker, chair of the B.C. Medical Association committee on
drugs and alcohol, praised the bulk of the report but is against
prescribing heroin.

``It is likely more harm will result from this than good and there is
insufficient evidence to say it would help. What we do need are more
detox centres, and more methadone replacement and prevention programs
geared to youth, not some fringe marginal research in a pilot
project.''

Premier Glen Clark said in an interview that the report won't simply
``collect dust.''

``I'm as troubled as anyone in B.C. about the troubles on Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside and I don't intend not to listen to Dr. Millar,'' he
said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dosanjh, Priddy Just Say No ('The Province' In Vancouver
Says British Columbian Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh And Health Minister
Penny Priddy Want Traditional Methadone Treatment Programs Expanded
Before Experimenting With A Heroin Maintenance Program)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Dosanjh, Priddy just say no
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 12:37:33 -0700
Lines: 53
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Vancouver Province
Contact: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998

Dosanjh, Priddy just say no

Lawmakers aren't ready to hand out heroin.

Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh and Health Minister Penny Priddy want
traditional treatments expanded before handing out highly addictive heroin
free of charge.

"There are about 2,000 addicts currently treated with methadone, but the
estimate is there are about 10,000 addicts in total," Dosanjh said
yesterday.

"I'm sure the majority of them could be treated and stabilized with
medication. Only then should we consider substances that could be
dangerous and could send the wrong message to our youth."

The option of free heroin is one aspect of a proposed drug strategy
released yesterday by B.C. medical health officer Dr. John Millar.

Dosanjh said the only way free heroin could work is if it's offered
nationwide: "You don't want to do it in Vancouver, so that everyone in
Canada is coming here for free drugs."

Priddy also called for more methadone, not free heroin: "One of the things
I think is really important is the extension of the methadone program to
capacity."

She conceded the government is behind the times in addressing the huge
increase in drug overdoses.

"If one person dies, we are falling behind. . . ."

Priddy said the report doesn't address the growing problem of cocaine
overdoses.

"We are seeing more about cocaine deaths, and more about mixing cocaine
with heroin, and there's nothing about that in the report."

Noting B.C. has recorded 224 overdose deaths so far this year, the
province's top health minders say the conventional war on drugs has been
lost.

"It's a signal to society that we have to start doing things differently,"
said chief coroner Larry Campbell.

An immediate $6 million is needed to increase to 5,500 from 4,000 the
number of B.C. heroin users receiving methadone therapy, says the report,
which also calls for the elimination of user fees for people in the program.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Two US Pilots Die On Colombian Anti-Narcotics Mission
('The Dallas Morning News' Version Of Yesterday's News
About The Aiplane Crash That Killed Two Coca-Dusting Instructors
But No Students)

From: adbryan@ONRAMP.NET
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 08:25:46 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: ART: 2 U.S. pilots die on Colombian anti-narcotics mission
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Cc: editor@MAPINC.ORG
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

And these guys probably thought they were doing good. What a
waste of life. Crop dusting will only knockout a miniscule
amount of the coca production and the overall effect is
unnoticeable in the US.

7-29-98
Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com
letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com

2 U.S. pilots die on Colombian anti-narcotics mission

07/29/98

By Tod Robberson / The Dallas Morning News

BOGOTA, Colombia - Two American pilots working for the U.S. government
on an anti-narcotics-related mission died when their airplane went down
in a battle-scarred region of southeastern Colombia, the U.S. Embassy
said Tuesday.

The pilots were identified as Wayne Harley Mulgrew of Napa, Calif., and
Gary Clyde Chestnut of Leesburg, Ala. Both were 46.

The embassy said in a prepared statement Tuesday that the two men were
killed Monday when their Thrush turboprop crop-dusting aircraft went
down near a military base at San Jose del Guaviare, 200 miles southeast
of Bogota.

Colombian and U.S. military sources said the base is in a chief
cocaine-producing region of southeastern Colombia and is usually
surrounded by leftist guerrillas, who frequently try to shoot down
government aircraft on illicit-crop eradication missions.

The embassy termed the deaths an accident, although it said the cause of
the crash was still under investigation. The statement said there were
"no indications of hostile activity during the accident."

The embassy statement added that one of the pilots was training the
other pilot on how to conduct training exercises when their plane went
down.

The last death involving a government-contracted anti-narcotics pilot
occurred in January 1997, when Robert Martin, 35, flew his crop-dusting
aircraft into a tree while on an eradication mission only one day after
arriving in the country.

Mr. Mulgrew and Mr. Chestnut were providing training to Colombian
anti-narcotics pilots under a State Department contract with East Inc.,
based in Chantilly, Va. A company spokesman declined to comment and
referred all inquiries to the State Department.

East Inc. and DynCorp Aerospace Technologies, a Fort Worth-based
company, provide more than 100 aircraft pilots and maintenance
technicians to work in dangerous areas of Colombia where, in many cases,
U.S. law restricts the activities of U.S. military personnel.

Their work has become so dangerous in recent months - due mainly to
anti-aircraft fire from guerrillas and other gunmen protecting
illicit-crop fields and drug laboratories - that earlier this year, they
began conducting eradication missions at night to make their aircraft
harder to target, a U.S. official said.

The night missions, however, entail a higher accident risk because of
the need for pilots to fly at low altitudes to ensure their crop dusters
hit their targets with herbicide spray.

In addition, the Colombian National Police, which conducts most
anti-narcotics operations, has been forced to ground the bulk of its
U.S.-supplied helicopter fleet twice in recent months because of
mechanical problems.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

President-Elect Aims To 'De-Narcotize' Relations (Inter Press Service
Notes Colombian President-Elect Andres Pastrana Will Meet
With US President Bill Clinton On August 3)

Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 03:44:50 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Colombia-US: President-Elect
Aims To "De-Narcotize" Relations
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Source: Inter Press Service

PRESIDENT-ELECT AIMS TO "DE-NARCOTIZE" RELATIONS

BOGOTA, (IPS) - Colombian President-elect Andres Pastrana will seek to
improve relations with the United States, while shifting the focus of
bilateral ties away from the war on drugs, according to future Foreign
Minister Guillermo Fernandez.

Fernandez announced that Pastrana would meet with President Bill Clinton on
Aug. 3 to discuss issues such as trade, human rights, peace policy and, of
course, cooperation in anti-drug efforts.

One of Pastrana's campaign pledges was to "de-narcotize" relations with the
United States and orient his foreign policy along the lines of defense of
national interests.

"Our relations with the United States should be harmonious and of mutual
respect," which "has not been easy," said Fernandez, alluding to the
deterioration bilateral ties have suffered under the government of President
Ernesto Samper, whose campaign coffers were allegedly swollen with drug money.

Under Samper, Colombia received a negative mark from Washington as an ally
in the war on drugs for three years in a row, and in 1996 the Clinton
administration canceled Samper's entry visa to the United States.

Designated Foreign Minister Fernandez said yesterday that Clinton's
invitation of Pastrana was a signal that Washington was interested in
healing bilateral relations.

Unlike Samper, who from the very start of his term felt the weight of U.S.
censure, Pastrana received a message from the Washington after his late June
victory in the polls, in which Clinton expressed his hope to establish very
close cooperation with Colombia's new government.

But Pastrana faces several big hurdles that will make it difficult to
"de-narcotize" relations, said Luis Valencia, an expert in international
relations with the private University of los Andes.

Valencia told IPS that the United States sees producer countries as mainly
responsible for the fight against drugs, "and Pastrana will have to move in
that terrain."

The analyst said that while Pastrana was heading to Washington in search of
support for Colombia's budding peace process and cooperation to help
strengthen the economy, the only response he may receive is more talk of the
war on drugs.

Coletta Youngers with the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights
group, told a local daily in Bogota that views in the United States on
relations with Colombia were divided, even within the government.

To the question of drug trafficking is added Colombia's poor human rights
record, which Washington blames on the Samper administration, due to either
action or failure to act.

The key issue on the State Department's agenda for Pastrana's visit is the
restoration of extradition with retroactivity, which would allow the heads
of the powerful Cali cartel to be tried in U.S. courts.

Last year the Colombian Congress approved extradition, but because of the
lack of a clause on retroactivity, it has been impossible for the government
to extradite kingpins of the Cali cartel, Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez
Orejuela, to the United States.

The United States wants Colombia's new government to strictly enforce the
law of seizure of illicitly obtained assets, fight money laundering, stiffen
sentences for drug-related crimes, reinforce security in prisons housing
drug barons, and step up the destruction of illegal crops.

But in order to boost the eradication of coca and other crops, the Pastrana
administration will have to effectively extend its initial overtures to the
guerrillas into a full-fledged peace process. U.S. officials stress that the
dismantling of all armed factions -- guerrillas as well as right-wing
paramilitary groups -- is essential to fomenting cooperation in anti-drug
efforts and commerce.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Change Our Drug Laws (The 'Advertiser' Says The South Australian
Police Commissioner, Mr Mal Hyde, Wants Substantial Changes
To The State's Heroin And Cannabis Laws - Less Intervention
With Heroin Users And More For Cannabis Users)

From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" (mapnews@mapinc.org)
Subject: MN: Australia: Change Our Drug Laws
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:38:20 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Ken Russell
Pubdate: Wed 29 July, 1998
Source: Advertiser, The (Australia)
Contact: Tiser@ozemail.com.au
Author: Michael Foster

CHANGE OUR DRUG LAWS

Police Commissioner, Mr Mal Hyde, wants substantial changes to the State's
heroin and cannabis laws.

Mr Hyde yesterday raised doubts about the cannabis expiation system and the
penalty-based approach to heroin control in the wake of rising fatal
overdoses, saying it was time to "challenge conventions" in this area of
policing.

One of the options being considered was to allow police to refer heroin
addicts for treatment, rather than arresting them.

Senior police also had been asked to consider the merits of targeting
lower-level drug dealers and users rather than the "Mr Bigs" of the drug
trade, as part of a review of police drug strategies.

Mr Hyde said laws that let minor cannabis offenders escape with only fines
also needed to be reviewed. Instead, he has flagged the merits of
introducing cautions that allow first offenders to escape penalty.

Repeat offenders would face criminal conviction - similar to a system
adopted in Victoria.

And he renewed calls for the number of marijuana plants allowed to be grown
without attracting criminal conviction to be reduced from 10 to three.

"Let's ask ourselves whether the way it's been handled in the past is the
correct way of handling it in the future," Mr Hyde said.

There have been 24 fatal heroin overdoses in SA so far this year, compared
to 34 last year.

Mr Hyde said police feared SA's heroin problem could be compounded by an
influx of dealers and users because of crackdowns interstate - particularly
in NSW.

He also expressed concern at a 15 per cent increase over the past year in
violent armed robberies - now averaging more than one a day - linked to
drugs.

"It's not a matter of employing enforcement to incarcerate or penalise them
(addicts) in any way," Mr Hyde said. "If we upgrade our effort and apprehend
more heroin users, can we in fact help break that cycle of use by bringing
them into the treatment line?"

No plans had yet been made "but what I'm saying (is) you're at an area where
law enforcement can in fact promote the treatment process". SA could "take a
leaf out of Victoria's book by looking how we deal with minor cannabis
offenders".

"In SA, we give them a cannabis expiation notice," Mr Hyde said. "But you've
got to ask yourself: does that help in terms of treatment or anything like
that?

"They can simply pay their fines and that's the end of the matter."

Mr Hyde said there "may be scope for a cautionary program for simple
cannabis offences" combined with information and referral to drug-treatment
centres.

The Adelaide-based director of the National Centre for Education and
Training on Addiction, Dr Steve Allsop, said there was "evidence that
coerced treatment can be very effective in some cases".

"If it means giving police access to training and links to health services,
then that's what we should do," he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Policy Seen As Deadly Failure ('The Advertiser' Says Mr Hank Prunkhun,
A Former National Crime Authority Intelligence Analyst And South Australian
Police Researcher, Has Made A Two-Year Study Of Heroin Trafficking
In Australia And Believes The National Heroin Trade Is Worth $2.9 Billion,
That The Number Of Heroin Users Has Increased From 150,000 To 250,000
In 10 Years, And That Heroin Prohibition Is An Expensive, Deadly Failure
And It Is Time For A New Approach)

From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" (mapnews@mapinc.org)
Subject: MN: Australia: Policy Seen As Deadly Failure
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:37:03 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Ken Russell
Source: Advertiser, The (Australia)
Contact: Tiser@ozemail.com.au
Pubdate: Wed 29 July, 1998
Author: David Eccles

POLICY SEEN AS DEADLY FAILURE

Heroin prohibition is an expensive, deadly failure and it is time for a new
approach to the drug problem, says a leading authority on drug trafficking.

Mr Hank Prunkhun said police and Australian governments had failed to
understand the extent of the local heroin trade, and said heroin should now
be treated as a health rather than law enforcement problem.

Mr Prunkhun is a former National Crime Authority intelligence analyst and SA
Police researcher who has made a two-year study of heroin trafficking in
Australia as part of a PhD thesis.

He said that in 1997 the Australian heroin trade was worth $2.9 billion.

There were about 25,000 heroin users in SA, spending an estimated $200
million a year on the drug.

A 1997 University of Adelaide study of 150 local addicts showed the
"typical" addict was forced to commit crime to feed a habit costing up to
$84,000 a year.

Mr Prunkhun said the number of Australian heroin users had mushroomed from
150,000 a decade ago to 250,000 today, with nearly two tonnes of heroin
needed annually to satisfy demand.

Prohibition had failed to make any significant dent in the trade, with
police and Customs seizing only about 10 per cent of the total amount a
year.

"Australia's political leadership has for years unknowingly underestimated
the size of the heroin trafficking problem," he said.

"At some stage we as a community have to stop and ask what are we getting
for our dollar? We have to ask: 'Is this a law enforcement problem or is it
a health problem?"'
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Drugs In Sport - Why The IOC Boss Is Not Playing Games
('Sydney Morning Herald' Sports Columnist Matthew Moore Reflects On
The Recent Call By Juan Antonio Samaranch, The President Of The International
Olympics Committee, For A Relaxation In Doping Restrictions, Saying
The Objections To Athletic Doping Are Fine Until You Argue Them Through
To Their Logical Conclusion)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 18:48:05 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Australia: OPED: Why The IOC Boss Is Not Playing Games
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Ken Russell
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Pubdate: Wed 29 July, 1998
Contact: letters@smh.com.au
Website: http://www.smh.com.au/
Author: MATTHEW MOORE

DRUGS IN SPORT : WHY THE IOC BOSS IS NOT PLAYING GAMES

Australians may be incredulous, but the big man of the Olympics
appears to have decided that if you can't beat drugs in sport, it's
time for some lateral thinking, writes MATTHEW MOORE.

WHEN the sprint champion Ben Johnson tested positive a decade ago now,
the world was stunned. Olympic officials reacted immediately, vowing
to step up their war on athlete doping as the only way to preserve the
ideal of Olympic competition.

This week the president of the International Olympic Committee, Juan
Antonio Samaranch, conceded the war can't be won. Despite all the
noise and all the money and all the dope-testing, more athletes are
using more drugs more often than ever before. Like the US forces in
Vietnam, Samaranch has realised he's fighting an unwinnable war.

This is the only conclusion that can be drawn from the remarkable
interview with the Olympic movement's most influential person. Two
full days after the Samaranch interview was published in the Madrid
paper El Mundo, Olympic organisers in Sydney are struggling to
understand how it could be that the Olympic chief has changed his mind
so dramatically on how international sport should deal with drugs.
Samaranch wants two changes. The first is to "drastically" cut the
number of banned drugs and the second is to only ban drugs which
damage the health of an athlete. He specifically said drugs which only
improve performance should not be banned.

This was no accidental slip of the tongue, despite the hopes of senior
sports officials around the world, especially in Sydney. Samaranch
gave his interview at a time of overwhelming evidence of widespread
drug use among elite sportsmen and women. To ensure he would be
accurately reported, he elected to be interviewed in Spanish, his
mother tongue.

With the Tour de France crippled by daily drug revelations, Samaranch
knew questions would focus on doping. Given his international network,
he was certain to be aware two American athletes - both medal winners
- were about to be suspended for doping offences. He gave the
interview just as four Chinese swimmers were suspended for two years
for testing positive in Perth this year. Samaranch is still waiting
for the Irish gold medal-winning champion Michelle De Bruin to have
her case heard. He may know of a host more positives in the pipeline.

No matter who tests positive now, though, they will never shake the
world as Ben Johnson did. Drug use in sport has simply become too
widespread, too commonplace, for the world to be surprised any more.
That seems to be the conclusion Samaranch has come to in recent weeks.
What he is advocating is a tactical retreat to a position that can be
more readily, and credibly, defended. Finding this place is the
problem. He will find plenty of support among drug-testing agencies
for a much simpler list of prohibited drugs. Why have hundreds and
hundreds of banned substances, including widely available pain-killers
and cold remedies, when many of them can't even be detected in testing?

That's fine in theory, but reality is more complex. A boxer can take
pain-killers so he won't hurt when he's hit, but surely this makes him
a more dangerous opponent. In the expected outcry following his
interview, Samaranch called a summit at the IOC headquarters in
Lausanne in January where he would like "a clear definition of doping"
to emerge. He is right to identify this need, but he knows how
difficult it will be to achieve. The whole world of doping is full of
inconsistencies and a summit is hardly going to resolve them all.

Ask why doping is banned and you get three common reasons: it gives
athletes an unfair advantage, it is bad for their health and it is a
bad example for the young. That's fine, until you argue these points
to their logical conclusion.

Sure, doping gives you an advantage, but so does high altitude
training, government funding, space-age equipment and sports
psychologists. Why not smooth out some of these bumps as well?

Australia's response to Samaranch has been largely one of incredulity
and anger. He's been condemned for chucking in the towel. But the
evidence is he is responding to a more pragmatic view of drug use that
appears to exist in Europe. For days after the Festina team were
booted out of the Tour de France, spectators called for their return.
Cyclists in the race staged a two-hour strike in support of them.
Perhaps Samaranch has decided drugs are the one issue that can kill
the Games if a workable solution is not found. And he's decided to
have a go at finding it, no matter whom he upsets.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Trials To Begin Into Medical Use Of Cannabis ('The Scotsman'
Says Britain's GW Pharmaceuticals Hopes To Begin Controlled Experiments
Next Year On The Utility Of Marijuana As A Medicine For Relieving Pain
And Muscle Spasms, Noting A Recent Survey By 'Disability Now'
Showed That Almost 98 Per Cent Of The Magazine's Readers Backed
The Legalisation Of Cannabis And 67 Per Cent Said They Had Taken Cannabis
For Medicinal Reasons)

Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 10:12:59 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: Trials to Begin Into Medical Use of Cannabis
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: shug@shug.co.uk
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Contact: Letters_ts@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.scotsman.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Author: Nick Thorpe

TRIALS TO BEGIN INTO MEDICAL USE OF CANNABIS

PRESIDENT Clinton famously denied inhaling it and Sir David Steel's son was
jailed for growing it. Now, two dozen patients are to take part in the
ultimate scientific experience: testing cannabis to see what it does.

But far from conjuring images of hospital wards full of volunteers blowing
languid smoke rings from large reefers. GW Pharmaceuticals is anxious to
point out that its experiments will be closely controlled.

Patients will breathe in carefully controlled amounts of cannabis vapour
from special inhalers enabling the effects to be monitored precisely.

The main purpose of the research, to start next year, is to investigate the
potential of cannabis for relieving pain and muscle spasms. Those involved
in the pilot study are likely to suffer from multiple sclerosis, spinal
injuries and "phantom limbs" - pain that often follows amputation.

While some patients will be taking the drug for the first time, others will
already have experimented - a fact that highlights the disagreement over
its use.

Last year, a cancer victim, Suzanne Smith, 42, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, was
acquitted by a compassionate judge after she admitted using the drug to
ease her symptoms.

Graeme Steel, the son of the former Liberal leader, was not so lucky and
was jailed in 1993 for growing pot at his country cottage near Galashiels.

Seeding is about to begin at a £34 million greenhouse complex at a secret
location in the south of England where up to 20,000 cannabis plants will he
individually numbered and visitors checked in and out.

Dr Geoffrey Guy, founder and chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, said he had
taken security advice from the Home Office and Special Branch before
starting.

"I want to begin with inhaling because it allows more rapid absorption of
the plant compounds than taking cannabis orally," he said last night. The
cannabis will be highly potent seedless varieties of the sinsimella plant,
containing large amounts of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD
(cannabidiol), the main active drug ingredients.

"These are going to be state-of-the-art plants - pure little pharmaceutical
factories," said Dr Guy, who yesterday gave evidence to the House of Lords
science and technology select committee, which is investigating the
therapeutic applications of cannabis.

"This is the only programme in the world which is authorised to develop
pharmaceuticals from cannabis. I've had inquiries from all over the world."

Volunteers have not yet been chosen to take part in the trials, but he
expected a flood of applications.

A recent survey by 'Disability Now' showed that almost 98 per cent of the
magazine's reader backed the legalisation of cannabis and 67 per cent said
they had taken cannabis for medicinal reasons.

Dr Guy stressed that none of the volunteers would be getting stoned on the drug.

The amount needed to relieve pain or prevent muscle spasms was below this
level, he said, and anyone experiencing a high from cannabis was in effect
taking an overdose.

If successful, GW Pharmaceuticals could obtain the first licence for an
approved cannabis treatment in about six years.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cannabis Research Gets Growing (The Version In Britain's 'Times')

Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 09:58:08 +1000 (EST)
From: duffy@mail.enternet.com.au (Andrew Duffy)
Subject: The Times (UK): CANNABIS RESEARCH GETS GROWING
To: pot-news@va.com.au
Reply-To: pot-news@va.com.au
Errors-To: pot-news@va.com.au
Pot News - Hemp SA's On-line News Service
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Source: Times, The (UK)
Contact: letters@the-times.co.uk
Website: http://www.the-times.co.uk/

CANNABIS RESEARCH GETS GROWING

A GROUP of patients will be allowed to inhale cannabis fumes next year at
the start of the world's first large-scale study into the drug's medicinal
effects.

The Home Office has licensed GW Pharmaceuticals to grow thousands of potent
cannabis plants for research. About two dozen patients are expected to take
part in an initial trial which will test tolerability and dose levels. The
research is aimed mainly at investigating the potential of cannabis to
relieve pain and muscle spasms. Patients in the pilot study are likely to
suffer from multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries and the "phantom limb" pain
that often follows amputation.

Seeding is about to begin at a UKP4 million greenhouse complex in the South
of England. The Home Office and Special Branch advised on security for the
secret site with up to 20,000 cannabis plants.

The patients will be taking an extract of whole cannabis - not isolated
chemicals - and will take in its vapour through inhalers. Geoffrey Guy,
founder and chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, said: "Inhaling allows more
rapid absorption of the plant compounds than taking cannabis orally."

Dr Guy, who gave evidence yesterday to the House of Lords Science and
Technology Select Committee, said that the trial patients would not be
getting "high" on cannabis.

The amount of the drug needed to relieve pain or prevent muscle spasms was
below this level. When people experienced a "high" from cannabis they were,
in effect, taking an overdose, he said.

He expected a "flood" of patients volunteering to take part in the trials.
Some would already have experience of cannabis while others would be taking
the drug for the first time.

A recent survey by Disability Now magazine showed that almost 98 per cent
of its readers supported the legalisation of cannabis, and 67 per cent said
that they had taken cannabis for medicinal reasons.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Riders Stop Tour De France Again In Protest Over Drug Scandal
('The Associated Press' Says Angry Bicyclists Stopped Racing Wednesday
In Their Second Protest Over A Drug Scandal That Has Demoralized
The Competition)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen - Olympia" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Riders stop Tour de France again in protest over drug scandal
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 18:06:19 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Riders stop Tour de France again in protest over drug scandal
Associated Press, 07/29/98 11:48

SAINT-JOURIOZ, France (AP) - Angry cyclists stopped racing on the Tour de
France today in their second protest over a drug scandal that has plagued
the competition.

The riders stopped cycling just after starting the 17th stage at the 20th
mile of the leg from Albertville to Aix-les-Bains.

After starting very slowly, the 33 riders began taking off their race
numbers to protest the drug investigations on the tour that have demoralized
riders on the world's most prestigious bike race. They later resumed the
race.

Members of the Dutch team TVM were taken away by police Tuesday for testing
that lasted until almost midnight. French authorities also placed two top
team officials under formal investigation for allegedly supplying racers
with EPO, a performance enhancing drug.

Last Friday, the riders stopped the race at the start of the 12th stage in
Tarascon-sur-Ariege. The riders delayed the start of the race by two hours.

The 2,393-mile annual race across France, which began three weeks ago with
237 cyclists, ends Sunday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite Drug Scandal, People Still Cheer Tour De France (A Different
'Associated Press' Version)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen - Olympia" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Tour de France drug scandal report
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 20:28:42 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Despite drug scandal, people still cheer Tour de France

By Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press, 07/29/98 17:41

AIX-LES-BAINS, France (AP) - It takes only a few seconds, but it's one of
the most cherished and time-honored traditions in France: watching from
along the road while the colorfully clad riders of the Tour de France come
whizzing by.

On Wednesday, however, there was sadness mixed with the excitement as people
in Aix-les-Bains watched the grand cycling race pass through this Alpine
town for the 21st time since it began in 1903. No one could ignore the
doping scandal that has enveloped this treasured event, and is threatening
to unravel it.

"I admire the riders so much - they are all champions," said Danielle
Thullet, a 75-year-old retired teacher. "But I must say, I'm a bit
disappointed in them."

Still, Mrs. Thullet wasn't about to miss the arrival of the riders,
descending from three tough climbing days in the Alps. She cheered when they
finally came, unaware that the race had fizzled during the day, just four
days before its scheduled finale in Paris.

The cyclists, angered by police tactics in an investigation that has left
one team disqualified and subjected five others to police searches,
basically went on strike Wednesday, forcing organizers to cancel the stage
of the race that began in the morning in Albertville.

The riders slowed down through the course, coasting into the finish line two
hours late - and holding hands. Some pulled out in protest, including
France's top cyclist, Laurent Jalabert.

Riders lashed out at police treatment that included strip searches and
officers rifling through personal belongings in their hotel rooms.

"The Tour isn't a game," said Marco Pantani, the Italian who currently leads
the three-week race. "We risk our lives doing the steep descents. It is
inadmissible that the police come into our rooms, look in suitcases, treat a
champion like an assassin."

The scandal began at the outset of the race, when a masseur for the Festina
team was discovered with a carload of performance-enhancing drugs. That led
to the arrest of several team officials and the eventual expulsion of the
team. Now, officials from the Dutch team TVM also are under investigation.

While the fans in Aix-les-Bains didn't belittle the seriousness of doping,
many felt the Tour's riders have been unfairly targeted for an offense many
suspect has long been widespread.

"Everybody knows there's doping in cycling," said bartender Eric Guninand.
"Look at the kids out there," he said, pointing to the children lining the
streets. "It's sad that this event has been spoiled."

At about 7:15 p.m., the crowds in front of the train station finally got
what they'd been waiting for. After a long parade of sponsor's cars full of
dancing employees handing out drinks, hats and flags, the whirring of press
helicopters came into earshot.

Police hurriedly pushed people onto the curb of President Wilson Boulevard.
Then suddenly the riders, all in one pack and shining in their flourescent
outfits, came whizzing through - not at top speed, because of their protest,
but enough to put a smile on the face of 10-year-old Virginie Guiaunnet.

"This is my first time - it was cool!" she said.

One person was already gone when the convoy arrived. Roger Casile, 88, a
retired mapmaker, had put on a suit, grabbed his walking stick, and taken
the train in from nearby Chambery for the arrival. But he had to catch the 7
p.m train back.

"I've seen this race about 20 times," he philosophized. "I'll still be
around next year, and so will the Tour de France."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Tour Must Exorcise Drugs Or Be Damned (The Editorializing
'International Herald-Tribune' Version)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 18:29:34 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: France: Tour must exorcise drugs or be damned
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: shug@shug.co.uk
Source: European, The
Contact: letters@the-european.com ("Shorter letters are preferred")
Website: http://www.the-european.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Author: Jeremy Whittle

TOUR MUST EXORCISE DRUGS OR BE DAMNED

WITH the arrests following the discovery of steroids in the luggage of
the Dutch team, TVM, and the admission by three of the "Festina nine"
that they took the banned drug EPO, speculation increased that the
remaining stages of this year's Tour de France would be cancelled.

Angry scenes between riders and race organisers and an organised go
slow by the 'peleton' on the Tarascon-Le Cap d'Agle stage of the race
showed the growing sense of anger and frustration.

The Societe du Tour de France and cycling's governing body, the Union
Cycliste Internationale (UCI), are paying the price for failing to
address the growth of the doping culture that now appears to be
inextricably linked with the professional circuit.

Few in the Tour de France convoy would directly blame the riders
themselves for the recent turn of events. Many of them, paid only
modest salaries, suffer relentlessly throughout the long and gruelling
season and are expected to forgo any personal ambition and chance of
success for the sake of the sponsors' exposure.

Despite these sacrifices, it is only the sport's biggest names who are
guaranteed a sponsorship contract for the following year. With the
competition for backers intensified by a hostile economic climate,
many riders are prepared to risk their long-term health in order to
guarantee their livelihood.

At the heart of the current scandal lies the cosy and complacent
relationship between the UCI, the Tour organisation and the pervasive
doping culture that has been tacitly endorsed by the sport itself.

For all its modernising qualities and awareness of marketing, the Tour
orgaisation, fronted by race director and former professional
Jean-Marie Leblanc, an eloquent and intelligent man, has been lagging
behind events and the public mood as the French police forced the pace
of change.

"Jean-Marie Leblanc - hypocrite!" reads one roadside banner as the
Tour headed east from the Pyrenees towards the Alps. Another placard
was more direct. "The Tour of Doping", it said bluntly as Tour stars
Jan Ullrich and Marco Pantani rode past.

With the Tour itself now exposed to public derision and with so many
former riders willing to tell their stories of drug abuse, the tired
arguments of Hein Verbruggen, UCI president, that only one per cent of
all dope tests are positive, have been thrown out with the used
syringes. Cycling may finally be coming to terms with the truth.

Verbruggen, who until now has appeared happy to blame all claims of
drug use on embittered or failed riders seeking publicity or revenge,
has finally acknowledged that traditional testing methods have failed.
He can no longer deny that the sport is in crisis. "Cycling is a
tough, very professional sport," said Verbruggen after the Tour stage
to Pau, "and I'm willing to admit that there are a lot more drugs
taken than we currently know about through the one per cent of positive
tests that are recorded. But I don't believe, as some doctors have
suggested, that 99 per cent of professional cyclists are doped."

Verbruggen said that if he thought that such an overwhelming majority
of riders were chemically enhanced, he would give up his job.

"I would not want to be president of such an organisation," he said.
"The problem is that we don't know whether it's 10 per cent of riders,
20 percent of riders or 40 per cent of riders using drugs because we
don't have tests to detect many of these substances. It is terrible,
it is cheating, but it is reality."

Doping is widely believed to have become endemic in professional
cycling in the 30 years since the amphetamine-related death of the

British rider, Tom Simpson, during the 1967 Tour. But in a sport in
which retired riders take up administrative and management roles, the
conspiracy of silence and tacit consent surrounding the use of doping
has become an open secret.

EPO, the blood booster linked to both the Festina and TVM teams, is
only one of several prohibited but undetectable performance-enhancing
products that are said to be in wide use in this year's Tour.

Lille police, currently questioning the Festina team, said that nobody
is above the law. Yet for a sporting institution that is now as much a
part of French cultural life as Bastille Day, the tidal wave of police
investigation has come as a crippling shock.

The Tour hierarchy, blessed with the tradition of an event that fires
the imaginations of spectators and fans around the world, must now
take action to save a race increasingly mired in controversy and scandal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Internet Child Porn Scandal Disgusts The Dutch
(A Biased 'Associated Press' Article Suggests Dutch Drugs Policy
Is Related To The Discovery Of A Netherlands-Based Ring
That Trafficked In Internet Child Pornography)

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 22:01:22 -0700
From: owner-maptalk-digest@mapinc.org (Maptalk-Digest)
To: maptalk-digest@mapinc.org
Subject: Maptalk-Digest V98 No. 302
Reply-To: maptalk@mapinc.org
Sender: owner-maptalk-digest@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/

Subj: Kiddie Porn Related to Marijuana
From: "Patrick Henry" (resist_tyranny@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:16:43 PDT

Friends,

I am including part of an AP release which connects kiddie porn
to "personal vice", namely prostitution and marijuana. I think it is
important that we oppose strongly any attempt to blur the distinction
between victimless crimes and monsters praying on children. Your
friend, Patrick Henry.

***

Internet Child Porn Scandal Disgusts the Dutch
AP 29-JUL-98

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- This is Holland's summer of shame.
The discovery of a Netherlands-based ring that trafficked in the most
shocking kinds of child -- even infant -- pornography on the Internet
has unleashed a lurid scandal, which gained momentum with the firing of
a Justice Ministry official who allegedly downloaded child porn for
personal use.

With ties to Germany, Italy and the United States, the case has brought
calls for the revival of anti-porn vice squads and a more aggressive
approach to electronic smut.

The public outrage stands in contrast to the generally tolerant attitude
toward personal vice in the Netherlands, where prostitution and use of
``soft'' drugs like marijuana are legal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Governing Body Of World Basketball Votes To Penalize Use Of Cannabis
('The Associated Press' Says The FIBA World Congress Meeting This Week
In Athens, Greece, Voted To Penalize The Use Of Marijuana By Players
In FIBA Competitions)

Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 14:34:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: stinky@psnw.com
To: "NTList@Fornits. com" (NTList@Fornits.com)
From: ntlist@Fornits.com
Subject: [ntlist] FW: Greece: Wire: Governing Body
Of World Basketball Votes To Penalize Use Of Cannabis
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 1998
Source: Associated Press

GOVERNING BODY OF WORLD BASKETBALL VOTES TO PENALIZE USE OF CANNABIS

FIBA NOTE: The FIBA World Congress meeting this week in Athens elected
Abdoulaye Seye Moreau of Senegal as its new president. He replaced American
George E. Killian who served for eight years.

The congress also voted to penalize the use of marijuana (cannabis) by
players in FIBA competitions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

DrugSense Weekly, Number 57 (A Weekly Summary Of Drug Policy News,
Including Part One Of An Original Feature Article By Jeffrey A. Schaler, PhD,
'The Drug Policy Problem')

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 10:26:28 -0700
To: mgreer@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Subject: DrugSense Weekly, July 29,1998 No. 57

***

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY

***

DrugSense Weekly, No. 57
July 29,1998
A DrugSense publication
http://www.drugsense.org/

***

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* Feature Article

THE DRUG POLICY PROBLEM
by Jeffrey A. Schaler, PhD

* Weekly News In Review

COMMENT:

As the drug war heats up, news coverage has increased accordingly,
making a balanced overview of a week's news by arranging 16 or 17
selected articles more of a challenge than ever. This week we're
attempting to include more articles, but shorter excerpts. That
requires somewhat more verbose COMMENTS for coherence. Please bear
with us as we experiment with different formats - if you have a
criticisms or suggestions, e-mail us please.

Drug War: Right Coast Front-

	Editorial: Clean Up the DEA

	Bill Aims To Reduce Drug Flow To USA

	Mayor Aims to Abolish Methadone Programs; Treatment Experts Are
	Angered

Drug War: Texas Front-

	Grand Jury to Probe Shooting of Mexican

	Police Shot Man 12 Times In Raid

	29 Indicted In Plano Heroin Ring

Drug War: Left Coast Front-

	Take This Plant And Shove It

	Medical Marijuana Advocates Accused Of Cultivation For Sale

	Oakland Designates Pot Club

Drug War: International Front-

	Scottish Prisons Worst In UK for Drug Use

	UK - Soldiers Jailed over Drugs Plot

	Brisk Trade Exposes Peru Anti-Drug Model

	Third U.S. Drug Helicopter Crashes in One Month

	Drug Ring Smuggles Kids To Vancouver

	AUSTRALIA - $90m Drugs Hidden In Ovens

Drug War: Diplomatic Front-

	McCaffrey Still Down On Dutch

	America's Drug Warrior

	Why Dutch Policy Threatens The U.S.

	In The Drug War, Fantasy Beats Facts

Corrections-

	Prisoners In Protest Draw Stiff Penalties

A Hopeful Note-

	We're Not Getting Job Done On Drugs

* Hot Off The 'Net

New Prohibitionist Site

* DrugSense Tip Of The Week

The DrugNews Archive a Sophisticated Tool

* Quote of the Week

Albert Einstein

* Fact of the Week

Crack Sentencing Disparity

***

FEATURE ARTICLE

THE DRUG POLICY PROBLEM
Jeffrey A. Schaler, PhD
Part One

(Editor's note - Parts two and three of Dr. Schaler's article will be
published in future issues.)

Policies are based on values and on explanations for events. To
evaluate the efficacy of our federal drug policy in a comprehensive and
responsible way, we must examine the values and explanations that are
associated with various possible courses of action. To that end, we
must ask and honestly answer a question that challenges the status quo:
What values and beliefs about illegal drugs and drug addiction are
embraced and acted on by the leading drug policy makers, and what are
the alternatives?

The reasoning behind current drug policies is often unstated for moral,
political, economic, and even existential reasons. The reticence of
policy makers on this subject is remarkable, given that the current
institutional forms of the "war on drugs" are justified by the claim
that drugs are destroying the "moral fabric of American society."

Americans tend to take at face value the unproved theories about drugs
that are the foundation of current drug policy. For example, many
Americans accept as fact the theories that drugs cause addiction, that
they cause crime, and that addiction is a treatable disease. Most
people are not aware of the existence of conflicting theories based on
the results of empirical research. Yet abundant and convincing evidence
exists to support the view that illegal drug use has more to do with
choice, values, and expectations than with addiction, compulsion, or
disease (see, for example, Schaler, 1997). With each new class of
students at American University, Johns Hopkins University, Montgomery
College, and Chestnut Hill College, I am asked, "Why weren't we told
about this before?"

Drug policy is always based on explanations for drug use. Because there
are diverse explanations for drug use as an event and these
explanations differ radically from one another, drug policy can be
implemented in ways radically different from current practice. But the
average American citizen, like my numerous college students, has not
been exposed to a range of views on drugs and addiction. The less
people know about the range of theories, the more likely they are to be
influenced by the status of the individuals who present a particular
message (scientists, doctors, public health officials, law enforcement
professionals, politicians, and so on) rather than by the rationality
or irrationality of the message itself. In order to exert democratic
control in the drug policy debate - based on what is being said, not on
who is saying it - Americans need to know the facts about drugs and
addiction. Without complete information they cannot comprehend the
meaning and implications of various proposed policies. Therefore, they
will continue to assume that all qualified professionals in the field
hold essentially the same views.

The prevailing policies can be faulted not only for their disregard of
research but also for fundamental logical errors. The contradictory
reasoning of drug policy makers needs to be subjected to public
scrutiny. For example, many policy makers attribute abstinence from
drugs both to the exercise of free will and to circumstances imposed
from outside the individual, such as drug prohibition. They overlook
the fact that, by definition, self-control cannot be the result of
formal institutional controls backed by the threat of legal punishment.
The same individuals typically assert that drug addiction is
situational - that it is caused by the addict's physiological
disposition or by the drug itself; thus they further contradict their
avowed belief in free will.

When confronted with inconsistencies in their views, people often
produce further theories or beliefs, perhaps to reduce the sense of
dissonance and discomfort, or else they simply minimize the importance
of a contradictory belief or policy. This simply creates more problems.

***

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

***

Drug War: Right Coast

***

COMMENT:

Across the nation and around the world, America's drug war clanked on
piling up abomination after abomination in pursuit of moral purity.
There was some bad publicity at ground zero, however: the DEA couldn't
balance its books.

Over on Capitol Hill, supportive Congressmen were busy inventing new
ways to spend tax dollars, this one a truly zany, quasi-military
wrinkle for expanding the drug war.

Finally, up the coast, Rudy Giuliani declared war on one of the few
worthwhile federal innovations in drug treatment, a historic legacy
from the days when presidential drug advisors were physicians with a
genuine interest in therapy.

***

CLEAN UP THE DEA

FEDERAL drug agents are diverting money from the nation's war on drugs
to pay for personal high-priced toys - and who knows what else.
According to an outside audit, bookkeepers at the Drug Enforcement
Agency can't track the whereabouts of millions of stolen funds, seized
drugs, or sting money.

[snip]

Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jul 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n598.a07.html

***

BILL AIMS TO REDUCE DRUG FLOW TO USA

WASHINGTON - Two Republican members of Congress plan to introduce a
bill Wednesday to spend $2.6 billion over the next three years to
reduce the amount of illegal drugs coming into the country by 80%.

The bill, by Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and Rep. Bill McCollum,
R-Fla., includes $430 million for 10 radar aircraft to monitor
airspace over the three major cocaine-producing countries - Peru,
Bolivia and Colombia.

[snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jul 1998
Source: USA Today (US)
Contact: editor@usatoday.com
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm
Author: Associated Press
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n604.a04.html

***

MAYOR AIMS TO ABOLISH METHADONE PROGRAMS; TREATMENT EXPERTS ARE
ANGERED

As Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani outlined plans to dramatically expand his
workfare program to include drug addicts, he veered unexpectedly from
his prepared speech Monday and announced his desire to abolish all
methadone treatment programs for heroin addicts in New York City.

[snip]

Source: New York Times (NY)
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jul 1998
Author: Rachel L. Swarns
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n601.a05.html

***

Drug War: Texas

***

COMMENT:

Last week, two parallel stories in Texas perfectly illustrated drug
war insanity; in Houston the lone occupant of an apartment was riddled
by police during a warrantless and unjustified drug raid . The man was
armed, but subsequent investigation showed his weapon was never fired
and all 13 wounds- his dozen and a single police flesh wound were from
police bullets. The most chilling comment was by the DA who said not
only were the officers within the law, the victim may have committed a
felony by picking up his gun

Meanwhile, over in Dallas, a much more publicized case involving 29
"dealers" involved in distributing the heroin associated with the
deaths of nearly twenty teens in the affluent Dallas suburb of Plano
were indicted for murder. Some are Mexican nationals who smuggled the
heroin in from Mexico, most are users whose only discernible
difference from the victims is that they survived their drug use. The
government, together with parents and the local press seems intent on
a witch hunt in pursuit of life sentences.

***

GRAND JURY TO PROBE SHOOTING OF MEXICAN

HOUSTON, July 19 (UPI) Officials of the Houston Police Department met
with Mexican Consul General Manuel Perez Cardenas to discuss the fatal
shooting of Mexican national Pedro Oregon in a drug raid on July 12,
which resulted in suspension of the six officers involved.

[snip]

Source: UPI Wire Report
Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jul 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n595.a01.html

***

POLICE SHOT MAN 12 TIMES IN RAID

Autopsy report indicates that nine shots were in the back

Houston police who forced their way into Pedro Oregon Navarro's
apartment without a warrant shot him 12 times, including nine times in
the back, an autopsy showed.

[snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jul 1998
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Contact: viewpoints@chron.com
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Author: S.K. Bardwell
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n599.a08.html

***

ARRESTING OFFICERS FOLLOWED RULES

I read the July 18 Viewpoints letters ("HPD's lethal Rambo-ism") and
was disturbed that some members of the public believe the rule about
using deadly force came from my play-book.

[snip]

The Legislature has provided criminal penalties for anyone who prevents
or obstructs a police officer from affecting an arrest or search, even
if that search was unlawful.

If the actor uses a deadly weapon to resist an arrest or search, it is
a felony of the third degree in accordance with the law.

John B. Holmes Jr., district attorney, Harris County

Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Contact: viewpoints@chron.com
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jul 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n605.a08.html

***

29 INDICTED IN PLANO HEROIN RING

Unprecedented Case Alleges Conspiracy In 4 Drug Deaths

PLANO - U.S. prosecutors yesterday announced a precedent-setting
indictment against 29 people, charging them in a "calculated and
cold-blooded" conspiracy that supplied the heroin that killed four
Plano-area young people.

[snip]

Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Contact: letters@star-telegram.com
Website: http://www.star-telegram.com/
Authors: Susan Gill Vardon and Marisa Taylor
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n607.a04.html

***

Drug War: Left Coast-

COMMENT:

While the rest of the nation struggled with guns and heroin, the focus
In California remained where it's been since November, '96: on Medical
marijuana. In a follow up to the brutal judicial treatment of David
Herrick, convicted last week of felony marijuana sale when his medical
necessity defense was disallowed by the Judge, fellow activist Marvin
Chavez prepared to stand trial before a different, but equally hostile
judge in Superior (state) Court.

Also in the Southland, the feds arrested Peter McWilliams to stand
trial with Todd McCormick in what is sure to become a high profile
case, indeed.

In Northern California, a friendly City Council made an important
designation which could eventually hang the feds on their own petard.

***

TAKE THIS PLANT AND SHOVE IT

OC continues war on legal pot

Martyrs don't come much more sympathetic - or willing to suffer - than
Marvin Chavez, founder of the Orange County Patient-Doctor-Nurse
Support Group. He's already been busted twice this year for putting
marijuana into the hands of seriously ill people - including cancer and
AIDS patients - whose doctors prescribed the drug as medicine.
According to a majority of California voters (who passed Proposition
215 in November 1996), that should be legal.

But in Orange County, it's still illegal. And even though prosecutors
understand that Chavez isn't your run-of-the-mill street dealer,
they're determined to treat him just as harshly.

[snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 17 July 1998
Source: OC Weekly (CA)
Contact: webmaster@ocweekly.com
Fax: 714-708-8410
Website: http://www.ocweekly.com/
Author: Nick Schou
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n618.a06.html

***

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES ACCUSED OF CULTIVATION FOR SALE

Todd McCormick, the medical marijuana advocate who says he was growing
pot at a Bel-Air mansion to help relieve chronic cancer pain, was
actually part of a conspiracy to cultivate large amounts of marijuana
for commercial sale, according to a federal grand jury indictment
unsealed Thursday.

The nine-count indictment charges McCormick and eight others with
conspiracy and possession of marijuana for sale. Several defendants,
including McCormick, had been previously indicted.

At the center of the scheme, according to the new indictment, was Peter
McWilliams, 48, owner of Prelude Press, a West Hollywood Publishing
house, who allegedly advanced more than $100,000 to rent The properties
and purchase equipment to grow the plants.

[snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jul 1998
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Author: David Rosenzweig
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n617.a02.html

***

OAKLAND DESIGNATES POT CLUB

City Council OKs group to distribute medical marijuana

Refusing to back down in the heated battle over medical marijuana,
Oakland is pushing ahead with new policies supporting use and
distribution of the drug - and one member of the City Council is going
so far as to advocate that the city itself take over the job of
dispensing cannabis to patients.

Late Tuesday night, the council authorized the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative to distribute medical marijuana.

[snip]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jul 1998
Author: Thaai Walker, Chronicle Staff Writer
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n610.a07.html

***

Drug War: International Front-

***

COMMENT:

One of the keenest insights to arise from a weekly review of drug news
is the extent to which American drug prohibition has been foisted on
the rest of the world. Even though many other nations practice a more
restrained brand of enforcement, they are all paying a price for having
signed on to the lunacy of global prohibition.

It's painfully clear that no one nation will be able to decriminalize
drugs unilaterally unless it's the US.

Last week, as always, there was a remarkable sameness in the headlines
describing folly in action.

***

SCOTTISH PRISONS WORST IN UK FOR DRUG USE

Scottish prisons have a drugs problem that is far worse than those in
England, according to random tests earned out on inmates. An average of
roughly 20 per cent of English and Welsh prisoners are testing positive
for drugs in their bloodstream, but in one of Scotland's jails the
proportion is as high as 46 per cent.

[snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jul 1998
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Contact: Letters_ts@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.scotsman.com/
Author: Jenny Booth Home Affairs Correspondent
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n604.a08.html

***

SOLDIERS JAILED OVER DRUGS PLOT

MEMBERS OF a gang, including five serving soldiers, which plotted to
smuggle drugs worth millions of pounds into Britain from the Continent,
were jailed for a total of 120 years yesterday.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the case was the first to reach the
courts where members of the armed services had been involved in the
organised importation of drugs.

[snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jul 1998
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Mail: 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL England
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n616.a01.html

***

BRISK TRADE EXPOSES PERU ANTI-DRUG MODEL

Sitting in his bare office near the remote Colombian border, narcotics
agent Maj. Renato Solis is in the front line of Peru's globally
acclaimed "revolution" against drugs - and clueless about what to do. A
frustrated Solis is outnumbered by drug traffickers, Colombian
paramilitaries and suspicious villagers.

[snip]

Source: Wire
Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jul 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n598.a01.html

***

THIRD U.S. DRUG HELICOPTER CRASHES IN ONE MONTH

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A helicopter donated by the United States
crashed in foul weather in a war-torn northern region of Colombia,
killing seven police officers, authorities have reported.

[snip]

Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jul 1998
Note: Headline by Newshawk
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n594.a06.html

***

DRUG RING SMUGGLES KIDS TO VANCOUVER

Up to 100 Honduran children have been lured to Canada to work as
narcotics-dealing slaves: `It's like something Charles Dickens wrote'

A professional drug ring is luring underage children from Honduras to
Vancouver, where they are being turned into indentured street-corner
crack dealers.

[snip]

Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jul 1998
Note: Headline by Newshawk
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n594.a06.html

***

$90M DRUGS HIDDEN IN OVENS

Just after midday last Friday afternoon, outside a town house in South
Wentworthville, a container truck stopped. It was packed with
commercial kitchen equipment: devon slicers, sugar cane pressers, bone
saws, ovens, mincers and meat slicers.

It could have been the makings of the most valuable deli that Sydney
had ever seen but Federal police and customs officers got to the ovens
first, and removed, according to police sources, "enough smack to
satisfy every junkie in Sydney for a couple of months".

[snip]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Pubdate: Mon 20 July, 1998
Contact: letters@smh.com.au
Website: http://www.smh.com.au/
Author: Greg Bearup
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n595.a10.html

***

Corrections-

***

COMMENT:

This story doesn't fit neatly into any of the week's topics, but it
illustrates too important a trend to ignore: as the prison
population has grown, prisoners' rights to fair and humane treatment
have been progressively reduced.

Read the laundry list of punishments meted out and then consider that
they were imposed for a peaceful 1 1/2 hr demonstration against the
transfer of prisoners to other states against their will.

***

PRISONERS IN PROTEST DRAW STIFF PENALTIES

Peaceful criticism met with solitary confinement

About 150 prisoners who sat down in a Fox Lake prison yard to protest
the state's policy of shipping inmates out of state are being punished
with four months to a year of solitary confinement and other
restrictions. Those who demonstrated June 28 at Fox Lake Correctional
Institution will get fewer visits and phone calls, less recreation and
be allowed fewer possessions in their cells. Their time segregated
from the general prison population also will not count as time served
toward their sentences, said Bill Clausius, spokesman for the state
Department of Corrections.

[snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jul 1998
Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
Contact 1: wsjopine@statejournal.madison.com Contact 2: Editor,
Wisconsin State Journal, POB 8058, Madison, WI 53708 Website:
URL: http://www.madison.com/
Author: Scott Milfred Wisconsin State Journal
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n614.a07.html

***

A Hopeful Note-

***

COMMENT:

There's so much news to review each week, we haven't had much space
for LTEs. However, this one is concise, accurate, and directly
addresses the issues of policy and vested interests. That a
conservative paper like the OC Register saw fit to print It is a very
big straw in the wind.

***

WE'RE NOT GETTING JOB DONE ON DRUGS

I support the elimination of the War on Drugs and changing it from a
law enforcement to a medical problem ["The unwinnable war," Opinion,
July 8]. When a public policy clearly does not work,as this has not, it
is important to be able to admit it and try something else. Considering
the billions of dollars that have been spent without stemming the flow
of illegal drugs, let's try another approach to observe the results.
If, after five or ten years, there is no improvement then change and
try something else.Let us not lose sight of the debacle that
Prohibition was.

One major hurdle to overcome is the untold numbers of law enforcement
jobs that have been created that are directly and indirectly related to
the "war" at federal, state and local levels in enforcement and
correctional jobs, as well as in the legal areas of government.

There is also the problem of asset seizure, which results in untold
benefits to only law enforcement agencies. No wonder law enforcement
groups everywhere are against any change in the law; a lot of expensive
equipment, as well as jobs, are dependent on these funds.

Rex Reynolds
Huntington Beach

Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: 26 Jul 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n621.a06.html

***

Drug War: Diplomatic Front-

***

COMMENT:

Controversy followed McCaffrey back from Europe. Although he sounded
conciliatory just before departure, his criticism of the Dutch resumed
on his return home. He seems to be speaking simultaneously to two
separate audiences; uncaring that the Dutch are hurt and scornful;
intent only on scaring Americans away from even a hint of liberalism.
Anyone familiar with the Japanese fable, Rashomon will understand the
quite different interpretations exhibited in the following four items.

***

McCAFFREY STILL DOWN ON DUTCH

Drugs: He criticizes a new program, designed to keep addicts off the
street, that offers free heroin, housing and other services.

Washington- The Clinton administration's drug policy director Monday
criticized a heroin distribution program in the Netherlands, even after
his disapproving statements over that nations's drug policy angered the
Dutch government last week.

[snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jul 1998
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Author: Janelle Carter, Associated Press Writer
URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n599.a09.html

***

WHY DUTCH DRUG POLICY THREATENS THE U.S.

He said it would be a "fact finding tour," but U.S. Drug Czar, General
Barry McCaffrey, made it clear before he ever left home that he would
bring his own "facts" about Dutch drug policy. He did his best
impersonation of a man "listening" during his few hours here, but in
the end it was clearly a "fact bringing" tour. Dutch officials and
journalists immediately caught him with his evidentiary pants down and
chastised him for making false claims about drug use and crime in the
Netherlands.

[snip]

Source: Het Parool [The Word]
Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jul 1998
Author: Craig Reinarman
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n596.a06.html

***

McCAFFREY COMMITS TRUTH DURING EUROPEAN TOUR

Barry McCaffrey is a stand-up guy. If there were any doubts that the
Clinton administration's drug czar was anything but, he dispelled them
during his recent eight-day visit to Europe.

The highlight of McCaffrey's trip was a stop in the Netherlands, where
the retired army general got to judge for himself the merits of that
nation's liberal drug policies.

McCaffrey was unimpressed. He pronounced the Dutch government's heroin
distribution program an "unmitigated disaster," not the least, he
added, because the program consigns "part of the population to
suffering endlessly from heroin."

[snip]

Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jul 1998
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n621.a10.html

***

IN THE DRUG WAR, FANTASY BEATS FACTS

It's been said that any prosecutor can convict a guilty defendant--it
takes a great prosecutor to convict an innocent one. But any
responsible prosecutor confronted with convincing evidence that he
indicted the wrong person would immediately move to dismiss the case.

Drug czar Barry McCaffrey doesn't follow the same practice. He issued
an indictment the other day and, after learning the charges were false,
insisted that the suspect was guilty nonetheless. Nothing is going to
get in the way of the drug war, least of all mere truth.

[snip]

Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Pubdate: 23 July 1998
Section: Sec. 1, p. 23
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Author: Steve Chapman (schapman@tribune.com)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n613.a02.html

***

HOT OFF THE 'NET

The latest prohibitionist link is a kind of backhanded compliment to
reformers. Check out: http://www.stopdrugs.org/

It is a pretty blatant rip off of http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/ that
was developed by DRCNet over a year ago.

It is generally about as lame as most prohibitionist sites replete with
scare tactics and very short on facts.

It is also interesting to note that DrugSense and other sites willingly
link to prohibitionist sites but there are no reform links on any pro drug
war sites anywhere. One wonders why this would be? Could it be that truth
and open communications are not on the agenda of drug warriors?

***

TIP OF THE WEEK

The software that enables you to send yourself news articles of
interest from http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/ is much more
sophisticated than you might realize at first glance. It is akin to the
"shopping cart" type software that you see on many web sites. It
enables you to search for articles, select and de select items at will
and have them forwarded directly to you via email in an easy to read
format. This is quite a complicated process and has been fine tuned so
that it works seamlessly even for web novices.

Special thanks belong to the many individuals who have helped put the
DrugNews service together. Their efforts and talents are both important
and appreciated. It has taken lots of work by some very dedicated
people to bring this powerful resource to the reform movement.

***

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

`The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably
by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for
the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot
be enforced.' - Albert Einstein -

***

FACT OF THE WEEK

According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, only 5.5% of federal crack
defendants are considered high-level crack dealers.

Source: US Sentencing Commission. (1995, February). Special report to
Congress: cocaine and Federal sentencing policy, Table 18. Washington,
DC: U.S. Sentencing Commission.

***

DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
do for you.

News/COMMENTS-Editor: Tom O'Connell (tjeffoc@drugsense.org)
Senior-Editor: Mark Greer (mgreer@drugsense.org)

We wish to thank all our contributors and Newshawks.

NOTICE:

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.

REMINDER:

Please help us help reform. Send any news articles you find on any drug
related issue to editor@mapinc.org

PLEASE HELP:

DrugSense provides this service at no charge BUT IT IS NOT FREE TO PRODUCE.

We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you
are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort please Make
checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
PO Box 651
Porterville,
CA 93258
(800) 266 5759
MGreer@mapinc.org
http://www.mapinc.org/
http://www.drugsense.org/

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[End]

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