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If A Guest Uses Drugs, Out You Go ('The San Francisco Examiner'
Recounts The Case Of A Public Housing Tenant Who Almost Became Homeless
Because, Unknown To Her, A Guest Possessed Heroin - With Help
From San Francisco's Volunteer Legal Services Program, Which Took Her Case
For Free, She Was Able To Put Her Case To A Jury, Which Rescued Her
From The Federal 'One Strike You're Out' Housing Policy)

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 17:05:31 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: If A Guest Uses Drugs, Out You Go
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 Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 24 Aug 1998
Author: Emelyn Cruz Lat OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

IF A GUEST USES DRUGS, OUT YOU GO

It took a jury's verdict to save the apartment of Christina Mabanag

Christina Mabanag, a single mother of three, was working a second job as an
in-home caretaker last year when she received a frantic call.

An excited neighbor told her there was a large crowd outside her home.
Police were inside interrogating people, outside on her balcony, and
walking around the complex's narrow corridors.

Wild thoughts ran through her mind. Was one of her daughters hurt? Did
someone burglarize her home? Unable to leave her wheelchair-bound patient
behind, Mabanag drove home, bringing the 82-year-old woman.

As she made her way past the throng, it became clear that police were there
for a very different reason. She recalled a uniformed security guard
pointing at her and saying, "I have no sympathy for you. You're going to
lose your apartment."

The message hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I was so bothered and confused," said Mabanag, who lives in newly
renovated public housing but asked that her address not be disclosed
because she fears for her safety.

She recounted how she was detained and questioned that day in March, 1997,
as if she were under arrest.

Authorities told Mabanag that her guest, a family friend staying for the
weekend, had been arrested for drug possession. It didn't matter that she
wasn't home, that she said she didn't know her friend used drugs - she
would be evicted.

The Housing Authority invoked the federal government's "one strike, you're
out" policy, which allows evictions for offenses inside or outside tenants'
apartments, with or without their knowledge. One of the most controversial
uses of the policy nationwide has been against tenants who didn't know
visitors had drugs.

"I was really having a hard time," said Mabanag, her voice faltering. "I
was going crazy. I didn't know what to do. I was calling my social worker
all the time."

Soon the eviction notices came, one on her doorstep, another wedged in her
screen door, a third hung on a gate.

Mabanag, who has no criminal record and never had problems at the
development, tried to talk to her building manager, but "he said there was
nothing he could do. I was evicted."

He ordered her to turn in her keys and vacate the one-bedroom unit she
shared with her children: Clara Jean Dixon, 12; Jasmine May, 8; and Marina
Mabanag, 7. After the initial shock and disbelief dissipated, indignation
set in. She refused to leave.

Juggling her schedule as a part-time security guard, weekend caretaker and
full-time mother, she went searching for legal help. The City's volunteer
legal services program took her case for free.

One of Mabanag's attorneys, Carolyn Burton, tried to negotiate with the
city attorney's office, which represented the Housing Authority.

Burton asked whether Mabanag could stay if she signed an agreement never
again to let the guest in her home. Mabanag consented to warrantless
searches to assure that no drug activity was going on.

"After all, she had nothing to fear," Burton said. "She was innocent."

But the city attorney's office rejected the offer.

Matt Davis, the deputy city attorney who oversaw the prosecution, said he
reviewed the case and determined that Mabanag should have known that her
guest had a drug habit. The guest was found wandering the complex under the
influence of heroin, he said.

"Public housing is a privilege, not a right," he said. "Do people have to
live with crime just because they're poor?"

Police seized balloons filled with heroin and cocaine, hypodermic needles
and other paraphernalia associated with drug use that "showed she shouldn't
have allowed that woman to stay there," Davis said.

During a three-day trial, two weeks before Christmas 1997, lawyers on both
sides agreed on virtually all the facts. They concurred that drugs were
found in the apartment, that Mabanag's friend possessed them and that she
and her children were not in the apartment at the time.

But they disagreed over who was responsible.

Mabanag's lawyers said the jury must find she had direct knowledge of her
friend's drug use to sustain an eviction.

"How are they making public housing safer by getting rid of tenants who did
nothing wrong?" said Burton. "You can't be the keeper of everything you
don't know about. (The one-strike policy) is zero tolerance, not zero
common sense."

The Housing Authority not only argued Mabanag knew of her friend's drug
use, but also said they had the right to oust her regardless of what she
knew. "Good cause requires that the grounds for eviction are fa wrote
Deputy City Attorney Scott Rennie in court papers. He contended that
Mabanag knew of her friend's drug problem and chose to ignore it.

Jurors disagreed.

In its unanimous verdict, the jury found that although the guest had
possessed illegal drugs, Mabanag had no actual knowledge of the drugs and
should not be evicted.

Hearing the decision, Mabanag wept.

"There were a few tears shed by all of us," said Kathy Pugh, one of her
lawyers.

Mabanag says that despite the verdict, her life will never be the same.

"I'm scared now," she said. "Someone knocks on my door and I get nervous. I
don't let anyone come into my house anymore."

1998 San Francisco Examiner

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Hemp Gets Its Day In The Summer Fun (The Seattle 'Post-Intelligencer'
Says 35,000 People Attended The Annual Seattle Hempfest Sunday
At Myrtle Edwards Park On The Waterfront)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Hemp gets its day in the summer fun
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 18:23:38 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Author: Larry Lange, P-I Reporter

Hemp gets its day in the summer fun

Smoke and political fire in the park

Hempfest '98, the annual marijuana political festival, filled a Seattle
waterfront park with the plant's advocates yesterday.

But it will be an initiative on the November ballot that will tell how much
power lies behind the show.

An estimated 35,000 people, according to the Seattle Police Department, came
to Myrtle Edwards Park to display their affection for the weed and their
support for the initiative that would legalize the drug for medical use.

They danced to music, perused clothing made from hemp, a plant used for
textile and other industrial purposes, and listened to speeches condemning
the national war on drugs and laws that make marijuana illegal.

"I'm one of many people that support the medical use of marijuana," said Eva
Harrow, a Tacoma woman who strolled with her husband and 2-year-old daughter
near the edge of Elliott Bay. "It's a matter of right."

Initiative 692, which, if passed, would leave the use of medical marijuana
up to patients and their doctors will be on the November ballot. Washington
voters last year strongly rejected a similar measure that permitted medical
use of marijuana by prescription but contained other controversial
provisions, including the release of some prisoners serving time for drug
violations and prescribed medical use of LSD and heroin.

Medical-use initiatives have been approved in California and Arizona, and
another one will also be on the ballot this year in Oregon.

Yesterday's festival, like others before it, used merchandising - as well as
rhetoric - to promote the legal use of marijuana. T-shirts sold at the
festival organizers' booth displayed likenesses of George Washington and
claimed he was an early American hemp grower. And at the end of a line of
food booths, California soft-drink maker Willie Phalinger hawked a soda he
said was made with hemp-seed oil in ginger and black cherry flavors.

At the gathering yesterday, an occasional whiff of pot could be detected
walking through the long, narrow park. As of late afternoon, 20 people had
been cited and removed from the park for possessing small amounts of
marijuana. There were two felony arrests for drug dealing, said Lt. Dick
Schweitzer, the head of the more than 90-member Seattle Police detail at the
festival.

That is about a third of the number arrested or cited a year ago at Hempfest
'97, Schweitzer said.

"It was a real good crowd this year, very mellow," Schweitzer said.

Some of the festival goers gathered around a booth where staffers shouted
out: "Marijuana lollipops!" The $1-pops sold by a Portland enterprise called
Cannabis Candy Co. were green and sweet and contained hemp oils that
transmitted the taste of the plant on the tongue.

"They're good," said Wade Davis of Port Orchard, sucking on one of the
candies while he hung out with friends. "I'm going to get some more."

Jason Davis, Cannabis Candy's president, said he'll soon begin searching for
local retailers to carry his product. The candy, he said, can be legally sold
because it contains only a small trace of THC, the active chemical in
marijuana.

The weather was mostly overcast yesterday, bringing out a smaller crowd than
a year ago. But attendees were no less enthusiastic in their marijuana
advocacy, although many said they were not sure they have the political clout
to pass this year's Washington state initiative.

"There are too many people that are against it," said Michelle Smit of
Seattle. "They're still worried about their kids smoking pot."

Her husband Jason, said he thinks such a measure will eventually pass.
"It'll take a while, but it will happen," he said.

P-I reporter Larry Lange can be reached at 206-448-8313 or
larrylange@seattle-pi.com

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

Thousands Turn Out For Marijuana Festival ('The Associated Press' Version)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: Thousands turn out for marijuana festival
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 18:38:47 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Thousands turn out for marijuana festival

The Associated Press
08/24/98 3:00 PM Eastern

SEATTLE (AP) -- Thousands of people turned out for an annual celebration
extolling marijuana.

Hempfest '98 was held Sunday at Myrtle Edwards Park on the waterfront. The
Seattle Police Department estimated 35,000 people attended the event, which
featured music, displays of items made from hemp, including clothing, and
speeches condemning laws that make marijuana illegal.

This year's event came against the backdrop of Initiative 692, which will be
on the November general-election ballot. If passed, it would allow some
medicinal uses of marijuana.

Washington voters last year strongly rejected a similar measure, but that
proposal also contained controversial provisions such as allowing
prescription of LSD and heroin for medical use.

Sunday's festival featured displays of hemp-related merchandise, ranging
from T-shirts and marijuana-flavored lollipops to a soft drink that the
maker said was made with hemp-seed oil in ginger and black cherry flavors.

By late afternoon, 20 people had been cited for possessing small amounts of
marijuana, and there were two felony arrests for drug dealing, police Lt.
Dick Schweitzer said.

"It was a real good crowd this year, very mellow," Schweitzer said.

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Counselor Arrested In El Reno ('The Oklahoman' Quotes FBI Spokesman Dan Vogel
Saying Glen Brummett, A Counselor For The Federal Correctional Institution
In El Reno, Oklahoma, Was Arrested Sunday On Complaints Of Conspiracy
To Manufacture, Possess And Distribute Methamphetamine
And Introduce Contraband Into A Federal Correctional Center)

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 20:50:19 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US OK: Counselor Arrested in El Reno
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Michael Pearson 
Source: The Oklahoman (OK)
Contact: http://www.oklahoman.com/?ed-writeus
Website: http://www.oklahoman.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 24 Aug 1998
Author: Andrea Perrin, Staff Writer

COUNSELOR ARRESTED IN EL RENO

A counselor for the Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno was arrested
Sunday on complaints of conspiracy to manufacture, possess and distribute
methamphetamine and introduce contraband into a federal correctional center,
FBI spokesman Dan Vogel said.

Glen Brummett, 46, was arrested about 7:15 a.m. when he arrived at work. At
the same time, his home at 405 N Park St. in El Reno was searched by federal
agents.

Vogel said he couldn't comment on what was found at Brummett's house.

An investigation began six months ago when authorities received information
about drugs possibly being taken into the prison.

Brummett, who has worked at the center, was in the Oklahoma County jail
Sunday night.

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Pregnant Smokers' Deadly Legacy ('The Scotsman' Says Research Carried Out
At The University Of Minnesota Cancer Center In Minneapolis And Presented
At The Annual Meeting Of The American Chemical Society In Boston
Found By-Products Of A Nicotine-Derived Chemical Called NNK,
One Of The Strongest Carcinogens In Tobacco Smoke, In The Urine Of Infants
Born To Smoking Mothers - The New Findings Are The First To Show
That A Cancer-Causing Substance Specific To Tobacco Is Transmitted
To The Foetus)

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 17:14:32 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Pregnant Smokers' Deadly Legacy
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: Mon, 24 Aug 1998

PREGNANT SMOKERS' DEADLY LEGACY

Scientists find clear evidence that women using tobacco pass on a strong
'cancer trigger' to unborn children John von Radowitz

CLEAR evidence that pregnant women who smoke transmit a powerful cancer
trigger to their babies has been discovered for the first time by scientists.

One of Britain's leading cancer experts described the findings as "absolute
dynamite".

Researchers in the United States found by-products of a nicotine-derived
chemical called NNK in the urine of infants born to smoking mothers. NNK,
unique to tobacco. is one of the strongest carcinogens in tobacco smoke.

The results from the University of Minnesota Cancer Center in Minneapolis,
suggest that alarming amounts of the chemical pass through the placenta to
be broken down in the unborn baby's body. Levels of the NNK by-products in
the babies were about 10 per cent of those found in the urine of adult
smokers - two and a half times the adult concentration, weight-for-weight.

Women are strongly advised not to smoke during pregnancy but until now all
the evidence of harm to the foetus has been based on statistical
correlations. Babies whose mothers smoked when pregnant were more likely to
be small, under-weight, have low intelligence and suffer from glue ear.

There is also some suspicion that leukaemia rates are higher in children
whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.

The new findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical
Society in Boston, are the first to show that a cancer-causing substance
specific to tobacco is transmitted to the foetus.

Professor Gordon McVie, director general of the Cancer Research Campaign.
said: "This is absolute dynamite. It's awful. Here we have cast-iron,
water-tight evidence that the baby is exposed to carcinogens thanks to the
mother's smoking habits."

A team of scientists led by Dr Stephen Hecht tested samples of the first
urine passed by 48 babies, from both smokers and non-smoking mothers, sent
to them by collaborating researchers in Germany.

In 22 of 31 samples from new-born babies whose mothers smoked during
pregnancy they found NNK metabolites - chemicals left after a substance is
broken down by the body.

No metabolites of the carcinogen were found in samples from babies whose
mothers did not smoke.

Dr Hecht called the findings "an unacceptable risk". He said the levels of
NNK by-products found were "substantial when one considers that exposure of
the developing foetus to NNK would have taken place throughout pregnancy".

Prof McVie said he was surprised and alarmed by the high levels of
metabolites discovered. "The average baby weighs about three kilos, so
you're looking at a concentration in the urine something like two and a
half times that of an adult, weight for weight," he said. "The chemical has
gone through the whole body. It's passed through the blood system, been
metabolised, gone through the liver and reached the kidneys. All the
tissues in the body must have seen it."

The research was an extension of previous work from Dr Hecht which last
year showed that NNK is found in non-smoking adults who breath in other
people's smoke at work

Dr Hecht pointed out that since most women who smoke during pregnancy
continue the habit afterwards, their children are exposed to the dangerous
chemical for many years.

Clive Bates, director of Action on Smoking and Health, said: "Babies
exposed to cancer-causing chemicals in the womb are suffering from one of
the nastiest forms of passive smoking."

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

Pregnant Smokers Pass Carcinogen To Baby ('The Washington Post'
And 'Associated Press' Version In 'The Seattle Times')

Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 11:58:02 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Study: Pregnant Smokers Pass Carcinogen to Baby
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 24 Aug 1998
Author: The Washington Post and The Associated Press

STUDY: PREGNANT SMOKERS PASS CARCINOGEN TO BABY

Women who smoke while pregnant appear to pass a potent carcinogen to their
babies, researchers reported today.

The study goes beyond what scientists have known for years: Smoking by
pregnant women causes babies to be born smaller, sicklier and, in some
cases, addicted to nicotine.

"These results demonstrate a significant potential risk to the unborn child
of a woman who smokes," said Stephen Hecht of the University of Minnesota
Cancer Center, who led the new research.

Hecht analyzed the first urine samples collected from 48 babies of smokers
and nonsmokers in Germany. Hecht looked for NNK, a carcinogen found only in
tobacco products, and for byproducts of NNK after it had been processed by
the body - NNAL and NNAL-Gluc.

"We found that the positive samples were only from the newborns of mothers
who smoked," Hecht said. Of the 31 samples from mothers who smoked during
pregnancy, 22 contained NNK, NNAL or NNAL-Gluc. Babies of nonsmokers had
none of those substances in their urine, Hecht said.

The pregnant women in the two-year study smoked between 5 and 25 cigarettes
a day, averaging 12 cigarettes a day. Results showed that NNK crosses the
placental barrier between mother and fetus, where it is then broken down by
the fetus and expelled in its urine, Hecht said.

"Hopefully this will deliver the message one more time about how dangerous
it is for pregnant women to smoke," Hecht said yesterday. Only 39 percent
of smokers quit when they become pregnant, according to a 1990 study in the
American Journal of Public Health.

Hecht was reporting the findings today at the annual meeting of the
American Chemical Society in Boston. The research has not been subjected to
peer review, the usual vetting process for published studies but rarely a
part of presentations at scientific meetings.

Hecht said more research is needed to determine the likelihood of the NNK
leading to cancer in the newborns later in life.

NNK, from the family of cancer-causing substances known as nitrosamines, is
not the only carcinogen in tobacco smoke but it is especially powerful. It
can cause adenocarcinoma, a kind of lung cancer found largely in smokers.
Studies have shown that the toxin can be passed from mother to offspring in
animals.

Previous studies have shown increases in respiratory ailments among the
children of smokers, as well as other health problems. Smoking during
pregnancy also has been linked to low birth weight and other conditions.

The levels of NNK and the related chemicals found in babies in the new
study was about 10 percent of the amount of those substances found in
smokers.

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

Pregnant Smokers Transmit Toxins (The New Bedford, Massachusetts,
'Standard-Times' Version)

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 19:07:49 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Pregnant Smokers Transmit Toxins
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Monday, 24 August, 1998
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Contact: YourView@S-T.com
Website: http://www.s-t.com/
Author: Michael Woods, Toledo Blade

PREGNANT SMOKERS TRANSMIT TOXINS

BOSTON -- Women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy transmit one of
the most powerful carcinogens in tobacco smoke straight to the blood
of their unborn babies, scientists reported here yesterday.

Until now, public health authorities believed that nicotine and carbon
monoxide were the two most dangerous substances passed from the blood
of smoking mothers through the placenta into the blood of a developing
fetus.

Carbon monoxide decreases the amount of oxygen circulating inside the
fetus' body. Nicotine, which is highly addictive, has its own adverse
effects. Both substances got much of the blame for rouge's gallery of
harmful effects linked known to occur in babies born to smoking mothers.

"This represents an unacceptable new risk to the fetus," Dr. Stephen
S. Hecht said in an interview. "Women should make every effort to not
to smoke during pregnancy, or any other time, for that matter."

Dr. Hecht reported the first direct chemical evidence that a powerful
tobacco carcinogen, NNK, is transmitted to the developing fetus when a
woman smokes cigarettes. He announced the finding at the 216th
national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held
here this week.

With 155,000 members, the ACS is the world's largest scientific
organization. About 14,000 members are gathering here to present and
hear 6,700 reports on new advances in scientific fields -- ranging
from astronomy to zoology that involve chemistry.

In addition to holding national meetings, the ACS publishes most of
the world's top chemistry journals, sets standards for chemical names
and education, and engages in other activities.

Smoking is surprisingly common among pregnant women, Dr. Hecht
noted.

Tobacco smoke contains more than 2,500 chemical compounds, including
about 40 carcinogens, substances that cause cancer.

Dr. Hecht and his associates detected NNK and related compounds in
urine samples collected from newborn infants whose mothers smoked
during pregnancy. No NNK was found in urine of infants born to
non-smoking mothers.

Since the carcinogen is found only in tobacco smoke, there was no
other possible way, aside from cigarette smoking, in which it could
have gotten into the infants' bodies, Dr. Hecht said.

Researchers do not know whether NNK, like nicotine, also is passed to
infants in the breast milk of smoking mothers who nurse, Dr. Hecht
said.

Women who smoke have a higher risk of complications during pregnancy,
low birthweight babies, stillbirths, and more babies who die during
the first month of infancy, according to the American Cancer Society.

The society said studies also link smoking during pregnancy with
long-term effects on a child. At age 7, for instance, children whose
mothers smoked heavily during pregnancy were shorter in stature and
had lower reading ability than other children.

Dr. Hecht said the precise risks to unborn infants from NNK are not
yet clear.

One major concern involves the possibility that infants exposed to
such a carcinogen before birth may have an increased of cancer as
adults, he said.

The cancer society says that children exposed to 10 or more cigarettes
during pregnancy have a 50 per cent higher risk of cancer.

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

Alcohol-Related Driving Deaths At Record Low (An 'Associated Press' Article
In 'The Seattle Times' Says The US Department Of Transportation
Reported Today The Percentage Of Traffic Fatalities Caused By Drunken Driving
Dropped To A Record Low In 1997 - There Were 16,189 Alcohol-Related
Traffic Deaths In 1997, 38.6 Percent Of The Total, Down From 40.9 Percent
In 1996 And 57.3 Percent In 1982)

Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 17:07:55 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: WA: Alcohol-Related Deaths At Record Low
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Monday, 24 August, 1998
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Author: Kalpana Srinivasan, Associated Press writer

ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATHS AT RECORD LOW

WASHINGTON-- The percentage of traffic fatalities caused by drunken driving
dropped to a record low in 1997 but still made up more than one-third of
automobile deaths, the government said today.

The Department of Transportation reported 16,189 alcohol-related traffic
deaths in 1997, 38.6 percent of the total. That was a decrease of about
1,000 deaths from 1996, when drunken driving was responsible for 40.9
percent of the 42,065 traffic deaths. In 1982, 57.3 percent of the 43,945
fatalities were alcohol-related.

The administration hailed the figures as evidence that measures such as zero
tolerance laws for young drivers have helped curb drunken driving. But
officials stressed that more needs to be done.

"This is good news but we must continue to do more to ensure that this
decline continues," President Clinton said.

"A strong message and tough laws are bringing about an important change in
society's attitude toward drunken driving, but we must continue our efforts
to reduce the number of these tragedies even further," said Transportation
Secretary Rodney Slater. The department has set a goal of reducing
alcohol-related traffic deaths to 11,000 annually by 2005.

For the first time since record-keeping began in 1975, alcohol-related
deaths were below 40 percent of all traffic fatalities. And drunken driving
deaths among teens aged 15 to 20 dropped 5 percent from 2,324 in 1996 to
2,209 in 1997, according to data by the department's National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration.

Clinton has encouraged states to lower their drunken-driving threshold to a
0.08 blood-alcohol concentration and authorized $500 million in grants as an
incentive for states to adopt the standard. Only 15 states have done so.

Getting all states to lower their limit would be an important step in
helping to ensure that the numbers keep decreasing, said Judith Stone,
president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

"We have to keep up these aggressive efforts. Otherwise we'll see the
numbers go in the other direction," Stone said. "We can't rest on our
laurels."

Activists also credited implementation of zero tolerance by all 50 states
for reducing drunken driving among young drivers. These laws permit
suspension of driver's licenses of people under 21 who are found to be
driving after drinking.

"By passing tough laws, states are sending a strong message to teen-aged
drivers: It's not cool and it's not legal to drink," said NHTSA
administrator Ricardo Martinez.

Groups highlighted possible steps that could further reduce the number of
drunken driving deaths. Stone cited laws which would require repeat
offenders to pass a breathalyzer test before starting their cars. Some
states also have adopted measures that allow them to impound the cars of
drunken drivers.

Other findings of the fatality analysis report:

The highest percentage of drunken driving deaths, 49.8 percent, was among
21- to 34-year olds. The lowest, 5.9 percent, was among drivers 75 and
older.

Of the 957 drinking drivers under age 21 who were killed in traffic crashes,
the majority, 792, were killed in crashes at night.

Utah had the lowest percentage of alcohol-related fatalities in 1997 with
20.6 percent, followed by New York with 27.4 percent.

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

McGwire Takes Hormone, Says Everybody Does (The 'Associated Press' Article,
Reprinted In 'The International Herald-Tribune,' That Broke The News
Of Mark McGwire, The St. Louis Cardinal Pursuing Baseball's Home-Run Record,
Using Androstenedione, A Legal, Performance Enhancing Substance)

Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 07:03:44 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: McGwire Takes Hormone, Says Everybody Does
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Peter Webster
Source: International Herald-Tribune
Contact: iht@iht.com
Website: http://www.iht.com/
Pubdate: Aug 24, 1998
Author: Associated Press

McGWIRE TAKES HORMONE, SAYS EVERYBODY DOES

Sitting on the top shelf of Mark McGwire's locker, next to a can of Popeye
spinach and packs of sugarless chewing gum, is a brown bottle labeled
Androstenedione.

For more than a year, McGwire says, he has been using the
testosterone-producing pill, which is allowed in baseball but banned in the
National Football League, the Olympics and in U.S. college sports.

No one suggests that McGwire wouldn't be closing in on Roger Maris's
home-run record without the over-the-counter drug. After all, he hit 49
homers without it as a rookie in 1987, and more than 50 each of the past
two seasons.

But the drug's ability to raise levels of the male hormone, which builds
lean muscle mass and promotes recovery after injury, is seen outside
baseball as cheating and potentially dangerous.

"Everything I've done is natural - everybody that I know in the game of
baseball uses the same stuff I use," said McGwire, who also takes the
musclebuilder Creatine, an amino acid powder.

But many players insist they do not take Androstenedione, although the use
of other supplements is common.

Sammy Sosa, who trails McGwire by three in the home-run chase, uses
Creatine after games to keep up his weight and strength. Before games he
takes the Chinese herb ginseng. But Sosa said he doesn't use
Androstenedione or any other testosterone booster.

"Anything illegal is definitely wrong," said Mo Vaughn, the Boston slugger,
who said he does not take Androstenedione. "But if you get something over
the counter and legal guys in that power-hitter position are going to use
them. Strength is the key to maintaining and gaining endurance for 162
games. The pitchers keep getting bigger and stronger."

Randy Barnes, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder in the
shot put, recently drew a lifetime ban for using Androstenedione. Barnes is
appealing the decision.

Major League Baseball, like the National Basketball Association, bans only
illegal drugs, and the reasoning behind this in both leagues has nothing to
do with competitive fairness or health: it's just that the players'
associations and management in both sports have not agreed on ways of
dealing with the issue.

Although Androstenedione is banned by many sports, it is not illegal in the
United States, which is one reason its effects have not been studied.

"It's just a fluke of the law that this is totally unstudied," said John
Lombardo of Ohio State University, the NFL's adviser on steroids

"Androstenedione is a steroid. It has anabolic qualities. Therefore it is
an anabolic steroid."

Anabolic steroids have been associated with potentially fatal side effects,
including heart attacks, cancers, liver dysfunction and severe disorders of
mood and mental function.

"You can't even buy testosterone with a regular prescription," said Gary
Wadler, an assistant professor of medicine at Cornell University Medical
College. "You have to get a triplicate prescription. It's a controlled
substance by an act of Congress."

Creatine, which McGwire believes helps him recover faster from daily
weightlifting, is purported to increase muscle energy and mass. Long-term
effects of the powder are unknown. It has been known to lead to muscle
tears and cramps due to dehydration.

"I've been using Creatine for about four years," said McGwire, who is
6 feet-5 inches tall (1.95 meters) and weighs 245 pounds (111 kilograms).
''It's a good thing. It helps strength. It helps recovery. If you just use
common sense, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's a form of
eating red meat.''

David Tumbas, the Chicago Cubs' trainer, said he doesn't recommend Creatine
but doesn't tell players not to take it. He said he asked players in spring
training if they were using it or similar supplements, and that about 10
said they were. He said he believed no one on the Cubs was taking
Androstenedione.

The International Olympic Cornmittee added Androstenedione to its banned
list in December after it found the pills and various steroids being hawked
on the Internet by a company called Price's Power International of
Virginia. But that's hardly the only place where "Andro," as it is often
called, is available. Great Earth Vitamin, a U.S. chain store, sells the
drug over the counter and by mail order.

"It's very popular," said Andrew Fischman, director of marketing for the
chain. ''The primary target of it is the 18- to 35-year-old muscle-head."

Sam Gannelli, the San Diego Padres' conditioning coordinator, said:
"Compared to every other sport, there's no time to heal in baseball. In
football, you have six days off after every game. In basketball, it's three
or four days. These guys are going every day for six months. "

But he added that ' 'steroids can really get you broken down. They can do a
lot of harm in the long run."

EPO Use Said to Be High in Italy

The drug erythropoietin more commonly known as EPO, is widely used by
Italian soccer players to enhance performance, an Italian Olympic official
was quoted as saying on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported.

Sandro Donati, manager of the scientific research center run by the Italian
Olympic Committee, was quoted in Le Journal du Dimanche, a French
newspaper, as saying that a continuing judicial inquiry into drug-taking in
Italy would confirm the use of EPO.

He said: "The situation is without doubt worse with the clubs in the
Italian league than in other countries."

EPO is a synthetic hormone that stimulates the production of red blood
cells which can improve endurance.

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

Mother Questions DARE Program (According To 'The North Shore News,'
A Mother Of A DARE Student Criticizes The Program, And Notes Her Daughter
Was Prevented From Delivering Her Essay At DARE Graduation Ceremonies
When The DARE Constable Said It Was 'Unacceptable' And Might Lead
To Misunderstanding Because She Wrote That Marijuana Was Useful
As A Medicine)

Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 18:50:09 EDT
Reply-To: dare-list@calyx.net
Originator: dare-list@calyx.net
Sender: dare-list@calyx.net
From: Dave Haans (haans@chass.utoronto.ca)
To: Multiple recipients of list (dare-list@calyx.net)
Subject: Article: Mother questions DARE program
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: North Shore News (Canada)
Contact: editor@nsnews.com
Pubdate: Aug 24, 1998

Mother questions DARE program

BOWEN Island resident Deborah Kirby's daughter participated in the
D.A.R.E. program. Her child's experience brought her to question the
effort:

On Wednesday, May 13 (1998) my daughter graduated from the D.A.R.E.
Program.

Just a few weeks earlier my daughter was excited when she told me that
her teacher would be choosing the people who would read their D.A.R.E.
essays to the assembly. She later told me hers had been selected.

She was very proud. The day before the ceremony, she practiced in
front of the principal. This morning, she invited me to hear her read.
Her name was on the program distributed at the door.

Shortly before the ceremony began my daughter was informed by the
D.A.R.E. constable that she could not read her essay. It was
unacceptable; it might lead to misunderstanding. No staff intervened.
We expected some acknowledgment. It did not come. We listened to 13
classmates read their paeans celebrating D.A.R.E.

My daughter wrote in brief, Grade 5 hyperbole that D.A.R.E. was a good
program. She also wrote that marijuana has positive uses in society,
that it is used to treat glaucoma, and ease the suffering of chemo and
AIDS patients. She actually juxtaposed the words "wonderful" and
"drug."

For her decision to think beyond mere repetition she was punished by
having her work refused in public. She was denied the right to speak
to her peers because she thought outside of expected parameters. What
a great lesson.

Is the D.A.R.E. program a good one? On the surface it seems to be, we
all want our children to be able to resist peer pressure, to have a
better understanding of the effects of drugs, alcohol and tobacco and
to meet and interact with police officers in a positive way. But there
are serious flaws in this program.

It is predicated on the assumption that children cannot reason. It
dictates information and does not allow for critical discussion. The
program is delivered by police to students with no input from
teachers, no assessment of student work, no evaluation of teaching
ability.

It was developed and is wholly controlled by a business enterprise
worth close to $750,000,000 U.S. based in Los Angeles. No alterations
to fit the needs of a school, district, community are permitted
without authorization from head office.

The D.A.R.E. Program costs the West Vancouver taxpayer somewhere in
the order of $300,000 a year. I suggest this sum would go a long way
towards developing a program tailor-made for our schools -- one that
would reflect our values and mores and, most importantly, one that
begins with the premise that our children are thinking people.

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

Dares To Be Different ('The North Shore News' Prints The Suppressed Essay
On DARE Written By A 10-Year-Old From Bowen Island Community School
In West Vancouver, British Columbia)

Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 18:48:02 EDT
Errors-To: server-admin@calyx.net
Reply-To: dare-list@calyx.net
Originator: dare-list@calyx.net
Sender: dare-list@calyx.net
From: Dave Haans (haans@chass.utoronto.ca)
To: Multiple recipients of list (dare-list@calyx.net)
Subject: Article: Dares to be different
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: North Shore News (Canada)
Contact: editor@nsnews.com
Pubdate: Aug 24, 1998

Dares to be different

D.A.R.E is a program where they teach young people like me how to say
no to peer pressure.

D.A.R.E. tries to teach kids to know they have a choice and to trust
themselves and their decisions. It is a wonderful program. I have
learned a lot in a short and well spent five months.

D.A.R.E is a program that is having a big impact on the kid drug
economy. I would like to see it keep going because young people should
not take drugs. I believe people also should know about some of the
wonderful things that supposedly bad drugs can do.

For an example let's take a look at marijuana. D.A.R.E. teaches us
that a little alcohol won't hurt you, as long as you don't abuse it.
It is the same for marijuana. Marijuana is not a bad drug as long as
you don't use it abusively or as a kid. It also has a number of
helpful uses. Doctors prescribe it to people with A.I.D.S and cancer
to help stimulate their hunger and to reduce pain and nausea, and to
people with glaucoma to reduce the pressure behind the eye.

Drugs and alcohol use are not easy to understand. Alcohol is a drug
that can damage your liver, but is legal and accepted in our society.
Marijuana is an illegal drug, but has many good uses.

Eleanor Smith, 10
Division 3, Bowen Island Community School

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

Police Recruit Horses In Race To Find Drugs ('The Toronto Star'
Says Ontario Provincial Police Officers Will Soon Be Using Retired Racehorses
To Search Areas Where Marijuana Is Being Grown That Are Inaccessible
To Police Four-Wheel Drive Vehicles)

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 06:26:19 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Police Recruit Horses In Race To Find Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Source: Toronto Star (Canada)
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Pubdate: Monday, August 24, 1998
Section: Page A2
Author: Roberta Avery, Special to the Star

POLICE RECRUIT HORSES IN RACE TO FIND DRUGS

MOUNT FOREST -- Ontario Provincial Police officers here will soon be using
retired racehorses on drug raids.

"We know of a number of areas where marijuana is being grown that are
inaccessible for our four-wheel drive vehicles. The horses will be a great
help in that respect," Constable Bob Mclntee said.

Four officers are being trained for the program which begins this fall.

Some marijuana growers plant their crop in the middle of cornfields and
officers on horseback will be able to check without damaging legitimate
harvests, Mclntee said.

Another favourite spot for pot growers is on the other side of swampy areas
along abandoned railroad tracks, said Mclntee.

"Now we'll be able to get in those areas to see what's happening."

The first horse, Oscar, arrived at the detachment in April; another
yet-to-be-named horse arrived last week. Both are retired racehorses and
are kept in an Arthur-area barn to be used as needed, Mclntee said.

Oscar has already appeared at some fall fairs in the Mount Forest area,
south of Owen Sound, and will be used for crowd control. The horses could
also be used in parades and wherever else they are considered an asset.

"These horses are used to being trailered around and they're very calm
around people," said Mclntee.

Unlike other Canadian police forces, the OPP doesn't have a mounted unit,
though a horse owned by an officer in Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario is
used there on occasion.

"So we have the first mounted OPP officers in southern Ontario," said Mclntee.

The idea is the brainchild of Sergeant Steve Walsh who was transferred to
Mount Forest from Northern Ontario.

"We have had a lot of help from community partners who have been very
supportive of this idea," said Walsh.

The community has helped with expenses, while saddles for the two horses
came from Toronto police, who have scaled back their mounted units.

Walsh said it was premature to discuss plans for expanding the operation.