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Hearing Record Upholds Firing Of Police Officer (A Staff Editorial
In 'The Columbian' In Vancouver, Washington, Says A Vancouver Police Officer
Whose Carelessness With A Flash-Bang Grenade Led To A 13-Year-Old Girl
Losing Her Hand Deserved Being Fired)
The Columbian
701 W. Eighth St.
Vancouver WA 98666
Tel. (360) 694-2312
Or (360) 699-6000, Ext. 1560, to leave a recorded opinion
From Portland: (503) 224-0654
Fax: (360) 699-6033
E-mail: editors@columbian.com
Web: http://www.columbian.com/
In Our View
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1998
Hearing record upholds firing of police officer
Vancouver city officials were justified in wanting to fire Officer Aaron
Gibson after a police training incident last summer cost a 13-year-old girl
her hand.
A close reading of the arbitration hearing transcript -- all 1,428 pages --
suggests that Vancouver Police Chief Doug Maas was acting in the community's
best interests when he decided Gibson needed to be removed from the force.
The Vancouver Police Officers Guild, which is challenging Gibson's
dismissal, views the evidence differently. The arbitrator, whose decision is
expected in October, has access to far more information than is contained in
the transcript and could decide that the city made a technical error in the
firing.
However, as Maas testified, if Gibson is reinstated, "it would be a giant
step backwards" for the Vancouver Police Department and the community.
Testimony at the hearing, conducted over several days in July, leads to
several critical conclusions:
* Gibson was at fault. Gibson had organized a training session for patrol
officers -- not SWAT team members, as commonly but mistakenly believed -- at
the abandoned Liberty Court Apartments on Aug. 1, 1997. Left behind after
the session were several so-called distraction devices -- explosive charges
intended to distract or surprise a suspect in a confrontation with police.
Twelve days later, 13-year-old Lieshell Booth found the charges and
detonated one.
As Officer Steve Neal admitted in his testimony, "The common sense practice
would be to check for explosives." Gibson failed to do so, thus violating
VPD policies on public safety, care of police property and unbecoming
conduct. He also violated the guidelines for use of the apartment, which
required a fire truck and other safety precautions if explosives were used.
None was present.
* Blame was apportioned fairly. The guild has tried to portray Gibson as a
scapegoat. In fact, as Maas and others made clear in their testimony, blame
was assigned fairly, and all those at fault have paid a price. The girl, who
broke into a building that was fenced off and clearly marked with "No
Trespassing" signs, will spend the rest of her life without her right hand.
The city administration, which did not have proper inventory and control
procedures for dangerous weapons, was fined $4,500 by the state Department
of Labor and Industries, and Maas was given a 5 percent pay cut.
And the officers most directly responsible for leaving the explosives behind
were disciplined. Gibson, who was in command, was fired, and Neal, who
brought the devices to the training site, was given a 45-day suspension.
Hours after Booth was injured, Gibson says he frantically called other
officers who were at the training session to ask how many explosive devices
had been brought to the apartments. Had Gibson simply asked that question on
the day of the training, none of this would have happened.
* Gibson's conduct was increasingly troublesome. The officer received
above-average and superior marks in his first few evaluations after joining
the department in 1992. But later evaluations showed a steady and alarming
downhill slide.
In a five-year period, Gibson was involved in four traffic accidents while
on duty, each of increasing severity and all deemed to be his fault; he was
given a one-day suspension for the last of those accidents. In addition, he
received a written reprimand for failing to make a required court
appearance; was stripped of his status as a field training officer in a
vote, not of his supervisors, but mostly of his peers; and was deemed by his
superiors on more than one occasion to be a prime candidate for "burnout."
* Maas made the call. Despite efforts by the police officers guild to
demonize City Manager Vernon Stoner -- an effort that culminated last winter
in an ugly, name-calling session before the city council -- Maas made it
clear in his testimony that he, the police chief, was the one who decided to
discharge Gibson.
Other city officials were consulted, and Stoner ultimately executed on the
decision because Maas himself was being disciplined for his own culpability
in the incident.
In other words, the two main pillars of the guild's appeal -- that Gibson's
punishment was disproportionate to his offense, and that the punishment was
administered by the wrong person -- appear weak at best. Yes, Lieshell Booth
was trespassing; yes, Maas as head of the police department failed to make
sure that adequate procedures were in place. Both have paid the consequences.
Aaron Gibson committed a serious breach of policy. He must pay the
consequences, too. Anything less would sully the men and women of the
Vancouver Police Department, the vast majority of whom have and deserve the
public's trust.
-- Michael Zuzel, for the editorial board
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A Reward For The Prison Guards' Union? ('Sacramento Bee' Columnist
John Jacobs In 'The San Diego Union Tribune' Says The One-Year,
12 Percent Pay Raise California Governor Pete Wilson Gave Last Week
To His Political Allies In The State Prison Guard Union Has The Earmarks
Of One Of The Sleaziest Quid Pro Quos Seen In Years)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 21:04:16 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: A Reward For The Prison Guards' Union?
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Tom Murlowski (tomm@biospherical.com)
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 2 Sep 1998
Author: John Jacobs, THE SACRAMENTO BEE
A REWARD FOR THE PRISON GUARDS' UNION?
Gov. Pete Wilson and Don Novey, president of the California Correctional
Peace Officers Association, are too shrewd and too careful to ever leave
behind any trail of improper conduct.
But the one-year, 12 percent pay raise Wilson gave Novey's union last
week sure has the earmarks of one of the sleaziest quid pro quos the
state Capitol has seen in years. The correctional officers' union has
long been a major financial backer of Wilson. When he badly needed a
huge sum of cash to finance his final week of TV ads in his 1990 race
for governor against Dianne Feinstein, CCPOA was there with a
half-million dollars.
The union has given him other money along the way, up to $1.5 million,
as well as help financing other candidates the governor wanted to win.
No one would ever be so crass or inept as to link campaign
contributions with a pay raise so enormous that it leaves no other
money on the table for hundreds of thousands of other state workers
who have gone without a raise for nearly four years.
Such explicit linkage would be illegal.
But there has been enough wink-wink, nudge-nudge activity here to
employ a troupe of mimes.
You might think the message Wilson wants other state workers to
receive is that the way to such a whopping pay raise is twofold:
First, pay huge sums to the governor's campaign committees; and
second, then be the subject of explosive legislative hearings into
serious allegations that your members at Corcoran State Prison beat
and arranged rapes of inmates, set up gladiator-style fights among
inmates, shot and killed inmates and then imposed a code of silence to
impede investigating authorities.
Novey is smart.
He butters his bread on both sides.
His union has also lavishly backed Democrats. Which explains why it is
no surprise that the bill approving this outrageous pay raise sailed
through both houses of the Legislature last week. Democratic leaders
may well be counting on the CCPOA's wad to help finance their
legislative elections in the fall. But it is Wilson who stiffed all
the other unions.
"The question has to come up: Do you have to pay Wilson to get an
agreement?" said Dennis Trujillo, spokesman for three state employee
groups representing attorneys, scientists and engineers. "Do you give
Wilson $1.5 million in order to get $175 million in this agreement?
The administration says it got 'pay for performance' and civil service
reform. But the groups without an agreement say they have not been
offered this. It isn't pay for performance. It's smoke and mirrors."
Rick Tullis, a deputy state attorney general and 25-year civil
litigator with the state, added: "Wilson has an almost pathological
dislike of public employees.
We don't even know why he hates us so much, but he despises us. He
wants us to change all the civil service rules.
We can't do that. And it's all a sham anyway, because he gave a 12
percent raise to the prison guards and didn't get any reform."
After seven years on the job, correctional officers now get $3,834 a
month, $46,000 a year before the raise, without overtime.
And there's lot of overtime.
The Department of Corrections has grown so fast in recent years that
some guards make sergeant within three years, in which case their pay
goes up another 10 percent.
To qualify for the job, they need a high school diploma and six weeks'
training.
And until a recent change in policy, it used to be they were even
allowed one felony. By contrast, a first-year assistant professor at
the University of California, who needs a Ph.D. from a prestigious
university and brilliant recommendations, makes $41,200. That's for
one of the most sought-after jobs in the academic world. David Gilb,
chief negotiator for the Department of Personnel Affairs, conceded
that 7 percent of the raise for prison guards is not subject to
Wilson's "pay for performance" standards. But 5 percent is, he said.
For that 5 percent, there is an "expansion of the work week,"
including one hour a week additional training and one hour a week for
"pre-watch work activities," which Gilb said was more than just
walking from the car to the job and back, as critics alleged. "CCPOA
was willing to bargain with us and give us reasonable
counterproposals," Gilb said. "The other unions were not." Among the
tradeoffs in bargaining, he said, was that CCPOA was willing to allow
random drug testing and limits on overtime reduced from 96 hours a
month to 80 hours a month, which some guards in some facilities were
working.
In other words, some guards have been earning $3,348 a month in overtime
in addition to their $3,834 a month regular pay. Over a year, that would
exceed $86,000. "I have never seen anything that has made people angrier,"
Tullis said of the 12 percent pay raise. "This is about as bald as I've
ever seen," agreed John Hein, chief lobbyist for the California Teachers
Association, which is not affected by these pay raises, but which is a
longtime Wilson adversary. "This one really stretches credulity."
JACOBS can be reached via e-mail at jjacobs@sacbee.com
Copyright 1998 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
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Drug Tests For Aldermen Dies For Lack Of A Second
('The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette' Says City Council Members In Fayetteville,
Arkansas, On Tuesday Rejected Proposed Drug Tests For Themselves,
Saying It Would Be An Invasion Of Privacy And An Example
Of Government Intrusion)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 21:04:16 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US AR: Drug Tests For Aldermen Dies For Lack Of A Second
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: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR)
Contact: news@arkdg.com
Pubdate: Wed, 2 Sep 1998
Author: LAURA KELLAMS Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
DRUG TESTS FOR ALDERMEN DIES FOR LACK OF A SECOND
FAYETTEVILLE -- City Council members on Tuesday rejected proposed drug
tests for themselves, saying it would be an invasion of privacy and an
example of government intrusion.
"When I brought this up, I thought, 'Well, this is a no-brainer,' "
Alderman Trent Trumbo told fellow council members.
He was wrong. Trumbo's motion to approve the resolution, which called
for aldermen to submit voluntarily to the tests, died for lack of a
second. Alderman Kit Williams said the resolution "curtails liberty"
and as a former U.S. Army officer, he is offended by it.
"I view this resolution as dangerous political grandstanding, an
invasion of the privacy of every alderman," he said. However, Williams
said he will take his own drug test to prove that he is not against
the proposal because he is on drugs. "I believe I must prove that even
someone with nothing to hide can still strenuously object to this
resolution," he said. Alderman Donna Pettus said at first she thought
the resolution was no big deal, but then felt insulted the more she
thought about it. She said she, too, has nothing to hide.
"I don't even know what a marijuana cigarette tastes like," Pettus
said. Alderman Cyrus Young said he walked into the meeting thinking he
would vote for the resolution but changed his mind. Drug testing does
not get to the heart of the issue, he said, which is drug abuse.
"Things like this really don't address the problem," Young said. The
city randomly tests 198 employees for drugs and will soon raise that
number to 443. Ben Mayes, the city's administrative services director,
said employees who are tested have "safety sensitive" jobs, such as
those with the police and fire departments. Those who drive commercial
vehicles for the city also are tested, as required by federal law.
Trumbo said he thought the council would set a good example for other
employees with the policy. He pointed out that students in the
Fayetteville Public Schools are randomly tested for drugs if they want
to participate in extracurricular activities.
But Williams said he doesn't support that idea, either. "Random drug
tests are very similar to the general searches by the British
authority that sparked our revolution," Williams said. It's fine to
drug test people when there is just cause, but not randomly, he said.
"Liberty and the Bill of Rights protect us all, not just those with
something to hide."
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FBI Links Police, Alleged Criminal ('The Des Moines Register'
Says An Investigation By The Federal Bureau Of Investigation
Has Revealed Possible Links Between Des Moines-Area Police
And A Million-Dollar Criminal Enterprise Allegedly Run
By An East-Side Des Moines Bail Bondsman Charged With Drug Dealing
And Firearms Violations)
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 21:51:01 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US IA: FBI Links Police, Alleged Criminal
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Carl Olsen
Pubdate: Wed, 2 Jun 1998
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Contact: letters@news.dmreg.com
Fax: (515) 286-2511
Website: http://www.dmregister.com/
Author: Frank Santiago, Tom Alex
Section: Front Page
FBI LINKS POLICE, ALLEGED CRIMINAL
A Man Charged With Drug Dealing Is Said To Have 'Extensive Contacts'
In Law Enforcement.
An FBI investigation revealed possible links between Des Moines-area
police and a million-dollar criminal enterprise allegedly run by an
east-side Des Moines bail bondsman who has been charged with drug
dealing and firearms violations.
In an 80-page affidavit detailing an undercover investigation of
Robert L. Willson Sr., the FBI contended that Willson had "extensive
contacts" in the law enforcement community, which the FBI did not
identify specifically.
"The names of several police officers have been intercepted by
microphone surveillance, and a possibility exists that these law
enforcement officers may be providing Willson with law enforcement
information," William P. O'Keefe, an FBI special agent, wrote in the
affidavit.
The document also said a tape of an illegal drug deal that had been
kept by the Polk County attorney's office, fell into Willson's hands.
The disclosures surprised officials, who said Monday that they knew
nothing of a relationship between Willson and police.
"I have not talked to the FBI about the Willson case," said Des Moines
Police Chief William Moulder. "If they are our officers they are
talking about, and if it bears substance, those people will not be
employed in law enforcement much longer."
Moulder said he will obtain a copy of the document to study
it.
West Des Moines police also said they weren't aware of the
allegations.
Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said the information about Willson
having a tape from his office was "news to me."
"I don't know what tape they're talking about. People say things,"
Sarcone cautioned, "and that doesn't make it true."
Dean Stowers, a Des Moines lawyer who represents Willson, said the
document was false and "severely misleading."
"He's a bondsman, and periodically people skip out," Stowers said of
Willson. "He elicits the help of law enforcement" to find them.
Stowers contended that the document, which is contained in one of six
search warrants that led to a federal grand jury indictment of
Willson, should have been kept under seal by the court.
Willson, 49, owner of Freedom Bail Bonds, 1228 East 29th St., was
indicted last week along with five others, including his son, Robert
J. Willson Jr., 28. They were cited with a series of drug and
weapons-related charges after several March raids by authorities on
Willson's property.
Willson pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He was being
held in jail without bond on Monday.
The senior Willson also owns Willson Auto Body, which is next
door
to the bail bonds office, and a bar at 3800 Army Post Road, which has
had several names, including The Edge.
Stowers said of the tape, "They (the FBI) don't know what they're
talking about. It's a reckless allegation."
Stowers said in an interview with The Register, "I'm appalled that you
got a copy of it. The reason that it should be under seal is that
there are so many loosey-goosey allegations contained in it."
He said West Des Moines police investigated Willson last year, and
that case "was dumped." He alleged that West Des Moines police
apparently walked over to the FBI offices, which are in West Des
Moines, and gave them their files.
Police have a history of raiding Willson's property as far back as
1981.
Des Moines officers applied then for a search warrant of his home and
business to look for shotguns, a handgun and a television set. Those
items weren't found, but a large quantity of other items was taken.
He was arrested on a theft charge, which was later dismissed.
Willson, according to records, sued authorities, including police
officers, alleging they had overreacted. The Iowa Supreme Court
found that he was entitled to recover.
Stowers said police have not forgotten the case. "He got the upper
hand in court, and they have been trying to drop the hammer on him
since."
Using hidden tape recorders and video cameras, and several informants,
the FBI and local law enforcement in 1997 tracked Willson. In the
FBI affidavit, he was accused by an informant of coercing his bail
bond customers to steal, as a sort of modern day Fagin, the Charles
Dickens character in "Oliver Twist" who employed boys as thieves.
At Willson's Freedom Bail Bonds, the FBI contended, Willson showed an
informant a handgun in a bag and said, "Now go out and rob that guy
and get me some money you owe me for the bonds."
An informant said of Willson's customers, "These individuals do not
complain to authorities because: 1) they do not want their bonds
pulled by Willson Sr., and 2) they are afraid of personal retribution
by Willson Sr., or members of his organization."
The FBI said they were told by the same informant that "prostitution
and narcotics sales are a regular occurrence at The Edge Bar."
Another informant told of fencing "chain saws, air conditioners, car
radios/disc players, camera equipment, televisions" with Willson in
his office at the body shop.
The FBI said that Willson routinely paid between 30 cents and 50 cents
on the dollar for stolen property or property obtained by writing bad
or forged checks.
Other allegations contained in the FBI document:
* An "associate" recruited an informant to steal garbage bags from
various Des Moines banks for $100 per bag. The trash was used to
identify bank account numbers and names for a particular bank and bank
accounts. Deposit slips were then written onto those accounts. A
deposit slip for, say, $5,000, would request $200 in cash, which the
thief pocketed. * An informant said the enterprise made
$5,000 a day legally from the bail bond business, the bar, and body
shop, plus $20,000 a day illegally. * On March 2, 1998, the FBI said,
a man went to the bail bonds office to say he had stolen "at least
three John Deere lawn tractors with mowers from an unidentified
implement company."
Reporter Frank Santiago can be reached at (515) 284-8528 or
santiagof@news.dmreg.com
Reporter Tom Alex can be reached at (515) 284-8088 or
alext@news.dmreg.com
PLACES OF BUSINESS
Robert L. Willson Sr. owns three Des Moines businesses: The Edge, top
photo, a bar at 3800 Army Post Road; Willson Auto Body, center, on
East 29th Street in Des Moines; and Freedom Bail Bonds, located at
1218 E. 29th St., next door to Willson Auto Body.
Register Special Report
In an affidavit, The FBI states:
Names of police officers were caught on surveillance tapes.
Evidence from county attorney's office wound up in the wrong hands.
Informants were recruited to steal garbage from banks, enabling thefts
from accounts.
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Officer Indicted In Drug Case ('The Philadelphia Inquirer'
Says Philadelphia Police Officer Peter W. Henry Has Been Indicted
On Charges Related To Laundering Money For A Marijuana Ring)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Officer indicted in drug case
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 19:46:42 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Philadelphia Inquirer
Pubdate: 9/2/98
Officer indicted in drug case
Peter Henry had a lucrative second job laundering money for a drug ring,
according to a grand jury.
Officer Peter W. Henry is accused of aiding a marijuana ring.
By Joseph A. Slobodzian
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Though he had worked only as a city police officer, Peter Henry drove a
Mercedes-Benz and deposited large sums of cash -- once as much as
$16,000 -- in his personal account at the Philadelphia Police and Fire
Federal Credit Union.
Thriftiness, federal prosecutors say, had nothing to do with it.
According to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed yesterday, Henry,
35, of Wynnefield Heights, was moonlighting as a money launderer for
Corbin Thomas, an alleged West Philadelphia marijuana trafficker who
fled to Jamaica late in 1995, a month after the murder of his estranged
wife, Hope Smith Thomas, 29.
Named with Henry in the 33-count indictment yesterday were Thomas, 35,
and his nephew, Winston "Titos" Thomas, 34.
Corbin Thomas was described as the head of a drug ring that made more
than $1 million from 1990 through 1995 selling thousands of pounds of
marijuana. Police once suspected Thomas' nephew, also known as Michael
McPherson, of having been the man in the "wolf man" mask who shot Hope
Thomas to death on Nov. 14, 1995, after accosting her and her daughter,
Danielle, 7, outside their Cedarbrook home. Corbin Thomas was questioned
about the murder, but neither he nor his nephew was ever charged.
Yesterday's indictment does not mention that crime. It deals solely with
Corbin Thomas' alleged West Philadelphia-based marijuana ring.
Speaking at a Center City news conference with District Attorney Lynne
M. Abraham and Police Commissioner John F. Timoney, U.S. Attorney
Michael R. Stiles described Thomas' gang as an "exceptionally
large-scale, violent marijuana-distribution ring."
Stiles said that the ring bought the marijuana in bulk in Southern
California and that it was flown to Philadelphia -- 85 pounds at a time
-- inside the luggage of female couriers, many of them allegedly
recruited by Henry.
Henry, who served in West Philadelphia's 16th Police District until
police officials learned of the federal probe last year, surrendered to
the U.S. Marshals Service yesterday morning. Timoney said he would move
to fire him within 30 days.
"This is not just embarrassing but pretty disturbing," the commissioner
said.
Henry entered a plea of not guilty to conspiracy and money-laundering
charges during a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter B.
Scuderi. Scuderi freed Henry after he posted 10 percent of $200,000
bail.
Henry's attorney, Joel I. Fishbein, declined comment.
Also indicted were Henry's half-brother, Richard Davis, 27, and cousin,
Livingston Hall, 27, both of Philadelphia. The indictment alleges that
the men bought and resold marijuana from Thomas' organization. Both men
were arrested without incident and ordered held pending a formal bail
hearing next Wednesday. They were awaiting sentencing after pleading
guilty to marijuana-conspiracy charges two years ago involving a
different West Philadelphia drug ring.
Stiles said Corbin and Winston Thomas are believed to be hiding in
Jamaica, as are three associates also indicted yesterday: Gary S.
Gordon, 29, of New York City, described as Corbin Thomas' "right-hand
man" in the marijuana ring; Ruel N. Laidlaw, 32, of West Philadelphia,
described as a a Thomas "enforcer"; and Patricia Frydlewicz, 30, a West
Philadelphia woman who allegedly smuggled marijuana from California for
Thomas and helped recruit other women as couriers.
Stiles said that arrest warrants had been issued for the five fugitives
and that Jamaican authorities had agreed to extradite them when they are
located.
According to the indictment, the friendship between Corbin Thomas and
Henry went back at least to the early 1990s and grew strong enough that
Henry chose Thomas to be the best man at his wedding in 1995.
In addition to recruiting couriers, Henry informed Thomas and others
about police activities and coordinated legal counsel for arrested ring
members, the indictment says.
Mostly, Henry laundered proceeds from marijuana sales by depositing
large quantities of cash in his account at the police credit union,
withdrawing varying amounts and using the money to buy automobiles to be
used by Thomas and others, according to the indictment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert K. Reed said Thomas also laundered money
by performing more than $200,000 in renovations to his house in the 7900
block of Fayette Street and by building a house in his native Jamaica,
-------------------------------------------------------------------
City Police Say Panel Withheld Findings Against 108 Officers
('The New York Times' Says More Than 100 Cases Of Police Brutality
And Misconduct From 1993 Through 1995 Were Deemed Credible
By The Civilian Complaint Review Board, But The Independent Agency
That Monitors New York City Police Never Forwarded Its Decisions
To The Department So It Could Discipline The Officers)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: NYC Police Say Panel Withheld Findings Against 108 Officers
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 19:22:53 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
September 2, 1998
The New York Times
City Police Say Panel Withheld Findings Against 108 Officers
By MICHAEL COOPER
NEW YORK -- Raising new questions about New York City's ability to root out
police brutality and misconduct, officials acknowledged Tuesday that more
than 100 cases of police misconduct were deemed credible by the independent
agency that monitors the police but were never forwarded to the Police
Department so it could discipline the officers.
The failure of the agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, to forward
the cases -- all between 1993 and 1995 -- means that the 18-month statute of
limitations for disciplining the officers has now passed, making it unlikely
that any will be punished.
The full extent of the problem and its causes were not yet clear Tuesday,
but officials at the Police Department and the review board said it appeared
that 87 complaints of police misconduct involving 108 police officers were
investigated by the review board and found to be substantiated but were
never sent on to the department, which has the sole authority to discipline
its officers.
The revelation that 108 officers found to have committed misconduct were
never disciplined set off new rounds of criticism of the already beleaguered
review board, caused review board officials to blame their predecessors and
led some board members to complain that they were not apprised of the
situation for months. The problem was first reported Tuesday in The Daily
News.
While the review board has been beset with problems since it was formed in
1993 -- most recently last December, when the board announced that a
clerical error had led it to undercount civilian complaints and obscure a
sharp increase in the complaints between the Abner Louima case in August
1997 and the mayoral election last November -- critics said that its failure
to forward the 87 cases was among its most serious lapses. The figure is
statistically significant to a review board that substantiates fewer than
300 cases a year, officials said.
Norman Siegel, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union,
said: "In the five-year history of the independent Civilian Complaint Review
Board, this looms as the most serious ineffectiveness and potentially should
result in the dismissals of the senior staff and a change in the makeup of
the board, depending on who knew what when. Eighty-seven people have had
their rights violated."
The issue surfaced the day after Mel Barkan resigned as chairman of the
review board and was replaced by Frank Wohl. Barkan said in an interview
that his resignation was for professional reasons and had nothing to do with
the mislaid cases.
Both the Police Department and the review board claimed credit for
uncovering the problem. Marilyn Mode, the department's deputy commissioner
for public information, said the police discovered the problem in the fall
of 1997 when, in the wake of the Francis Livoti case, the department began
monitoring officers with numerous substantiated civilian complaints against
them for using excessive force.
When the department looked up individual officers in the review board's
computers, Ms. Mode said, they found that a number of officers had been
cited for substantiated complaints that were never forwarded to the
department. Ms. Mode said that the police told the review board about the
problem at a meeting Dec. 16 and in a letter Dec. 31.
Barkan said the problem was discovered by the review board at the same time
that its executive director, Gene Lopez, began an audit to try to clear up
statistical discrepancies that came to light as the board tried to prepare a
report examining how many cases were substantiated each year.
The fact that board officials knew of the problem for nearly eight months
without telling the public or even all the members of the board disturbed
some of the members. "Why were we only told of it within days of Barkan's
leaving?" asked William Kuntz, a board member who will serve on a panel to
investigate the issue. "They run this place on a need-to-know basis."
Barkan defended his handling of the case, saying: "I think it was addressed
appropriately, first by the staff, then by a committee, then to the whole
board and now to a panel," he said. "This is for matters that were not
properly handled between 1993 and 1995. I wasn't there in those years. To
the degree that it was a mess in those years, we were trying to clean this
up."
Kuntz said that the review board should have acted more quickly. "If they
discovered some cases back in December of '97, they should have been sent on
right away," he said. "The notion that I was sitting and deciding cases and
that somebody wasn't handing them over to the Police Department is a total
outrage. What are we supposed to do, lick the envelopes?"
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Musicians, Actors And Activists Come Together For First Ever 'Spitfire Tour'
(A List Subscriber Publicizes The National Tour Of College Campuses,
Opening October 10, Featuring Marijuana Law Reform Activists Woody Harrelson
And Todd McCormick, Together With Music Industry Celebrities Krist Novoselic
Of Nirvana, Amy Ray Of Indigo Girls, Jello Biafra Of The Dead Kennedy,
Exene Cervenka Of X, Veejay Kennedy Of MTV And More)
From: "Todd McCormick" (todd@a-vision.com)
To: "DRC LIST" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: MUSICIANS, ACTORS & ACTIVISTS COME TOGETHER
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 15:19:14 -0700
MUSICIANS, ACTORS & ACTIVISTS COME TOGETHER FOR FIRST EVER
'SPITFIRE TOUR'
Speakers include Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Woody Harrelson (Actor), Amy Ray
(Indigo Girls), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedy's), Exene Cervenka (X), Kennedy
(MTV) & many more.
The Spitfire Tour is the first ever package tour of musicians, actors, and
activists speaking out on global affairs. The Spitfire Tour was co-concieved
by human rights activist Zach De la Rocha (Rage Against The Machine).
The Spitfire Tour, which will be moderated by free speech advocate Krist
Novoselic (Nirvana/JAMPAC), will visit college campuses throughout October.
Krist will be joined by a minimum of four other artists per date. The
objective is to expose, enlighten and entertain, while instigating action.
The Spitfire Tour will have an aggressive and entertaining format which will
include music & video elements. Each artist will receive a minimum of 15
minutes to speak his or her mind, followed by a one hour group Q&A session
with the audience. Venue capacities range from 2,000 - 12,000 per date, and
tickets will be distributed through each college's campus activities
department.
Additionally, after the main event, each artist will partner with an invited
activist to host their own private discussions in smaller 100-200 seat
breakout rooms. Tickets to these intimate discussions will only be available
through local charities & activist groups, thus promoting and empowering
their efforts. Those not attending these discussions can tour the campus
which will contain booths with local and national charities and political
groups.
The Spitfire Tour is sponsored in part by JAMPAC, Mother Jones, Deep E Co,
Global Exchange, Rock The Vote, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, The
National Commission for Democracy In Mexico, and Living Tree.
The Spitfire Foundation recognizes the impact that these speakers have upon
their audience. By personal connections and grass roots interaction, we
believe that positive change can be made. For more information please
visit Spitfire on the web ~ www.spitfiretour.com.
DATES & SPEAKERS: (additional speakers are likely to be announced on all
dates)
October 1st, Clemson University, SC. Capacity: 10,000
1. Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) - Censorship
2. Kennedy (MTV) - Personal Responsibility
3. Woody Harrelson (Actor) - Hemp, Envronment & associated issues
4. Todd McCormick (Activist) - Medical Marijuana
5. Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) - Gay Rights, Tracey
6. Tracey Conaty (Activist) - Gay and Lesbian Rights
October 18th, UC Berkeley, CA. Capacity: 2,000
1. Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) - Censorship
2. Kennedy (MTV) - Personal Responsibility
3. Woody Harrelson (Actor) - Hemp, Envronment & associated issues
4. Todd McCormick (Activist) - Medical Marijuana
5. Exene Cervenka (X) - Society's Toll On Mental Health
October 26th, Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN. Capacity: 1,500
1. Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) - Censorship
2. Woody Harrelson (Actor) - Hemp, Envronment & associated issues
3. Todd McCormick (Activist) - Medical Marijuana
4. Kennedy (MTV) - Personal Responsibility
(more tba)
October 27th, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Capacity: 12,000
1. Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) - Censorship
2. Kennedy (MTV) - Personal Responsibility
3. Woody Harrelson (Actor) - Hemp, Envronment & associated issues
4. Todd McCormick (Activist) - Medical Marijuana
5. Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) - Zapatistas
6. Cecilia Rodriguez (Activist) - Zapatistas
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Children Surrounded By Drugs, Study Finds ('The Houston Chronicle' Version)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 21:04:16 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Children Surrounded By Drugs, Study Finds
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Contact: viewpoints@chron.com
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 2 Sep 1998
Author: STEVE LASH, Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
CHILDREN SURROUNDED BY DRUGS, STUDY FINDS
Parents and educators in denial, official says
WASHINGTON -- Increasing drug use among middle- and high-school students will
continue unless parents, principals and teachers recognize the
pervasiveness of drugs and become more involved with students, a
leading anti-drug advocate said Tuesday.
"When we send our children to middle and high school, we are tossing
them into turbulent seas of illegal drugs, alcohol and nicotine," said
Joseph A. Califano Jr., chairman of The National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York. "Basically, a
drug-free school is an oxymoron in America."
Califano released a national survey in which 430 of the 1,000 middle-
and high-school students polled said that a 13-year-old can buy LSD,
cocaine or heroin at school. Twenty-six percent said the drugs could
be purchased within one day.
The survey, conducted by The Luntz Research Cos. of Arlington, Va.,
between May and July, also revealed differing perceptions among
students, administrators and teachers. While 78 percent of high school
students reported drug use at their schools, 82 percent of their
principals and 56 percent of their teachers said their schools are
drug free.
The survey polled 822 principals but did not specify how many of them
were affiliated with high schools or middle schools. In addition,
Luntz Research contacted 478 high-school and 345 middle-school teachers.
"Starkly put, in 1990s America we have created for children at the
moment of their entry into their first teen year ... a world where
drugs, alcohol and cigarettes are widely available at school and from
classmates," said Califano, who served as secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare during the Carter administration. "It is a world
where parents, teachers and principals are in such a state of denial
about the risk of substance abuse these children face that they are
not providing the support these children need."
The study, funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that
children whose parents spend time with them after school, at meals and
in places of worship report the lowest incidents of drug use. Califano
cited the finding in urging parents to "be less self-indulgent, more
attentive to our children and more willing to talk to them" about drug
abuse.
The study, "Back to School 1998," is the fourth-annual survey the
center has commissioned from Luntz Research. In each of the four
years, a plurality of students between ages 12 and 17 reported drugs
as the greatest problem they face, surpassing other social pressures.
For the third straight year, the percentage of students reporting that
drugs are used, sold and kept at school has risen, to 78 percent this
year from 72 percent in 1996.
"America's children have been crying out for help, and not enough
people are listening," said Califano, who also served as Johnson's
chief assistant for domestic affairs. "Parents, teachers and
principals should not fear failure. What they should fear above all is
the judgment of God and history if we, the most affluent people on
earth, do not make the time and commitment to give our children the
moral and social strength to cope with the world of illegal drugs,
cigarettes and alcohol into which we thrust them as they enter their
first teen year."
The National Education Association, a teachers' organization, and the
National Association of Secondary School Principals vehemently
objected to the depiction of teachers and principals as being unaware
of drug use in their schools. However, the groups hailed the survey
for keeping the focus on the scourge of teen-age drug use and said
parents and civic leaders, in addition to teachers and principals,
must be vigilant in the fight against drugs.
"It's only going to be solved by bringing all the people who influence
kids together," said Jerald Newberry, executive director of the
education association's health information network.
Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marc Emery Direct Seeds Raided! (A List Subscriber Provides Details
About The Latest Development In The Politically Motivated Vendetta
By Officials In Vancouver, British Columbia, And Asks You To Write Letters
To Vancouver Media And Public Officials On Emery's Behalf)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Marc Emery Direct Seeds Raided!
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 08:33:28 -0700
Lines: 110
MARC EMERY DIRECT MARIJUANA SEEDS RAIDED!
By Dana Larsen
Marc Emery Direct Seeds was raided today (Wednesday, September 2). At
5:15 pm, six Vancouver cops stormed the office, taking three employees to
jail where they will spend the night.
Marc Emery was not in the office, and he expected to have to turn himself
in on Thursday morning. However, police called Marc at home to inform him
that they will not be arresting him until Friday. They claim that this is
because they need the time "for the warrant to go through". However, it is
also a long weekend, and so Marc will likely stay in jail from Friday until
Tuesday, four long nights. If they arrested him on Thursday he would only
spend one night in jail.
This raid on Marc Emery Seeds is clearly part of Mayor Philip Owen and
Police Chief Bruce Chambers' personal vendetta against Marc Emery. Marc is
already facing eight counts of selling marijuana seeds, from the January
1996 raid on Hemp BC. The trial date has been postponed and delayed
countless times, and has been finally set for April, 1999. City authorities
clearly want to drive Marc out of business without having to risk a trial
by jury.
City Hall has been intensifying their efforts against Hemp BC and Marc
Emery in recent months. Hemp BC was raided on December 17, and then again
on April 30, two months after Marc Emery had sold it to Sister Icee.
City officials have also been slandering Hemp BC in the media. Even though
Hemp BC has not sold marijuana seeds since Marc sold the store to Sister
Icee back in March, Vancouver Police Media Liaison Anne Drennan recently
told a local newspaper that Hemp BC sells both marijuana seeds and actual
marijuana over the counter! Meanwhile, Mayor Owen recently told the New
York Times that Hemp BC would "be toast by September".
These concentrated attacks against Vancouver's marijuana advocates must be
strongly opposed. Mayor Owen and Police Chief Chambers want to close Hemp
BC and put Marc Emery in jail for a long time. They're having a hard time
accomplishing their goals, but they have many resources at their command.
If City Hall were to ever force Marc Emery out of business (fat chance!)
then it would spell disaster for all other Marijuana Seed merchants in
Vancouver and across Canada. Marc Emery is the vanguard of Canada's
Marijuana Movement, and has almost single-handedly opened up the marijuana
seed market in Canada.
CONTACT THESE MEDIA:
Please contact the following media and let them know what you think about
the police raid on Marc Emery, and City Hall's attacks on Hemp BC:
Vancouver Sun: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Vancouver Province: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca
The Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.ca
CONTACT THESE OFFICIALS:
Send an email to Mayor Philip Owen telling him he should stop persecuting
Marc Emery and Hemp BC: mayorandcouncil@city.vancouver.bc.ca. You can also
call Mayor Owen at (604) 873-7621, or fax him at (604) 873-7685.
Send an email to the Vancouver Police Department, telling them they are
tools of a fascist anti-pot regime: police_chief@city.vancouver.bc.ca. You
can also call Police Chief Bruce Chambers at (604) 717 2950, or fax him at
(604) 665-3417.
Send an email to BC Premier Glen Clark, asking him to support pot-people
and put an end to raids on Marc Emery: glen_clark@bc.sympatico.ca. You can
also give him a call at (604) 431-8119, or fax him at (604) 660-0279.
STATEMENT FOR CUSTOMERS OF MARC EMERY SEEDS:
DON'T PANIC! BUSINESS WILL CONTINUE AS USUAL
Despite the raid, business at Marc Emery Direct Marijuana Seeds will
continue on as usual. We will be completely restocked within 2 days and
will continue to fill all orders in a timely fashion.
We do not keep any incriminating records of our customers, so there is no
need for paranoia. However, some orders which had arrived in the office
during the previous three days were in the office when it was raided.
Although Vancouver Police have never gone after anyone because their
address was found in our office, it does mean that we will not be able to
fill those orders.
We need your business now more than ever. We will continue to provide you
with high-quality marijuana seeds for as long as we are able. If City Hall
were to ever force Marc Emery out of business (fat chance!) then it would
spell disaster for all other Marijuana Seeds Merchants in Vancouver and
across Canada. Marc Emery is the vanguard of Canada's Marijuana Movement,
and has almost single-handedly opened up the marijuana seed market in
Canada.
Please continue to support our business through this difficult time. We
need you and you need us, so let's work together to bring marijuana to all
people who need it, everywhere. Keep those orders coming, we will fill
every single one of them! If you really love marijuana then just send us a
donation. Like all raids, this one will be financially devastating, and we
need all the help we can get.
However, we won't let a little thing like a police raid stop us. This is
the 10th time Marc Emery has been arrested in Vancouver, and the 8th time
he will spend the night in jail for a marijuana-related offence. We don't
like being raided, and we'll never get used to it, but we know how to
survive, and we will.
You can send Marc a message of support at: memery@cannabisculture.com
Visit Marc Emery Direct Marijuana Seeds at:
http://www.cannabisculture.com/seeds/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
'I Need It To Live' - Police Bust AIDS Patient Whose Doctors Advised Pot Use
('The Ottawa Citizen' Says The Ottawa-Carleton Police Regional Drug Unit
Charged Jean-Charles Pariseau With Marijuana Possession And Production
Yesterday After Rousting Him, His Wife And 12-Year-Old At Home
Just Before Midnight Monday - Mr. Pariseau's Case Received National Attention
After His First Arrest, When A Group Of Doctors And Lawyers
Filed A Ground-Breaking Application To The Federal Government In November
1997 Asking That He Be Allowed To Use Marijuana Because It Was Prolonging
His Life)
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 16:04:56 -0400 (EDT)
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
From: Michael Foster (crosstown@igs.net)
Subject: Ottawa Cops Bust Medicinal User
'I need it to live'
Police bust AIDs patient whose doctors advised pot use
Jeremy Mercer
The Ottawa Citizen
Jean-Charles Pariseau's doctors say his use of marijuana is prolonging his
life.
A Vanier man with AIDS who smokes marijuana on the advice of his doctors was
marched out of his house with his wife and 12-year-old son -- hands on their
heads -- and arrested shortly before midnight Monday.
The Ottawa-Carleton police regional drug unit charged Jean-Charles Pariseau
with drug possession and production yesterday following the arrest. It is
the second time in the past year that Mr. Pariseau, 31, has been charged
with marijuana use and cultivation.
"When they came for me, I said 'Oh no, not again,' " Mr. Pariseau said from
his home yesterday. "I don't know why they bother me again. I only use it
myself and I need it to live."
Mr. Pariseau's case received national attention after his first arrest. In
November 1997, a group of doctors and lawyers filed a ground-breaking
application to the federal government asking that he be allowed to use
marijuana because it was prolonging his life.
Members of the drug unit, backed by the Ottawa-Carleton police tactical
unit, telephoned Mr. Pariseau when they arrived at his St. Denis Street home
in Vanier Monday night. They told him to leave the house with his wife,
Sylvie, and their 12-year-old son with their hands on their heads in surrender.
Mr. Pariseau was handcuffed and taken to the police station, where he was
formally charged. He was allowed to go home shortly before 4 a.m. yesterday.
"I don't know how much more I have to go through," Mr. Pariseau said as he
gave a tour of the small backyard garden where he grew his marijuana. "Now I
have to buy it from the street again. It's not what I like to do."
Officers from the drug unit say they didn't realize who Mr. Pariseau was or
his condition when they made the arrest, but they say they are now treating
him with sympathy.
"We have shown him quite a lot of compassion and will continue to do so,"
said Det. Loch Bisaillion. "But until the law changes, we have to enforce it
as it is."
Det. Bisaillion said police received an anonymous tip that the resident at
379 St. Denis St., Mr. Pariseau's house, was growing drugs. There was no
evidence that Mr. Pariseau was selling the drugs, according to Det. Bisaillion.
He said that once police were made aware of his condition, Mr. Pariseau was
allowed to go home instead of spending the night in custody.
Mr. Pariseau is to appear in Ottawa court Sept. 18 to face the latest drug
charges. He goes to trial in Hull court on Oct. 14 on drug charges stemming
from when he lived in Hull last year and the RCMP raided his apartment.
Mr. Pariseau's marijuana odyssey began in 1996 when the AIDS virus, which he
acquired from sharing needles in the early 1980s, began to take its toll on
his body.
The roughly 30 pills Mr. Pariseau was taking every day to fight the virus
made him nauseous and destroyed his appetite. By October 1996, Mr. Pariseau,
who at 5 foot 2 once weighed 115 pounds, had dropped to a gaunt 82 pounds.
Doctors gave him three months to live.
Desperate, Mr. Pariseau tried marijuana on the advice of a friend. He was
astonished when he felt his nausea subside and his appetite return.
When Mr. Pariseau told his physician, Dr. Don Kilby, about the effects of
the marijuana, he was told to keep on smoking. The increased appetite meant
Mr. Pariseau could take his medication, giving his treatment a chance of
working, Dr. Kilby said at the time.
With steady marijuana use, Mr. Pariseau's weight shot up to 125 pounds,
where it remains today.
Dr. Kilby is still Mr. Pariseau's doctor, but could not be reached for
reaction yesterday because he was vacationing abroad.
After getting the thumbs-up from his doctor in late 1996, Mr. Pariseau began
growing marijuana in his own apartment so he wouldn't have to buy it from
street dealers. Last October, he was raided by the RCMP and charged.
When Mr. Pariseau's plight became known, Dr. Kilby, Dr. Michele
Brill-Edwards, and Ottawa lawyers Eugene Oscapella and Glenn Gilmour,
applied to Health Canada to allow him marijuana under a special drug access
program. The program allows doctors to request immediate approval of drugs
not authorized under the Food and Drug Act if the patient is in an emergency
situation.
That application was denied.
With no legal access to marijuana, Mr. Pariseau moved to Vanier and began
growing marijuana in his backyard so he could continue to smoke.
That came to an end early yesterday morning when police raided his house.
"What do I do now?" said Mr. Pariseau, who has yet to hire a lawyer. "I have
to get marijuana someplace else. I have to keep smoking."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marijuana User Avoids Jail Time ('The Peterborough Examiner' In Peterborough,
Ontario, Says Multiple Sclerosis Patient David Jamieson Of Douro Township
Was Fined $1,000 By A Provincial Court Tuesday For Cultivating
250 Marijuana Plants - After Reading A Letter From Jamieson's Doctor,
The Contents Of Which Weren't Disclosed In Court, Judge LTG Collins Said,
'I See Why A Fine Rather Than Jail Term' Was Appropriate)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Marijuana User Avoids Jail Time
Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1998 07:35:37 -0700
Lines: 82
Newshawk: Dave Jamieson
Source: Peterborough Examiner (Canada)
Fax: (705) 743-4581
Pubdate: 02 Sep 1998
MARIJUANA USER AVOIDS JAIL TIME
* MS sufferer claims smoking the drug helps him cope with disease
A man who says marijuana helps him cope with multiple sclerosis (MS)
symptoms avoided going to jail for growing marijuana after the judge read a
letter from the man's doctor. David Jamieson, 42, of Douro Township, was
accompanied by his wife, Teena, as he slowly walked out of provincial court
after being fined $1,000 Tuesday.
He and his wife had been charged with producing marijuana and possession
for the purpose of trafficking. After he pleaded guilty to the producing
charge, the other charges were withdrawn by federal prosecutor Stephen
Bazuk.
After reading the doctor's letter- contents of which weren't disclosed in
court - Judge L.T.G. Collins said "I see why a fine rather than jail term"
was appropriate for Jamieson.
Outside court, while steadying himself with his cane, Jamieson told The
Examiner his general well-being and mood improved after smoking marijuana.
Jamieson said marijuana alleviates muscle spasms and depression, improves
his appetite and helps him sleep at night.
"I have a better quality of life when I can sleep and my body isn't tense,"
he said. "the pills (he is precribed) don't work as well as marijuana."
Jamieson said he will testify on the benefits he derives from marijuana at
a high prfile trial in London, Ont., where a woman, Lynn Harichy, was
charged with possessing marijuana cigarette on the police department steps
in 1996.
A London police spokeman told the Examiner that Harichy, who wants
marijuana legized for medicinal purposes, stood outside police headquarters
until she was charged. Her trial is Nov. 17.
Jamieson said he was diagnosed with MS four and a half years ago but had
smoked marijuana for several years prior to that. He said he began taking
it for medicinial reasons after reading an article on its benefits for MS
sufferers.The only difference is that now he uses a vaporizer, he said.
Jamieson said he will continue taking marijuana for MS and his doctor has
provided him with a letter so he can join a marijuana buyers' club.
The Jamiesons said the club isn't a legal entity and members can be charged
by police if caught with marijuana.
Jamieson said he hasn't used the buyers' club yet, bet has been told its
prices are the same as street prices for marijuana.
He said he wanted to fight the charges he pleadied guilty to yesterday but
couldn't afford the $10,000 to $15,000 cost of going to trial.
Jamieson said that he was also fined $1,000.00 following a conviction for
growing a small amount of marijuana in his house five or six years ago.
Court heard police searched the Jamieson's Douro Township house after
getting a tip that Jamieson was growing marijuana.
Bazuk told court that police found a hydroponic growing operation with
numerous seedling plants and some dried marijuana. He said that there was
also evidence that marijuana was grown outside.
When the Jamiesons were arrested the OPP said they seized 250 plants with
potential street value of $50,000.
Lawyer Russ Palin and Bazuk had reached a plea bargain agreement of $1,000.
fine, which they suggested to Collins.
While Bazuk told The Examiner most people convicted of producing marijuana
go to jail, he said his decision on an appropriate penalty is based on the
facts and what the prosecution can prove.
Bazuk said he did not agree to the fine because of Jamieson's medical
condition.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
You Ask The Questions (Britain's Howard Marks,
The Celebrated Former Marijuana Smuggler And Author
Of 'Mr. Nice,' Answers Questions From Readers Of 'The Independent')
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 08:55:20 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: You Ask The Questions
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Alan Randell
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/stories/C0209827.html
Pubdate: 2 September 1998
Author: Louise Evans
YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS
You ask the questions - Such as, Howard Marks:
How can someone who's smoked as much dope as you remember things with any
clarity?
Howard Marks, 53, was born in Kenfig Hill, South Wales. In 1964, he went to
Balliol College, Oxford, to read physics. After university, he carved out a
career smuggling large quantities of marijuana and by the mid-Eighties, he
was Britain's most wanted man. He had 43 aliases and ran 25 companies as
drug-running front organisations. Eventually he was extradited from Spain
to the US where he spent seven years in prison. Married with four children,
he is the author of Mr Nice, his autobiography.
Introduce yourself to a stranger who has never heard of you in one sentence.
Rick McEwen, Brighton
I'm a temporarily unemployed dope smuggler.
Hash or weed?
Jon Cox, Oxford
I prefer the strongest hash to the strongest weed. These days, however,
street weed is generally far stronger than street hash.
What's your favourite type of marijuana?
Simon Roberts, Shepherd's Bush
Very strong skunk.
Colombian Gold, Zero Zero, Afghani Black - which is your favourite tipple?
Daniel Myers, Camden
If we are referring to the best of each type offered, my favourite is
Afghani Black.
Would you ever consider writing fiction? If so, what would you write about?
Rob Peel, Nottingham
I have considered writing fiction but have no reason to believe I would be
any good at it. I'm sure that if I did make any attempt, I would be too
nervous to stray away from drug-smuggling plots.
In your book you go into great detail about your drug-dealing, recounting
dates, phone calls and locations exactly. How can someone who smoked as
much dope as you did remember things with such clarity?
Shay Parsons
There are two main reasons:
(1) Dope does not appear to adversely affect that part of my memory.
(2) Under the United States Freedom of Information Act, I was able to
obtain copies of all documentary and electronic evidence that the United
States Drug Enforcement Administration had amassed against me. They
amounted to several dozen boxes and contained detailed observation reports.
Consequently, if I needed to know where I was and what I did on a
particular date, I would consult the appropriate observation report.
Do you find that you have to live "up" to the role of professional criminal?
Alice Morgan
Crime is no longer my profession, and when it was, I pretended it wasn't.
So there's nothing to live up to.
Does the naive adoration of your audiences affect you?
Ditto
All adoration does.
Do you find yourself seduced by your own publicity?
Ditto
I am aware of that danger and do my best to avoid it.
Do you feel concern about your association with and contributions to the
coffers of organised crime and the IRA, when we know all too well the
suffering they can inflict?
Ditto
Organised crime has penetrated everywhere, including most legitimate
businesses. New York garbage collection, for example, is entirely
Mafia-controlled. This is well known by the dustmen, but appears to present
them with few ethical problems. It is no more surprising to find the Mafia
participating in drug-dealing than dealing in any other commodity or
service. Given the large profits engendered in the trade of illegal
recreational drugs, one can expect their participation to be enthusiastic.
Although I did smuggle hashish with someone who claimed to be an IRA man,
the IRA officially denied that he was a member. I am utterly opposed to any
activity which results in the slaughter of innocents. Nevertheless, I must
admit I pay scant attention to which organisation an individual belongs. I
make my agreements on an entirely one-to-one basis.
How have you become so actively involved in the club scene, and what
motivated you to do so? Which producers/DJs do you hold in high regard, and
what album you reach for while "relaxing"?
Paul Stewart
There has always been considerable overlap of drugs and music. My book
turned out to be popular with members of the dance culture. I like today's
tunes. The rest followed naturally.
I particularly like Tricky, Sid Shanti and Derek Delarge. At present, my
relaxation is provided by Red Snapper's new album, Making Bones.
How much hash do you smoke per day?
Matt Myers
Between 20 and 30 joints.
When you met Iain Sinclair and Marc Atkins coming out of the M15 building
opposite Millbank (while they were researching the book "Lights out for the
Territory"), what had you been doing inside?
Jon Cox
Actually, it was MI6. I was not allowed further in than the foyer.
How close do you think we are to the legislation of cannabis in the UK and
how do you see the current explosion in drugs such as Viagra and the new
slimming pill?
David Hall, Maidenhead, Berks
Not close. Viagra sales make the illegality of cannabis appear even more
hypocritical and ridiculous than it has been so far. But hypocrisy is no
bar to a politician's progress.
Do you still have problems with the police?
Susie Harris, Camberwell
Not at all. Many of them, particularly senior ones, share my views.
If you hadn't got into dope, what do you think you would have done instead?
Ed Sinclair, Sheffield
I would have become a teacher, a profession I greatly enjoyed.
At the front of your book, you say you're considering a career in law. What
area? Why law?
William Crook, Epping Forest
During my years in prison, I was a jailhouse lawyer. When I was released
from prison, I thought I could use some of my experience to enable early
release of prisoners. But that was before I was offered an advance to write
a book.
What's your worst memory of being in prison?
Graham Garner, Epsom
It changes, but is often the day I heard that my son Patrick had jumped off
a roof and broken his legs.
Do you feel that becoming an unofficial spokesperson for getting stoned has
given you licence not to grow up?
Jules Ferguson, Glasgow
I have never objected to the process of growing up and have not consciously
attempted to slow down my own progress in this regard. Accordingly, I have
not sought such licence. I do, of course, accept that the age of today's
average pot smoker is far less than it was.
What's the most paranoid moment you've ever had while smoking dope?
Anon
I have never suffered from paranoia.
How do you feel about your children experimenting with soft drugs? Have
they read your book, and what do they think of your past?
Clare Budd, Banbury
I neither encourage nor discourage drug use. I know they are more likely to
experiment than not, which is why I am against prohibition.
My three oldest children have read my book. As much of my past is their
past, it's a difficult question to answer.
My children are aware of my strengths and my weaknesses.
How would you rather spend the next 24 hours: tripping on acid, pissed on
vodka, stoned, or all three?
Steve Hunter, Wirral
Obviously, all three.
What's your all-time favourite album?
Tina Currie, Edinburgh
Blonde on Blonde, by Bob Dylan
What are you doing right now and what can you see in front of you?
Lizzie Forge, Colchester
I'm in Edinburgh psyching myself up for my last performance at the
Edinburgh Film Festival. I can see monuments.
If you were invisible for one day, where would you go and what would you do?
Pattie Lewis, Stoke Newington
I would plant cannabis seeds everywhere.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TV Blamed For Fuelling Public Fear Of Crime (According To 'The Scotsman,'
Police Chief Superintendent Malcolm Dickson Said Yesterday That A Survey
Conducted By His Force Revealed That Supposedly Realistic Television Shows
Such As 'NYPD Blue' And BBC 1's 'City Central' Led Almost Half Of Those
Who Responded To Say They Felt Afraid At Night, Despite A General Fall
In The Number Of Offences Actually Taking Place)
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 17:29:03 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: TV Blamed For Fuelling Public Fear Of Crime
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, 2 Sep 1998
Author: Andrew Walker
TV BLAMED FOR FUELLING PUBLIC FEAR OF CRIME
Study reveals many people are afraid in towns at night despite fall in
offences
REALISTIC police television dramas are fuelling public fear of crime
despite a general fall in the number of offences actually taking place, a
senior Scottish officer claimed yesterday.
Chief Superintendent Malcolm Dickson spoke out as a survey conducted by his
force revealed almost half of those who responded said they felt afraid in
towns at night.
Mr Dickson's claim that shows such as NYPD Blue were causing unnecessary
concern were backed by academics, who said that crime documentary
programmes were having the same effect.
Mr Dickson, who is co-ordinating the Partners Survey for Lothian and
Borders Police, said he was surprised by the result.
He said a number of television shows created in Britain and America
presented an unrealistic snapshot of crime levels, which the viewer often
regarded as fact because of the apparent authenticity of the production.
Mr Dickson said many people's perceptions of crime were formed from such
entertainment even though the fictional crime rates were far removed from
the situation facing the public.
He added: "These fictional police programmes are at odds with reality. They
have high production values but bear no resemblance to crime on the streets
of Lothian and Borders.
"We have a falling crime rate in the region, yet so far 49 per cent of the
people in this survey said they are unsafe in town after dark. That is not
a result I would have predicted."
Shows such as Channel 4's NYPD Blue, based in New York, and BBC 1's City
Central, set in a fictional town in the north of England, are huge hits
with television viewers and aim to portray police work as realistically as
possible.
Mr Dickson refused to identify individual programmes but said most people's
attitudes towards crime were shaped by television.
He said: "We are not saying this is wrong, or that these shows should be
taken off the air - that would be unrealistic of us - but we are up against
them in our effort to show people the reality is different from what they
see on television."
Mr Dickson said people appear to be commenting on the fear of crime rather
than crime itself.
"Our aim is to make people face up to these misconceptions by getting
information across to them about the real situation," he said.
Mr Dickson said the number of people who said they were unsafe in towns
after dark reflected the region as a whole and not just Edinburgh city centre.
Professor David Smith, a criminologist from Edinburgh University, said that
while he did not believe the number of police dramas had increased
significantly over the past decade, a new type of show was highlighting crime.
He said: "There has been a growth in shows promoted enthusiastically by the
police themselves which feature reconstructions and appeals for information
on specific crimes which has made people much more aware of crime."
The force plans to use the results of the survey, one of the biggest of its
kind carried out in Scotland with 7,000 questionnaires randomly issued to
households, to shape its strategy over the next three years.
Dr Peter Duff, a criminologist from Aberdeen University, said programmes
such as Crimewatch gave people heightened perceptions of crime rates.
"There is little doubt that crime rates have either been at a standstill or
coming down in recent years but the public has an inaccurate perception
they are living with a rising tide of crime and that is inaccurate."
Clare Connelly, of Glasgow School of Law, said: "Unfortunately as a culture
we seem to be entertained by the sensational and if you watch these kinds
of programmes then your perception of crime is likely to be shaped to some
degree by them."
The survey, which will be completed in October, shows the public wants
priority given to tackling muggings and street robbery, assaults and more
foot patrols in key areas.
Other areas where the public wants to see more action include
drink-driving, drug dealing, carrying offensive weapons and housebreaking.
Last month, Home Office figures showed Edinburgh had more homicides per
head of population than London. A study found the capital had 2.4 cases of
murder, infanticide or manslaughter per 100,000 inhabitants.
But the authorities claimed a victory against crime when 30 people were
caught carrying out criminal acts by CCTV cameras in the first month of
operation.
A total of 12 cameras were switched on by the City in View project which
aims to make the city centre safer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DrugSense Weekly, Number 62 (A Weekly Summary Of Drug Policy News
From The Media Awareness Project)
Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1998 12:43:27 -0700
To: mgreer@mapinc.org
From: Mark Greer (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Subject: DrugSense Weekly, September 2,1998 No. 62
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
In about 10 minutes a week you can stay aware and informed on drug policy
developments worldwide.
Consider investing another 10 minutes to write a letter to the editor
using the email addresses provided in this publication.
You CAN make a difference!
***
DrugSense Weekly, September 2,1998, No. 62
A DrugSense publication
http://www.drugsense.org
***
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
* Feature Article
A modest Proposal - Humor
By Mark Greer
* Weekly News In Review
Policy; Sporting Division-
McGwire's Spiked Swing Raises Health Questions
OPED: McGwire: Chemically Enhanced Hero?
Ruth And McGwire: Different Times, Drugs
Olympic Boss Calls For War On Drug Cheats
Drug Policy; Prison Division-
OK: Inmate Numbers Worry Officials
CA: Prison Officers Get Raise; Other Workers Stymied
Drug policy; Marijuana Division-
OR: Student Survey Names Reed Top U.S. School In Academics
CA: Cops Harvest Massive Bay Area Pot Farm
PA: Lawyer Sues U.S. To Overturn Ban On Marijuana
Drug Policy; Simple Fairness Division-
Oakland Tenants Fight Feds' Policy
International News-
Mexico Rejects Conditions On U.S. Anti-Drug
Borderlands
Border Drug Plan Set To Be Unveiled
France: Police Seize Body Shop Hemp Products
GPs Give Prozac To Teenagers For Exam Nerves
Mayor In Colombia More Like A Fugitive
* Hot Off The 'Net
Medical Marijuana Archives
* DrugSense Tip Of The Week
Help us grow
* Quote of the Week
US Supreme Court
* Fact of the Week
AIDS From dirty needles
***
FEATURE ARTICLE
EDITOR'S Note: We thought a little something on the lighter side might be a
timely change of pace. Let us know what you think.
A Modest Proposal - Humor
By Mark Greer
I have the solution to both the collapsing economy in Russia and our
nation's out of control "drug problems." It's a simple thing really. Our
nation wastes about $100 billion a year in completely useless federal,
state and local enforcement, incarceration, and interdiction efforts on our
"drug war" with the end result that any child with a few dollars and some
curiosity can buy any drug they wish. So what's the point?
Let's completely eliminate the waste of dollars, legalize drugs in the U.S.
and buy Russia! Let's see if the Russian government will sell us the whole
country including their nuclear arsenal to us for the same $100 billion a
year for say the next 20 years. We'll put our own puppet government in
place (which couldn't possibly do a worse job than the Russian government
is doing already). We then retire all the old commies with a great pension
plan and start paying the military and workers who are now nearly starving
to death using the same $100 billion we used to waste on the drug war.
Then in a real stroke of genius we can outlaw drugs in Russia make a
fortune having American contractors build prisons, incarcerate half the
population for selling drugs, and hire the other half as prison guards.
Maybe we can even use the prisoners as slave labor make micro chips,
designer jeans, or tennis shoes. To manage all this we send all the black
clad goon squads that are currently kicking down the doors of our citizens
over to Russia so they can kick down their doors. (the Russians are used to
repression and suffering anyway)
In this way we can completely destroy Russia which is on its way into
oblivion anyway instead of destroying ourselves with an insane drug policy
and the U.S. can go back to being a free country. We can quit being the
largest prison building nation on the planet and our government can again
begin using Russia instead of U.S. drug users as the enemy of choice. They
seem to need to vilify someone so why not Russia like in the good old days?
As a great bonus we will return to the complete lack of drug problems we
enjoyed in this country before we made them illegal.
Imagine the U.S. as a free country again, no drug war, and no threat from
Russian nukes. What a concept!
***
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
***
Policy; Sporting Division
***
COMMENT:
Given earlier sports furors over recreational (Winter Olympics) and
performance-enhancing (Tour de France and '96 Olympics) drug use it's
hardly surprising that Mark McGwire's admission to using anabolic steroids
while chasing the major league home run record would rekindle
still-smoldering debates.
The detailed Chicago Tribune article points out that it's an over the
counter agent; technically legal for baseball, not, strictly speaking, a
"drug" and of dubious benefit anyway.
While NYT columnist Bob Herbert sermonized on the "role model" issue
plaguing all professional athletes, Canadian sports writer Dave Perkins was
inclined toward a more realistic view of McGwire's drug use.
The most Draconian response was from the head of the Australian Olympic
Committee; it might have earned praise from Anslinger himself, but it won't
please IOC Chairman Samaranche who is already on record for more tolerance
of performance-enhancing (but not recreational) drugs. Anyone claiming to
be unconfused by all this can't expect to be taken seriously.
***
McGWIRE'S SPIKED SWING RAISES HEALTH QUESTIONS
Eleven weeks ago, or 24 home runs ago in Mark McGwire time,
General Nutrition Centers sent an internal memo to the managers
of its 3,700 stores nationwide.
The message was brief and direct: Don't sell androstenedione,
an over-the-counter nutritional supplement. Even though no definitive
studies had shown any dangerous side effects from androstenedione,
GNC was increasingly concerned about a product that was purported
to raise testosterone levels and thus enhance physical performance.
Its own review of scientific literature had raised questions.
[snip]
Already in its short life in the United States, androstenedione has had a
troubled existence. Critics say it's a drug. The federal government says
androstenedione is closer to a food and therefore doesn't need to be
regulated. The International Olympic Committee, the NFL and the NCAA have
banned it. Major League Baseball has not. The question is, what exactly is it?
[snip]
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 26 Aug 1998
Author: Rick Morrissey and Bruce Japsen
Section: Sec. 1, p. 1
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n730.a05.html
***
McGWIRE: CHEMICALLY ENHANCED HERO?
Androstenedione is legal in the United States, and Mark McGwire, a
remarkably muscular man who hits home runs for a living, has a right to use
it. Whether it's a good idea to use it is another matter.
[snip]
...Mark McGwire is operating safely within the boundaries of the law and
the rules of his sport. But there are other considerations. Each new home
run gives the nation a thrill. As he draws closer to Ruth's 60 and Maris'
61, each at-bat will likely be televised live to the nation. A lot of young
people will be looking on, admiring their hero, trying to follow his
example, trying their best to be like Mark.
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Contact: YourView@S-T.com
Website: http://www.s-t.com/
Author: Bob Herbert is a New York Times columnist
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n739.a03.html
***
RUTH AND McGWIRE: DIFFERENT TIMES, DRUGS
SO THE BIG slugger hit all those home runs while partaking of a potentially
dangerous substance that is banned in some places, but not others?
Imagine that.
Why, what would Babe Ruth have done if alcohol hadn't been illegal in the
United States for most of his career?
Now, 60 or 70 years later, many people would laugh at the idea that Ruth
used, even abused, a technically illegal product (booze, and often in vast
quantities) while setting dozens of home run records. Pitchers probably
wished he drank more.
It is impossible to know what people will be saying about androstenedione
in several decades. Who knows? They might be sprinkling it on kids'
breakfast cereals in the middle of the next century.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tuesday, August 25, 1998
Source: Toronto Star (Canada)
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Section: Sports
Author: Dave Perkins, Sports Columnist
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n727.a09.html
***
OLYMPIC BOSS CALLS FOR WAR ON DRUG CHEATS
AUSTRALIA'S Olympic chief yesterday demanded drug-cheating athletes be
jailed and their dealers in anabolic steroids face life sentences.
John Coates, president of the Australian Olympic Committee, said suppliers
of hard sports drugs should be subject to the same penalties as narcotics
traffickers.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tue, 25 August 1998
Source: The Australian
Contact: ausletr@matp.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
Author: Nicole Jeffrey
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n727.a04.html
***
Drug Policy; Prison Division
***
COMMENT:
It's still far too early to know how the worsening economic climate will
affect America's runaway incarceration industry, but since it's basically a
publicly funded entitlement program which produces nothing of tangible
value, it's a good bet that hard times will work against it.
Prison inmates spend a variable length of time in local jails before
sentencing; some jail residents never make it all the way to prison. At any
one time nearly 1/3 of those incarcerated in the US are in jails of various
sorts.
The Tulsa story is typical and underscores how demand for these facilities
is becoming a financial burden on their communities.
Another measure of the political weight of the prison system is seen in
California.
In 1992, the correctional officers' union (whose membership is now greater
than the entire 1970s PRISONER population) contributed a still-record
$425,000 to Pete Wilson's campaign. Their reward came last week when, at
his behest, they received a generous pay raise while other state employees
were being stiffed.
***
INMATE NUMBERS WORRY OFFICIALS
The Tulsa Jail's inmate population could exceed federally imposed limits,
officials warn.
The Tulsa Jail had its highest ever monthly average number of inmates last
month, provoking concern among jail authority members Friday.
If the trend for July continues through the rest of the year, Tulsa County
sheriff's officials warned, the inmate population could break records and
exceed federally imposed limits at the lockup.
[snip]
So, without triggering this ACA pressure valve, there are effectively 1,476
beds available at the new jail.
But officials don't want to come anywhere near that total until after the
turn of the century. That's why the budget for Corrections Corporation of
America to run the new jail is only for 1,100 inmates.
[snip]
Source: Tulsa World (OK)
Contact: tulsaworld@mail.webtek.com
Website: http://www.tulsaworld.com
Pubdate: 29 Aug 1998
Author: Tim Hoover World Staff Writer
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n743.a12.html
***
CA: PRISON OFFICERS GET RAISE; OTHER WORKERS STYMIED
SAN LUIS OBISPO - State workers are smarting after negotiators for
California's correctional officers agreed to a one-year, 12 percent raise,
an increase that comes as other employee unions remain at loggerheads with
Gov. Pete Wilson.
What hurts isn't the pay hike package that still needs ratification by the
California Correctional Peace Officers Association, according to union
officials, but that the agreement came one day after Wilson vetoed
increases for other state workers.
[snip]
Source: San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune (CA)
Contact: slott@slnt01.sanluisobispo.com
Website: http://sanluisobispo.com/
Pubdate: 26 Aug 1998
Author: Dave Wilcox Telegram-Tribune
Section: SLO County, page B-1
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n737.a02.html
***
Drug Policy; Marijuana division
***
COMMENT:
Warriors like to claim that pot use and intellect are incompatible; that
view was rejected emphatically by college students themselves in a survey
reported by the Oregonian.
While too early to be called a trend, the largest pot farms found recently
have been in the Bay Area, not in the Emerald Triangle.
Initiatives are one way to effect change; another is by class-action
lawsuit. One aimed squarely at medical marijuana was filed weeks ago and
was finally discussed in some detail in a Philadelphia Inquirer article
which should be read in its entirety by all with a serious interest in the
subject. The complaint itself has been posted on the web at:
http://www.legalize-usa.org/class%5Faction/suit.htm.
***
STUDENT SURVEY NAMES REED TOP U.S.SCHOOL IN ACADEMICS
No thanks to divine intervention, Reed College was named the
country's top academic school for undergraduates this year by The Princeton
Review.
The private liberal arts college in Southeast Portland got top marks for
academics and professor quality - and for least religious students - in a
national survey of 56,000 students conducted by the company.
Reed, known as an intellectually intense school that produces many future
Ph.Ds, also placed third in the survey's "reefer madness" category for
marijuana use - a testament, perhaps, to its famously laissez-faire lifestyle.
[snip]
Source: Oregonian, The
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Pubdate: 25 Aug 1998
Author: Romel Hernandez of The Oregonian staff
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n729.a07.html
***
COPS HARVEST MASSIVE BAY AREA POT FARM
19 million potential joints cut down
Authorities seized more than 21,000 marijuana plants with a street value of
$84 million this week in Santa Clara County in one of the largest finds of
its kind in state history.
"It's the largest (outdoor) seizure that the Campaign Against Marijuana
Planting program has ever been involved in," said Gil Van Attenhoven,
operations commander for CAMP, which was created in 1983 and involves
state, local and federal authorities.
[snip]
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 29 Aug 1998
Author: Eve Mitchell
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n743.a04.html
***
LAWYER SUES U.S. TO OVERTURN BAN ON MARIJUANA
Cited in the suit, which seeks to allow medicinal use, are personal stories
like the one of a Philadelphia AIDS patient and activist.
It's been said that nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come,
and lawyer Lawrence Elliott Hirsch may be right: That now is the hour to
sue to legalize the medical use of marijuana.
[snip]
Smelling the winds of change, Hirsch said he decided that the time was
right to use the weapon of a federal class-action lawsuit to end the
government's 61-year-old ban on the herb aficionados prefer to call by its
Latin name, cannabis.
"This has to be the hottest issue since communism," said Hirsch, 59, in a
recent interview. Hirsch's lawsuit, filed last month in U.S. District
Court, lives up to his description as being a "grass-roots effort." Most of
the lawsuit's 128 pages are taken up with the life stories of 164
plaintiffs who contend they have found significant health benefits to
smoking marijuana.
[snip]
Hirsch could be right. But it's the judicial answer that scares a lot of
others in the marijuana legalization movement. "Of course I'm concerned
about making bad law," said Keith Stroup, a lawyer and executive director
of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the
Washington-based group that has campaigned to legalize cannabis since 1970.
Stroup said he and NORML lawyers were to obtain a copy of Hirsch's lawsuit
and would consider whether to support it, either as a "friend of the court"
or by providing expert witnesses if the case gets to trial. "We're not in
disagreement with [ Hirsch's ] goals," Stroup said.
[snip]
Pubdate: Mon, 24 Aug 1998
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
Contact: Inquirer.Opinion@phillynews.com
Website: http://www.phillynews.com/
Author: Joseph A. Slobodzian INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n722.a01.html
***
Drug Policy; Simple Fairness Division
***
COMMENT:
A diabolical aspect of federal drug policy has been the extreme lengths to
which it goes to inflict collateral penalties on hapless individual
citizens for drug violations. One of the worst is a rule allowing expulsion
of the innocent from public housing for drug violations by a family member
or even a guest. The report of successful resistance to this policy is a
genuine bright spot in the news. Yes, it's the same federal judge who has
shown a modicum of sympathy for, but not much courage on, the issue of
medical marijuana.
***
OAKLAND TENANTS FIGHT FEDS' POLICY
OAKLAND - Herman Walker is in the eye of the storm swirling around public
housing.
A former minister, he is 75, partially paralyzed in his left arm, and
suffers from severe arthritis. He lives alone in public
housing for seniors on Harrison Street. To continue living
independently, he hired a caretaker to help him bathe, dress and cook.
[snip]
That's why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has
appealed the judge's preliminary order barring evictions of Walker and
others until their cases are resolved.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has indicated in preliminary rulings
that he thinks it may be unconstitutional to evict people from public
housing for crimes they knew nothing about.
[snip]
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: Sun, 23 Aug 1998
Author: Emelyn Cruz Lat of the EXAMINER STAFF
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n729.a01.html
***
International News
***
COMMENT:
"Cognitive dissonance" is a near perfect description of the dialogue
between drug hawks DeWine and McCollum on the one hand, and Mexican
spokesman Suarez, on the other, as reported in an AP wire story.
Mexico is also the focus of a well written, detailed consideration of the
impact of NAFTA, globalization and the drug war on the US-Mexican border.
This piece, from the San Jose MN, deserves to be read in its entirety.
The woes described in the SJMN article are sure to be added to by
implementation of McCzar's new plan. Although details haven't yet been
archived in DrugNews, they should be in the next edition. Expect his"defend
our borders at all costs" bunker mentality to prevail over common sense.
On a lighter note, the comment of Ms. Roddick on the logic of Gallic law
enforcement is too good not to repeat.
The London Times article on increasing prescription of antidepressants for
young people speaks for the desperation of our modern era nearly as
eloquently as the story by John Otis speaks for the mess our drug policy
has helped create in Colombia.
***
MEXICO REJECTS CONDITIONS ON U.S. ANTI-DRUG
MEXICO CITY -- Concerned by U.S. attempts to guide Mexican anti-drug
efforts, officials here are again rejecting calls to let American agents
carry arms in Mexico.
[snip]
"The government of Mexico has repeatedly and emphatically indicated that it
will not grant such permission," said secretariat spokesman Oscar Ramirez
Suarez in a news release.
The statement came in response to a proposal by two Republican lawmakers,
Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio and Rep. Bill McCollum of Florida, which would
offer new helicopters for Mexico if the country allows U.S. agents to carry
weapons here.
The proposal is part of their "Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act of
1998," which also urges that all U.S. law enforcement officials working
across the border be granted diplomatic immunity.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tue, 25 Aug 1998
Source: AP
Author: John Rice
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n741.a09.html
***
BORDERLANDS
Pressure from U.S., Mexican leaders to grapple with globalization, drugs
and immigration is transforming forever a 150-year-old way of life
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Once a dusty no-man's land caught in the past,
today's U.S.-Mexico border is undergoing its biggest transformation,
leaping into the global economy and leaving behind a centuries-old
``anything goes'' way of life.
From the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, the powerful forces of
economic globalization, the explosion of lawlessness spawned by brutal drug
lords and the constant meddling by Washington and Mexico City are tearing
at the fabric of the 2,000-mile border.
[snip]
Pubdate: Sun, 30 Aug 1998
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author: Alfredo Corchado and Laurence Iliff
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n748.a07.html
***
BORDER DRUG PLAN SET TO BE UNVEILED
McCaffrey to make call for regional czar to supervise efforts at ports and
crossings
WASHINGTON - Drug czar Barry McCaffrey will propose changes in the nation's
strategy to stem narcotics trafficking, including naming a federal official
to coordinate efforts at all 24 ports-of-entry on the U.S.-Mexico border.
McCaffrey is set to unveil the plan today in El Paso, where he begins a
two-day tour of local facilities and meets with federal, state and local
authorities involved in the drug war.
Earlier this month, McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general, called for
a presidential nominee to become a Southwest border czar to coordinate law
enforcement activities from Texas to California.
[snip]
Source: San Antonio News-Express
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/
Pubdate: 25 Aug 1998
Author: Gary Martin Express-News Washington Bureau
URL:http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n726.a04.html
***
POLICE SEIZE BODY SHOP HEMP PRODUCTS
FRENCH police seized lip conditioner, hand oil and elbow grease containing
hemp seed oil from a Body Shop store - because they claim the products
encourage drug use.
Body Shop founder Anita Roddick yesterday said she was "amazed" by the
action of gendarmes who entered her shop in Aix-en-Provence and took
products from the Hemp range, as well as promotional material.
[snip]
"I know the French perfected the art of irony in the past, but right now
I'd like to see them get a better grip on the future."
[snip]
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Contact: Letters_ts@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.scotsman.com/
Pubdate: 28 Aug 1998
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n737.a07.html
***
GPS GIVE PROZAC TO TEENAGERS FOR EXAM NERVES
FAMILY doctors are increasingly prescribing antidepressants such as Prozac
to teenagers to help them to cope with anxiety during school examinations,
according to psychiatrists and mental health groups.
Helen Kay of the Mental Health Foundation said: "There is a great increase
in anxiety among young people generally, and exam time is a particularly
stressful period. We are aware that doctors are now prescribing
antidepressants like Prozac to teenagers to help them to cope.
[snip]
Pubdate: Fri, 21 Aug 1998
Source: Times, The (UK)
Contact: letters@the-times.co.uk
Website: http://www.the-times.co.uk/
Author: Joanna Bale
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n722.a03.html
***
MAYOR IN COLOMBIA MORE LIKE A FUGITIVE
He fears for his life from left and right
PUERTO ASIS, Colombia - Just hours after Nestor Hernandez was sworn in as
mayor of this jungle town in southern Colombia, he was abducted by leftist
guerrillas, dragged across the border to Ecuador and tied to a tree.
[snip]
In the past three years, 29 mayors have been assassinated, mainly by
rebels. Hundreds of town council members have also been killed, kidnapped
or threatened, and many have been forced to resign. In the run-up to
nationwide municipal elections last October, nearly 40 candidates were shot
dead.
"To be a mayor here, you have to really love your community," said Gilberto
Toro, executive director of the Colombian Federation of Municipalities.
[snip]
Source: Houston Chronicle
Contact: viewpoints@chron.com
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 26 Aug 1998
Author: John Otis
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n738.a03.html
***
HOT OFF THE 'NET
"The Medical Marijuana Archives"
Alpine World Magazine has just restored its popular, but politically
controversial "Medical Marijuana Archives."
The new version has been edited to provide a more objective perspective.
There are tons of photos, news reports, editorials and every cartoon we
could find--including all the Doonesbury cartoons.
Also included:
--JAMA: Federal Foolishness and Marijuana
--Reefer Meanness
--Law Enforcement's Guidelines on Prop. 215
--Understanding Your Rights Under Prop. 215
The new Medical Marijuana Archives are available now at:
http://www.alpworld.com/HEALTH
***
TIP OF THE WEEK
HELP US GROW!
You can help build the DrugSense network that collects, responds to, and
archives drug news worldwide. Simply forward this Newsletter to a few
friends or direct them to our web page at:
http://www.drugsense.org
We are constantly trying to improve our news gathering and response
capabilities The news archive at
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/
can also answer nearly any drug policy question and greatly aid in research
efforts.
So tell your friends and don't forget to forward drug policy news
articles to editor@mapinc.org
***
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling
into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from
falling into error. -U.S. Supreme Court, American Communications v.
Douds, 339 U.S. 382,442
***
FACT OF THE WEEEK
"To date, nearly 40% of the 652,000 cases of AIDS reported in the United
States have been linked to injection drug use. And more than 75% of babies
diagnosed with HIV/AIDS were infected as a direct or indirect result of
injection drug use by a parent."
Source: Press release from Department of Health and Human Services, (1998,
April 20).
***
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 and 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
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REMINDER:
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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
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[End]
to the 1998 Daily News index for August 27-September 2