-------------------------------------------------------------------
The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release (French Police Threaten
To Prosecute British Company For Marketing Hemp Products; California
Legislature Closes Without Deciding On Medical Marijuana Research Center;
Judge Allows California Buyers' Clubs To Remain Open, Rejects Oakland Plan
To Immunize Dispensary From Prosecution; Judge Finds City-Imposed
Restrictions On Scheduled Marijuana Rally Unconstitutional)
From: NORMLFNDTN@aol.com
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 17:59:16 EDT
Subject: NORML WPR 9/3/98 (II)
The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release
1001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
foundation@norml.org
September 3, 1998
***
French Police Threaten To Prosecute British Company For Marketing Hemp
Products
September 3, 1998, Paris, France: Body Shop International remains
under investigation in France after law enforcement seized a line of
beauty products containing hemp seed oil. Although police readily
returned the items -- which included lip conditioner, hand oil, and body
lotion -- the company could face charges of encouraging drug use, a Body
Shop spokeswoman told Bloomberg News Wire Sunday.
"I know the French have perfected the art of irony in the past, but
right now I'd like to see them get a better grip on the future," Body
Shop founder Anita Roddick said. She added that the hemp seed oil used
in the products targeted by police came from France. The country is one
of Europe's leading producers of hemp fiber and goods.
A spokesman for The Body Shop denied charges that the products
promoted marijuana use, and said that they emphasized the differences
between the two plant species. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office
in Aix-en-Province countered that advertisements for the products
depicted the hemp leaf because of its associated with marijuana.
The Body Shop launched their new hemp product line in France only two
weeks ago after enjoying success in Britain and America. In Britain, the
hemp accessories accounted for 5 percent of the company's total sales one
month after they introduced the series.
Although U.S. federal law allows for the sale and use of hemp-based
products, local law enforcement have occasionally tried to seize hemp
accessories by claiming they violate marijuana laws. In almost all
cases, the police later returned the merchandise.
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre of The
NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751 or Keith Stroup of NORML @ (202)
483-5500.
***
California Legislature Closes Without Deciding On Medical Marijuana
Research Center
September 3, 1998, Sacramento, CA: Legislation to establish a Medical
Marijuana Research Center at a campus of the University of California
fell by the wayside Tuesday when the Senate adjourned prematurely. The
bill, S.B. 535, sought to provide $1 million to fund an ongoing study on
the medical value of whole smoked marijuana on seriously ill patients.
"The Legislature's inaction ignores demands from the public and
scientific community to conduct unbiased research on the efficacy and
safety of medical marijuana," NORML Director R. Keith Stroup said.
Introduced by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) in 1997, S.B. 535
enjoyed strong support from the medical and law enforcement communities.
Backers of the proposal included the American Cancer Society, Attorney
General Dan Lungren, the California Narcotics Association, the California
Medical Association, and the California District Attorneys Association.
The Senate previously passed the bill in 1997, but adjourned before
approving amendments proposed by the Assembly. Reportedly, the bill
enjoyed majority support from Assembly members.
Robert Harris of Americans for Medical Rights said that he expects
Vasconcellos to re-introduce similar legislation next year. "We will
bring this up again," he said. "Stage three clinical trials have to be
done." He said that he expects new legislation to have a higher
likelihood of becoming law because both gubernatorial candidates support
medical marijuana research trials.
The California Legislature previously funded clinical patient trials
on the medical benefits of whole smoked marijuana and THC capsules from
1980 to 1986.
For more information, please contact either Paul Armentano NORML @
(202) 483-5500 or Robert Harris of American for Medical Rights
(Sacramento office) @ (916) 449-6190.
***
Judge Allows California Buyers' Clubs To Remain Open, Rejects Oakland
Plan To Immunize Dispensary From Prosecution
September 3, 1998, San Francisco, CA: U.S. District Judge Charles
Breyer declined to issue an immediate order shutting down three cannabis
buyers' clubs that continue to dispense marijuana to seriously ill
patients in defiance of an April 16 injunction. He scheduled further
hearings to take place September 28, and indicated that he may eventually
allow a jury to determine whether individual patients have a right to the
club's supply of medical marijuana.
Santa Clara law professor Gerald Uelmen, one of the attorneys
defending the clubs, said that the outcome of much of Monday's hearing
was favorable. "We thought the hearing was positive in the sense that it
denied the government's motion for summary judgment, and denied their
request to [immediately close the remaining clubs,]" he said. "[The
clubs] are still in operation and we are heading for a jury trial which
is where we want to be."
In a setback for medical marijuana proponents, Judge Breyer dismissed
claims that designating staff members of the Oakland Buyers' Cooperative
as city officials shielded the club from criminal and civil liability.
Attorneys for the Oakland CBC explained that Section 885(d) of the
Federal Controlled Substances Act provides that any officer of the city
who is enforcing a local ordinance relating to controlled substances will
be protected from criminal sanctions. "We're not dealing with a
subversive effort to undercut the government's drug war," Uelmen argued
in court. "This is a careful and good-faith effort to implement the will
of the people, consistent with federal law."
Breyer rejected the claim and stated that individuals are not legally
enforcing a drug-related law when their "purpose is to violate federal
law." Uelmen said they will appeal this ruling.
For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup of NORML @
(202) 483-5500 or NORML Legal Committee member William Panzer, Esq. @
(510) 834-1892.
***
Judge Finds City-Imposed Restrictions On Scheduled Marijuana Rally
Unconstitutional
September 3, 1998, Boston, MA: A Superior Court Judge ruled that free
speech restrictions imposed on organizers of the annual "Boston Freedom
Rally" by city officials are unconstitutional.
William Downing, President of the NORML's Massachusetts state
affiliate, praised the judge's decision to strike down the gag order.
"The judge's decision restores freedom of expression and assembly on the
Boston Common."
Earlier this year, city officials reluctantly granted the organization
permission to hold the event, but included a requirement that all
speakers and performers discourage marijuana smoking and announce that
police would enforce all state drug laws.
This week, Judge Carol Ball determined that the city's stipulations
for the speakers were "constitutionally impermissible," and also enjoined
the city from enforcing many of the permit's other requirements.
In past years, the "Freedom Rally" has drawn crowds approaching
100,000 people, making it the largest marijuana-reform event in the
nation. This year's event will take place on October 3 at the Boston
Commons.
For more information, please contact either Bill Downing of Mass Cann
NORML @ (781) 944-2266 or Allen St. Pierre of The NORML Foundation @
(202) 483-8751.
- END -
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Training For The Worst At US Prisons (An 'Oregonian' Article About SORTs,
Special Operations Response Teams, Whose Purported Mission Is To Quell
US Federal Prison Riots - But 'SORTs Were On Patrol During The Los Angeles
Riots, And SORTs Are There To Back Up Teams In Other States When A Riot
Gets Too Much For The Home Team To Handle')
The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Training for the worst at U.S. prisons
* Special Operations Response Teams from seven federal lockups go through
their paces in fields near McMinnville
Thursday, September 3 1998
By Inara Verzemnieks
of The Oregonian staff
McMINNVILLE -- As the afternoon sun beats down, 14 men in black Kevlar riot
helmets and black bulletproof vests, black pants and black boots march
stony-faced and sweating through the fields of the McMinnville Police
Department's firing range. They are running riot drills, practicing for the
worst, training far away from the inmates who fall under their daily watch.
They are members of Special Operations Response Teams from seven federal
correctional institutions, participating in a week's worth of crisis
management training.
What this means is that for the past four days, seven 14-member teams from
Arizona, California and Oregon have been at the range in McMinnville and at
the federal prison in Sheridan, running through a litany of drills designed
to test their skills, build teamwork and, ultimately, prepare them for the
most horrific situations inmates could produce.
At the McMinnville range on Wednesday, SORT members from Sheridan, Safford,
Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona and Dublin, Terminal Island and Lompoc in
California practiced riot formation drills, moving like dark, unstoppable
walls through dry, dusty fields, firing gas canisters and palming batons in
unison. They tested their stamina with timed obstacle courses that demanded
they hurdle sawhorses, wriggle through culverts and clear hay bales. Then
they tested their accuracy firing 9 mm pistols, submachine guns and 12-gauge
shotguns from various distances.
Got a prison disturbance you can't handle? A difficult prisoner you need to
get out of his cell? A hostage you need to rescue? A Hannibal
Lector-lookalike who has to be moved?
Within the federal correctional system, you call the SORT team.
SORTs were on patrol during the Los Angeles riots. SORTs are there to back
up teams in other states when a riot gets too much for the home team to handle.
This is why there are these yearly drills, says Paul Bise, a Western
regional trainer and team leader at Lompoc's Intensive Confinement Center.
This way SORT teams can meet and practice and synchronize their efforts
before a crisis erupts -- when they can't afford to make mistakes.
"We do this so that if we had a major disturbance, and it was so big that
the teams assigned to that area couldn't handle it, SORTS can be called in
from all over, and we'd all be on the same page," Bise said.
Part of that means evaluations. Each shot, each step, each exercise the
teams took this week was being evaluated. It's a way for officials to gauge
the teams, Bise says -- to see which are ready to be deployed for which
assignments, and also a way to identify which skills the teams need to work on.
Positions on SORTs aren't easily earned. It's a special assignment, done in
addition to regular prison duties. Anyone interested has to try out for a
spot on his or her prison's team. There are physical fitness tests and a
psychological exam.
And then there are days of training and testing.
Waiting in line with other members of his team for his turn at the obstacle
course at the McMinnville Police Department range is Arron Anderson, a
Portland native who is now a corrections officer with the federal
institution in Tuscon. He says the best part of the week is seeing all the
other team members.
"A lot of these guys we only see once a year," he says. (Except for ones who
work at Lompoc and Phoenix -- the Tuscon SORT team's been called in to back
them up, Anderson recalls.)
He's next in line now, ready for his signal to run the obstacle course, his
submachine gun dangling at his side. He's been through the training three
times now. He toes the line.
"I'm taking a vacation when this is all over," he says, and gets laughs from
the rest of the guys, who are waiting in the heat behind him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marion OKs Joint Sheriff, Corrections Board ('The Oregonian'
Notes Marion County, Oregon, Has Reorganized Its Sheriff's Department
And Corrections Department)
The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Marion OKs joint sheriff, corrections board
* The Law Enforcement Services Board will oversee both county branches,
giving each the ability to make policy
Thursday, September 3 1998
By Cheryl Martinis
Oregonian Correspondant
SALEM -- Marion County commissioners and Sheriff Raul Ramirez gave final
approval Wednesday to a merger of sheriff and corrections departments and
creation of a new board to oversee both.
The arrangement is unusual in Oregon because the new Law Enforcement
Services board -- made up of the elected sheriff and the three elected
county commissioners -- will set policy. Traditionally, commissioners
haven't had a role in setting sheriff's office policy, though they have
overseen corrections.
Officials expect to eliminate some administrative duplication with the
merger, possibly freeing up money for programs.
Also, the merged department might make it easier to try new approaches to
policing, Commissioner Mary Pearmine and Ramirez said. Those approaches
might pair sheriff's deputies with parole/probation officers to investigate
a drug house or use deputies who already are in the neighborhood to check on
the status of a parolee.
Many of the new board's duties, such as setting a budget for the combined
law enforcement office and negotiating labor contracts, already involved
shared decision-making between the sheriff and county commissioners.
A written agreement specifies that the sheriff and commissioners decide
issues by "consensus" rather than a majority vote. If they cannot agree,
whoever has the legal authority to make the decision will do so. That means
commissioners would have the final say on corrections issues and the sheriff
on policing issues. "I'm very excited about it," Ramirez said. He also said
it will allow the county to make the best use of its people and money and
provide "seamless" law enforcement.
Ramirez will appoint the undersheriff who will oversee corrections'
operations as well as continue to appoint an undersheriff for policing
duties. The first undersheriff overseeing corrections is Billy Wasson, the
county's former corrections department director who helped design the merged
department.
He plans to retire May 1 after 32 years with the county. "When else do you
have the chance to reorganize yourself right out of a job?" he said.
Oregon counties have adopted a variety of organizational strategies when it
comes to deciding whether to place the jail/corrections programs inside or
outside the sheriff's office and where to put parole and probation operations.
Pearmine said the county's combined law enforcement department is possible
when commissioners and the sheriff both worry more about what's best for the
public rather than "whether this is in my territory or your territory."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaites Accuses Foe, Hit By Own Mud ('The Arizona Republic'
Describes An Amusing Case Of A Typical Drug Warrior, Democratic State Senator
John Kaites, Who Publicized The Arrest For Marijuana Possession Long Ago
Of His Republican Opponent For Attorney General, Tom McGovern - But McGovern
Was Exonerated And Wednesday Signed An Affidavit Saying He Had Never Used
An Illegal Substance, And Challenged Kaites To Do The Same, Whereupon Kaites
Had To Admit He Had Smoked Marijuana In High School After First Denying
Ever Breaking Any Law)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 08:28:46 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US AZ: Kaites Accuses Foe, Hit By Own Mud
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Pubdate: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
Source: Arizona Republic (AZ)
Contact: Opinions@pni.com
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/news/
Author: Mike McCloy
KAITES ACCUSES FOE, HIT BY OWN MUD
Behind In Polls, He Turns Foe's 'Record' Into Issue
Sen. John Kaites was behind in the polls. And he had only enough money
in his campaign for attorney general to buy TV ads in the final week
before next Tuesday's primary election.
So he hauled out a bucket of mud and threw it.
Only by the end of Wednesday, the mud had splattered on him.
Kaites accused his Republican opponent Tom McGovern of being a
criminal, pointing to a 15-year-old incident in which McGovern was
arrested with a BB pistol in the trunk and marijuana residue in an
ashtray of his brother's car. The charges were dropped.
McGovern crashed the news conference Wednesday and declared, "It is a
lie."
He then joined Attorney General Grant Woods in signing an affidavit
saying neither McGovern nor Woods had ever used an illegal substance,
and they challenged Kaites to do the same.
Kaites refused to sign the statement and told reporters that he had
not broken any law "that I know of."
When Kaites was called later, campaign spokeswoman Kim Harris told The
Arizona Republic, "He tried marijuana in high school, did not like it,
and that's the end of the story."
The stunning exchange climaxed weeks of intensive campaigning between
the two that has grown from sarcastic remarks and hit-piece mailings
to charges of lies and now ugly theater.
McGovern acknowledged that he had been arrested in New Jersey in 1983
with a BB pistol in the trunk and marijuana residue in an ashtray of
his brother's car.
"Though I was charged, all of this was dismissed," McGovern
said.
Copies of the arrest record were given to the news media in February
as Kaites launched his campaign for attorney general, but it was not a
major issue in the campaign until Tuesday night.
That is when a Channel 8 (KAET) poll showed McGovern leading Kaites by
12 points, or 32 percent to 20 percent, with 48 percent of likely
Republican voters undecided. And that is when Kaites switched from TV
commercials on major Valley stations about his background as a
prosecutor to a spot depicting jailhouse bars closing on McGovern's
bearded face.
"Tom has a record - not as a prosecutor, but as a criminal," the
commercials say.
At a news conference Kaites called Wednesday afternoon, Kaites
declared, "Everything in that advertisement is true," even though he
acknowledged that no charges had been been filed in the case. Police
in Sea Isle, N.J., where the incident occurred, forwarded their
complaints to the county prosecutor, who dismissed them.
"Mr. McGovern was arrested," Kaites said. "He was said by the police
to have been in possession of marijuana and in possession of a gun.
Those are crimes. You don't necessarily have to be convicted to have
committed a crime."
Janet Napolitano, a former U.S. attorney and the only Democrat running
for attorney general, said that explanation does not square with the
requirement for proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is used for a
conviction in federal and state courts.
"It's the same standard as when you watched Perry Mason as a kid," she
said. But it apparently was lost in the heat of the GOP primary, she
said, adding, "The last time I saw a fight this bad, Mike Tyson was
spitting a piece of an ear."
Spending more than $250,000 apiece, Kaites and McGovern have appeared
jointly more than 50 times over the past six months.
Competition between the two lawyers evolved into sarcasm, with
McGovern sneeringly referring to Kaites as "Buster Bad-ass" for
posturing as a criminal prosecutor after serving only 27 months in
that capacity.
They have trashed each other with mailed "hit pieces" over the past
two weeks.
McGovern has accused Kaites of opposing adult trials for violent
juveniles, even though Kaites has been a leading proponent of that
change in the criminal justice system.
Kaites' mailer to Republicans compared McGovern to President Clinton,
listing a half-dozen "lies" - including McGovern's claims to have
prosecuted as many criminal cases as Kaites has, and having a caseload
that included two executions of death row inmates.
Both candidates have agreed issues such as public protection from
violent criminals, civil rights and a massive state lawsuit against
the tobacco industry are major.
But, with advice from former Gov. Fife Symington's aides Chuck
Coughlin and Wes Gullett, Kaites chose McGovern's old arrest record
for the focus of his final foray on TV.
Asked why he used an issue that emerged more than six months ago,
Kaites said, "All I had was enough money to buy TV in the last 10 days
before the election."
He insisted that "character does matter."
"The truth does matter, that's why we're running this ad."
He accused McGovern of relating "a different version" of the arrest
incident each time he was asked about it. However, the differences
Kaites listed mostly are between McGovern's comments and those of the
police and details in coverage by Valley newspapers and radio stations.
McGovern said he told Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Woods
about the arrest when he announced, but he did not tell the voters
because, "Maybe there was a glimmer of hope that my opponent was not
as calculating as he proved to be."
Arpaio joined Woods at McGovern's news conference. The sheriff and the
retiring attorney general said McGovern had told them about the arrest
before it was revealed to the news media.
"It was really nothing," Arpaio said. "When you see some of these
commercials, it's sickening.
"The people are smart. The people out there can read through all this
garbage."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaites Calls Primary Foe A Criminal, Admits Smoking Pot
('The Arizona Daily Star' Version)
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 19:26:45 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US AZ: Kaites Calls Primary Foe A Criminal, Admits Smoking Pot
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: Arizona Daily Star (AZ)
Contact: letters@azstarnet.com
Website: http://www.azstarnet.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
Author: Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
KAITES CALLS PRIMARY FOE A CRIMINAL, ADMITS SMOKING POT
PHOENIX - Attorney general hopeful John Kaites insists his opponent's
arrest 15 years ago makes him a criminal - even though prosecutors
dropped the charges.
At a news conference yesterday, Kaites defended a new TV commercial
which states that Tom McGovern ``has a record, not as a prosecutor but
as a criminal.'' It includes footage of McGovern that has been
doctored to show him behind bars with a beard.
McGovern, who set up his own news conference near Kaites' around the
same time, acknowledged the 1983 New Jersey arrest on weapon and drug
charges. He pointed out that the case was dismissed, and said
prosecutors believed he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong
time.
But McGovern, while lashing out at Kaites for slinging mud, then
signed an affidavit saying he has never smoked marijuana. Attorney
General Grant Woods, who backs McGovern, also signed the affidavit -
even as he said the issue of someone smoking marijuana is irrelevant
to the question of who should be his successor.
McGovern placed the affidavit under Kaites' nose. Kaites smiled and
walked away.
Kaites, while attacking McGovern for his arrest record, dodged several
questions of whether he ever broke any laws, demanding a specific list
of crimes to which he could respond. Finally, asked if he ever
violated any provision of Title 13 - Arizona's criminal code - Kaites
responded, ``not that I'm aware of.''
His answer, while true, was misleading: His press aide, Kim Harris,
later admitted Kaites, while in high school in Pennsylvania, tried
marijuana ``once,'' adding that ``he didn't like it.''
That is similar to what happened with Bill Clinton, when asked about
his own background, responding that he never violated the laws of this
country. Clinton later admitted he smoked marijuana overseas.
The TV commercial attacking McGovern began running as the campaign
enters its last week and Kaites finds himself trailing 20 percent to
32 percent.
Kaites admitted yesterday the polls played a role, pointing out that
nearly half of all Republicans have not yet made up their minds for
whom to vote. ``They have a right to know a history of Tom McGovern,''
he said.
McGovern was charged with possession of a weapon after police,
investigating a bar fight in which McGovern was not involved, found a
pellet gun in his trunk. The drug charge stems from marijuana residue
found in the ashtray of the vehicle he was driving, a car McGovern
said belonged to his brother.
Prosecutors subsequently dismissed the charges.
Despite that, Kaites said McGovern is still a criminal - just not a
convicted criminal.
The arrest, he said, is as pertinent to Tuesday's election as ``if
O.J. Simpson were standing before you running for attorney general,
even though he has been acquitted.''
Under intense questioning, Kaites said the arrest is not what is
relevant ``but how that person comes clean when discussing the arrest
itself.''
McGovern conceded he never thought it necessary or appropriate to
disclose the arrest when he declared his candidacy last year. A
Phoenix-area newspaper wrote about his arrest in February.
McGovern's lead comes despite the fact that, as of mid-August - the
latest report available - Kaites had spent nearly $293,000 vs. about
$222,000 by McGovern.
The primary winner will face former U.S. Attorney Janet Napolitano,
who is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DARE Program To Be Reviewed For Changes
(According To 'The Houston Chronicle,' Houston Police Chief CO Bradford
Said Wednesday That Houston's $3.7 Million DARE Program,
Called 'Only Marginally Successful' In A Recent Report,
Would Not Be Taught At Local Schools Again In Its Present Form)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 20:41:04 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: DARE Program To Be Reviewed For Changes
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: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
Author: S.K. BARDWELL
DARE PROGRAM TO BE REVIEWED FOR CHANGES
Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle
Houston's $3.7 million DARE program, called "only marginally successful" in
a recent report, will not be instituted at area schools again in its
present form, Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford said Wednesday.
Bradford met with his command staff to discuss the program Tuesday, the
first time since release of a critical independent study conducted by the
University of Houston-Downtown sciences Professor Bruce Gay.
The study, released last week, suggested the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education curriculum taught in public schools by police officers may not work.
DARE, aimed at fighting drug and alcohol abuse, was begun in Los Angeles in
1983 and is taught in about 10,000 cities worldwide. About 27,000 Houston
fifth-graders and 24,000 seventh-graders participate in DARE programs here.
The Houston study is only the latest of several questioning the
effectiveness of the program in U.S. cities.
Bradford said he and his command staff do not question the results or the
methodology of Gay's study.
The study concluded, in part, "There is very little compelling evidence to
suggest that the primary goal of the DARE program is being reached at a
statistically significant level."
Among students surveyed prior to participating in the DARE program --
generally, fifth-graders -- 15 percent had tried drugs, 18 percent had
tried tobacco and 32 percent had tried alcohol.
When survey-takers returned at the conclusion of the DARE program in May to
measure responses again, they found that drug usage was up 29 percent,
tobacco usage up 34 percent and alcohol increased 4 percent.
During the coming months, Bradford said he and the HPD command staff will
study ways to modify the DARE program to increase its effectiveness.
In their study, Bradford said he plans to solicit the opinions of the 63
HPD DARE officers as well as school officials, teachers, parents and students.
Bradford noted the modifications also will be made with the cooperation of
DARE America, which provides the curriculum.
The chief said possible changes could include offering the program to
children at an earlier age, reducing the number of objectives of the
program from the current 12, or changing it from a citywide program to one
more focused on problem areas.
"I am committed to making changes in the program," Bradford said Wednesday.
Noting the program now under way for this school year will proceed,
Bradford added, "I have no desire to implement the program another time,
without changes."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marijuana Harvest Brings Out The Authorities ('The Cleveland Plain Dealer'
Describes The Expensive Annual Effort To Eradicate Marijuana
Planted In Corn Fields In Ohio, Which Ranks Among The Top 10 States
In Marijuana Growth)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 16:07:55 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US OH: Marijuana Harvest Brings Out The Authorities
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
Source: Cleveland Live News Flash (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Contact: news@cleveland.com
Website: http://www.cleveland.com/
MARIJUANA HARVEST BRINGS OUT THE AUTHORITIES
Helicopters are a sure sign of a fall harvest in Ohio, which ranks
among the top 10 states in marijuana growth.
Law enforcement officers take to the air to search cornfields for the
tall, green plants that stand out and above the yellow ears of corn
and tassels.
"Everyone talks about the war on drugs and the Colombian drug cartel,
but if we can't do anything about the drugs in our own back yard, how
are we going to do anything about drugs in Colombia?" said Ted Almay,
head of Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Identification and
Investigation.
Last year, state and local authorities confiscated 74,000 plants --
about 35 tons of marijuana.
Growers are most prevalent in southeast Ohio. The plants often are
found in cornfields but also have been cultivated in state parks and
soybean fields.
Tomas Salazar of the Sandusky Valley National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws in Port Clinton says taxpayer money could be
better spent elsewhere.
"They make a big noise about a small field to assure us that they are
working, but for what they get, it's a large amount of money wasted,"
he said.
The Drug Enforcement Agency sets an average street value per plant of
$1,000. That means Ohio officers stopped millions of dollars in
marijuana from making it to the streets last year alone, Almay said.
An average of 100 criminal cases are prosecuted each year, but most
growers don't go to jail.
The number of arrests is probably the fewest of all drug enforcement
cases, said Defiance County Sheriff David Westrick, coordinator of the
Multi-Area Narcotics Task Force.
"It requires staking out the area and catching people in the act of
cultivating. It's very labor-intensive, and the person might not come
back for a week," he said.
Although authorities search by air from mid-May to late October, the
plants are easiest to see during the harvest season.
"The plants are at their tallest now, and if you put them in the
middle of a cornfield, they are very, very easy to spot by air,"
Westrick said.
However, growers generally plant the marijuana in several fields
instead of one site, making it more difficult to zero in on the
plants, Almay said.
The owner of the field often doesn't know the plants are
there.
"What will happen in cornfields is that these guys will go 15 or 20
rows in and rip out the corn," Almay said. "When the farmer goes to
harvest, he'll just find these big holes."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Chief Pushes Needle Exchange (According To 'The Standard-Times,'
Massachusetts State Public Health Commissioner Dr. Howard H. Koh
Said Yesterday He Would Welcome Any Opportunity To Resurrect Plans
For A Needle-Exchange Program In New Bedford - The Idea Has Too Much
Scientific Merit To Ignore)
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 19:26:45 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US MA: Health Chief Pushes Needle Exchange
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Contact: YourView@S-T.com
Website: http://www.s-t.com/
Pubdate: Thursday, 03 September, 1998
Author: Rachel G. Thomas, Standard-Times staff writer
HEALTH CHIEF PUSHES NEEDLE EXCHANGE
DARTMOUTH -- State Public Health Commissioner Dr. Howard H. Koh said
yesterday he would welcome any opportunity to resurrect plans for a
needle-exchange program for New Bedford.
During a press conference yesterday at the Bristol County House of
Correction, Dr. Koh said the idea had too much scientific merit to
ignore.
"This is more than an exchange of hardware," said Dr. Koh, who
accepted the state post a year ago. "It is a chance to get to people
who are hard to reach."
Four communities in Massachusetts already have needle-exchange
programs: Provincetown, Boston, Cambridge and Northampton. A fifth,
Springfield, soon is expected to adopt one.
Dr. Koh said the state easily would support 10 needle-exchange
programs.
"I hope we can keep expanding," he said, adding many who oppose
programs are acting based on "overwhelming fear, not rational discussion.
"There is no evidence of increased drug use or of any crime near an
exchange site.
"We know (needle exchange) is helpful," Dr. Koh said. "That is the
international consensus."
Proponents often have said New Bedford's high incidence of drug use
meant such a program might save lives and encourage addicts to
consider treatment.
At least 20 percent of addicts exchanging needles at state-regulated
sites have entered treatment programs, said Andy Epstein, who works
with the health services unit at the state AIDS bureau.
Ms. Epstein added she did not know whether the addicts successfully
completed treatment.
State health department figures for 1997 revealed that 51 percent of
the 832 reported cases of AIDS were transmitted by intravenous drug
use. By comparison, nine percent of AIDS cases in 1997 were
transmitted by heterosexual sexual contact.
Figures for HIV infection are not available because they are not
required to be reported, a state health spokesman said.
Dr. Koh's predecessor, David Mulligan, also was a strong supporter of
needle-exchange to prevent the spread of HIV.
Mr. Mulligan spoke several times in New Bedford during the 1996 debate
over starting such a program in the city.
While the city council supported a program, voters in a referendum
rejected it by a 2-1 margin, effectively killing the initiative.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ding-Ding, Ice Cream, Hashish ('Reuters' Says Two 20-Year-Olds
Busted For Selling Cannabis From Their Ice Cream Truck In Brooklyn, New York,
To A Group Of Teenagers Aged 15 And 17 Face Eight And One-Third Years
To 25 Years In Prison)
From: baudmax@li.net
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 12:38:14
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Ding-Ding, Ice Cream, Hashish
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org
Ding-Ding, Ice Cream, Hashish
NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters)- Maybe the ice cream truck's jingle should have
been "White Rabbit."
Some Brooklyn teenagers were allegedly feeding their heads as well as their
stomachs from the local ice cream truck, until Brooklyn prosecutors
indicted two Staten Island men and charged them with selling hashish and
marijuana along with the usual Popsicles, fudge bars and other frozen treats.
Alexy Zagrebin, 20, and James Lapointe, 20, owned the ice cream truck and
were charged with selling the drugs to a group of teenagers aged 15 and 17,
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes' office said.
The vendors were charged with 14 counts, including sale of a controlled
substance in or near school grounds, and face a maximum term of eight and
one-third years to 25 years in prison.
Both men posted bail and were released pending arraignment in about two
weeks.
Police seized the truck, but the perishable ice cream was returned to
Zagrebin's family, Hynes' office said.
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Initiative 59 Wins In Court! (A List Subscriber Says The Washington, DC,
Medical Marijuana Measure Sponsored By ACT-UP! Will Be On November's Ballot -
DC Superior Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle Ruled Today That Thousands
Of Signatures In Support Of DC's Initiative 59 Were Improperly Excluded
By The DC Board Of Elections And Ethics)
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 09:56:14 -0400
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
From: Paul Wolf (paulwolf@icdc.com)
Subject: Initiative 59 Wins in Court!
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org
The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
ACT UP Washington, DC
409 H Street NE
Washington, DC
phone (202) 547-9404
fax (202) 547-9458
September 3, 1998
for immediate release
contact: Wayne Turner (202) 547-9404 or Pgr. (202) 217-5636
INITIATIVE 59 WINS IN COURT!
September 3, 1998
for immediate release
Washington, DC - DC Superior Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle ruled today
that thousands of signatures in support of DC's medical marijuana Initiative
59 were improperly excluded by the DC Board of Elections and Ethics, and
ordered their inclusion in the Board's tabulations.
Under the Court's ruling, the Board of Elections and Ethics must now
tabulate and include over 4000 petition signatures it had previously set
aside. Attorney Matt Watson, who with Alisa Wilkins are representing the
Initiative 59 Campaign, comments, "The decision of the Court preserves one
of the few electoral rights of citizens of the District of Columbia, to
propose and vote on initiative measures. Judge Huvelle agreed that the Board
of Elections and Ethics' decision would have 'silenced the voices of over
4,600 voters.'"
Initiative 59, organized by the local AIDS advocacy group ACT UP Washington,
proposes to protect seriously and terminally ill patients, such as persons
with cancer and AIDS, if they are instructed by their doctors to use small
amounts of marijuana to ease their suffering.
Activists hailed the Court's decision as a victory for democracy in the
District, "More importantly, there is hope for the thousands of sick and
dying DC residents threatened with arrest and prosecution." states
Initiative 59 sponsor Wayne Turner, who took over the campaign after his
partner, Steve Michael, died from AIDS on May 25.
At least 5% of (16,997) of the total number of DC registered voters must
sign petitions in order to place an initiative on the ballot, including
at least 5% in 5 of the District's 8 Wards. Over 32,000 petition signatures
for I-59 were submitted by DC activists on July 6, in order to meet the
deadline for the November election.
However I-59 organizers learned that thousands of signatures had been
rejected by staffers because the circulator had been living at a Women's
Shelter during the time she gathered signatures, and not at her family home
listed on her circulator's affidavit.
After excluding thousands of signatures, DC government employees verified
only 17,092. The Board of Elections and Ethics, while conceding that the
measure qualified in five wards, and exceeded the 5% District-wide minimum,
ruled on August 5 that the number of verified signatures was "statistically
insufficient" to place Initiative 59 on the election ballot.
On Wednesday, September 2, the Board conceded that errors were made during
the Board's tabulation process when it invalidated the signature of Steve
Michael, who had signed last February. Mayoral candidate Jeffery Gildenhorn,
a strong supporter of Initiative 59, demanded that his signature, also
discounted by Board staff, be included in the Board's tabulations. The Board
declined to review the almost 700 additional signatures disputed by I-59
organizers, which should have been included in its own tabulation.
"Before Steve went into the Intensive Care Unit, he made me promise one
thing, and that was to save the initiative. Steve died, but his work didn't.
Despite all the obstacles, Initiative 59 will be on the November ballot, and
we will win protection for patients." addes Turner. contact I-59 HQ at
(202) 547-9494.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Where Was All That Pot Going? (The Lexington Herald-Leader'
Describes The Effort To Be Expended Trying To Find Out Who Put 2.5 Tons
Of Marijuana In A Shipment Of T-Shirts From Jamaica To Kentucky,
And Who Was Supposed To Receive It - Federal Prohibition Agents
Said It Was The Largest Amount Of Processed Marijuana Ever Seized
In Kentucky - Thanks To Prohibition, Kentucky-Grown Marijuana Is Now Superior
To Jamaican)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 09:42:11 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US KY: Where Was All That Pot Going?
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: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Contact: hledit@lex.infi.net
Website: http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/
Pubdate: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
Author: Bill Estep; Herald-Leader Staff Writer
WHERE WAS ALL THAT POT GOING?
JAMESTOWN -- Underwear and marijuana make for a strange cargo. But somebody
in a Jamaican port packed more than 2 1/2 tons of pot into a shipment of
T-shirts bound for Kentucky -- and police are trying to figure out who was
supposed to pick it up on this end.
Workers at the Fruit of the Loom plant in Jamestown found the pot -- 5,200
pounds of it -- hidden in a truckload of T-shirts Tuesday.
"I think the focal point will be who was it going to?" said Jamestown
Police Chief Joey Hoover.
Federal agents said it was the largest amount of processed marijuana -- pot
ready for street sale -- ever seized in Kentucky.
"We're all ecstatic that we found the dope," said Richard Sanders, head of
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in Louisville.
But much work remains to answer questions such as who ordered the pot,
where it was headed and whether it was to be parceled out from Russell
County or moved somewhere else, Sanders said.
Paul Chambers, head of investigations for the U.S. Customs Service in
Kentucky, said one "good possibility" is that someone at the Fruit of the
Loom plant was part of the smuggling operation.
However, it is also possible that someone was supposed to intercept the
shipment before it reached the plant, but missed it, Chambers said.
Sanders estimated the pot had a wholesale value of $7.5 million. There had
been no arrests by late yesterday.
The marijuana was packed inside a load of T-shirts in Kingston, Jamaica,
then delivered by ship to Jacksonville, Fla., Sanders said.
Fruit of the Loom makes fabric at the Jamestown plant, then ships it to
Jamaica where lower-paid foreign workers sew it into T-shirts. The
Jamestown plant then brings the shirts back to be distributed around the
United States.
The T-shirts and pot were in a 40-foot container that can be lifted whole
off the ship and put on a tractor trailer. That means it may not have been
opened before the contract delivery truck set out for Kentucky.
The customs service got a tip about the load of marijuana and followed the
truck from Florida to the Jamestown plant, where it arrived Monday, said
Chambers, the customs agent.
Federal agents would not discuss the source of the tip or what other
information they got.
Police had hoped to follow the truck to its destination to try to catch the
major drug trafficker who arranged for the shipment. But when employees at
Fruit of the Loom started unloading the truck Tuesday about 2 p.m. CDT,
Customs and DEA agents moved in, assisted by local and state police.
The pot was packed into a hollowed out spot in the middle of the trailer,
so that the first third of the load was T-shirts, then pot surrounded by
boxes, then more T-shirts, Hoover said.
The pot was compressed into bricks, then wrapped in plastic and duct tape
and smeared with grease to try to evade drug-sniffing dogs, said Lt. Shelby
Lawson of the Kentucky State Police.
Fruit of the Loom employees were unloading the boxes by hand when they
found the pot.
"We knew we were in something we weren't supposed to be in as soon as we
saw it," said plant manager Don Cooper.
Cooper said an employee told a supervisor and someone at the plant called
police, but federal agents were already moving in.
Police said Fruit of the Loom allowed a search of the plant and is
cooperating with the investigation.
However, the company could face sanctions if its import policies were not
adequate to control smuggling, Chambers said.
Fruit of the Loom spokesman Marett Cobb said the company has not had any
similar incidents to his knowledge and that the company is cooperating with
police. He refused to answer other questions, including whether the company
will do its own investigation into possible smuggling by employees.
The Jamestown plant is one of the Fruit of the Loom factories that have
seen widespread layoffs as the company moved production overseas. There are
about 750 employees in Jamestown, down from more than 3,000 in the early
1990s.
Some police said it's unlikely that Russell County, with a population of
16,000, was the final destination for the pot -- at least not all of it.
That would be a massive amount of marijuana even for Kentucky's largest
cities, Hoover said.
Kentucky is one of the leading domestic producers of marijuana, and has
also become a significant way station in bringing in foreign pot -- mostly
from Mexico -- and distributing it in the United States.
Traffickers here sometimes mix cheaper, lower-quality foreign pot with the
high quality Kentucky marijuana to boost supplies.
Federal agents said they did not know whether that's what was going to
happen with the pot seized in Jamestown.
State police and National Guard troops burned the pot yesterday in London,
where the agencies maintain a permanent site for that purpose.
Pungent black smoke rolled into the air as officers cut open the bricks of
pot and torched them with gasoline and flares.
Lawson said the pile of pot was so large it would take until today to
finish burning it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
FDA Accuses MS Drug Maker Of Making False Claims (According To 'Reuters,'
The US Food And Drug Administration Has Said Teva Marion Partners,
A Kansas City, Missouri-Based Company, Was Wrong To Claim Its Drug Copaxone,
Generically Known As Glatiramer Acetate, Was Capable Of 'Slowing, Preventing
Or Reversing . . . The Progression' Of Multiple Sclerosis, A Disease That Afflicts
Three Million People Worldwide)
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 20:18:15 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: WIRE: FDA Accuses
MS Drug Maker Of Making False Claims
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
Pubdate: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
Source: Reuters
Author: Leslie Gevirtz
FDA ACCUSES MS DRUG MAKER OF MAKING FALSE CLAIMS
BOSTON(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration accused a pharmaceutical company of making false
statements about its drug's powers in treating multiple sclerosis, a
disease that afflicts three million people worldwide.
The federal agency ordered Teva Marion Partners, a Kansas City,
Missouri-based firm to immediately halt promoting its drug Copaxone,
generically known as glatiramer acetate, as effective in ``slowing,
preventing or reversing...the progression of MS.''
The FDA in a letter, obtained by Reuters on Thursday, said such claims
were misleading.
Phone calls to the company -- a joint venture of pharmaceutical giant
Hoechst Marion Roussel, a unit of Germany's Hoechst AG , and the
Israeli biotech firm Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. -- were not
immediately returned.
The FDA also charged that Teva Marion Partners' claims that its drug
given by injection was ``safer, more tolerable or more effective than
other therapies for MS are false or misleading.''
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates that there are
approximately three million people living with multiple sclerosis
worldwide. The disease of the central nervous system generally attacks
individuals between the ages of 20 and 40. Women develop multiple
sclerosis at a rate almost double that of men.
There are two other FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of MS: Avonex
made by Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Inc. ; and Betaseron, made by
Berlex Laboratories Inc., the U.S. pharmaceutical affiliate of
German-based Schering AG .
The FDA also demanded in its August 27 letter that Teva Marion
Partners halt the distribution of all promotional materials with the
false claims and submit a letter that the company would send to
doctors and health care professionals alerting them to the alleged
false statements.
Once approved by the federal agency, the FDA said Teva should mail the
letter and advertise its corrections in professional journals for the
next 12 months.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thieves Put Hemp Crop At Risk ('Monday Magazine' Says Farmers In Saanichton,
On Vancouver Island, Want To Publicize That They Are Growing Legal Hemp
So People Will Quit Stealing Their Non-Psychoactive Crop In An Attempt
To Get High)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Thieves Put Hemp Crop At Risk
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 17:19:37 -0700
Lines: 71
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Monday Magazine (Canada)
Contact: letters@monday.com
Website: http://www.monday.com/monday/index.htm
Pubdate: 03 Sep 1998
Author: Ross Crockford
Thieves Put Hemp Crop At Risk
Jim Geiwitz wants everyone to know that farmers in Saanichton are growing
cannabis. "We're kind of desperate to get the word out," he says. Desperate,
because the plants aren't being grown for marijuana, but to produce hemp
fibre and seeds - and people have been stealing the plants because they
don't know the difference.
Earlier this year Health Canada legalized the cultivation of industrial
hemp, a hard-working strain of the cannabis plant that contains virtually
no THC, the chemical that gives marijuana smokers their high. Now five
experimental crops of hemp are growing on Vancouver Island, including
two in Saanichton.
Businesses are interested in buying these crops. According to Geiwitz,
manager of the Pacific Islands Hemp Growers' Co-op, Thrifty Foods wants
to use the nutritious hemp seeds in baked goods, and Fletcher Challenge
has discussed converting part of its Crofton mill to process hemp fibre
into paper.
But the new industry is in danger. Geiwitz says police have arrested
six thieves on the Saanichton farms recently - including two teenagers
that were caught hauling away over 2,000 plants.
"These thefts are going to make Ottawa nervous," worries Geiwitz, who
fears that hemp will be recriminalized. Worse yet, he's afraid that
people will sell the hemp flowers as expensive marijuana - they look
identical but contain almost no THC - and then get beaten up in a drug
deal gone bad.
To combat the problem, Geiwitz and the hemp farmers have posted
informational signs around the crops. They're also planning to tour
local schools and set up a table at this weekend's Saanich Fall Fair,
where they'll speak about the virtues of hemp.
"It's got 25,000 commercial uses," says Geiwitz. "It really is a marvelous
crop.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Police Dash High Hopes Of Youth (A Different Version
In 'The Victoria Times Colonist')
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Thieves Put Hemp Crop At Risk
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 17:19:37 -0700
Source: Victoria Times Colonist (Canada)
Contact: timesc@interlink.bc.ca
Pubdate: 08 Sep 1998
POLICE DASH HIGH HOPES OF YOUTH
You can't get high from smoking it, but nevertheless five male youths
are charged with possessing a controlled substance.
Central Saanich police charged the five, ages 16 to 19, after an industrial
hemp plantation was raided early Monday.
Possession of the plants by anyone other than the licenced grower is
illegal, say police. And under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act,
the hemp is classed as marijuana.
The raid was the latest in a series if thefts from hemp farms.
The plants, which resemble marijuana, don't have the potent chemical
required to give a smoker a high. But under the law, possession of hemp
and marijuana carry the same penalties.
The five are facing charges of possession of marijuana for the purpose
of trafficking.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Medical Doctors Oppose Legalizing Heroin ('The Province' In Vancouver,
British Columbia, Says A Report From A Subcommittee Of The British Columbia
Medical Association Rejects Proposals For A Heroin Maintenance Program
And Instead Urges A Better-Funded, Better-Co-Ordinated
Public Health Strategy)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 09:49:01 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: MDs Oppose Legalizing Heroin
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Herb
Source: The Province (Vancouver, B.C.)
Contact: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca
Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/newsite/news-c.html
Pubdate: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
MDS OPPOSE LEGALIZING HEROIN
B.C.'s doctors have come out against a proposal that heroin be legalized as
a way to combat the province's drug-use epidemic.
"There is no evidence to suggest prescribing heroin to addicts will work,"
says a report from a subcommittee of the B.C. Medical Association. It urges
a better-funded, better-co-ordinated public health strategy.
The report says the strategy should include detox centres, residential
treatment programs, outpatient counselling, recovery homes, needle
exchanges and methadone programs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot Scam Lands Man In Jail For Four Months ('The London Free Press'
In Ontario Says A London Man Who Claimed He Grew Marijuana To Raise Money
To Fight A Paternity Suit Got Full Marks For A Novel Excuse Yesterday -
And Four Months In Jail)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 09:47:21 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Pot Scam Lands Man in Jail for Four Months
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: London Free Press (Canada)
Contact: letters@lfpress.com
Website: http://www.canoe.ca/LondonFreePress/home.html
Pubdate: Thu, 3 Sep 1998
Author: Don Murray, Free Press Court Reporter
POT SCAM LANDS MAN IN JAIL FOR FOUR MONTHS
A London man who claimed he grew marijuana to raise the money he needed to
fight a paternity suit got full marks for a novel excuse yesterday -- and
four months in jail.
"It's the best excuse I've heard so far," Judge Ross Webster said as he
sentenced Grant Donald Martin, 29.
He said he also took into account Martin's guilty pleas and lack of a prior
record in trimming back the Crown's request for a six-month term.
Martin's woes began May 27 when police with a warrant raided his Grey
Street residence.
Federal prosecutor Dave Rowcliffe said beneath a trap door in the living
room floor leading to the basement, officers found a large and
sophisticated pot-growing operation located in several rooms.
In addition to growth lights, fans, water pumps and other equipment, police
found more than 200 plants, 104 grams of dried pot and 49 percodan pills.
Rowcliffe said the maximum potential value of the plants was estimated at
$216,000, a figure both Webster and defence lawyer Murray Neilson scoffed
at.
Charges against two co-accused were withdrawn after Martin pleaded guilty
in Ontario Court, provincial division, to production of marijuana,
trafficking and possession of the percodan.
Neilson said Martin is a manager of an automotive business who needed money
because he was falsely accused in a paternity suit.
He said Martin spent about $4,000 on tests and lawyers fees and was absolved.
Neilson said his client, who was evicted from the Grey Street house, was in
the process of shutting down his pot farm when he was raided. He argued for
a fine.
Rowcliffe wanted jail, contending Martin may have just been moving the pot
scheme somewhere else.
Webster rejected a fine. If word got around the penalty would be cash "all
it means is that they will crank up the (pot growing) system to pay the
fine."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannabis Law Change In Offing ('The New Zealand Herald' Says Cannabis
Could Be Decriminalised Or Even Legalised Under A Re-Think Of Drug Laws
Proposed By The Country's New Minister Of Police, Clem Simich, Who Yesterday
Compared The Law Against Smoking Cannabis To Alcohol Prohibition In The 1920s
And Suggested It Was Time For A Change)
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 11:16:48 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: New Zealand: Cannabis Law Change In Offing
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: http://www.marijuananews.com/
Source: New Zealand Herald
Pubdate: 3 Sept 1998
Contact: letters@herald.co.nz
Website: http://www.herald.co.nz
Author: Andrew Laxon, political reporter
CANNABIS LAW CHANGE IN OFFING
Minister Says New Ideas Needed
Cannabis could be decriminalised or even legalised under a re-think of drug
laws proposed by the new Minister of Police, Clem Simich.
He yesterday compared the law against smoking cannabis to alcohol
prohibition in the 1920s and suggested it was time for a change.
"Its an issue I believe we need to look at. I don't think it serves too
much purpose and the disadvantage is that it costs an enormous amount of
police resources and time when there are other matters they could be
dealing with.
"My belief is it is not working today and we need to look at other ways of
dealing with the problem.
"It's like prohibition in the old days. This issue involves mostly young
people. Generally when you're told not to do something, you do it."
The former police officer, who supported decriminalisation as a
backbencher, said he had an open mind on whether cannabis should be
decriminalised - which would mean instant fines but no convictions - or
legalised completely.
However, he would wait for the report of Parliament's health select
committee on the mental health effects of using the drug before taking the
issue further.
Mr Simich has support from the police, who told the committee last month
that they were open-minded about decriminalisation.
But he would face an uphill battle to force the change through the cabinet,
where the Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, the Minister of Health, Bill
English, and the former Associate Minister of Health, Roger Sowry - now a
"super minister" in charge of social issues - are understood to oppose any
weakening of the law. New Zealand Associate Minister of Health Says, "We
will not tolerate any form of drug-related harm."
Reforming cannabis laws will also rank as a low priority for the new
National Government, already struggling for day-to-day survival and to get
its promised agenda through Parliament.
But the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws welcomed Mr
Simich's comments.
A spokesperson, Chris Fowlie, said he knew Mr Simich favoured
decriminalisation but it was significant to have him actively supporting it
as Minister of Police.
Mr Fowlie said he expected the select committee to make similar
recommendations in its report by December, which would bring the country
closer than ever to a law change.
However, decriminalisation has been attacked by some Maori health officials
who claim it could "destroy" the Maori race.
Dr David Gilgen of the Raukura Hauora o Tainui Trust, a tribal health
authority serving 40,000 Maori in South Auckland and Waikato, said last
month that the police acceptance of decriminalisation meant they had lost
their war against cannabis.
In March the Drug Policy Forum Trust, a group of doctors and professionals,
called on the Government to legalise the drug, while the Associate Minister
of Health, Tuariki Delamere, said in June that politicians should not
condemn young people for smoking cannabis when they occasionally openly
abused alcohol.
Copyright New Zealand Herald
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Parents Hire Drug Spies ('The Herald Sun' Says Parents In Brisbane, Australia,
Are Paying Private Detectives Up To $20,000 To Spy On Their Children
And Find Out Whether They Are Using Drugs - The Detectives Are Also Using
Private School Teenagers To Infiltrate Peer Groups)
Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 11:31:58 +0930
From: Andrew Duffy (duffy@enternet.com.au)
Subject: Australia: Parents Hire Drug Spies
To: "pot-news@va.com.au" (pot-news@va.com.au)
Pot News - Hemp SA's On-line News Service
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org) and Ken Russell
Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
Contact: hseditor@ozemail.com.au
Pubdate: Thur, 3 Sep 1998
Author: Ali Lawlor
PARENTS HIRE DRUG SPIES
BRISBANE parents are paying private detectives up to $20,000 to spy on their
children and find out whether they are using drugs.
The detectives are also using private school teenagers to infiltrate peer
groups and track other students' drug habits.
International Detection Service principal Keith Schafferius, an investigator
for 29 years, said families were paying anywhere between $500 and $20,000 to
find out about their children's drug habits.
"The parents who come to us are at the end of their tether and can't get to
first base with their child," Mr Schafferius said.
"We deal more with affluent private school kids, usually from 14-17 years of
age in grades 10 to 12 in Brisbane and the Gold Coast."
Mr Schafferius said 16 and 17-year-olds from "sister or brother schools"
volunteered to help investigate particular teenagers.
"There are some pretty reputable kids who want to see an end to drugs," he
said. "I've got a group of school kids who can become involved in
investigations - it's the only way to infiltrate peer groups and they are
happy to be involved."
Mr Schafferius said drugs most used by private school students were
marijuana, speed and ecstasy.
Brisbane Juvenile Aid Bureau spokesman David Farley said police were unaware
teenagers were being used for surveillance and found it hard to believe.
"Without knowing what he's having the children do he's in a very grey area
as to child exploitation, whether its voluntary or not," Acting Det Sgt
Farley said.
"If what is said is true he could be placing them in danger."
Police media spokesman Brian Swift said people could lawfully work on crime
prevention and detection but should not take the law into their own hands.
"He would need to be sure that when the kids are getting involved they were
making an informed decision," Mr Swift said.
"Parents would also need to be warned of what their kids were doing and, if
anything came of it, we would hope it would be passed on to the proper
authority."
Mr Schafferius said most parents he dealt with were in business and were too
busy to spend time with their children.
"They don't go to watch them play sport, they would rather give them a
fistful of money," he said.
"I think the main solution to the drug problem would be to educate parents
to become more of a family unit."
Families Association vice-president Patti Smith said she knew of families
who hired detectives, but they were just a bandaid.
"It's not a solution, the children who have these problems have had them for
many years and they have gone undetected by selfish, self-absorbed parents,"
she said.
"What do they do when the detective finds their kids are in trouble? They've
lost them by then."
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[End]
to the 1998 Daily News index for September 3-9