Portland NORML News - Friday, December 18, 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Implementation of Measure 67 (Stormy Ray, a multiple sclerosis patient
and chief petitioner for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act of 1998,
provides some potentially helpful advice to other Oregon patients
about how to comply with the voter-approved law.)

From: "Stormy Ray" (mbpdoors@cyberhighway.net)
To: "dpfor" (dpfor@drugsense.org)
Subject: DPFOR: Implementation of Measure 67
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 19:11:28 -0800
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/

Dear People,

I know things are working themselves out. The difficulties we're having are
good problems to have. But for those of us that are feeling undue stress and
concern about OMMA's implementation, I hope this helps.

I've received several calls regarding Medical Marijuana. I've spoken to
people from several states across the US. More and more people (including all
walks of society) are realizing it's helping someone they care about. Some of
them may not have been on the front line with us, but they are aware now and
need to learn all they can about the law where they live, how medical
marijuana works, do's and don'ts, etc.

After several days on a roller coaster of being up (having medication) and
down (having body drawn and bed ridden due to no medication) I'd like to
suggest that patients try to get their doctor's notation as soon as possible.
For anyone having trouble opening up a conversation with their doctor, here's
a suggested dialog.

"Have you heard that it isn't the THC-Delta-9 that medical patients are
after. Instead of the "getting high"aspects, they're really interested in the
effect the cannabinoids have on their affliction. Studies are finding it's
the cannabinoids (over 60) in the natural marijuana plant. Here is a copy of
our (Oregon) law that allow patients to __(Process, medicate, and grow
without buying or selling) to alleviate their symptoms. _(Doctor's name)_
all I need from you so I can comply with our law. I need _(a copy of my
patient chart saying, it (marijuana or cannabis "may alleviate symptoms".
(You may want to share your personal experience with medical marijuana,
that's up to you) There's also several websites where you can learn more
about the law and medical marijuana. Shall I just make arrangements at the
desk to pick up my copy?

Here's what my doctor wrote: "Please note that with Stormy Ray she has been
taking Marinol in tablet form. She gets a better form of cannabis by smoking
and it has been shown to alleviate symptoms in her definitely."

I'm hearing surprise from patients that didn't think their doctors were even
approachable, finding they are and glad to help patients comply to the new
law.

One other concern that keeps popping up is the harm done by smoking, the
smell, and the second hand smoke. For those concerned, please look into a
vaporizer. For instance, the brand name "Cloud 10 Vaporizer can be used to
extract the active ingredients of medicinal herbs, thereby releasing the
desired active ingredients in a vapor form that you inhale from a tube. All
the harsh by-products of combustion are left behind. This leaves no burning
in the back of the throat, no cloud of smoke when exhaling, just a flavor of
the medicinal herb. To get a free catalog call 1-888-265-8277.

To help with the implementation of Oregon Medical Marijuana Act Measure 67,
please give people this tool free toll # to call 1-877-600-6767 or for
information call. OMR (Oregon Medical Rights) Geoff Sugerman or Amy Klare
at 1-503-371-4711, or call me at 1-541-889-3876 or e-mail me at:
mbpdoors@cyberhighway.net

God Bless,

Stormy Ray
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Task Force: New office needed to improve pain management
(The Associated Press says a state task force has recommended that Oregon
should set up a new office to improve pain management and ease doctors' fears
about treating pain with narcotics. The recommendations will be given
to Governor John Kitzhaber and the legislature next month in hopes
that lawmakers will act on them.)

Associated Press
found at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/
feedback (letters to the editor):
feedback@thewire.ap.org

Task Force: New office needed to improve pain management

The Associated Press
12/18/98 2:07 AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon should set up a new office to improve pain
management and ease doctors fears about treating pain with narcotics, a
state task force has recommended.

During a six hour session Thursday, the group put finishing touches on its
recommendations, which include hiring an ombudsman to oversee programs aimed
at improving pain management.

The recommendations will be given to Gov. John Kitzhaber and the Legislature
next month in hopes that lawmakers pass them into law.

Oregon has been looked on as a national leader in pain management especially
for terminally ill patients.

But patients with chronic pain -- especially those not suffering from a
terminal illness -- often do not get adequate relief. That reality prompted
the Legislature to organize the 30-member task force last year.

"It's difficult to get help with pain relief because of doctors fearing what
the (state) board is going to do," said Ellie Jenning, a disabled woman who
has followed the task force. "It's mainly the perception of what they will
do, but those fears still exist.

"This will give doctors a place to go and air complaints and it would let
patients know that they have a place to go for help," said Jenning, who also
represents Project Equality, a consumer group supporting the Oregon Health Plan.

The task force held public hearings all over the state and the
recommendations are the results of hours of testimony from doctors,
insurers, advocates and patients.

What the task force found was that doctors and other health care providers
are not always familiar with state-of-the-art pain treatments, and state
regulations sometimes inhibit the best treatments.

The fear of causing a patient to become addicted to narcotics often makes
doctors underprescribe pain killers and shy away form narcotics.

And chronic pain is not detected well in children, the elderly and
minorities with language differences.

Roger Weeks, a retired hospice chaplain and task force member said the new
state office and ombudsman are a start.

"This is a good thing from a consumer point of view," Weeks said. "This will
allow people to find out about resources they may not have known existed."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Raid yields guns, ammunition, drug paraphernalia (An Oregonian account
of North Portland residents being awakened at 5:30 a.m. Thursday
by a police raid characteristically fails to say what the "paraphernalia"
consisted of or whether the weapons were illegal, or on what evidence
Portland police charged Leroy Sylvester Long with conspiracy to commit
first-degree distribution of a controlled substance, or how one person
could engage in a conspiracy and/or why nobody else was apparently charged.)

The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/

Raid yields guns, ammunition, drug paraphernalia

* Neighbors on North Greeley are awakened by the police operation, in which
a man is arrested

Friday, December 18 1998

By Maxine Bernstein
of The Oregonian staff

Police raided a North Portland home early Thursday, seizing nine guns,
thousands of rounds of ammunition and drug paraphernalia before leading away
one man who is accused of firing a gun inside the house earlier this month.

Neighbors, who were awakened by the 5:30 a.m. police operation, looked on
with satisfaction, hoping that the arrest would put an end to the gunshots,
loud parties and constant car traffic at the house.

"They've been nothing but trouble," said Helen Andrews, who lives across the
street from the house on the 7000 block of North Greeley Avenue. "I hope
they move them out of here."

Leroy Sylvester Long, 25, of 7104 N. Greeley Ave., was roused from sleep and
taken into custody. He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful use of a
firearm, unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun and conspiracy to commit
first-degree distribution of a controlled substance, Lt. Steve Hollingsworth
said. Long was being held Thursday in the Justice Center jail in lieu of
$60,000 bail.

North Precinct police are continuing to investigate whether Long was
involved in burglaries along his street. Several neighbors said they had
aluminum siding, planters and other items stolen from outside their homes
within the past year.

Police were called to the house Dec. 6 on a report of a fight.

Long was assaulted that night during a party in his home and allegedly fired
nine shots into the ceiling to scare off his attackers, police said.
Officers went to the house but were not granted permission to enter the home
that evening, Hollingsworth said.

Portland police from the Youth Gun Anti-Violence Task Force obtained a
warrant and surrounded the single-family rental home early Thursday with
members of the police Special Emergency Reaction Team. Using a loudspeaker,
they announced they had a warrant to search the house, awakening Long and
his mother and father, Hollingsworth said.

Police found a loaded AK-47 rifle an the kitchen and other guns in Long's
bedroom. Among the weapons seized were two .40-caliber semiautomatic
handguns, a .22-caliber handgun, a sawed-off shotgun, a 12 gauge shotgun and
three rifles, Hollingsworth said.

Portland firefighters also were called to help police tear through the
dining room ceiling, where they found several bullets they think lodged
there in the Dec. 6 shooting, Hollingsworth said.

"This has been a chronic problem location, a thorn in the neighborhood," he
said.
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County considers taking cars of drunken drivers (The Oregonian
says the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously endorsed
a resolution Thursday to consider forfeiting vehicles operated by drivers
who have suspended or revoked licenses as a result of driving under
the influence of alcohol or "drugs." The resolution, introduced by
Commissioner Lisa Naito, allows Sheriff Dan Noelle to appoint a committee
to consider the ramifications and potentially recommend a county ordinance.)

The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/

County considers taking cars of drunken drivers

* The proposed ordinance aims for consistent practice countywide on vehicle
forfeitures for suspended or revoked licenses

Friday, December 18 1998

By Dan Hortsch
of The Oregonian staff

Multnomah County officials took a step Thursday toward increasing the cost
of repeatedly driving while drunk.

The Board of Commissioners unanimously endorsed a resolution to consider
seizing vehicles operated by drivers who have a suspended or revoked
licenses as a result of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The resolution, introduced by Commissioner Lisa Naito, allows Sheriff Dan
Noelle to appoint a committee to consider the ramifications and potentially
recommend a county ordinance.

Dan Oldham, executive assistant to the sheriff, said that U.S. Rep. Earl
Blumenauer, a former Portland City Council member who pushed for a
forfeiture law in the city, had found interest in such an ordinance among
the smaller cities in the county.

One goal of the ordinance would be to have consistent practices countywide,
Oldham said.

Noelle has met with officials in Deschutes County, which has a law matched
by ordinances in cities within that county. The Deschutes law appears to be
effective without additional costs to the county, he said.

In Portland, police can seize a vehicle if it is being driven by someone
with a suspended or revoked license as a result of driving while
intoxicated. Portland police also can seize vehicles used in prostitution or
illegal drug sales.

The state also allows forfeiture in cases of illegal gambling and promotion
of prostitution.

In addition, state law allows towing without forfeiture when drivers do not
have proof of insurance. The vehicles can be reclaimed when owners provide
that proof.

Noelle said one problem is storage space for seized vehicles. Other issues
include how to handle hardship exemptions and vehicles owned by someone
other than the driver.

Background material with the resolution said that an ordinance could have
start-up costs but eventually be self-sustaining. The sheriff will be asked
to provide details on costs.
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Medical Pot Not A Problem (A letter to the editor of The Columbian,
in Vancouver, Washington, responds to an op-ed against medical marijuana
by Sandra Bennett, the notorious local drug warrior.)

Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 11:20:43 +0000
To: vignes@monaco.mc
From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc)
Subject: Lock Up the Drug Warriors
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Source: The Columbian (WA)
Copyright: 1998 The Columbian
Contact: editors@columbian.com
Mail: P.O. Box 180, Vancouver, WA 98666
Website: http://www.columbian.com/
Forum: http://www.webforums.com/forums/trace/host/msa70.html
Author: Rob Smithdeal
Note: Molly Ivins' column, which appeared in many newspapers, is at:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1151.a01.html

OUR READERS VIEWS

MEDICAL POT NOT A PROBLEM

Was it only irony that Molly Ivins' Dec. 6 column, "Blind Justice:
America's love affair with prisons is about to bankrupt us," was placed
side by side with Sandra Bennett's local view column, "Medical pot is not
about compassion, but getting stoned?" Or was it just fortuitous that Ivins
came as a breath of fresh air after Bennett's diatribe? Bennett apparently
is not happy that there are times when, inexplicably enough, reason
prevails and voters make decisions based on the information at hand and not
knee-jerk reactions.

To suggest that millions of voters in six states were fooled into voting
for medicinal marijuana by well heeled interlopers from out of state
overlooks the obvious fact that maybe we did it because we care about the
people who qualify to use it for that purpose. I do not believe that we
will suddenly have a large segment of the population stoned out of their
gourds because we have done so. I am much more worried about some
middle-aged accountant who has a little problem with alcohol and a large
automobile.

Even if some people do use this law for nefarious purposes, I, along with
increasing numbers of Americans, am sick to death of pawning our children's
futures in the vain hope that absolutely nobody in this country will do
anything that is bad for them. It would actually probably be cheaper to
lock up Bennett and all those like her who still don't think we have enough
prisons.

Rob Smithdeal
Vancouver
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Illegal Plant Grown For Medicine, Man Claims (An Associated Press article
in The Houston Chronicle notes Musa Ahmed Gelan of Prunedale,
California, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in San Jose to charges
related to growing more than 1,000 khat plants. Gelan's lawyer
said the native of Yemen used khat to help control his diabetes.
Prohibition agents said Gelan's garden was the first such outdoor
"plantation" discovered in the United States.)

Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 07:19:20 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Illegal Plant Grown For Medicine, Man Claims
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Contact: viewpoints@chron.com
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html
Copyright: 1998 Houston Chronicle

ILLEGAL PLANT GROWN FOR MEDICINE, MAN CLAIMS

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The first person in this country arrested for
growing a rare and exotic East African stimulant claimed on Thursday that he
was cultivating the plant for medicinal purposes.

Musa Ahmed Gelan, 40, of Prunedale, Calif., pleaded innocent in U.S.
District Court to manufacturing a controlled substance known as khat,
pronounced "cot." His lawyer, Donald Foley, said Gelan was growing khat to
help control his diabetes.

"He had no idea anything was illegal about this," Foley said. "The plants
are part of his ethnic background."

If convicted, Gelan could face up to 20 years in prison.

The leafy, reddish khat is popular with people in Ethiopia, Somalia and
Tanzania, and the Middle Eastern country of Yemen, Gelan's homeland. When
chewed, users say it produces a mild euphoria.

Khat is illegal in the United States because it contains an amphetamine-like
substance in the same category as heroin.

Gelan was arrested in September when federal and state authorities raided
his quarter-acre field and seized more than 1,000 plants. Drug enforcement
officials said it was the first outdoor khat plantation discovered in the
country.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Not Guilty Plea In Exotic Drug Case (A lengthier San Jose Mercury News
version)

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 02:31:37 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Not Guilty Plea In Exotic Drug Case
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Copyright: 1998 Mercury Center
Author: Mercury News Wire Services

NOT GUILTY PLEA IN EXOTIC DRUG CASE

Prunedale man says he grows khat as medicine

The first person in this country arrested for growing khat, a rare and
exotic stimulant, claimed on Thursday he was cultivating the leafy plant for
medicinal purposes.

Musa Ahmed Gelan, 40, a Prunedale convenience store owner, pleaded not
guilty in U.S. District Court in San Jose to a charge of manufacturing a
controlled substance.

His attorney, Donald Foley, said Gelan wants to fight the charge because he
was growing it to help control his diabetes. A legal resident of the United
States, Gelan immigrated from Yemen several years ago and was unaware the
plant was illegal, Foley said.

These people are from countries "that have laws against alcohol, but
occasionally chew khat," he said.

At the time of the raid on Gelan's property, Monterey County sheriff's
investigator Sgt. Terry Kaiser said there was evidence Gelan had distributed
the drug, which he said sells for $800 per kilogram on the street. He said
4,840 pounds of khat were seized from Gelan's house.

Foley denied the distribution allegation. "Not at any time was it furnished
for anyone else," he said.

The leafy, reddish khat -- pronounced "cot" -- is popular with people in
Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and the Middle Eastern country of Yemen. It's
used by stuffing wads of the leaves in your mouth and chewing throughout the
day. Users say it produces a mild euphoria.

Khat is illegal in the United States because, according to federal drug
laws, it contains an amphetamine-like substance in the same category as
heroin.

Foley said his client acquired the plants from khat growers around the
country for cultural and medicinal purposes.

"He had no idea anything was illegal about this," said Foley. "The plants
are part of his ethnic background."

Gelan was busted in September, when federal and state authorities raided his
quarter-acre field and seized more than 1,000 plants.

Drug enforcement officials said it was the first outdoor khat plantation
discovered in the United States.

Contains potent narcotic

When growing, or within 48 hours of harvesting, khat contains a potent
narcotic called cathinone, said Drug Enforcement Agency spokeswoman Evelyn
James.

"The fact that these plants were being grown and contained cathinone makes
it a felony," she said.

If convicted, Gelan could face up to 20 years in prison and up to a $1
million fine.

There is little precedent in this country in khat cases, and none for
cultivation.

Foley said Gelan sought his help because he represented the first California
resident to be arrested for khat possession. In that case, a Berkeley
businessman had a quantity of khat flown from New York to be used at his
daughter's wedding.

Federal agents followed the shipment from the East Coast to Berkeley and
arrested the man, whom Foley declined to name.

Foley said he and prosecutors were so unfamiliar with khat laws that they
were unsure how to proceed with the case. The man eventually pleaded guilty
to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance and received
no jail time or fine.

Other cases

Two years ago, Jeremy Rankine of London was caught smuggling 70 pounds of
khat through Pittsburgh International Airport. He pleaded guilty in a plea
bargain and was sentenced to less than a year in custody.

And in April, Mohamud Abdi, 33, of New York was arrested during a traffic
stop on the New Jersey Turnpike after state police found a suitcase with 100
pounds of khat in his car.

Sgt. Ron Kushner said that Abdi's charge of possession of a controlled
dangerous substance was downgraded because that khat had lost its potency.

"As the drug gets older, it becomes less illegal in New Jersey," he said.

Gelan's trial is expected to begin in March.
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Texas reporter was murdered in Mexico, authorities say
(The Dallas Morning News says an autopsy shows Philip True,
the Mexico City correspondent for the San Antonio Express News,
was strangled and may have been sexually assaulted before his death.
The newspaper says American law enforcement sources "privately" suspect
drug smugglers.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: TX reporter murdered in Mex
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 21:36:46 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Texas reporter was murdered in Mexico, authorities say
12/18/98
By Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News

MEXICO CITY - A Texas journalist whose body was found in the wilds of
western Mexico was murdered, autopsy results showed Thursday, and some
American law enforcement sources privately suspect drug smugglers.

Philip True, 50, the Mexico City correspondent for the San Antonio Express
News, was killed in a remote corner of Jalisco state, where gangs of
marijuana and heroin traffickers have grown in strength in recent years. He
was strangled, Jalisco medical examiner Mario Rivas Souza said.

Sources at the Express-News, said there is also some evidence that the
journalist may have been sexually assaulted before his death.

"He could have stumbled onto something he wasn't supposed to see," one
source said. "Drug trafficking or something."

Although U.S. diplomatic sources said they hadn't seen any evidence of a
sexual assault, some American drug-trade experts said the possibility is
very real.

It isn't unusual, they say, for Mexican traffickers to use sexual abuse as a
tool of interrogation.

"Sexual torture is a favorite method of Mexican traffickers," said Phil
Jordan, former director of the El Paso Intelligence Center, jointly run by
the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and other agencies. "And if
they tortured Philip, the only reason they would do it is to find out if he
was working for the DEA, the CIA or some other agency."

DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena and DEA pilot Alfredo Zavala were
tortured before being murdered in Mexico in 1985. Agent Camarena's injuries
included three broken ribs and a broken right arm, and doctors suspected he
had been sexually assaulted.

Mr. Zavala was also sexually assaulted before being buried alive and
suffocating, a DEA autopsy report said.

In another chilling case in Mexico in 1985, two other Americans - Alberto
Radelat, a 32-year-old dental student from Fort Worth, and John Walker, a
36-year-old aspiring novelist - were killed after unwittingly walking into a
private party hosted by notorious trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero.

Desperados, a 1988 book about drug trafficking in Mexico, said that the drug
lord's men beat and kicked the two Americans, then Mr. Caro Quintero and
eight of his underlings "stabbed them with knives and ice picks for more
than half an hour."

Mr. Caro Quintero is in prison after being convicted of ordering Agent
Camarena's torture and slaying.

Mr. True had left for the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental on Nov. 29. On
Wednesday, a Huichol Indian told authorities there was a body at the bottom
of a ravine near a village called San Miguel Huaisita. Rescuers went to the
scene by helicopter but found only blood stains. The body was later found
half buried about a 30-minute walk away.

"The Huichol Indians are very religious. They may have seen the body and
dragged it away to bury it," said Jose Ramirez, a spokesman for the attorney
general in Jalisco state.

Mexican forensic experts say they suspect that Mr. True had been dead for
more than 10 days. They said the journalist was strangled to death, most
likely by a bandanna found around his neck.

Mr. Ramirez said he did not know whether Mr. True had been sexually
assaulted.

After the body was found, U.S. officials and many of the writer's colleagues
suspected that Mr. True may have slipped and fallen to his death.

Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo ordered state officials in Jalisco and
neighboring Nayarit on Thursday not to spare any expense in carrying out a
full investigation.

"The Mexican government condemns the violence and expresses sorrow over the
death of American journalist Philip True," the president's office said in a
statement.

Some of Mr. True's friends have speculated that he may have been robbed.
There has been no word as to whether the camera and backpack he was carrying
has been found; Jalisco officials said his watch and two rings were on the
body when they recovered it.

Carolina Garcia, managing editor of the Express-News, said the newspaper is
sending two staffers to Mexico to continue looking into the case.

"We are going to pursue this investigation very doggedly," she said.

She said she has not confirmed whether Mr. True was sexually assaulted but
called for "a full-scale investigation."

Jalisco was ranked fifth and Nayarit eight in drug cultivation in 1996, but
the growing of marijuana and poppies - used to make heroin - has been on the
rise, said Ignacio Rodriguez, a Mexican journalist who covers the drug
trade.

"I've been out there and been in little Podunk villages where there are
locals wearing huge gold necklaces and other jewelry," he said. "These guys
are smugglers and growers. Philip could have crossed paths with them. It
could have just been bad luck. He was in the wrong place, seeing something
they didn't want him to see."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

US Journalist In Mexico Sexually Assaulted, Slain (The Chicago Tribune
version in The Orange County Register says True was indeed sexually
brutalized, but that he may also have stumbled upon an illegal logging
operation.)

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 02:31:36 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: US Journalist In Mexico Sexually Assaulted, Slain
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John W. Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Orange County Register
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Author: Paul le la Garza-Chicago Tribune

US JOURNALIST IN MEXICO SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, SLAIN

Crime: Philip True, a UCI graduate, might have been killed while investigating
drug trafficking.

Mexico City-An autopsy has revealed that Philip True, a Mexico City-based
reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, was sexually assaulted and slain
in a remote area of western Mexico, authorities said Thursday.

The U.S.Embassy had said Wednesday that True, 50, a graduate of the
University of California, Irvine, apparently died of injuries suffered in a
fall while hiking in the mountains of Jalisco. But Gerrry Keener, an embassy
spokeswoman, said Thursday that an autopsy had shown True was the victim of
foul play. She would not elaborate.

Mexican government officials, however, said in television interviews that
True had suffered head injuries and had been strangled with a cord. He also
had been sexually brutalized, officials said.

Word of True's slaying sent a chill through Mexico's journalism community
because it appears he might have been killed while investigating drug
trafficking.

Although on vacation, True apparently was reporting on the Huichol Indian
community. The area reportedly has ruthless drug-trafficking gangs who often
employ the local indigenous population.

Joel Simon, program coordinator for The Committee to Protect Journalists in
New York, said True might have stumbled upon an illegal enterprise, like
drug running or illegal logging.

"I'm afraid that there are strong suggestions that this was carried out
because of his work," Simon said. "He wasn't robbed."

True's body was recovered in a canyon Wednesday on the border of the states
of Jalisco and Nayarit. He was wearing his watch and his wedding ring, and
his wallet was on him.

People familiar with the drug trade in Mexico speculated that the sexual
assault could have been an attempt by drug barons to intimidate reporters.

On Thursday, the office of President Ernesto Zedillo issued a statement
condemning the slaying. Zedillo ordered federal authorities to launch an
all-out investigation.

The president also asked the governments of Jalisco and Nayarit to cooperate
in the investigation.

Although the motive is uncertain, True's slaying has rattled some of his
colleagues in Mexico. American reporters generally have believed they are
off-limits to violence at the hands of narcotics traffickers.

Mexican journalists often are targeted by the cartels.

Born June 18, 1948, in San Fernando, True graduated from UCI and had planned
to be a teacher. Among the high-profile stories he covered for the San
Antonio paper were the Zapatista rebel conflict in the southern state of
Chiapas and Pope John Paul 11's trip to Cuba.

The Express-News managing editor said True's wife, Marta, is expecting their
first child.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

American Journalist Is Killed In Mexico
(The original Chicago Tribune version - slightly different)

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 13:55:29 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: American Journalist Is Killed In Mexico
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young
Pubdate: 18 Dec 1998
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Section: Sec. 1
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Forum: http://www.chicagotribune.com/interact/boards/
Copyright: 1998 Chicago Tribune Company
Author: Paul de la Garza

AMERICAN JOURNALIST IS KILLED IN MEXICO

MEXICO CITY -- An autopsy has revealed that Philip True, a Mexico
City-based reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, was sexually
assaulted and killed in a remote area of western Mexico, authorities
said Thursday.

The U.S. Embassy had said on Wednesday that True, 50, apparently died
of injuries suffered in a fall while hiking in the mountains of
Jalisco. But Gerry Keener, an embassy spokeswoman, said Thursday that
an autopsy had shown that True had been the victim of foul play. She
would not elaborate.

Mexican government officials said in television interviews that True
had suffered head injuries and had been strangled with a cord. He also
had been sexually assaulted, officials said.

Word of True's slaying sent a chill through Mexico's journalism
community because it appears he may have been killed while
investigating drug trafficking.

Although on vacation, True apparently was reporting on the Huichol
Indian community. The area reportedly has ruthless drug-trafficking
gangs that often employ the indigenous population.

Joel Simon, program coordinator for The Committee to Protect
Journalists in New York, said True may have stumbled upon an elicit
enterprise, such as drug running or illegal logging.

"I'm afraid that there are strong suggestions that this was carried
out because of his work," Simon said. "He wasn't robbed."

True's body was recovered in a canyon on Wednesday on the border
between the states of Jalisco and Nayarit. He was wearing his watch
and his wedding ring and his wallet was on his person.

People familiar with the drug trade in Mexico speculated that the
sexual assault could have been an attempt by drug barons to intimidate
reporters.

On Thursday, the office of President Ernesto Zedillo issued a
statement condemning the slaying. Zedillo ordered federal authorities
to launch an all-out investigation.

The president also asked the governments of Jalisco and Nayarit to
cooperate in the investigation. "The Mexican government," the
statement said, "ratifies its respect for journalism and for freedom
of expression."

Although the motive is uncertain, True's slaying has rattled some of
his colleagues in Mexico. American reporters generally have believed
they are off limits to violence at the hands of narco-traffickers.

Mexican journalists often are targeted by the cartels. In February, a
Mexican reporter who covered drug trafficking for a Mexico City daily
was killed.

Simon said that True's death serves as a reminder of the dangers of
working as a journalist in Mexico. "Clearly," he said, "there are
special risks that journalists face . . . when they visit isolated
villages."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Express-News news release relating to Philip True
(The San Antonio Express-News says news reports that the newspaper's
slain Mexico City correspondent was investigating drug trafficking
or cultivation are false. There is no evidence to suggest he was the victim
of foul play by drug traffickers or cultivators. Also contrary to published
reports, True's wallet and other effects were missing, suggesting robbery
may have been a motive.)

From: adbryan@onramp.net
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 12:07:27 -0600 (CST)
Subject: ART: Express-News news release relating to Philip True
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

From the 12-18-98 San Antonio Express-News
http://www.expressnews.com
letters@express-news.net

Express-News news release relating to Philip True

NEWS RELEASE

Dec. 18, 1998

This statement is made on behalf of the San Antonio Express-News and all
of its journalists and employees, and Marta True, the widow of Philip
True, from her home in Mexico City. We hope it will serve as an accurate
expression of our feelings about the current investigation. We also want
to dispel media reports based more on speculation rather than fact or
evidence.

First, we wish to express our profound gratitude to all the different
authorities and individuals in Mexico whose timely actions enabled us to
find and recover the remains of Philip True from his makeshift grave in
a remote mountain canyon in the state of Jalisco.

Our first debt of gratitude is to all the Huichol Indians who
participated in a ground search of the rugged sierra where Philip was
last seen hiking, which led to the first reliable report of his
whereabouts.

We never would have found Philip, or discovered that he was a victim of
a homicide and not a hiking accident, without the concerted search
efforts ordered by President Zedillo and key officials in his
administration.

The Mexican Army from the Fifth Military Zone in Guadalajara, as well as
the state governments of Jalisco and Nayarit, responded swiftly with
on-the-scenes search efforts.

Officials at the U.S. embassy in Mexico City and consular offices in
Guadalajara also took extraordinary measures to assist us at all times
and considerably eased the logistical challenges through this shocking
episode.

Although it especially painful for Marta to endure additional medical
procedures to the remains, we welcome a second autopsy ordered by
President Zedillo and scheduled for Saturday, 9 a.m. in Mexico City. We
appreciate the gesture by the PGR to invite the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to observe the procedure, and we believe a second report
will eliminate any doubts, if they exist, that Philip was the victim of
a homicide and not an accident.

Reports that Philip was in the Sierra Madre Occidental to investigate
drug trafficking or cultivation are false. He was combining a hiking
vacation with a long-held desire to produce a report on the Huichol
culture, which he admired and wanted to explore as a journalist. There
is no evidence to suggest he was the victim of foul play by drug
traffickers or cultivators.

Any speculation about motive behind his murder would have to include
robbery, or the possibility he somehow offended area ranchers or other
residents suspicious of outsiders, or opposed to the presence of a
foreign journalist. At this point, unless authorities have developed
leads, the motive remains unknown and the killer or killers
unidentified.

What is known is that much of the personal property Philip was carrying
at the time of his death remains unaccounted for, despite a thorough
search of the surrounding area where his body was first dropped and
around the site of his makeshift grave. The missing property includes a
new Canon camera and lenses, approximately 4,000 pesos, his wallet, his
passport and all personal identification, his boots, an array of camping
gear and outdoor wear, and the backpack he used to carry it.

The Express-News is paying a 10,000-peso reward to the Huichol Indian
who first located Philip's body on Monday, before unknown persons
subsequently buried it for undetermined reasons, and who enabled
authorities to locate the grave and recover the remains of Philip True
on Wednesday morning.

A second reward of 10,000 pesos will be paid to the person or persons
who provide authorities with reliable information leading to the
identification and arrest of the person or persons responsible for the
homicide.

Robert Rivard
Editor
San Antonio Express-News
rrivard@express-news.net
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Texas Lawyer Battles Highway Department, Anti-drug Police
(A Dallas Morning News article in The San Jose Mercury News
says Pat Barber of Colorado City, Texas, erected a big billboard
on his ranch at the edge of town next to Interstate 20 saying, "Just Say NO
to Searches! 915-728-5505." Law enforcement officials were not amused
and the Texas Department of Transportation said the billboard violated
the Highway Beautification Act and threatened to fine Barber $1,000 a day
if he didn't remove it. "Nobody wants to see us turn into a Third World
police state," says Barber. "Police may want it, but people don't want it.")

Link to 'Fighting the Drug War'
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998
13:55:43 -0800
From:
owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
(MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: Texas
Lawyer Battles Highway
Department, Anti-drug
Sender:
owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media
Awareness Project
http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Source: San Jose Mercury
News (CA)
Contact:
letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Copyright: 1998 Mercury Center
Author: Scott Parks, Dallas Morning News

TEXAS LAWYER BATTLES HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT, ANTI-DRUG POLICE

A 1-man fight against searches

COLORADO CITY, Texas -- The signpost on I-20 warns thousands of
travelers that the war on drugs has taken a strange turn here in west
Texas.

This lonely stretch of interstate highway between Abilene and Midland
once seemed an unlikely spot to spawn debates about First Amendment
rights to free speech and Fourth Amendment protections against
unreasonable searches.

But that was before Colorado City lawyer Pat Barber erected a big
billboard on his ranch at the edge of town. Just past the Dairy Queen
and the state prison, it rises from the rocky landscape next to
Interstate 20.

"Just Say NO to Searches! 915-728-5505."

A phone call reveals a tape-recorded message encouraging law-abiding
travelers to "just say no" when police ask to search their vehicles
for drugs during routine traffic stops.

"An innocent citizen . . . should know that when an unreasonable
search request is refused, the officer must let him go," Barber advises.

The message concludes, "Good luck, and have a safe trip."

Law officers were not amused.

"I think it would be fair to say we resented it at first," said
Mitchell County Sheriff Pat Toombs. "But he has a right to his opinion."

Texas Department of Transportation officials also had a problem with
Barber's sign. They said his billboard violated the Highway
Beautification Act and threatened to fine him $1,000 a day if he
didn't remove it.

Barber, 52, filed suit against the highway department. The sign, he
argued, sits on his own property and carries a political opinion that
cannot be censored.

In October, District Judge Suzanne Covington of Austin granted Barber
an injunction, which means the sign can stay up until a trial next
year.

In her order, Covington said Barber "will probably prevail on his
claim that the statute (Highway Beautification Act) as written and as
enforced is an unconstitutional infringement of his rights of free
speech under the Texas and U.S. constitutions."

Highway department officials said agency policy prevents them from
commenting about active court cases.

Barber said his main goal is to create a fundamental debate about
roadside searches. He asks: Do they yield enough criminal cases to
justify intrusions into glove compartments, trunks and luggage of
law-abiding travelers?

"Most people don't know they have a right to say no," he said. "And a
lot of others are afraid to say no. These officers count on that."

Barber conducts a one-attorney law practice out of a historic bank
building in downtown Colorado City. Sharon Barber, his wife, is the
legal assistant.

Colorado City, population 4,600, has seen better times. Barber fondly
disparages it as "a ghost town." Folks said he's never been concerned
about being popular with the chamber of commerce crowd.

In the 1970s, as a county prosecutor, he accused local law enforcement
officers of beating jail inmates. Two police officers were prosecuted
but acquitted.

In the early 1990s, he sued the local school board when his son's hair
length collided with the dress code. He lost before the Texas Supreme
Court.

Now, he's crusading against roadside searches.

"Nobody wants to see us turn into a Third World police state where you
can't walk across the street without a drug dog in your crotch," he
said. "Police may want it, but people don't want it."

Thus far, Barber has aimed most of his barbs at the West Central Texas
Interlocal Crime Task Force, which operates in a 15-county area
surrounding Abilene.

Billy Schat, the task-force commander, said no one has complained
about his interdiction officers and that they have never used threats
or intimidation to get consent to search a vehicle.

"We don't operate that way," he said. "We don't have to. Most people
give permission to search."

Schat's group is one of 47 regional drug task forces funded by the
Texas Narcotics Control Program. The governor's office administers the
program with $26 million a year in federal funds.

Barber's sign and his opposition to roadside searches has had no
effect, Schat said.

"He hasn't affected anything of ours," he said.

The Abilene-area's highway interdiction program and others statewide
generally operate this way:

Officers stop a motorist for a minor traffic violation. The officer
then tries to engage the traveler in conversation and to look for
"indicators" that the car may contain drugs.

Based on a quick assessment, an officer either sends the traveler down
the road with a warning or asks permission to search the vehicle. The
officer does not have to warn the motorist that the right to say "no"
is an option.

"Texas law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions hold that everyone
presumably knows that you don't have to let the cops search your car
or home," said Ted Wilson, a criminal law expert in Houston.

Officers with probable cause -- the smell of marijuana coming from the
car, for example -- don't need a warrant to search the car. And
officers without probable cause cannot pressure travelers into a
consensual search by threatening to detain them while a magistrate
issues a search warrant, Wilson said.

"The law says you cannot coerce someone into allowing a search," he
said. "Once the officer is told `no,' it's over."

Barber said it is impossible to determine the program's effectiveness.
The task force is not required to report how many traffic stops are
made each day, or how many vehicles are searched.

Searches that do not yield drugs are not reported.

"If we ever got an accurate assessment of what they are doing, it
would show an enormous number of people being terrorized and harassed
by an ineffective policy," Barber said. "They can't stop the flow of
drugs. How far do we go to allow them to erode our constitutional
rights in an unwinnable war on drugs?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Drake nurse allegedly stole patient's morphine (The Cincinnati Enquirer
says the woman had a history of substance abuse when a temp agency
placed her at the Drake Center, raising questions about the effectiveness
of an Ohio law requiring background checks for health care workers.
"We arrest a health professional every six days," said Sgt. John J. Burke,
commander of Cincinnati's pharmaceutical diversion squad. About 70 percent
of the health workers the squad arrests are nurses. The rest are pharmacists,
doctors and other health care workers.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Nurse allegedly stole patient's morphine
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 16:25:11 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Newshawk: ccross@november.org
Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pubdate: Friday, December 18, 1998
http://enquirer.com/editions/1998/12/18/loc_drake_nurse.htmlOnline:

Drake nurse allegedly stole patient's morphine

BY TIM BONFIELD
and BEN L. KAUFMAN

A former nurse with a history of substance abuse was indicted this week on
charges of stealing morphine from Drake Center, raising questions about how
thoroughly employers check out their health care workers, especially their
part-time workers.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted registered nurse Leslie
Burchenal on charges she stole morphine intended for a patient and tried to
replace it with tap water. The event occurred Oct. 30, 1997. Ms. Burchenal,
hired through a temporary nursing agency, had been working at Drake on and
off for about a month.

Since the incident, her nursing license has been suspended pending the
outcome of her criminal case. The charges against Ms. Burchenal are based on
one incident involving one patient.

However, the case still raises questions about the effectiveness of an Ohio
law requiring background checks for most health care workers. That's because
Ms. Burchenal managed to get a nursing job with access to narcotic
medications despite a documented history of substance abuse problems
stretching back to the late 1980s.

Despite increasingly strict requirements for background checks, police say
drug-addicted health care workers still find ways to get jobs and get drugs.

"We arrest a health professional every six days," said Sgt. John J. Burke,
commander of Cincinnati's pharmaceutical diversion squad. About 70 percent
of the health workers the squad arrests are nurses. The rest are
pharmacists, doctors and other health care workers.

Ms. Burchenal, 43, got her nursing license from Ohio in 1979. She worked in
Ohio for an unclear amount of time, then moved to Virginia.

According to police and the Ohio State Board of Nursing, Ms. Burchenal's
record of drug problems started in 1987. That year, she was convicted of
felony morphine possession in Culpeper County, Va., and put on probation.
Then in 1988, she was convicted of felony use of a forged prescription in
Newport News, Va. Her nursing license in Virginia was suspended following
the convictions. But she moved back to Ohio sometime around 1990.

The Ohio Board of Nursing caught up with her in 1992, suspending her nursing
license indefinitely because of the actions taken against her by the
Virginia nursing board. At that time, she was given a chance to complete a
drug rehabilitation program. Ms. Burchenal completed that program and was
awarded a nursing license in 1995 with no restrictions.

However, any employer who called to check her credentials would have been
told that Ms. Burchenal had a history, said Marsha Strauss, compliance
manager for the Ohio Board of Nursing.

Drake Center runs more extensive background checks on full-time employees
than required by state law, said spokesman Guy Karrick. The center regularly
uses temporary nurses to fill in for vacations and when people leave for
other jobs.

However, Drake Center expects the temporary agencies to run checks on the
personnel they offer.

Neither Mr. Karrick nor Ms. Strauss could say whether a background check had
been made on Ms. Burchenal before she started working at Drake.

On Oct. 30, 1997, police say, Ms. Burchenal obtained three premeasured doses
of morphine sulfate from a drug cart. Ms. Burchenal falsely reported that
one dose was given to the patient, another was broken and the third was
refused by the patient.

Police say a nurse who was asked to help Ms. Burchenal verify the disposal
of a partial dose of the morphine noticed something unusual, then notified
her boss.

Drake started an internal investigation and called in the police. Tests
revealed one of the tubes had been emptied and refilled with tap water.

"This is an example of Drake Hospital doing the right thing," Sgt. Burke
said. "This is the way it is supposed to work."

The patient, who has since died of unrelated health problems, may have
missed some pain-killing doses of morphine, but probably was not injected
with tap water. The main risk of being injected with a small amount of
unsterile tap water instead of morphine would be the chance of an infection,
said Dr. David Waterhouse, a Cincinnati oncologist familiar with giving
patients morphine.

While the pharmaceutical diversion squad regularly arrests nurses for
stealing narcotics, Ms. Straus of the Ohio Board of Nursing said those
arrests should be put in perspective.

"There are more than 180,000 nurses in Ohio (including RNs and LPNs)," she
said. In fiscal 1998, ended June 30, the Ohio Board of Nursing took action -
either revocation, suspension, or placing special restrictions - in 185 drug
or alcohol-related cases.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Taylor Turns Himself In On Drug Rap (UPI
says former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor,
a virtual lock to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month,
faces crack cocaine charges in Teaneck, New Jersey.)

Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 20:07:40 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US NJ: Wire: Taylor Turns Himself In On Drug Rap
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Sun, 18 Dec 1998
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1998 United Press International

TAYLOR TURNS HIMSELF IN ON DRUG RAP

TEANECK, N.J., Dec. 18 (UPI) _ The troubles continue for former New York
Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

On Thursday night, Taylor turned himself in to police to face charges of
possession of narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia after an investigation
by the Teaneck Police Department bureau of narcotics.

After turning himself in, Taylor posted $2,500 bond and was released on his
own recognizance. The case now will be referred to the Bergen County
prosecutor.

In September, police officers carried out a search warrant on a hotel room
rented in Taylor's name. Crack cocaine and narcotics paraphernalia were
found and seized. Taylor was not present when the search took place.

This is the latest in a series of legal troubles for Taylor, who is a
virtual lock to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month.
There is no specific conduct clause for Hall of Fame election.

Taylor was arrested on Oct. 19 for purchasing crack cocaine from an
undercover police officer in St. Petersburg, Fla. Taylor claimed he had
been set up, but later entered a New Jersey drug rehabilitation clinic.

In May of 1996, Taylor was arrested in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on charges he
tried to buy crack cocaine. He was arrested in the summer of 1997 for
failing to pay child support payments on time and pleaded guilty to filing
a false 1990 federal income-tax return.

In 1988, Taylor was suspended four games for violating the NFL's substance
abuse policy and entered a rehabilitation clinic.

Taylor is credited with revolutionizing the position of outside linebacker
in the 1980's and early 1990's. He was named to 10 Pro Bowls and led the
Giants to two Super Bowl titles. Taylor retired in 1993.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dealer's house is officer's - Drug conduit's forfeited Hilltown Twp. home
is sold to Philadelphia policeman (The Morning Call, in Allentown,
Pennsylvania, gives a quick history of Bucks County District Attorney
Alan M. Rubenstein's campaign since 1986 to forfeit people's homes
for illegal-drug-related offenses. It's still not clear though how
Ralph Mirarchi is able to afford a $315,000 house on a policeman's salary.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Cop get's dealer's house
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 16:23:27 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Newshawk: ccross@november,org
Online: http://www.mcall.com:80/html/news/quaktwn/43113.htm

Dealer's house is officer's
Drug conduit's forfeited Hilltown Twp. home is sold to Philadelphia
policeman.

12/18/98
By LISA KOZLESKI
of The Morning Call

Irony is rarely lost on Bucks County District Attorney Alan M. Rubenstein,
and when he learned who would be buying a sprawling Hilltown Township home
that had been forfeited by a major player in a busted Bucks County drug
ring, he savored the moment.

The new owners of the four-bedroom, six-bathroom home on a
three-quarter-acre lot on Brinkley Drive are Ralph Mirarchi, an 18-year
veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, and his wife, Linda.

The couple purchased the house for $315,000 from the district attorney,
moving in Thursday after the settlement.

''I must say I enjoy the irony of the fact'' that a former police officer
purchased a home that had been forfeited by a man Rubenstein described as
''a major conduit for dope in the Central Bucks area.''

Thursday's sale netted more than $27,000 for the county's drug forfeiture
fund and will be used to finance operations like the 17-month
multi-jurisdiction investigation that culminated in September with the
arrest of David Campbell and six cohorts.

Law enforcement officials recovered 289 pounds of cocaine while busting that
drug ring, which was the largest seizure of cocaine in the history of Bucks
County.

The sale of the Brinkley Drive home marked the 16th such forfeiture since
Rubenstein implemented the county's drug forfeiture program shortly after
taking office in 1986.

The previous 15 sales were all done in public auction and netted more than
$845,000 after all liens were paid off with the $1.96 million the 15 sales
grossed.

Those funds are combined with cash seized from drug dealers and to date have
brought in $4.2 million, according to Rubenstein.

''The dope business is very lucrative,'' Rubenstein said. ''It just has a
terrible retirement plan.'' Campbell, who told police he was a plumber, had
lived in the home with his wife and their two small children since November
1997. Rubenstein said the home was purchased with money made from the sale
of narcotics and, as such, was eligible for forfeiture.

Although most forfeitures take place after a drug conviction is made,
Rubenstein said Campbell agreed to give up the home and $99,000 found in a
small safe in the master bedroom when police searched the home. He did not
comment on whether agreeing to the forfeiture would prompt a more lenient
sentence if Campbell is convicted. Campbell, 32, could face up to 15 years
in prison if convicted on all the drug charges.

Unlike most forfeitures, which are sold through public auction, the home was
sold through a Doylestown real estate agent because officials feared sale at
public auction might not bring in enough to pay for the $270,000 outstanding
mortgage and closing costs.

Four of the county's 15 previous home forfeitures took place in Upper Bucks.
They include: The Hilltown Township home that belonged to Terry Besch at
1971 Cherry Lane after he was sentenced to 2-6 years in prison in 1991 on
drug charges. That home sold for $75,431, and netted $37,716 for the drug
enforcement fund.

A 24-acre East Rockhill Township property that belonged to Alan
DeCristoforo, who was sentenced to 3-6 years in prison in 1994. The property
sold for $22,000 and netted $17,535.

The Hilltown Township home belonging to Thomas and Margaret Harrington at
2121 Rickert Road after he was sentenced to 1-4 years and she to 1-23 months
in prison in 1991. The home sold for $133,000 and netted $22,000.

A 138-acre horse farm in Springfield Township known as Wingait Farms that
belonged to George Reitz, who was sentenced to 7-20 years in prison. That
property sold for $966,000 and netted $404,964, the largest home forfeiture
received in the history of the state, according to Rubenstein.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Joe Hart - Key West Buyers Club (A list subscriber says the case
against one of the founders of a medical marijuana club in Key West,
Florida, was thrown out today by a judge who ruled that the "no-knock" raid
on his apartment was illegal.)
Link to earlier story
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 13:12:57 EST Originator: friends@freecannabis.org Sender: friends@freecannabis.org From: "James R. Dawson" (jrdawson@gnv.fdt.net) To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org) Subject: Joe Hart Key - West Buyers Club Joe Hart who was recently arrested by state and federal agents in Key West, Florida for posession of cannabis had his case thrown out of court today by a judge that ruled the "no-knock raid" of his apartment in March was not legal. Joe is one of the founders of the Key West Florida Buyers Club and is now the Director of the Medical Cannabis Providers Club of Key West. Back in March 1997 Approximately 25 state and federal agents smashed their way in after Joe received a package delivered by a federal postal inspector dressed in a mail carrier's uniform. In the package it was alleged there were approximately; 2.8 pounds marijuana in two sealed bags. 46.5 grams of marijuana in six packages. The cannabis seized was shipped to Mr Hart from SWIHTCO http://gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/swihtco.htm (Swiss hemp Trading Company) . The police held Joe at gunpoint, "bodyslammed" him to the floor and were verbally abusive. Police and detectives ransacked the place and allegedly found an additional kilo in the freezer already packaged for patients. Joe Hart was also deprived of several personal items including a notebook containing addresses and names and a 35mm camera with film intact. After interrogating Joe for nearly three hours he was transported to the Dade county jail. Joe was released after posting a $25,000.00 bond a couple of days later. updates as they happen. Sincerely, James Dawson ps If you have recieved this and do not wish to recieve drug policy updates of this nature the please reply to this mailing by entering CANCEL in the subject line. *** "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate...." Isaiah 13:9.... The Governments Own Programs PROVE that marijuana is a safe an effective medicine! There are currently Eight (8) Human Test Subjects that are provided marijuana from the Governments own Pot Farm. Am I so different from them that I am denied equal access to this most beneficial medicinal herb? The Action Class for Freedom of Therapeutic Cannabis http://www.gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/lawsuit.htm FAIRLAW.ORG Will Foster 93 sentence slashed to 20 Years by appeals court Judge! See http://www.gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/willsrelease.htm Meg Fosters Letter http://www.gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/megsrant.htm How you can Help...Write the Governor of Oklahoma insisting that he sign Will Fosters' Parole Papers http://www.gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/willsparole.htm Free Will Foster in 1998!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge Hears Medical Marijuana Case (The Associated Press
says U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts will hear oral arguments today
by lawyers for the District of Columbia and the American Civil Liberties
Union, who want to overturn the move by Congress to censor the results
of medical-marijuana Initiative 59 in November's election.)

From: LawBerger@aol.com
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 02:40:27 EST
To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Subject: DPFOR: Fwd: Judge Hears Medical Marijuana Case
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/
From: AOLNews@aol.com
Subject: Judge Hears Medical Marijuana Case
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 01:45:18 EST

Judge Hears Medical Marijuana Case

.c The Associated Press

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Forty-five days after voters in the nation's capital passed
judgment on a medical marijuana initiative, lawyers for the District of
Columbia and the American Civil Liberties Union are asking a federal judge to
let the ballots be counted.

Five states passed referenda Nov. 3 making it easier for seriously ill people
to use marijuana to ease pain or nausea. But Congress in October barred the
district government from spending any money tallying the results on the
initiative here.

``This is democracy held hostage,'' said AIDS activist Wayne Turner, who led
the petition drive to get the initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Turner is getting legal help from the ACLU, which argues the budget provision
violates the First Amendment right to free speech.

U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts was to hear the case today.

The Justice Department is defending the authority of Congress to forbid this
city of 530,000 from counting the votes.

The author of the amendment, Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., argues, ``If the district
wants to move forward with their efforts to legalize marijuana or other mind-
altering drugs, that's their problem. But my constituents, and obviously the
constituents of many other congressional districts, aren't interested in
paying for Washington D.C.'s folly.''

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics was the original defendant, but it has
sided with the plaintiffs in calling for the release and certification of the
results.

``We believe Congress acted in a constitutional way when it said Congress
can't spend any money on it,'' said Justice Department spokesman Gregory King.

But King added that while the Justice Department objects to any attempt to
certify the vote, it does not oppose releasing the results of the ballot.

Turner said that is not enough.

``That's basically turning an election into a public opinion poll,'' Turner
said. ``This is about the right of the people of the District of Columbia to
have their votes counted and to have them count,'' he said.

The initiative calls for the legalization of marijuana for people who are
seriously or terminally ill.

Advocates argue that the drug can help some patients, principally by relieving
nausea after chemotherapy or increasing the appetites of cancer and AIDS
sufferers.

Nationwide, medical marijuana proponents succeeded in getting measures passed
this year in Washington state, Alaska, Arizona, Oregon and Nevada.

AP-NY-12-18-98 0144EST

Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP
news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Anti Climax (A list subscriber notes U.S. District Court Judge Roberts
didn't issue a decision today regarding Initiative 59, but provides the URL
for "almost all" the written arguments presented by the various parties.)

Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 21:28:21 -0700 (MST)
From: ammo (ammo@levellers.org)
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: DC: Anti Climax
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 17:19:10 -0500
From: Peace through Reason (prop1@prop1.org)
Subject: Anti Climax

After hearing oral arguments from proponents of Initiative 59 (articulated
by the ACLU's Graham Boyd), the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics
(represented by John Ferran), and the United States, United States District
Court Judge Roberts took the matter under advisement.

In other words, the court did not enter a judgment.

Almost all of the written arguments of all parties are available at
http://prop1.org/thomas/dcvotergate/aclu/ca982634.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Study finds smoking marijuana and cocaine can cause cancer (CNN
apparently failed to ask for an objective interpretation of the science
while conveying the latest US government anti-marijuana propaganda
released Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Supposedly
the study was the first of its kind, and found that smokers of marijuana
and crack cocaine show the same kinds of precancerous conditions
caused by smoking tobacco. Unfortunately, neither CNN nor the phony
scientists explained why the government has never able to point to a single
person who has contracted lung cancer by smoking cannabis.)

Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 12:31:11 -0900
To: restore@crrh.org
From: TerraCore Communications (webmaster@terracore.com)
From: "CRRH mailing list" (restore@crrh.org)
Subject: Study finds smoking marijuana and cocaine can cause cancer

To unsubscribe from CRRH's restore@crrh.org e-mail list, send e-mail to
restore-owner@crrh.org

***

Study finds smoking marijuana and cocaine can cause cancer

August 18, 1998
Web posted at: 5:43 p.m. EDT (1743 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) - In the first study of its kind, researchers
found that smokers of marijuana and crack cocaine show the same kinds
of precancerous conditions caused by smoking tobacco.

The findings were released Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute.

In the study, researchers examined samples of respiratory tract tissue from
participants who ranged in age from 21 to 50. To be eligible, the
participants had to be in one or more of the following categories: Marijuana
smokers who smoked an average of 10 or more marijuana cigarettes a week
for the last five years or longer; crack cocaine smokers who smoked one gram
or more of crack cocaine a week for nine months or longer within the past
year; or tobacco smokers who smoked 20 cigarettes or more a day for the last
five years.

The researchers looked at genetic markers known to be associated with
increased risk of lung cancer. Changes or overproduction of some markers
were found in a majority of the study participants.

The findings suggested that tobacco was not the only smoked substance that
set the changes preceding lung cancer development in motion.

The study also showed that habitual smoking of tobacco, marijuana or crack
cocaine in combination could potentially lead to more cancerous alterations
in the molecular makeup of cellular structure than single-smoking alone.

Dr. Sanford Barsky, co-author of the study and a member of the University of
California, Los Angeles' Jonnson Comprehensive Cancer Center, said he was not
surprised by the findings. He said any substance that is inhaled, regardless
of chemical makeup, releases carcinogens into the lungs and throat.

In an editorial accompanying the study, Dr Li Mao and Dr. Yun Oh at the
University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center conclude that the
nationwide teen anti-tobacco effort might have an "unintended consequence"-
teens will substitute tobacco with marijuana.

They write while these anti-tobacco campaigns are expected to reduce the
numbers of teenagers and children who smoke tobacco cigarettes, the rate of
marijuana use is increasing.

They note the percentage of students smoking marijuana on a daily basis has
risen from 1.9 percent in 1992 to 4.6 percent in 1995.

***

Note from TerraCore:

CNN chose to leave out several important pieces of information:

#1 The majority of cannabis smokers don't 'smoke 10 or more marijuana
cigarettes per week'. Most people smoke via various devices such as
waterpipes which may remove most of the carcinogens. Also devices such as
vaporizers are available allowing people to use MJ without ANY smoke or its
cancer-causing compounds, and lastly, many people would instead choose to
EAT MJ or smoke with a cigarette-style filter, but its black-market status
makes it too expensive to consume in these manners.

The best thing to come out of cannabis prohibition is it forced people to
grow highly potent cannabis in very small spaces. Therefore we can smoke far
less in the 90's to achieve the same effect we did in the 70's.

#2 Just because cannabis smoke causes 'pre-cancerous' conditions does not
mean it leads to cancer. Other studies show MJ contains various cancer
fighting compounds and at least one study has shown smoking cannabis may
shrink cancer tumors. Living in polluted cities like LA causes
'pre-cancerous' conditions in the lungs, but the government does not outlaw
driving in Los Angeles.

#3 As one cannabis reformer asked, "where are the bodies?" The
government would lead us to believe cannabis is a highly dangerous drug
but they have been unable to produce a single corpse that died from smoking
cannabis.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Teenage use of stimulants levels off in 1998 (An Associated Press article
in The Seattle Times says the annual Monitoring the Future survey of teen
drug use conducted by the University of Michigan was released today.
According to the summary, it paints an optimistic picture of American
teenagers, with a few exceptions. Use of marijuana, by far the most popular
"drug," dropped among 10th-graders. But there was an increase in the number
of 8th-graders who had tried crack or cocaine.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Teenage use of stimulants levels off in 1998
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 21:06:01 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Copyright (c) 1998 The Seattle Times Company
Posted at 07:28 a.m. PST; Friday, December 18, 1998

Teenage use of stimulants levels off in 1998

by Laura Meckler
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Teenage use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs remained
stable for a second straight year after years on the rise, with younger
teenagers even less likely to have used drugs over the past year, according
to a government report being released today.

The annual report offers a comprehensive look at drug, alcohol and cigarette
use among 8th-, 10th- and 12th-graders. With a few exceptions, it paints an
optimistic picture of American teenagers, according to a summary of the
findings.

The Monitoring the Future survey, conducted by the University of Michigan's
Institute for Social Research, has tracked teenage drug use since 1975.
Based on nearly 50,000 responses to questions about drug use and attitudes,
it offers the first look at adolescent drug use in 1998.

The findings were being released today by Donna Shalala, secretary of the
Health and Human Services Department, and Barry McCaffrey, director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Last year's report found drug use stabilizing for the first time after
several years on the rise. It also found more adolescents disapproving of
drug use.

This year, the survey finds a drop in the number of 8th- and 10th-graders
reporting the use of any type of illegal drug. Use among high-school seniors
was steady.

Overall, 35 percent of 10th-graders said they had used drugs during the past
year, down from 38.5 percent in 1997. Use among 8th-graders in the past year
dropped to 21 percent from 23.6 percent.

Use of marijuana, by far the most popular drug, dropped among 10th-graders.

But there was an increase in the number of 8th-graders who had tried crack
or cocaine, with 3.2 percent saying they had tried it at some point and 2.1
percent using it in the past year. Also, fewer 8th-graders said they
disapproved of people taking LSD or saw great risk in LSD use.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Teen Drug Use Steady In 1998 (The CNN/Associated Press version)

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 12:30:15 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: WIRE: Teen Drug Use Steady In 1998
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jim Galasyn
Pubdate: 18 Dec 1998
Source: CNN (US)
Contact: cnn.feedback@cnn.com
Website: http://www.cnn.com/
Copyright: 1998 Cable News Network, Inc. A Time Warner Company
Author: Associated Press

TEEN DRUG USE STEADY IN 1998

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Teen-age use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs
remained stable for a second straight year after years on the rise,
with younger teen-agers even less likely to have used drugs over the
past year, according to a government report being released Friday. The
annual report offers a comprehensive look at drug, alcohol and
cigarette use among 8th, 10th and 12th graders. With a few exceptions,
it paints an optimistic picture of American teen-agers, according to a
summary of the findings provided by a Clinton administration official
on condition of anonymity.

The Monitoring the Future survey, which has tracked teen-age drug use
since 1975, asks nearly 50,000 teen-agers questions about drug use and
attitudes and offers the first look at adolescent drug use in 1998.
Teen-agers were surveyed anonymously at 422 schools across the country
over the 1997-98 school year.

The findings were being released Friday by Donna Shalala, secretary of
the Health and Human Services Department, and Barry McCaffrey,
director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"This consistent progress gives reason for optimism," McCaffrey said.
"It demonstrates that our balanced approach -- focusing on preventing
children from turning to drugs, treating drug addicts, and breaking
trafficking organizations -- works."

He added, "Our commitment must be to continuing to make progress
through a 10-year generational effort to lock in and build on today's
gains. If at any point during this long-term process we let down our
guard or squander our momentum we risk repeating with today's youth
the wasted mistakes of past generations."

Last year's report found drug use stabilizing for the first time after
several years on the rise. It also found more adolescents disapproving
of drug use.

This year, the survey finds a drop in the number of 8th and 10th
graders reporting the use of any type of illegal drug. Use among high
school seniors was steady.

Overall, 35 percent of 10th graders said they had used drugs during
the past year, down from 38.5 percent in 1997. Use among 8th graders
in the past year dropped to 21 percent from 23.6 percent.

Use of marijuana, by far the most popular drug, dropped among 10th
graders, with just under 40 percent saying they had smoked pot at some
point in their lives. Marijuana use was steady among 8th and 12th graders.

More young teen-agers said there was a "great risk" in trying
marijuana once or twice, up to 28.1 percent from 25.3 percent among
8th graders. A full 45 percent of them said there was great risk in
occasional pot smoking, also up from 1997.

But the news was not all good among 8th graders. There was an increase
in the number who had tried crack or cocaine, with 3.2 percent having
tried it at some point and 2.1 percent using it in the past year.
Crack use among older teen-agers was steady.

Also, fewer 8th graders said they disapproved of people taking LSD or
saw great risk in LSD use.

The survey, conducted for the government by the University of
Michigan's Institute for Social Research, also found:

-- Use of heroin, a drug on the rise in recent years, stable across
all the age groups.

-- Some declines in the use of inhalants and LSD.

-- A drop in cigarette smoking from last year -- an all-time high _
among high school seniors, with 22.4 percent smoking daily. That still
was higher than the low point of 17.2 percent in 1992. Black
teen-agers continue to have the lowest smoking rates, with just under
15 percent of black seniors saying they smoked in the past month.

-- Continued stable use of alcohol among 8th and 10th graders. After
increasing among 12th graders last year, it was stable among them,
too, this year.

About seven in 10 sophomores said they have drunk alcohol. There was a
drop in the number of those who reported having been drunk at some
point.

The government gauges teen-age drug use twice each year: once through
this school-based survey, and a second time as part of a survey at
homes that looks at drug use among both teen-agers and adults.

The household survey shows significantly smaller percentages of
teen-agers using drugs, perhaps because teen-agers are being surveyed
at home where their parents' presence might influence answers.

This year's household survey, released in August, showed an increase
in drug use among 12- to 17-year-olds, led by rising marijuana
smoking, though the overall percentages were still lower.

But the administration official noted that, taken together, several
surveys in the last two years have pointed to a slowdown in illicit
drug use
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Teen Use Of Pot, Booze, Cigarettes Down Slightly
(The San Francisco Chronicle version)

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 09:33:42 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Teen Use Of Pot, Booze, Cigarettes Down Slightly
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 1998 San Francisco Chronicle
Pubdate: Sat, 18 Dec 1998
Page: A13
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/
Author: Roberto Suro

TEEN USE OF POT, BOOZE, CIGARETTES DOWN SLIGHTLY

Teenagers' use of marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes dropped slightly across
all age groups and most adolescents reported a greater awareness of the
risks associated with those activities, according to an annual federal
survey of high school students released yesterday.

Through most of the 1990s, the survey, known as the Monitoring the Future
Study, showed steady increases in cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug abuse
among teenagers. Last year, the survey showed those trends leveling off,
and this year for the first time there are indications they might be
reversing direction.

``We are still at this tilt point where things are moving in the right
direction but not necessarily by great magnitude,'' said Lloyd D. Johnston,
who heads the survey team at the University of Michigan Institute for
Social Research.

The survey results were greeted by administration officials as a modest
cause for hope. ``Not a lot,'' said Secretary of Health and Human Services
Donna E. Shalala. ``And not nearly as much as we want. But enough to say
we're making a little bit of a dent in a very big problem.''

For the survey, a representative sample of nearly 50,000 students completed
a questionnaire.

For the first time in the 1990s, the survey recorded declines in cigarette
smoking by respondents at all three grade levels. Johnston said he believed
that publicity about lawsuits against tobacco companies and the
administration's efforts to enact national tobacco legislation cast greater
attention on the adverse consequences of cigarette smoking and helped
change attitudes among young people.

The survey results on marijuana were especially important, Shalala said,
because it is the most widely used drug among teenagers and because it
accounted for most of the increase in overall illicit drug use by
adolescents in the 1990s. This year's survey found slight decreases in
marijuana use in all three of the grades surveyed, with eighth-graders
reporting a decline for the second year in a row.

Barry R. McCaffrey, director of the White House national drug policy
office, declared that ``the 1998 study shows that we have turned the tide
of youth drug use.''

Most of the declines in overall illicit drug use were of less than 1
percentage point, barely enough to be statistically significant. The survey
also showed that nearly a quarter of eighth-graders and about half of all
high school seniors said they had tried marijuana, and those figures are
still much higher than just a few years ago.

Taking a more cautious approach than McCaffrey, Shalala said, ``The bottom
line is that we have not achieved victory -- and I am not declaring it.''

The mixed picture was evident with the students who reported regular recent
marijuana use. Among eighth-graders, 9.7 percent said they had used
marijuana in the month preceding the 1998 survey -- a drop from 10.2
percent last year, but well above the 3.2 percent of 1992.

As marijuana use increased in the mid-1990s, the number of adolescents
reporting that they perceived risks in the drug decreased. Over the past
two years, this perception seems to have changed toward a greater
appreciation of the risks, most clearly among the youngest teens.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Highlights Of Teen Drug Use Survey (The Associated Press
cites some selected statistics from the annual Monitoring the Future survey
of teen drug use. Among high school seniors, 54 percent had used
an "illegal drug" at least once. Apparently that didn't include alcohol
or tobacco, though both are illegal for kids.)

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 02:31:50 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Wire: Highlights Of Teen Drug Use Survey
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1998 Associated Press.
Author: The Associated Press

HIGHLIGHTS OF TEEN DRUG USE SURVEY

The annual Monitoring the Future study has examined teen drug use and
attitudes since 1975. Some highlights from the 1998 report:

ANY DRUG: Nearly 30 percent of eighth-graders have tried an illegal drug at
least once. It was 45 percent for 10th-graders and 54 percent for high
school seniors. It was the first year this figure has dropped for the older
two groups and the second year's drop among eighth-graders.

MARIJUANA: The most widely used drug had been tried by 22 percent of
eighth-graders, 40 percent of 10th-graders and nearly half of all
12th-graders. Use among eighth-graders dropped for a second year in a row;
use among other teens dropped after several years on the rise.

STIMULANTS: Use has declined for two years among eighth-graders, for one
year among 10th-graders and is level among 12th-graders. About 7 percent of
eighth-graders used amphetamines in the past year. It was 11 percent of
10th-graders and 10 percent of 12th-graders.

HALLUCINOGENS: Downward movement in all grades, though not statistically
significant.

INHALANTS: Most popular among younger teens, use began to gradually decline
three years ago.

HEROIN: Stable use across all grades and increasingly viewed as risky.

COCAINE: Small increases in use of crack cocaine in younger grades.

TRANQUILIZERS: Steady among eighth-graders but continuing to gradually
increase among 10th- and 12th-graders.

ALCOHOL: Continued stable use among eighth- and 10th-graders. After
increasing among 12th-graders last year, it was stable among them, too.
About seven in 10 sophomores said they have drunk alcohol, and one-third of
seniors reported being drunk in the last month.

CIGARETTES: A drop from last year's all-time high among high school seniors,
with 22.4 percent smoking daily. That still was higher than the low point of
17.2 percent in 1992. Black teen-agers continue to have the lowest smoking
rates, with just under 15 percent of black seniors saying they smoked in the
past month.

The anonymous survey was administered early this year to nearly 50,000 teen-
agers in 422 randomly chosen classrooms by the University of Michigan's
Institute for Social Research.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

UN Official Seeks Reforms In US Prisons (Reuters
says Radhika Coomaraswamy, a top United Nations official
concerned with violence against women, on Friday called for stronger
monitoring of women's prisons in the United States to control
widespread sexual misconduct.)

Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 16:13:20 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UN: UN Official Seeks Reforms In US Prisons
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1998 Reuters Limited.
Author: Farah Mihlar

UN OFFICIAL SEEKS REFORMS IN US PRISONS

COLOMBO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - A top United Nations official on Friday called
for stronger monitoring to control widespread "sexual misconduct" in
women's prisons in the United States.

"We concluded that there has been widespread sexual misconduct in U.S
prisons, but there is a diversity -- some are dealing with it better than
others," said Radhika Coomaraswamy, U.N. special rapporteur on violence
against women.

"We had a whole host of recommendations, primarily that there should be
external monitoring of misconduct in the prisons and that it shouldn't be
only the warden that decides," she told Reuters in an interview.

Coomaraswamy visited the U.S in June to investigate human rights violations
in womens' prisons there.

Her findings will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in March
1999.

She said contrary to U.N. regulations on prisoners the United States allows
men to guard female prisons leading to widescale abuses.

"The U.S has its own interpretation of equality in their statute which
allows men to guard women and women can guard men so you have a situation
where male guards are running in and out of female prisons," Coomaraswamy
said.

She said rape and assault was high in most U.S prisons, but added that
guards using female prisoners for sexual contractual favours and the lack
of privacy were also big problems.

Coomaraswamy said some prisons had taken steps to deal with the problem but
more needed to be done.

"Georgia has sexual misconduct but has set up a very strong scheme to deal
with it. In California and Michigan nothing has been done and the issue is
very prevalant," she said.

Coomaraswamy also called for a review of U.S. drug laws, which she said
were dragging more women to prison.

"Largest number of women being incarcerated are black because of draconian
laws to do with drugs. There is a massive flow in the number of women
entering prison, specially black."

"All these women have families and children and just because the court puts
them in prison for being the wife of a drug dealer many of them lose their
children," Coomaraswamy added.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Wiseman Noble cancels all Hemp and Non-Wood Fibre projects
(A company press release from Wiseman Noble, the research-based events
and publications company in Vancouver, British Columbia, whose aim is to
facilitate change through consensus, cites financial losses. Wiseman Noble
produced seven events across Canada related to hemp and non-wood fibres
since 1997, and published eight issues of Commercial Hemp magazine.)

From: "ralph sherrow" (ralphkat@hotmail.com)
To: ralphkat@hotmail.com
Subject: Fwd: Wiseman Noble cancels all Hemp and Non-Wood Fibre projects
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 21:24:41 PST

From: events@wisenoble.com (events)
Reply-To: "events@wisenoble.com" (events@wisenoble.com)
To: "'events@wisenoble.com'" (events@wisenoble.com)
Subject: Wiseman Noble cancels all Hemp and Non-Wood Fibre projects
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 19:03:51 -0800

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wiseman Noble cancels all Hemp and Non-Wood Fibre projects

Vancouver, December 18th, 1998 - Wiseman Noble Sales and Marketing Ltd.
announced today that they will not be proceeding with any Hemp and
Non-Wood Fibre projects at this time, citing financial constraints and
considerable debt associated with losses. As a result, Wiseman Noble
will not be producing the Commercial & Industrial Hemp Symposium III:
Market Catchers, the Non-Wood Fibre Symposium II, or the Non-Wood Fibre
Journal, projects previously announced.

"We believe Commercial Hemp Magazine should continue to be published for
Canadian farmers and industry, provided a non-partisan group could take
it on," states President of Wiseman Noble, Sotos Petrides. " The
Commercial Hemp team is keen on continuing to work on this publication
and with hope, a government or non-profit funding mechanism can be found
to facilitate the continuation of this very important resource."

Jason Freeman, Director of Sales, adds, "The Commercial Hemp team is
eager to continue providing accurate information to its readership. Over
the past two years, Commercial Hemp has helped facilitate infrastructure
for the hemp industry. I am excited about the future of hemp in North
America and the role of this valuable publication."

"There is a continuing need for Commercial Hemp," states Arthur Hanks,
Editor. "With a legal crop grown and harvested in Canada in 1998, the
hemp adventure is just starting. We have taken risks with our publishing
and conference projects, and we know there is still much more work to be
done."

Wiseman Noble is a research-based events and publications company whose
aim is to facilitate change through consensus. Wiseman Noble has
produced seven events across Canada related to hemp and non-wood fibres
since 1997, as well as publishing eight issues of Commercial Hemp
magazine, which features provincial and specialty pages and reports on
regional hemp initiatives.

"It has been a great pleasure working on Hemp and Non-Wood Fibre related
issues and Wiseman Noble has experienced a great deal of success and
notoriety as a result," states Petrides. " Wiseman Noble will continue
to deliver research and to produce events relating to emerging
industries and pending legislative change."

An official announcement will be made in January 1999, relating to the
future of Commercial Hemp magazine. Petrides has also announced his
intention to sell Wiseman Noble hemp and non-wood fibres research to
interested stakeholders.

For those interested in an upcoming agricultural trade show in British
Columbia, the Pacific Agriculture Show will be held in Abbottsford, BC
on February 17-19th, (Contact JGS Events at (604) 291-1553). For those
interested in an upcoming hemp event, please contact Bob Lamonica of the
Santa Cruz Hemp Expo, to be held March 20-21at (831) 457-2670

For more information about Wiseman Noble and Commercial Hemp,
[WN1] please contact:

Sotos Petrides,
President, Wiseman Noble
302-505 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 2R1
PH: (604) 662-8600
Fax: (604) 662-8621

Jason Freeman
Director of Sales, Wiseman Noble
302-505 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 2R1
PH: (604) 662-8600
Fax: (604) 662-8621

Arthur Hanks
Editor,Commercial Hemp
909 Windermere St.
Vancouver, BC
V5K 4J6
H: (604) 255-4332
Fax: (604) 662-8621
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Illegal Drug Trade Is Tool Of Power Elite (An op-ed
in The Victoria Times-Colonist, in British Columbia, by Jim Hackler,
a professor of sociology at the University of Victoria and the author
of "Crime and Canadian Public Policy," says it is difficult for Canada
to have a sensible drug policy when its neighbor, the United States,
the most powerful country in the world, supports the drug trade and then lies
about it. Clearly, enough powerful people are benefiting from the current
drug policy that it will be hard to develop intelligent alternatives.)

Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 02:31:24 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: PUB OPED: Illegal Drug Trade Is Tool Of Power Elite
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Alan Randell
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada)
Contact: jknox@victoriatimescolonist.com
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Author: Jim Hackler

ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE IS TOOL OF POWER ELITE

It is difficult to have a sensible drug policy in Canada when the most
powerful country in the world supports the drug trade and then lies about
it. Three illustrations will suffice.

First, the Central Intelligence Agency has a long career in drug dealing.

The agency was embarrassed when the bank that was laundering its money in
Sydney, Australia, and its private airline for flying drugs were exposed.
There was less concern when the world realized the CIA routinely helped
dictators to get their cut of the drug profits. This was seen as necessary
to keep these ruthless leaders co-operating with American business and
squelching left-wing activities.

If a dictator didn't co-operate, such as Noriega from Panama, charging him
with drug dealing was logical. Deceitful perhaps, but who cares when you are
dealing with dictators?

Thus, when former CIA director, George Bush became vice-president and was
given the task of "co-ordinating" drug enforcement, one could be assured
that the drug business would thrive.

Secondly, the tobacco companies like this setup. The most smuggled product
in the world is tobacco (not heroin, marijuana, or other banned substances).
Tobacco companies have been known to establish smuggling routes. Naturally,
they swear this is not true, just as they swore before Congress that they
did not know that tobacco was addicting.

One tobacco company in Canada has vastly increased its production to keep
those Canadians wintering in Florida happy. The fact that most of those
cigarettes don't get smoked in Florida, but get smuggled back into Canada,
isn't their fault.

Since the smuggling routes for tobacco are well established, isn't there
room for a little heroin and cocaine? Conclusion: Tobacco companies support
the illegal drug trade.

Thirdly, financial institutions find it profitable to launder the huge sums
of money from the drug trade.

Like the Swiss bankers who were oblivious to the funds stolen by the Nazis
from the Jews, or the presidents of tobacco companies who denied that
cigarettes could cause cancer, bankers were completely unaware that all that
money could possibly come from illegal sources. Selective inattention is
well developed among those in leadership positions.

When a politician calls for a "war on drugs" he/she is either stupid or
dishonest. You choose. Clearly, enough powerful people are benefiting from
the current drug policy that it will be hard to develop intelligent
alternatives.

The primary damage arising from the drug trade is not from the drugs
themselves. Heroin and cocaine do less damage than tobacco and alcohol, but
that is another debate. Smokers are not criminalized. Harassed perhaps, but
they remain accepted members of society.

I am not arguing for outright legalization of all drugs but we should be
aware that it is the criminalization of drugs that produces the following
problems:

1) Great wealth is provided for the very vicious criminals. They must be
willing to murder, bribe, and exploit the young. The police will protect
their interests by eliminating competition from minor players in the drug
business. This enables the big dealers to expend into other businesses with
offers that are hard to refuse (such as a broken kneecap).

Waste disposal can be a profitable business if your ethics permit the
pouring of contaminants into sewers or putting them into fuel oil to be sold
to hospitals and schools. Then the smoke will spread the toxic materials
over the surrounding area.

2) Drugs corrupt the police. As one police chief told researchers at a major
criminology conference, it is not a matter of "if" but "when" police
officers will be bribed by drug dealers. In larger police forces, drug
traffickers can start with all sorts of minor help, such as information etc.
The slippery slope to corruption has been well greased.

3) Very young juveniles are used to carry drugs and money. Because they are
carrying valuables, they are inclined to carry guns. You know the result.

4) Unwise behavior and risk-taking on the part of young people is
criminalized. Most of us would agree that experimenting with many of these
substances, including tobacco and alcohol, is risky. But young people who
survive their adventures with smoking, partying vandalism on Halloween,
bungee-jumping etc. become reasonable adults who delight in telling stories
about their youthful adventures.

Those involved with illegal drugs, which are not inherently worse than legal
ones, face severe risks to their life chances because of societal responses.
(Have you heard parents say they were only drinking booze, not smoking
marijuana?) Criminalizing reckless behavior has not prevented it, but it has
increased the social damage.

What to do? Harm-reduction strategies show some promise, but the first step
is to recognize the hypocrisy and dishonesty that drive drug policies in
North America.

Jim Hackler is adjunct professor of sociology at the University of Victoria.
The author of "Crime and Canadian Public Policy", he is currently doing
research on small court systems in Western Canada.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Torture Scandal Stirs Dominicans (The Associated Press says a videotape
of a drug suspect being beaten in the presence of the Dominican Republic's
top anti-drug official, General Humeau Hidalgo, is drawing public outrage.)

Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 20:07:51 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Dominican Republic: Wire: Torture Scandal Stirs Dominicans
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: 18 Dec 1998
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1998 Associated Press.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) A videotape of a drug suspect being
beaten in the presence of the Dominican Republic's top anti-drug official
is drawing public outrage.

The video, shown on television earlier this week, was filmed by the agency
in 1994 as agents allegedly intercepted a shipment of more than a ton of
cocaine en route from Colombia to the United States.

The video shows an agent hitting the ears of one suspect, while Gen. Humeau
Hidalgo, who was later named head of the National Directorate for the
Control of Drugs, stands at his side.

On Friday, Hidalgo accused the drug suspect's lawyers of releasing the tape
to discredit his anti-narcotics campaign. He made no comment on the tape's
content.

The suspect's lawyer, Carlos Balacer, said he gained access to the tape
during his client's trial, which is under way.

Human rights groups have accused police agencies in this Caribbean country
of abuse. And the president of the Dominican Human Rights Committee,
Domingo Porfirio Rojas Nina, said the video was additional evidence of such
abuse.

The 1994 arrest was a major one for drug officials because it also netted
Florian Felix, the Dominican Republic's most-wanted alleged drug trafficker
at the time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cannabis Ifs And Butts (The New Zealand Herald says that after eight months
of deliberation, the New Zealand parliament's health select committee
released its report on the mental health effects of cannabis yesterday.
"Based on the evidence we have heard in the course of this inquiry,"
the committee concluded, "the negative mental health impact of cannabis
appears to have been overstated . . . . Cannabis should be viewed as a lesser
threat to cognitive functioning than alcohol." The committee said the
evidence also suggested that cannabis did not cause behavioural difficulties,
rather that cannabis was frequently used by youths who misbehaved.
Neither was it a cause of suicide.)
Link to earlier story
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 02:31:27 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: New Zealand: Cannabis Ifs And Butts Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: hadorn@dnai.com (David Hadorn) Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand) Contact: editor@herald.co.nz Website: http://www.herald.co.nz/nzherald/index.html Copyright: New Zealand Herald Author: Eugene Bingham CANNABIS IFS AND BUTTS Marijuana use may be inching towards decriminalisation. After eight months of deliberation, a parliamentary committee has blown away the smoke and found that the fire may not be as bad as first thought. The health select committee tabled its report into the mental health effects of cannabis yesterday, finding that the drug has probably been unduly criticised. "Based on the evidence we have heard in the course of this inquiry," the committee concluded, "the negative mental health impact of cannabis appears to have been overstated, particularly in relation to occasional adult users of the drug." Pro-cannabis campaigners are already touting the report as a breakthrough. "It shows there has been a shift both in public opinion and the opinion of Parliament," Chris Fowlie, a spokesman for the group Norml, said yesterday. But the committee has been careful that it does not underplay the serious consequences of use of the drug for some people. "Evidence received in the course of this inquiry has raised serious doubts about commonly held beliefs about cannabis," wrote the committee. "Moderate use of the drug does not seem to harm the majority of people though we do not deny the serious impact cannabis use may have on certain individuals, particularly those with schizophrenia or those with a vulnerability to psychotic illness." The chairman of the committee, Brian Neeson, said the inquiry found that there was inadequate research into some areas. "We are concerned that cannabis use may accelerate the onset of schizophrenia in predisposed individuals and may be a complicating factor in the treatment of people with mental illnesses. "We found that treatment services for people with drug-related mental illnesses are inadequate. 'We have recommended that the Government address this issue through funding, the greater provision of facilities, workforce development and better service coordination." The other MPs on the committee were Shane Ardern, Phillida Bunkle, Judy Keall, Annette King, Roger Maxwell, Tukoroirangi Morgan, Katherine O'Regan, Jill Pettis and Ken Shirley. The committee noted that cannabis was the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco. "While the abuse of any drug is undesirable, we accept that people will continue to use drugs," says the report. "Therefore, this inquiry has not focused on the legality of cannabis use but has concentrated on its mental health effects." In its conclusions, the committee noted that many of the 70 submissions stated that the mental health risks for adult users was low. "A number of submissions made the point that risks posed by cannabis are currently less than those posed by alcohol. The weight of available evidence suggests that long-term heavy use of cannabis does not produce severe or gross impairment of cognitive function. "Evidence received during the inquiry supports the view that there can be subtle cognitive impairment in cannabis users." In this respect, the committee drew to a large extent on the work of Wayne Hall of the Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, who was commissioned to report on scientific research in this area. He found that long-term use of cannabis may cause subtle impairment in the higher cognitive functions of memory, attention and the organisation and integration of complex information. "Hall and the Health Funding Authority pointed out that cannabis should be viewed as a lesser threat to cognitive functioning than alcohol." The committee said the evidence also suggested that cannabis did not cause behavioural difficulties, rather that cannabis was frequently used by youths who misbehaved. Neither was it a cause of suicide. The 18 recommendations contained in the report call for increased funding of research, particularly among Maori, and for greater provision and coordination of services to help people seeking drug treatment. It was also believed that a change in the law may help to draw more people who need help. Some submissions told the committee that the criminal status of cannabis heightened paranoia and anxiety. Those who develop problems are less likely to seek help because they use an illegal substance and may spiral into alienation, anti-social behaviour, criminality, mental illness or violence."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cannabis Laws Should Be Reviewed (The version in The Press,
in New Zealand.)

Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1998 20:54:46 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: New Zealand: Cannabis Laws Should Be Reviewed
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: hadorn@dnai.com (David Hadorn)
Source: The Press (New Zealand)
Contact: editorial@press.co.nz
Website: http://www.press.co.nz/
Copyright: 1998 The Christchurch Press Company Ltd.
Pubdate: Friday, 18 Dec 1998

CANNABIS LAWS SHOULD BE REVIEWED

The Government should review the legal status of cannabis, Parliament's
health select committee has recommended.

In its report on its inquiry into the mental health effects of cannabis,
tabled in Parliament yesterday, the committee says that the effectiveness
of the present policy on cannabis requires examination, given the high
level of use in New Zealand.

"It is acknowledged that cannabis prohibition enforced by traditional crime
control methods has not been successful in reducing the apparent number of
cannabis users," the report says.

"That the police are open-minded on the issue of decriminalisation of
cannabis is an indication that thinking on the subject is changing . . .
Methods other than prohibition certainly deserve consideration."

The committee concluded that the negative mental health effects of cannabis
appeared to have been overstated.

Occasional cannabis use posed few risks to the mental health of most adult
users, and the weight of available evidence suggested that even long-term,
heavy use of cannabis did not produce severe or gross impairment of
cognitive function, the committee found.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Britain Is Drugs Capital Of Europe (Britain's Independent says the 1998
Annual Report on the State of the Drugs Problem in the European Union,
carried out by the European Commission, shows that the war against drugs
is being lost, and that proportionately more people in the United Kingdom
use cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines and solvents than in any other country
in Europe.)

Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 23:53:18 +0000
To: vignes@monaco.mc
From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc)
Subject: Britain Is Drugs Capital Of Europe
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Copyright: Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Author: Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent

BRITAIN IS DRUGS CAPITAL OF EUROPE

MORE PEOPLE in the United Kingdom take drugs than any other country in
Europe, an international survey has found.

Drug users in the UK are the biggest consumers of cannabis, ecstasy and
amphetamines. In addition, British youngsters were the highest abusers of
solvents, with 20 per cent of 15- and 16-year-olds having sniffed dangerous
substances.

The study of all 15 members of the European Union, makes depressing reading
for law enforcers and drugs agencies in the UK.

It also highlights a number of European trends that include a rise in
amphetamine and cocaine abuse, as ecstasy falls in popularity, as well as
the spread of heroin from large urban areas to rural ones and smaller towns.

On the positive side, the incidence of new AIDS cases is falling sharply,
although the number of people contracting the liver disease hepatitis C
from sharing equipment used to inject drugs is rising.

The 1998 Annual Report on the State of the Drugs Problem in the European
Union, which was carried out by the European Commission, shows that the war
against drugs is being lost. It says the availability of heroin, although
only used by about 1 per cent of the population, is increasing in some EU
countries, including the UK, and warns that "several countries report
heroin smoking by new groups of young people, both from socially integrated
populations and from minority groups." The study estimated that between 0.2
and 0.3 per cent of the EU population is addicted to heroin - about 900,000
people.

Seizures of cannabis, while increasing fourfold from 1985 to 1994, have
stabilised and it remains the number one drug of choice.

The popularity of the dance drug ecstasy may have peaked. It has been tried
by as few as 0.5 per cent of the population in Belgium to 3 per cent in
Britain. Deaths from ecstasy are relatively rare, says the report.

The use of amphetamines (speed) and cocaine appears to be on the increase.
Speed has been used by 9 per cent of the UK population - the highest level
in the EU. The report says: "Despite rising concern about ecstasy in recent
years, it is amphetamines that may increasingly dominate the market in
synthetic drugs in the future."

British teenagers aged 15 and 16 are top of the league for cannabis use -
with 40 per cent having tried the drug - compared with Finland and Portugal
where about 4 per cent have indulged. Britons are also among the highest
users of amphetamines, hallucinogens and ecstasy.

Crack, a highly addictive cocaine derivative, is found in only a small
number of countries - Britain, the Netherlands and France.

On the law enforcement side, seizures of cocaine, heroin and amphetamines
have continued to increase in the past year while the amount of cannabis
has tailed off slightly. The UK accounted for more than a fifth of cannabis
seizures.

Trafficking routes remain unchanged. The Balkan route from Asia is used
primarily to supply Europe with heroin, whilst the route across the North
Atlantic from South and Central America remains the most popular for
transporting cocaine.

There has been an increase in the production and trade in synthetic drugs,
such as ecstasy, especially in eastern Europe.

Morocco and Pakistan are major suppliers of cannabis resin along with
Colombia, South Africa, Nigeria, Thailand and most recently Albania.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Gambians Arrested For Drug Crimes (A translation of an article
from Dagens Nyheter, in Sweden, says the illegal heroin and khat trade
in Stockholm is growing at an immense rate - despite the most repressive
anti-drug laws in Europe - with police alleging that 400 of the county's
900 Gambians are involved.)

Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 07:30:24 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Sweden: Gambians Arrested For Drug Crimes
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Abel B
Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 1998
Source: Dagens Nyheter
Contact: kjell.nilsson@dn.se
Copyright: 1998 Dagens Nyheter
Website: http://www.dn.se/
Author: Kjell Nilsson
Translation by: Abel B

Stockholm. GAMBIANS ARRESTED FOR DRUG CRIMES. Heroin trade.

400 of the county's 900 Gambians are involved in drug trade in Stockholm
according to the Police.

The Drug trade in Stockholm is growing at an immense rate. County police
commissioner, Leif Jennekvist, gave an alarming picture of the situation
this Thursday. He points out the African nation Gambia to be responsible
for as good as all of the heroin trade, he also revealed that Somaliska
Foreningen (The Somalian Association) in Stockholm has pleaded to the
prosecutors office to take immediate measures against the strong increase
in the use of Khat. Khat is an amphetamine preparation that is chewed to
the size of a golf ball and which is now flooding, not only Sweden, but
also entire Europe. "Somaliska Foreningen doesn't want the Khat problem
here in Sweden," Jennekvist says. They are scared for their fellow
countrymen, and don't want Swedish youths to get in contact with the drug.

In Somalia, located in eastern Africa, khat is somewhat of a national drug.
It consists of tobacco like leaves that are chewed - in what seems like an
eternity. According to division chief Jan Andersson there is one plane
landing in London a week, with the controversial drug in its baggage space.

Couriers take over, and are sent out in Europe, carrying as much as 15kg of
the drug. "It is a risk free smuggling," Andersson informs. Khat is
strongly habit-forming and has a bracing effect. No arrests have yet been
made in the sale of the drug in Stockholm. That Somaliska Foreningen acts
with preventive purposes is of course appreciated by the Police management.

Khat trade is yet in its infant stage. And the heroin trade at Sergel
plattan (Stockholm's major drug scene) and in Stockholm's most vulnerable
suburbs is at a whole different level. Jan Andersson has made a unique
survey and there exists today no doubt that as good as all of the trade is
organised by a number of heads from Gambia. Andersson has formed a picture
with identified heads and the branches these men have. A unique and yet
scary picture. "It is an organised, mob-like activity, and I am prepared to
take possible diplomatic consequences that the identification of the
Gambian nation can mean. We have names, transactions and we have today,
above all, 48 in custody who have taken part in the heroin trade in
different ways," says Jennekvist.

According to the County's Police department there is about 900 Gambians in
Stockholm's county today. And about 400 of these are active in the heroin
trade, as couriers and dealers or in a different way. They are controlled
by a number of heads, of which several have Swedish citizens. The City is
divided in different districts, based on the subway networks reach. The
trade takes place partly at "plattan", and partly in connection to some of
the larger subway stations. Jennekvist paints up a frightening scenario.

The organization recruits new abusers all the time. Every fifth capsule is
free is a well-known sales trick. The dealers keep the capsules in their
mouths, under the upper lip, and in case of an arrest the capsule is
quickly swallowed. It is the beginning of a complicated process and where
our technical division is put in a trying job. Several narcotics
investigators, and unit chiefs, that Dagens Nyheter has been in touch with
testifies of a miserable situation. Goran Eriksson, reconnaissance chief of
the southern division and drug fighter since 1972 resembles Stockholm to a
drug trade supermarket. "We "serve" the entire northern region and parts of
the southern land. There the Malmo division takes over. We are experiencing
a break in the trends; there have never been so much drugs in Sweden as it
does now. We get to pay a larger price for a Europe without borders. The
seizures we do have the characteristics of a fire-brigades turn out. We are
always a step behind, that is the frightening truth," Goran Eriksson says.

For the year 1999 the authorities signal for an improvement of the
organization, the reconnaissance groups are going to get better leadership,
there is going to be more narcotics officers out on the streets along with
other resources and strengthening measures. "I am positive to the idea, the
way it is now all my surveillance officers have to stop what they are doing
by 1 am. It is an overtime stop, but the dope and its dealer never rest,"
Eriksson finishes.

Facts/Heroin and Khat:

* Trade organization: Approximately 400 Gambians, living in Stockholm's
county, can all be linked with the open heroin trade according to County
Police commissioner Leif Jennekvist. Khat is distributed via London, a
trade that Somaliska Forreningen wants to end.

* The drug situation in Stockholm: Worse than ever and a steep climbing curve.

* Proposed measures: Jennekvist proposes "the Danish model". A form of
proclaiming a state of emergency that gives authorities the right to
intervene with every Gambian that resides in a public environment, public
squares and subways.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 71 (The Drug Reform Coordination
Network's original summary of drug policy news and calls to action, including -
Diana McCague sentenced for syringe exchange - including McCague's statement
to the court and links to prior coverage of the Chai Project; Action opportunity:
protest on steps of New Jersey Statehouse; Bills seeking to decriminalize
marijuana, legalize medical marijuana and legalize hemp cultivation to be
introduced in New Hampshire legislature in 1999; Patient who was denied liver
transplant for using medical marijuana dies; Media spotlight: drug smuggling
by U.S. Marines a growing problem; and an editorial by Adam J. Smith,
Unrighteous indignation.)

Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 04:06:11 -0500
To: drc-natl@drcnet.org
From: DRCNet (drcnet@drcnet.org)
Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #71
Sender: owner-drc-natl@drcnet.org

The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #71 -- December 18, 1998
A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network

-------- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --------

(To sign off this list, mailto:listproc@drcnet.org with the
line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of the message, or
mailto:lists@drcnet.org for assistance. To subscribe to
this list, visit http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html.)

(This issue can be also be read on our web site at
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/071.html. Check out the DRCNN
weekly radio segment at http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/.)

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the
contents of The Week Online is hereby granted. We ask that
any use of these materials include proper credit and, where
appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If
your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet
requests checks payable to the organization. If your
publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use
the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification
for our records, including physical copies where material
has appeared in print. Contact: Drug Reform Coordination
Network, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036,
(202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail
drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Diana McCague Sentenced for Syringe Exchange (Including
McCague's Statement to the Court and Links to Prior
Coverage of the Chai Project)
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/071.html#sentenced

2. ACTION OPPORTUNITY: Protest On Steps of New Jersey
Statehouse
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/071.html#protest

3. Bills Seeking to Decriminalize Marijuana, Legalize
Medical Marijuana and Legalize Hemp Cultivation to be
Introduced in New Hampshire Legislature in 1999
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/071.html#newhampshire

4. Patient Who Was Denied Liver Transplant For Using Medical
Marijuana Dies
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/071.html#plotner

5. MEDIA SPOTLIGHT: Drug Smuggling by U.S. Marines a
Growing Problem
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/071.html#marines

6. EDITORIAL: Unrighteous Indignation
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/071.html#editorial

***

1. Diana McCague Sentenced for Syringe Exchange

Diana McCague, founder of the Chai Project of New Jersey,
was sentenced this week (12/17) for the crime of
distributing clean syringes to addicted individuals in New
Brunswick. This was the second time that McCague had been
arrested and convicted of the same charge.

At her first trial, in 1997, the judge called McCague "a
modern day Joan of Arc" and said he'd be proud to have her
as a daughter, though he claimed he was bound by the law and
found her guilty, fining her $500 and suspending her
drivers' license for 6 months.

This time, however, McCague was given a 90 day suspended
jail sentence, plus fines of $750, another six months'
license suspension and 100 hours of community service, which
the judge has indicated he wants her to serve for the local
DARE program.

"50,000 people in New Jersey are infected with the HIV
virus" McCague told The Week Online. "Of those, half were
infected by sharing a syringe, and another 25% were infected
because they are the sexual partner or the child of an IV
drug user. So what we are saying is that three fourths of
New Jersey's HIV infections could have been prevented by the
availability of sterile syringes."

The suspended sentence means that if McCague is caught with
a syringe again, she faces certain jail time. Suspending
her drivers' license was also painful because McCague has
earned much of her income in recent years driving a cab.
The community service will be problematic, she said, because
100 hours will be difficult to spare for someone who is
struggling to make ends meet. But the suggestion that she
might have to serve that service in the DARE program was the
most shocking of all.

"I don't know, and even the judge doesn't know, whether he
can make me do my service for DARE. I'll tell you though
that I will not be made to say anything that I don't
believe. If they want me to go into schools and do drug
education, however, I'm going to go in there and tell the
truth. And truth has nothing to do with what the state
means when it talks about drug education."

Since her most recent arrest, the Chai Project has stopped
exchanging syringes, though they are still doing outreach,
providing condoms and legal safe drug use equipment, as well
as providing information and treatment referrals. But if
McCague has decided to obey the law of New Jersey, that
doesn't mean that she respects it, or the people who write
or enforce it.

"The facts being what they are, there is simply no excuse
for the denial of sterile injection equipment to addicts.
It's very simple: this law is killing people. Those in the
legislature who support the law are murderers, the governor,
who refuses to change the law, is a murderer, and the people
who enforce this law are murderers. No one can dispute the
fact that there are people in New Jersey right now who are
addicted, who are sharing needles, and who are contracting
HIV because we are no longer out there doing exchange.
Those people are going to die. Plain and simple. And this
law, and those who wrote and enforce it, are responsible for
those deaths."

"They're throwaway people, according to the state" she
added. "It's sad, but their lives apparently aren't as
valuable as the political points that our esteemed governor
is trying to make for herself."

McCague has provided DRCNet with her statement to the Court:

The Chai Project's mission is -- and always has
been -- to reduce the harm of substance use and
sexual activity. Always mindful of harm and the
causes of harm, we have been diligent in asses-
sing the effects of our activities. What sense
would it make to work to reduce some harm only
to produce other harm which might not otherwise
have occurred? There is no evidence of our
activities ever having caused damage -- either
to an individual or to our community. The
prosecutor may argue that the simple act of
defying the law is harmful because it undermines
the moral authority of the law. Assistant
Prosecutor Bill Lamb made this argument before
the appellate division in my first case and more
recently in an op-ed piece that was published in
the Home News Tribune. If this argument is
accepted, we must define the activities of many
Americans as having been harmful - including
participants in the Boston Tea Party, those who
facilitated the freeing of slaves via the
Underground Railroad, Susan B. Anthony who voted
when it was illegal for women to do so, and Rosa
Parks who refused to give her seat on the bus to
a white man.

I am not so arrogant as to rank myself among
these incredibly courageous people. In fact,
there are many activists in the United States
who have taken exactly the risks that I have
taken in order to save the lives of drug users
and their families by giving out clean syringes
in defiance of the law. It is their lead that I
have followed during the past five years --
though with radically different results: to date,
no one who has been arrested in the U.S. for
dispensing syringes in an effort to protect the
public health has been punished to the degree
that I have -- including those who have been
charged and convicted more than once. Further-
more, in every city and/or state where people
have taken the lead on this issue by getting out
onto the street to save lives, the government --
sometimes local authorities and sometimes state
authorities -- has always followed by making
syringe exchange legal. I was hopeful that my
government would follow as others have and would
acknowledge that the statute which I am accused
of violating was never intended to condemn drug
users and their loved ones to chronic disease
and death. What's more, I thought my government
would surely acknowledge that the statute was
never intended to punish those who were engaged
in emergency prevention efforts.

In April of 1996, when I was arrested on this
charge for the first time, my resolve was
strengthened. I would continue no matter what.
In August of 1997 my commitment was further
reinforced when, during my trial in this very
courtroom, I admitted that the Chai Project's
activities had continued. Judge Brenner did
not admonish me to stop -- in fact he commended
our work by calling it noble. I believed then
that, armed with the truth, my personal forti-
tude could withstand the power of the state.
Recently, however, the state has unleashed its
power in greater measures.

The seizure of the Chai Project's van, the
establishment of a high bail, and the threat of
a felony charge have had their intended effect
-- my resolve has been broken, and consequently
I have announced publicly through the press and
in other forums that I will no longer distribute
syringes and that as long as the Chai Project is
running under my direction, the organization
will refrain from this activity as well. I
would add that this was a difficult and painful
decision; I am convinced that what we have been
forced to discontinue is a public health service
that has saved lives.

I believe there is no purpose then, to punishing
me to a greater extent than the criminal code
requires. Certainly I've received the intended
message and responded clearly. Indeed, everyone
watching this situation has gotten the message --
further violations will result in ever harsher
sanctions. Despite the fact that much political
mileage would be gained were I to be sentenced to
a jail term I know that it would be contrary to
my own best interests and the interests of the
Chai Project and those it serves for me to be
incarcerated.

The Chai Project continues in its mission to
reduce the harm associated with drug use and
sexual activity by engaging only in legal
activities. We continue to practice Harm
Reduction, which compels us always to act
peacefully and non-judgmentally. We will continue
to distribute safer sex and legal safer drug using
materials and information. We will continue to
support our participants as they seek out other
services, including drug treatment. We will
continue to educate our participants and the
community about how to be as healthy and safe as
possible under current conditions. In fact, since
our ability to collect used and potentially deadly
syringes has been removed, we have established a
plan to work with the New Brunswick Police
Department to clean up inappropriately discarded
syringes under the supervision of law enforcement
officials -- resulting in the continued
protection of our community from accidental
needlesticks.

For us to continue our work and to function at the
most efficient possible level I must be present
and available, I must be able to drive, I must be
able to move about at will.

Finally, I ask for leniency for my own sake. It's
been months since I've known a sense of joy or
contentment -- I'm exhausted and broke. My family
and friends worry about my ability to endure
additional stress and hardship. Over the past
three months, an inordinate amount of my time and
resources have been focused on these legal
difficulties: I want to get back to my work and
move forward; I want to fulfill my part in the
mission of the Chai Project.

Previous DRCNet coverage of the Chai Project:

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/069.html#chaiproject
ALERT: Show of Support Needed for New Jersey Needle
Exchange, 12/4/98

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/061.html#chaibust
New Jersey Needle Exchange Busted Again, 10/2/98

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/058.html#whitman
Whitman, AIDS Council Still at Odds Over Needle Exchange,
9/11/98

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/052.html#chaiproject
NJ NEP Workers' Conviction Upheld in Appeals Court, 7/31/98

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/048.html#njpoll
On Polling Numbers and Syringe Exchange in New Jersey,
7/2/98

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/030.html#chaiproject
Needle Exchange Volunteer Arrested in New Jersey, 2/20/98

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/019.html#chai
NJ Needle Exchange Continues Legal Battle, 11/15/97

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/016.html#mothers
Mothers March on New Jersey State Capitol, 10/24/97

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/009.html#editorial
Needle Exchange is Still Illegal... but That Doesn't Make it
Wrong, 8/29/97

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/007.html#chai
Media Alert: Needle Exchangers Convicted, 8/15/97

http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1997/8-13-1.html
Action Alert: Needle Exchangers Convicted, 8/13/97

http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1996/3-19-2.html
URGENT: Prosecutors Targeting NJ Needle Exchange Program,
3/19/96

For the latest information on the extent of injection-
related AIDS in the African American and Latino communities,
read the Dogwood Center's Health Emergency 1999 report,
online at http://www.drcnet.org/healthemergency/.

***

2. ACTION OPPORTUNITY: Protest On Steps of New Jersey
Statehouse

On Tuesday, January 12, at twelve noon, citizens of New
Jersey and surrounding regions will gather on the steps of
the statehouse in Trenton to protest Governor Christine
Whitman's intractability on the issue of syringe exchange.
The protest will coincide with Whitman's State of the State
address and will be sponsored by the New Jersey Harm
Reduction Coalition, the New Jersey chapters of the National
Organization for Women and American Civil Liberties Union,
the New Jersey Collegiate Consortium for Health in
Education, ACT-UP Philadelphia, and ACT-UP New York among
others.

New Jersey has the nation's third-highest rate of injection-
related AIDS.

If you are in the area, please make an effort to attend this
one-hour demonstration. Donations to defray transportation
and other expenses are welcome. Checks can be made out the
New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition and sent to NJHRC, P.O.
Box 1459, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.

For further information, call NJHRC at (732) 247-3242.

***

3. Bills Seeking to Decriminalize Marijuana, Legalize
Medical Marijuana and Legalize Hemp Cultivation to be
Introduced in New Hampshire Legislature in 1999
- Scott Ehlers, Drug Policy Foundation

The state that lives by the motto "Live Free or Die" will
decriminalize marijuana, legalize medical marijuana and
permit farmers to grow hemp if Rep. Timothy N. Robertson has
his way. The Democrat from Keene will introduce legislation
in the New Hampshire legislature early next year to
decriminalize the possession of an ounce or less of
marijuana, as well as legislation to permit a patient and
his/her caregiver to possess and cultivate up to three
cannabis plants. The decriminalization legislation will
reduce marijuana possession offenses from a class A
misdemeanor to a violation, the same status as a parking
ticket.

"It's time we put some sense into our drug policies," says
Robertson, who doesn't believe in putting people in jail for
"getting high in different ways than most people."
According to Robertson, current drug policies "haven't
accomplished much except throw a lot of people in prison."

In regard to medical marijuana, Robertson noted that
"California legalized medical marijuana in 1996 and the
world didn't come to an end and everyone hasn't become a
drug addict like Republicans predicted." He believes that
the medical marijuana initiative victories across the
country prove that "politicians have to catch up with the
people" on the medical marijuana issue.

This isn't the first time that Robertson has introduced
legislation to reform New Hampshire's marijuana laws. In the
last House session he introduced similar bills to
decriminalize the possession of 1 1/2 ounces or less of
marijuana and legalize the medical use of the plant. He also
sponsored a hemp legalization bill that passed the
agriculture committee but not the full House.

This year other legislators are doing much of the work on
behalf of the hemp bill so as to separate the issue of hemp,
which is not psychoactive, from the pharmacologically-active
marijuana.

While Rep. Robertson believes there is a good chance that
the hemp bill will pass the House, he concedes that the
marijuana decriminalization and medical marijuana bills will
have a harder time making it through the legislature. He is
hopeful that they will be passed out of committee, though,
because of the momentum created by the drug policy reform
victories around the country.

"The press and the people are becoming more liberal on drug
policy reform issues. It may take a while for these bills to
pass, but I believe it will eventually happen."

(Scott Ehlers is Senior Policy Analyst at the Drug Policy
Foundation, and can be reached at ehlers@dpf.org. Visit
http://www.dpf.org or http://www.drugpolicy.org to find DPF
on the web.)

***

4. Patient Who Was Denied Liver Transplant For Using Medical
Marijuana Dies
- Dale Gieringer, California NORML

California NORML is sorry to note the death of Ed Plotner,
who was removed from a liver transplant list for using
medical marijuana. Plotner, who suffered multiple hepatitis
infections, had used marijuana to combat severe appetite and
weight loss. He was accepted but then dropped by a liver
transplant program which demanded that he pass a drug test
for marijuana.

Unlike other drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and alcohol,
marijuana is not a risk factor for hepatitis. Even though
many patients find medical marijuana is useful -- not only
for weight gain, but also for helping to avoid drugs that
are toxic to the liver -- it is banned in most transplant
programs.

California NORML attorney Eric Shevin attempted to get
Plotner restored to the transplant list, but his efforts
proved too late. After being kept off the list a year, Ed
expired on November 21.

"Ed was a tragic victim of drug testing abuse," says
California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer. "He was killed
by the anti-marijuana bigotry and ignorance of medical
'experts' who should have known better."

Ironically, Plotner, who was from Redding, California, had
sought treatment in San Francisco, where voters
overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana by 80%-20%.

(Dale Gieringer can be reached at canorml@igc.org.
California NORML is online at http://www.norml.org/canorml/.

***

5. MEDIA SPOTLIGHT: Drug Smuggling by U.S. Marines a
Growing Problem

Last Sunday (12/13) the Los Angeles Times reported that more
than fifty members of the U.S. military have been
investigated for drug smuggling in recent years. The piece
highlights the realities of prohibition enforcement and the
fact that even the world's strongest military is not immune
from corruption. This was a concern that was voiced
strongly by numerous military leaders during the debate, in
the 1980's, over whether or not America's military ought to
be deployed in service to the Drug War.

You can find the Los Angeles Times article online at
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/STATE/UPDATES/lat_marines1213.htm.

***

6. EDITORIAL: Unrighteous Indignation

Adam J. Smith, DRCNet Associate Director

This week, while the House continued to debate articles of
impeachment against the President, Bob Livingston, the
speaker-elect, announced that he had been unfaithful to his
wife of 33-years, conducting a long-term affair. Livingston
indicated that his revelation came under pressure from
unnamed people who had been "investigating" him, and vowed
that he would nevertheless be undeterred from his duty
regarding impeachment.

Bob Livingston was not the first member of Congress to make
an embarrassing admission during this process, and the
rumors around Washington are that as the process continues,
more will follow. It may be that there are people who are
loyal to the President, perhaps people in the administration
itself, who are attempting to use the dark secrets of
President Clinton's Republican inquisitors against them in
an effort to swing votes.

These admissions in advance of imminent disclosure are
nothing new. Several years ago there were a rash of
admissions, by then-speaker Newt Gingrich and Vice President
Al Gore among others, to "youthful experimentation" with
marijuana. Now it's sex.

The problem here is not that our elected leaders are human,
or even somewhat twisted, as no doubt some of them are. The
problem is that despite their own "indiscretions," these
people insist upon passing laws regulating, even prohibiting
the private consensual behavior of others. And they are
willing, even eager to see that the private conduct of
American adults be punished, and punished severely.

Last year in America, approximately 600,000 people were
arrested for the possession of marijuana. Tens of thousands
of others were arrested for the possession of other banned
substances. The majority of those people had not harmed
anyone, save arguably themselves. And every year, from
Capitol Hill, bastion of morality and virtue, comes the call
for harsher sentences, more prisons and greater police
powers in order that the state might better find, sentence
and incarcerate these wayward Americans to the satisfaction
of our elected hypocrites.

No one, of course, is kicking in the doors of our
legislators, or of their well-to-do neighbors, in the hopes
of finding some forbidden substance. In fact, none of the
members of Congress, nor their social and economic peers,
have much to worry about at all from the state-sponsored
terrorism masquerading as vice-law enforcement. Any
invasion of privacy that they suffer now is borne solely of
their own volitional rise to public office, and the circus
that they have created of our political reality. The laws
they pass are for other people. Those of us not upstanding
or trustworthy enough to determine what is best put in our
bodies, or to hold public office.

We have come to a point in our history when our leaders pass
laws which punish humanity itself, with the full force of
the prison state behind them. And the full knowledge that
they themselves, and many of their friends and colleagues,
would fail the test of their own punitive puritanism if only
they were subject to its dictates. Today, in Washington DC,
our leaders are grudgingly confessing to things that would
otherwise become public anyway. These are the same leaders
who, with righteous indignation and contempt for the
weakness of others, have declared war on the private,
consensual acts of the citizens of this nation. These
leaders are sinners beyond redemption. Not for being human,
with all of the messiness that the condition entails, but
rather for having the nerve to legislate while shamelessly
pretending that they're not.

***

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