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

Oregon Medical Marijuana Rules - Public Hearing April 15 (Sandee Burbank of
Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse publicizes a hearing in Portland on the
Oregon Health Division's proposed rules for implementing the Oregon Medical
Marijuana Act, scheduled to take effect May 1. Plus a follow-up with more
details by Stormy Ray, a multiple sclerosis patient and chief petitioner for
Measure 67.)

From: "sburbank" (sburbank@orednet.org)
To: "DPFOR" (dpfor@drugsense.org)
Subject: DPFOR: OR Medical Marijuana Rules - PUBLIC HEARING - APRIL 15th
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 08:34:33 -0800
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING APRIL 15TH

There is a public hearing on the proposed rules regarding medical marijuana
scheduled for:

Thursday, 2-5 PM, April 15th
Portland State Office Building,
800 NE Oregon St. - Room 140 (first floor)
It is near Lloyd Center.

Copies of the proposed rules can be obtained by calling Kelly Paige at
731-4011 ext. 640
or by writing to her at:

Oregon Department of Human Resources
Health Division
800 NE Oregon Street #21
Portland, OR 97232-2162

All are encouraged to attend if possible, especially patients, or to submit
written testimony.

These rules are scheduled to take effect on May 1st. Already 60 patients
or more have submitted information to the Oregon Department of Health
regarding their intent to use medicinal marijuana.

***

Sandee Burbank

Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse
2255 State Road, Mosier, OR 97040
phone or fax 541-298-1031
sandee@mamas.org

Join MAMA today! http://www.mamas.org

***

From: "Stormy Ray" (mbpdoors@cyberhighway.net)
Subject: DPFOR: Action NEEDED!
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 11:56:23 -0600
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/

To: Oregon Medical Marijuana Act supporters

From: Oregonians For Medical Rights and Voter Power

Re: Upcoming Oregon Health Division Rules Hearing

This document is designed to provide our supporters with guidance and advice
prior to their participation in the upcoming hearing on proposed rules for
the OMMA permit system. Included are suggested talking points and concrete
advice on preparing testimony.

We are willing to help supporters prepare testimony and hope some of you
will contact us for assistance. Contact numbers are:

David Smigelski 1-877-600-6767

Geoff Sugerman: 1-503-873-7927

Stormy Ray: 1-541-889-3876

The hearing is scheduled for: Thursday April 15, 1999.....2pm to 5pm

Portland State Office Building

Room 140

800 NE Oregon St.

Portland, OR 97232

For those who would like assistance prior to giving testimony, we will be
available in the cafeteria on the ground floor of the State Office Building
from noon to 2pm prior to the hearing.

Overview:

Following passage of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act in November 1998, the
Oregon Health Division was charged with developing a set of rules to
implement OMMA's permit system.

In many ways, the permit system is the cornerstone of the Act. It is the one
way patients and their caregivers can assure themselves that they will not
be arrested and prosecuted for possession of marijuana, assuming they follow
the law regarding the amounts they can have and where it is used.

While the overall shape of the rules proposed by the Health Division is
positive, allowing a safe and confidential registration system for patients
and caregivers, we have identified some problems that we hope to fix in the
public hearings process.

Primary Caregiver definition:

In the original law, the primary caregiver is defined as someone who has
significant responsibility for the care and treatment of the patient. The
Health Division has decided to define significant responsibility by
requiring primary caregivers to also assist in some other forms of patient
care, including, but not limited to, "assisting the person with nutrition,
hygiene, financial affairs, home maintenance or medical care."

We believe this definition is burdensome on caregivers, and it does not fit
with the multi-faceted approach used today in the care of chronically and
terminally ill patients. In many cases, patients have multiple caregivers
who perform specific functions related to their expertise and training, such
as physical therapy, pain management, dietary care, hygiene and mental
health counseling.

Under today's emerging system of care for seriously ill people, physical
therapists are not asked to cook meals, hospice nurses are not asked to
perform home maintenance, and visiting aides who bathe patients are not
asked to administer medication. In fact, because of professional licensing
requirements, liability concerns and time constraints, many of these
treatment professionals are limited to providing only one type of
assistance, yet they are all caregivers. In addition, some patients will
receive federal or state funding from an agency for their care.

To require that OMMA caregivers provide functions other than the cultivation
or delivery of medical marijuana is overly burdensome and out of step with
the intention of the law as passed by voters. This requirement may have
serious financial impacts on patients, and may place existing caregivers at
odds with federal law (if they are paid with federal dollars).

We hope that much of the testimony from patients will focus on this
definition of a primary caregiver. We encourage you to share stories of
caregivers you have worked with and how this specific definition would
hinder you.

Definition of Mature Plant:

In the law passed by voters, the Health Division is required to establish a
definition of mature versus immature. (Remember, the law allows patients or
their primary caregiver to grow up to three mature and four immature plants.)

The proposed definition would define a plant as mature as soon as flowers
are apparent on the plant by unaided visual observation. The problem with
this simplistic definition is that flowers appear on marijuana plants
several weeks or months before the flowers are developed enough to harvest
as useable medical marijuana.

Law enforcment is claiming that the definition is easy for them to use
because a plant is either flowering or it is not. We contend that the
definition of mature should include only plants that are actually producing
useable medical marijuana. The proposed definition would place patients at
risk of arrest for possessing too many mature plants when, in fact, their
plants aren't even capable of producing useable medicine.

Tips for preparing testimony:

One of the most important things to remember in testifying before a
committee is to keep your remarks brief and concise. Many people will be
there to testify. It is preferable to have written testimony of two pages,
and then read or summarize that testimony in your remarks.

Your remarks should be no more than three minutes.

This task force and the Oregon Health Division have worked hard on these
rules and we believe they are workable with the exception of the two issues
listed above. The Health Division is not our enemy, and the public employees
charged with helping us develop these rules deserve our respect. It is our
hope that displays of marijuana paraphernalia, or items such as clothing or
jewelry featuring marijuana leaves, will be left at home. We have done an
exceptional job of moderating our positions to better protect patients, and
we need to continue on that path.

You can send written testimony, e-mail your comments to:

or call 503) 731-4030. Best of all "Come Join Us! See you there.

God Bless, Stormy

Oregon Medical Marijuana Act
Chief Petitioner -Stormy Ray
(541) 889-3876
715 Canyon 2 Rd.
Ontario, OR 97914

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Senate panel passes bill to tighten assisted suicide law (The Associated
Press says the Oregon state Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved
SB 491, a bill that would give Catholic-affiliated hospitals that oppose
assisted suicide a firmer hand to punish doctors who flout hospital policy
and help patients end their lives.)

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

Senate panel passes bill to tighten assisted suicide law

The Associated Press
4/2/99 4:07 AM

By AMALIE YOUNG

Associated Press Writer

SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- A Senate panel approved a bill Thursday to give
hospitals that oppose assisted suicide a firmer hand to punish doctors who
flout hospital policy and help patients end their lives.

But while the 1997 Legislature put a measure on the ballot to repeal the
suicide law - a plan that was rejected by voters - this measure doesn't
seek to overturn the Death with Dignity Act.

Backers of the measure, SB491, said it only tightens language in Oregon's
first-in-the-nation law allowing doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to
terminally ill patients who request it.

The measure now moves to the full Senate.

State officials have said that 15 terminally ill Oregonians used the act to
end their lives in 1998, the first full year the law was in effect.

Health groups that oppose assisted suicide, such as Providence Health
Systems, a network of Catholic hospitals, have asked for more authority to
penalize doctors who assist in suicides in violation of those groups' rules.

Under the bill adopted by the Senate Judiciary Committee, those hospitals
can prohibit doctors from participating in assisted suicide on their
property if they clearly forbid it in their contract.

Further, doctors who violate that policy could be punished by losing their
hospital privileges or office lease.

The changes wouldn't prevent doctors from answering a patient's questions
about assisted suicide or referring the patient to another doctor while on
hospital property, however.

Backers of the Death with Dignity Act earlier expressed concern that
lawmakers were making another attempt to undermine the suicide law, but said
Thursday they were satisfied with the clarifications.

"The bill still protects patient access and the rights of doctors who
participate," said Geoff Sugerman. "It doesn't do anything beyond what the
law was intended to do, or what current law says."

Opponents of the suicide law tried unsuccessfully to persuade the panel to
adopt language requiring that all patients undergo a mental health
evaluation before they could get a lethal prescription from their doctor.

The current law allows doctors to order a mental health exam if they see a
need for one, but doesn't require it.

"I think that it's a minimum to protect patients who are most naturally
depressed after hearing about a terminal illness," said Gayle Atteberry,
head of Oregon Right to Life, which strongly opposes assisted suicide.

On another issue, the panel decided to require patients who decide to use
the law to have an Oregon driver's license.

That was aimed at easing concerns by critics that Oregon would become a
"destination for death" because the current law's residency requirement is
so loosely worded.

In earlier discussions, lawmakers had considered amending the law to
prohibit patients from taking their lives in a public place -- such as a
beach or a park.

The committee didn't include such language. But it did allow a state agency
to charge a person's estate for any costs that might arise if the patient
commits suicide on public property.

(c)1999 Oregon Live LLC

Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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

Revision of suicide law draws less heat (The Oregonian version)

Newshawk: Phil Smith (pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org)
Pubdate: Fri, Apr 02 1999
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 1999 The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Address: 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Author: Erin Hoover Barnett
of The Oregonian staff

Revision of suicide law draws less heat

* In contrast to pitched battles in the past, a Senate panel quietly builds
consensus on new rules for Oregon's Death With Dignity Act

SALEM -- The scene in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this
week would have been unthinkable during the 1997 Legislature.

A lawyer from Oregon Right to Die, once considered a scrappy activ- ist
group, sat side by side with officials from the Oregon Medical Association,
Providence Health System and the Oregon Health Care Association. They used
words like "mutually agreeable" to describe a series of changes to Oregon's
landmark physician-assisted suicide law.

Then on Thursday, assisted-suicide opponents and supporters on the Senate
Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send Senate Bill 491 to the full
Senate. The bill amends the Death With Dignity Act, including clarifying
residency requirements and the right of health care organizations to
prohibit assisted-suicide-related activities on their premises. All are
minor issues compared with the debate last session about whether the law
would live or die.

However, a battle is yet to come when the House takes up the issue of
whether the Oregon Health Plan should continue to cover assisted suicides.

Sen. Neil Bryant, R-Bend, chairman of the committee and sponsor of SB491,
led the effort to reach agreement on revisions, bringing together Oregon
Right to Die, sponsor of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act, and various
health care organizations.

Ardent assisted-suicide opponents such as the Catholic Church, Physicians
for Compassionate Care, Oregon Right to Life and the disabled-rights group
Not Dead Yet stayed largely on the sidelines with this bill. Many of the
organizations said that to get more involved would be to lend legitimacy to
a law they do not support.

Bryant sandbagged a last-minute attempt Wednesday by Sen. Eileen Qutub,
R-Beaverton and a Judiciary Committee member, to get an amendment
prohibiting Oregon Health Plan financing for assisted suicide into his bill,
leaving that debate for the House.

"This is a bill I've worked hard on to have consensus and keep it
nonpartisan, and I intend to keep it that way," said Bryant.

Bryant and other committee members expect SB491 to have a smooth ride
through the Senate and hope for the same in the House. The Senate may
consider the bill as early as next week.

The bill clarifies the rights of health care organizations, such as
Providence Health System, to exercise their principles by prohibiting
assisted-suicide-related services on their premises.

But the bill allows patients to contract separately with doctors for
assisted-suicide related services. For example, a doctor whose health care
organization prohibits assisted suicide could go to a patient's home for an
evaluation or write the lethal prescription.

Steve Telfer, an attorney representing Oregon Right to Die, acknowledged
that defining how a health care organization can penalize doctors for
participation could be a barrier to patients who want access to the option.
But he said Oregon Right to Die was pleased to protect patients' ability to
contract with doctors separately.

The amendments also state that even at doctors' offices or hospitals where
assisted suicide is prohibited, doctors can still respond to patients'
questions about assisted suicide and refer patients to other doctors to help
them.

A Providence attorney said the system will not pry unnecessarily into
doctors' interactions with patients. Providence is more concerned about
doctors who make public, such as to the media, their assistance of patients,
said Alitha Leon Jenkins, a senior attorney for Providence.

The bill says that if the health care organization has informed the doctor
that assisted suicide is prohibited and the doctor violates the policy, the
doctor can be penalized. Possible penalties include termination of the
doctor's office lease or other "nonmonetary remedies."

Penalties do not include loss of privileges or staff membership at a
hospital, however. This was a compromise to ensure that doctors in
one-hospital towns would not face sanctions that could, in essence, cost
them their livelihoods.

The bill also clarifies the ability of long-term care facilities, such as
nursing homes, to set policy prohibiting assisted suicide on their premises.
But because such facilities often do not have contractual relationships with
the doctors who serve their residents, the facilities would have limited
ability to punish doctors who violated their policy.

Senate Bill 491 also requires:

* Doctors to recommend that patients not take lethal medication alone or in
a public place. If a person uses the drugs in a public place, the person's
estate must cover any associated costs -- for emergency medical response,
for example.

* Patients to demonstrate residency by showing an Oregon driver's license or
an Oregon tax return, among possibilities.

* Health care providers to file a copy of the dispensing record for lethal
medication with the Oregon Health Division, to create an additional way to
track assisted suicides and avoid under-reporting.

* Doctors to give pharmacists the ability to opt out of filling a lethal
prescription, as the pharmacist's conscience dictates, without fear of sanction.

The pharmacists' "conscience clause" is also part of a bill in the House
that got a hearing Thursday before the House Human Resources Committee.
Bryant expects that bill to fizzle if SB491 passes.

The House Human Resources Committee will hear testimony as early as next
week on House Bills 3099 and 2374. The first outlaws Oregon Health Plan
coverage of assisted suicide and the second stops coverage for assisted
suicide and abortion. Both are sponsored by Rep. Roger Beyer, R-Molalla.

Steve Suo of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report. You can reach
Erin Hoover Barnett at 503-294-5011 or by e-mail at ehbarnett@news.oregonian.com

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

Drug Czar - Hung By His Own Report (Orange County Register columnist Alan
Bock gives a close reading of the March 17 Institute of Medicine report on
medical marijuana and says it may be true that its conclusions are
"politically colored, but that may not be such a bad thing. Perhaps including
a few politically correct demurrers like undue fear about the effects of
smoking per se in an era in which smoking anything has been so demonized is a
small price to pay for enhancing the credibility of the nuggets of valuable
truth the report contains." And Bock proceeds to tease a number of profound
implications from one sentence in the report that says "it is the legal
status of marijuana that makes it a gateway drug.")

Date: Sun, 4 Apr 1999 10:42:03 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: OPED: Drug Czar - Hung By His Own Report
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield (jnr@freecannabis.org)
Pubdate: Fri, 02 Apr 1999
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Author: Alan Bock

DRUG CZAR - HUNG BY HIS OWN REPORT

I have read some criticisms of the Institute of Medicine report on the
state of scientific knowledge regarding medical marijuana that have
enough validity to be worth considering. Overall, however, the report
(available to read or download here) competently summarizes and
synthesizes a good deal of what is known and should prove valuable for
those who hope that eventually science and reason will triumph over
obfuscatory prohibitionism.

Richard Cowan, former executive director of the National Organization
for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), notes an excessive emphasis on
the dangers of smoking that is curious in the absence of any confirmed
cases of lung cancer caused by marijuana smoking (a fact the report
had to acknowledge). He also criticizes the report's writers' fixation
on what he calls the "single molecule paradigm,'' the unproven
assertion that isolation of single active molecules in the plant would
be obviously superior to "licensing'' the whole plant. Many advocates
of herbal medicine claim the unique combination of ingredients found
in natural plants (not just marijuana) accounts for their therapeutic
value. Maybe they're wrong, but shouldn't the viewpoint be mentioned,
if only to be refuted?

Steve Kubby, the former Libertarian Party candidate for governor in
California who is a medical marijuana patient (adrenal cancer and high
blood pressure) facing criminal trafficking charges for growing his
own in his own home, notes that the IOM committee didn't discuss
vaporization as an alternative to smoking though it had information
about it, and that the study makes no mention of the eight patients
who have received 7.1 pounds of marijuana a year from the federal
government since the early 1980s, courtesy of the taxpayers. Surely
they would have made good subjects for studies on long-term effects.

All in all, says Mr. Kubby, "the IOM report is badly flawed science
with politically poisoned conclusions.'' It may be true that the
conclusions have been politically colored, but that may not be such a
bad thing. Perhaps including a few politically correct demurrers like
undue fear about the effects of smoking per se in an era in which
smoking anything has been so demonized is a small price to pay for
enhancing the credibility of the nuggets of valuable truth the report
contains.

I suspect the report's authors knew what most legalizers believe --
that, as they conclude after extensive documentation, "the adverse
effects of marijuana use are within the range tolerated for other
medications,'' that "a distinctive marijuana withdrawal syndrome has
been identified but it is mild and short-lived,'' and that strict
prohibition is a stupid policy.

I infer some of this from a single sentence matter-of-factly included
in a lengthy discussion of the perception that marijuana is a
"gateway'' to the use of other more dangerous illicit drugs. The
authors don't bother to tease out the implications but it isn't that
difficult.

The report notes that one of the main reasons many are so adamantly
opposed to allowing marijuana to be used medicinally is "the fear that
marijuana use might cause, as opposed to merely precede, the use of
drugs that are more harmful.'' The authors divide the issue rather
intelligently:

"The gateway analogy evokes two ideas that are often confused. The
first, more often referred to as the 'stepping stone' hypothesis, is
the idea that progression from marijuana to other drugs arises from
pharmacological properties of marijuana itself. The second
interpretation is that marijuana serves as a gateway to the world of
illegal drugs in which youths have greater opportunity and are under
greater social pressure to try other illegal drugs. This is the
interpretation most often used in the scientific literature, and it is
supported by -- although not proven by -- the available data.''

They then discuss various studies and conclude that "there is no
evidence that marijuana serves as a stepping stone on the basis of its
particular drug effect," a fact even many prohibitionists will
reluctantly concede.

Then comes the sly kicker:

"Whereas the stepping stone hypothesis presumes a predominantly
physiological component to drug progression, the gateway theory is a
social theory. The latter does not suggest that the pharmacological
qualities of marijuana make it a risk factor for progression to other
drug use. Instead it is the legal status of marijuana that makes it a
gateway drug.''

Savor that apparently innocent sentence for a moment: "Instead it is
the legal status of marijuana that makes it a gateway drug.''

What implications can be teased from that sentence?

The main rationale for keeping marijuana illegal is not that it is so
dangerous in and of itself, but that it can serve as a gateway to
other, more genuinely dangerous drugs. But insofar as there is
evidence that marijuana use sometimes leads to the use of harder drugs
-- and there is some though it's not conclusive -- the reason is that
marijuana possession and use is illegal. A nice piece of logic, eh?

Take it another step. Those who insist on keeping the plant illegal
bear a serious degree of moral responsibility for young marijuana
users who do go on to use cocaine, heroin, PCP or other genuinely
dangerous or addictive drugs.

If Barry McCaffery and other drug warriors were really, seriously
troubled by the possibility that use of marijuana might lead innocent
or psychologically troubled people to harder drugs with much more
severe physiological dangers, they would move as quickly as possible
to legalize marijuana. The fact that they don't do so makes their
plaintive pleas of compassionate concern for those victimized by
addiction and drug-induced disorders ring hollow.

In a word, they refuse to take the action that would be most likely to
eliminate (or at least ameliorate) the only "gateway'' properties of
marijuana that have a shred of scientific support because their drug
war -- with all the money it shovels their way, with the opportunities
it presents to seize property, kick in doors and shred the U.S.
Constitution -- is far more precious to them than the ruined lives of
addicts.

Give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't understand about
the circularity of the "gateway'' contention before. But with this
report -- commissioned by "drug czar'' McCaffery (your tax dollars at
work), remember -- they have no excuse left. If they don't take the
logical step of legalizing marijuana to reduce harm, how far beneath
contempt are they?

Alan Bock is senior editorial writer and columnist at the Orange
County Register, Senior Contributing Editor at the National Educator,
a contributing editor at Liberty magazine and author of "Ambush at
Ruby Ridge."

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

Prosecutors move to vacate drug trafficking convictions (The Associated Press
says nearly 20 convictions were overturned and at least two prisoners were
set free Friday in New Hampshire because the convictions were based on
illegal searches by Rockingham County Deputy Sheriff Wayne Powers, who opened
about 100 air freight packages without warrants while assigned to the state
attorney general's drug task force.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Prosecutors move to vacate drug trafficking convictions
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 19:52:15 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Prosecutors move to vacate drug trafficking convictions
By Ann S. Kim, Associated Press, 04/02/99 19:43

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Nearly 20 drug trafficking convictions were overturned
and at least two prisoners were set free Friday because the cases were based
on improperly secured evidence, prosecutors said.

At a news conference, federal and state prosecutors said they had asked
courts to overturn 20 convictions and 18 requests had been granted as of
Friday.

The prosecutors said Rockingham County Deputy Sheriff Wayne Powers, while
assigned to the state attorney general's drug task force, opened about 100
air freight packages without first obtaining warrants and conducted the
searches in warehouses serving Manchester Airport.

The illegal search and seizure of some of the packages led to 20 marijuana
trafficking convictions, 16 in federal court and four in state court. One
package contained more than 100 pounds of marijuana, but prosecutors said
most of the seizures were significantly smaller.

Federal judges granted the 16 motions to vacate convictions. Two state
motions were granted by the time of the news conference and Attorney General
Philip McLaughlin said he assumed the other two would be granted as well.

''We have an affirmative obligation to make sure that things are done the
right way,'' McLaughlin said. ''That is why we are doing what we are
doing.''

Prosecutors weren't certain how many people affected by the motions remained
in prison.

''I know a lot of them still are,'' said Gary Milano, chief of the U.S.
Attorney's criminal division.

Mark Sisti, a prominent New Hampshire defense lawyer, said at least two of
his clients were released from federal prisons late Friday - Michael Nelson,
29, released in Lewisburg, Pa.; and Darren Taylor, 33, released in Miami.


Powers, who is from Rye, has worked for the Rockingham County Sheriff's
Department for 10 years. He was assigned to the drug task force in 1996. He
was placed on administrative leave with pay while the investigation
continues.

Sheriff Dan Linehan said a decision on any discipline probably would be made
in about six weeks. The attorney general's office is conducting a criminal
investigation.

The investigations were prompted when other officers on the task force
noticed irregular behavior on Power's behalf that sounded an alert,
McLaughlin said. He did not offer further details on what Power did to
arouse suspicions.

''We're talking about suspicions, I don't know how to articulate
suspicions,'' he said.

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

Evidence Used To Prosecute The Cases Was Illegally Obtained (The UPI version)

Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 07:37:30 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US NH: WIRE: Evidence Used To Prosecute The Cases Was
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, 02 Apr 1999
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International
Note: Headline by MAP editor

EVIDENCE USED TO PROSECUTE THE CASES WAS ILLEGALLY OBTAINED

CONCORD, New Hampshire - The drug possession and trafficking
convictions of 20 people were thrown out today after authorities
revealed evidence used to prosecute the cases was illegally obtained.

State Attorney General Philip McLaughlin and New Hampshire U.S.
Attorney Paul Gagnon said a Rockingham County Deputy Sheriff working
undercover at air freight terminals searched packages for drugs
without a search warrant.

The deputy, who is now under investigation and on paid administrative
leave, discovered large quantities of marijuana in the packages.

The illegally-obtained evidence was used to convict four people in
state courts and 16 others in federal court last year.

Today McLaughlin and Gagnon said motions were filed in federal and
state courts to vacate the convictions.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has referred the entire matter to the
Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

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

Arthritic Grandmother Beaten, Robbed Trying To Buy Pot (The Associated Press
says police in Winnabow, North Carolina, are considering filing charges
against Tinkey Mae Sullivan, 53, who was robbed while trying to buy marijuana
for her rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments with her 13-year-old grandson
in the car. Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, D.C., defended Mrs. Sullivan.
"Clearly you're not contributing to the delinquency of a minor if what you're
doing is trying to get drugs that are in some cases lifesaving and relieve
pain and suffering. It's almost a human right.")

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 15:39:40 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US NC: Wire: Arthritic Grandmother Beaten, Robbed Trying To
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry
Pubdate: Fri, 02 Apr 1999
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press

ARTHRITIC GRANDMOTHER BEATEN, ROBBED TRYING TO BUY POT

WINNABOW, N.C. (AP) -- At 53, Tinkey Mae Sullivan is a regular on the
mean streets of Wilmington, where she ventures to buy marijuana.

"They wave at me when I go in there," she said Thursday, sitting in
her double-wide mobile home in rural Brunswick County. "They all call
me Grandma."

Usually Mrs. Sullivan goes alone to buy a quarter-ounce to an ounce of
pot, which she says eases her rheumatoid arthritis and her other ailments.

But a week ago, she decided to make a pot run with her 13-year-old
grandson in the car. Both were robbed and attacked, and now police are
considering filing charges against her for bringing the child along.

Police Detective O.D. Horton said police were shocked by Mrs.
Sullivan's actions -- most significantly, that she took her grandson
with her.

"That's the issue I'm going to address first of all," he said.

Mrs. Sullivan, who with her husband has taken care of Chris since he
was 3 days old, had him along while running errands March 26 because
he had been suspended from school.

"I left the bank, and it hit my mind, 'Why don't I just ride by there
and see if I can get some stuff,"' she said. Chris didn't know why she
was there, she said.

She made the 15-mile trip to Wilmington and circled through the
neighborhood, then parked when two men indicated they had something to
sell. Instead, they jumped in the back seat and attacked Mrs. Sullivan
and Chris, taking more than $100 in cash, her grandson's wallet and
her purse, wallet and credit cards. She called for help from her cell
phone.

A proponent for the legalization of marijuana defended Mrs. Sullivan.

"Clearly you're not contributing to the delinquency of a minor if what
you're doing is trying to get drugs that are in some cases lifesaving
and relieve pain and suffering," said Keith Stroup, executive director
of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in
Washington, D.C. "It's almost a human right."

Since 1996, voters in six Western states have legalized medicinal use
of pot, but patients could face prosecution under federal law if they
use marijuana. North Carolina has not approved use of pot for medical
purposes.

Despite her harrowing experience and brush with the law, Mrs. Sullivan
said she won't stop using marijuana. Asked if she has any marijuana
now, she shook her head sadly.

And when will she buy more? "The first chance I get."

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

The Holy Grail of drug testing (A list subscriber forwards the URL to a
recent report assessing the accuracy of all currently manufactured urine
tests used in pre-employment screening. "This study proves their total
unreliability." Another forwarded message points out the study cited concerns
only on-site testing, rarely used by employers.)

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 13:06:24 EST
Originator: friends@freecannabis.org
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: Jim Rosenfield (jnr@insightweb.com)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: Fwd: More Urine testing

Date: Fri, 02 Apr 1999 10:10:27 -0700
From: Me (mplylar@sprynet.com)
To: jnr@insightweb.com
Subject: More Urine testing

Sirs:

While researching urine testing information on the internet I came
across what may be the "Holy Grail" of drug testing. It is a study
dated January 29, 1999, where all currently manufactured urine tests
used in pre-employment, etc. were tested for their efficacy. The data
contained here shocked me, to say the least. Since these tests are used
during pre-employment interviews & since this study proves their total
unreliability when detecting past drug use & lab confirmations are
seldom used to detect false positives in these cases, I believe this
data could be used in the form of a class action suit, to drive a stake
though the heart of the entire drug testing industry. Though I may be
deluding myself, please review this study & let me know if it says what
I believe it says.

http://www.health.org/workplce/summary.htm

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Mike Plylar
mplylar@sprynet.com

***

From: theHEMPEROR@webtv.net (JR Irvin)
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 18:55:17 -0800 (PST)
To: NTList@fornits.com
X-Loop: ntlist-Request@Fornits.com
Subject: [ntlist] More Urine testing
Reply-To: theHEMPEROR@webtv.net (JR Irvin)

At 03:31 PM 4/2/99 -0800, kevin zeese wrote:

Mike:

Thanks for pointing out the study. It is an interestng one.

You should know that on-site testing (the tests examined by this study)
is not all that widespread in employment. It is a controversial topic
among drug testers, industry and the government. The federal government
has not approved on-site tests for its drug testing programs. This
research was done because it is controversial. As a result of these
findings I expect on-site testing will not gain much favor with the
government or in industry. (This will keep the cost of drug testing up
for industry and government as on-site testing is much cheaper.)
The more typical tests used require a lab even for the initial screening
test and then also use a more expensive and accurate test (GC/MS) for
confirmation. Studies of this type of testing show much lower rates of
error than on-site tests.

Thanks for pointing out this study I will be using it in my anti-drug
testing advocacy.

Kevin

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

U.S. DEA helps Mexico hunt for missing governor (According to Reuters, the
Drug Enforcement Administration said on Thursday that its agents had joined
Mexican authorities in a search for Mario Villanueva, the governor or the
Mexican state of Quintana Roo who disappeared days before he faced possible
arrest for alleged ties to drug traffickers. Although the D.E.A. denied it
was engaged in any criminal investigation of Villanueva, his lawyer said
Villanueva fears he will be arrested and subjected to an unfair trial in
Mexico. The Washington Post said Thursday that law enforcement officials in
the United States, Mexico and other countries were investigating bank
accounts in the names of Villanueva, family members and friends that
allegedly contain millions of dollars, including a Swiss account with $73
million in his name.)

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 10:32:58 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: WIRE: U.S. DEA helps Mexico hunt for missing governor
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, 02 Apr 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.

U.S. DEA HELPS MEXICO HUNT FOR MISSING GOVERNOR

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. anti-narcotics agents have joined
Mexican authorities in the search for a Mexican state governor who
disappeared days before he faced possible arrest for alleged ties to drug
traffickers, the Drug Enforcement Administration said on Thursday.

But DEA officials denied they were engaged in any criminal investigation of
Quintana Roo state Gov. Mario Villanueva, noting that he had not been
charged with any crime in the United States.

"The governor is being sought by Mexican authorities and he is not under
indictment in the United States," a DEA spokesman said.

"We are working jointly with the Mexican government and our Mexican police
counterparts to assist them in locating the governor," the spokesman added.

The governor, a member of Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI), is being investigated by Mexican authorities for allegedly allowing
drug cartels to use his state as a transit point for cocaine flowing to the
United States from South America.

His six-year term as Quintana Roo governor ends on Monday, along with his
criminal immunity. Mexican authorities said they cannot issue an arrest
warrant until then.

U.S. officials have said his state in the Yucatan Peninsula, known for the
Caribbean resort Cancun, became a major route for drug trafficking during
Villanueva's term.

Villanueva disappeared on Saturday and failed to show up this week as
scheduled for questioning in Mexico City.

Villanueva's lawyer said his client fears he will be arrested and subjected
to an unfair trial.

"He didn't tell me that he would flee, but yes, there was a well-founded
fear that once he no longer had immunity he would be arrested without any
legal protection," defence lawyer Raul Cardenas was quoted as saying in
Thursday's edition of Reforma newspaper.

"He felt that he could not get a fair trial," the lawyer said.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that law enforcement officials in
the United States, Mexico and other countries were investigating bank
accounts in the names of Villanueva, family members and friends that
allegedly contain millions of dollars, including a Swiss account with $73
million in his name.

The Post said bank accounts in the United States, Mexico, the Cayman Islands
and the Bahamas also were under scrutiny.

The U.S. Treasury Department said, however, that its financial crimes unit
was not investigating Villanueva. The Justice Department's money laundering
and asset forfeiture section said it "had nothing on him."

{Reuters:Politics-0401.00741} 04/02/99

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

Under Drug Probe, Mexican Governor Disappears (A different Reuters version)

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 13:54:39 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: Wire: Under Drug Probe, Mexican Governor Disappears
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, 02 Apr 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.
Author: Dan Trotta

UNDER DRUG PROBE, MEXICAN GOVERNOR DISAPPEARS

MEXICO CITY, March 31 (Reuters) - A Mexican state governor under
investigation for drug trafficking has disappeared just days before his
six-year term is to run out, raising speculation he may have fled into
hiding to avoid arrest.

Gov. Mario Villanueva of Quintana Roo, the Yucatan peninsula state that is
home to the famed Caribbean resort of Cancun, missed a scheduled appearance
before anti-drug authorities in Mexico City on Tuesday.

He was due to answer questions from Mexican anti-drug czar Mariano Herran
Salvatti and to inspect files in the case against him, officials said.
Villanueva never showed up, instead sending a letter restating his previous
denials of wrongdoing.

Neither state nor federal officials could confirm Villanueva's whereabouts
on Wednesday.

"We know nothing," Jorge Carrillo, a journalist for the state-run radio and
television network in Quintana Roo, told Reuters on Wednesday. "The only
information we had is that he left for Mexico City on Saturday to prepare
for his defence."

A secretary in Villanueva's office could provide no information on where the
governor might be.

The second-ranking official in Quintana Roo, Raul Santana, told the daily
newspaper El Universal, "If anybody knows where the governor is, please tell
me."

Villanueva publicly had sought the meeting with anti-drug officials in a bid
to clear his name. The meeting had been postponed and rescheduled twice
before the parties settled on Tuesday.

"He did not show up even though he signalled to us he would do so," Herran
Salvatti, the anti-drug czar, told reporters. "He himself is rendering
hollow his announcement that he would offer proof in his defence."

Officials say openly that Villanueva, of the ruling Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), is under investigation for suspected ties to the
illegal narcotics trade. His state has a long and deserted coastline near
the midpoint of a straight line from Colombia to the United States.

While steadfastly maintaining his innocence, the governor himself revealed
earlier this month that he is specifically accused of allowing drug
traffickers to use a state-owned airplane hangar to load and unload drugs,
of maintaining close ties with drug lords and of being a cocaine user
himself.

Because Mexican law makes prosecuting a sitting governor difficult, Mexican
media have speculated that Villanueva might be arrested after Monday, when
he is due to hand over office to Gov.-elect Joaquin Hendricks, also of the
PRI, who won the Feb. 21 election.

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

Peruvian Police Seize Two Tons Of Cocaine (Reuters says Thursday's bust was
the largest in four years. Most of the cocaine was being shipped to Europe,
where it would have been worth $185 million on the street.)

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 09:31:55 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Peru: Wire: Peruvian Police Seize Two Tons Of Cocaine
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: 2 Apr 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.

PERUVIAN POLICE SEIZE TWO TONS OF COCAINE

LIMA, April 1 (Reuters) - Peruvian police on Thursday made the largest
cocaine seizure in the Andean country in four years, discovering more than
two tons (tonnes) of the drug hidden among fish in a refrigerated storage
container, authorities said.

The cocaine, seized at a warehouse in Lima's port of Callao, would have had
a street value of about $185 million in Europe, where most of the cocaine
was intended for sale, police said. The cocaine had been stuffed into small
silver-taped packets among the fish, police said.

Two men, a customs official and a truck driver, were arrested in connection
with the seizure, which represented the equivalent of almost a third of all
drugs confiscated in Peru last year, police said.

Smugglers apparently had hoped to ship most of the cocaine to Spain, but
also planned to sell some in Peru, police said.

The seizure was Peru's biggest cocaine haul since authorities seized more
than four tons (tonnes) when they broke up a major drug ring four years
ago, police said.

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

Cannabis DNA bid to beat traffickers (The Herald, in Glasgow, Scotland, says
forensic scientists at Strathclyde University have developed a DNA test for
marijuana that will allow police to trace different cannabis samples to the
same source, while detailing the supply routes of "drug" traffickers across
the world. The new technology would seem to suggest that cultivators might
want to think twice about whom they give away their clones to.)

Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 09:25:35 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Cannabis DNA Bid To Beat Traffickers
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: shug@shug.co.uk
Pubdate: 2 Apr, 1999
Source: The Herald (Glasgow)
Contact: herald@cims.co.uk
Website: http://www.theherald.co.uk/
Author: Elizabeth Buie
Cannabis DNA bid to beat traffickers

CANNABIS DNA BID TO BEAT TRAFFICKERS

Forensic scientists at Strathclyde University claim to have developed a
rapid new way of testing whether someone has been handling cannabis.

Dr Adrian Linacre, a DNA specialist, believes the test can also be extended
to detect other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

But more importantly, he is hoping that with around UKP25,000 funding, he
could create a database of the DNA fingerprints of different strains of
cannabis that would allow police and customs officials to trace the supply
routes of drug-traffickers across the world.

While the possibility of developing a hand-held DNA-based test that would
have the same rapidity and certainty of a drink-drive test has great
potential, it is the chance to create a database that would track the route
of illegal drugs that Dr Linacre believes may have particular benefits.

The doctor has already developed a test using the cannabis plant's DNA which
he believes is more sensitive and specific than existing tests, which are
generally based on detecting anti-bodies and have been criticised as being
less specific.

For instance, as the cannabis plant shares certain similarities with the
hops plant, some currently-used drugs tests will give a positive result if
someone has had beer spilled on their hands.

Equally, some tests show positive if someone has simply handled money
previously held by someone who had been touching drugs.

Dr Linacre believes that his test avoids these problems, but admits it does
have one drawback - if someone who has been handling cannabis then washes
his hands using soap, the detergent ingredient will get rid of all traces of
the drug, as detergents are used to draw DNA from plants.

He believes this is the first time that DNA science has been applied to
drugs testing and hopes a commercial company will fund the development of a
rapid, hand-held test. To date, his research has been funded by fees from
private work carried out for defence solicitors involved in criminal cases
or for clients seeking to establish paternity cases.

Until now, police have only been able to prove that cannabis resin found on
two different people in different places came from the same source by
proving the two pieces were a "physical fit" or match from a larger block -
evidence which has not always been accepted in court.

However, Dr Linacre hopes that the specific nature of a DNA fingerprint
which would show up in all cannabis from the same source would offer a huge
breakthrough to police and customs officers.

***

The UK Cannabis Information Website

http://www.ukcia.org

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

Thai Villagers Killed In Apparent Drugs Dispute (According to Reuters, police
in Bangkok said on Friday that a group of about 30 gunmen, believed to be
members of the United Wa State Army based in Myanmar, attacked Maesoon
village in Chiangmai province, taking an unknown number of hostages and
killing nine.)

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 16:44:49 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Thailand: Wire: Thai Villagers Killed In Apparent Drugs Dispute
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, 02 Apr 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.

THAI VILLAGERS KILLED IN APPARENT DRUGS DISPUTE

BANGKOK, - Suspected guerrillas have raided a Thai
village near the Myanmar border, taking hostages and killing nine in
an apparent drug trafficking dispute, police said on Friday.

A group of about 30 gunmen, believed to be members of the United Wa
State Army, attacked Maesoon village in Chiangmai province, about 750
km (469 miles) north of Bangkok late on Thursday, they said.

They took an unknown number of Thais into the jungle, pursued by Thai
troops. When police went to the area on Friday, they found nine
villagers' bodies, all male. Some had apparently died from gunshots
and some had been beaten to death.

Police said they suspected a conflict over drug trafficking.

The Myanmar-based UWSA, which signed a ceasefire with the Yangon
military government five years ago, has been accused of taking over
the drug trafficking business in the Golden Triangle from the former
opium warlord, Khun Sa, after he surrendered to the military in 1996.

The Golden Triangle, at the intersection of Thailand, Laos and
Myanmar, is responsible for the majority of the world's heroin supply,
narcotics agencies say.