Portland NORML News - Wednesday, April 7, 1999
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Taking Civil Liberties (A letter to the editor of Willamette Week,
in Portland, says Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Noelle is overstepping the
boundaries of his position by using his official title and resources to amend
Oregon's medical-marijuana law.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: (503) 243-1115
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Author: M. Casey Condon, Northeast Glisan Street, Portland

Taking Civil Liberties

Sheriff Dan Noelle's job is to enforce laws, which are drafted by the
Legislature and signed into law by the executive branch, or decreed by
direct vote of the citizenry. He is therefore overstepping the boundaries of
his position by using his official title and resources to amend the
medical-marijuana law ["Dope Meddlers," WW, March 17, 1999]

His efforts offend basic U.S. political philosophy in three ways. First, his
intent is to alter the legal will of the people. Because of past citizen
activism, the Oregon political system provides for direct citizen input into
the creation of laws. This is a unique franchise, and we must aggressively
protect it. Dan Noelle should be rebuked for attempting to undermine this
democratic ideal.

Second, the motivation behind his efforts is tainted with conflict of
interest. His organization benefits financially from drug prohibition
through federal, state and local funding and seizure laws.

Third, his organization benefits also by extending its police powers since
increases in police authority provide tautological justification for
increases in police authority and, therefore, police budgets. Police
departments securely entrench themselves within the fear they help to
manufacture. How many cops did Clinton put on the streets this decade? And
didn't Portland add over 80 just this year?

Take a look at his proposal to have three annual searches of legal growers.
This is Draconian. It violates the due-process rights of the Fourth and
Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, as extended to the states by the
14th Amendment, Section 1. Also, it necessitates a greater police presence
(even where there is no threat) and increased police budget. What next,
random searches of book dealers to make absolutely sure they don't have a
stolen copy of the first edition of The Great Gatsby? We can never be too
certain.... Right, Dan. After all, liberties and the Constitution just get
in the way of your efforts to subjugate us naughty citizens.

Whether Sheriff Noelle is motivated by philosophical opposition to
democracy, a desire to increase police funding, a desire to suppress
Constitutional liberties and create a police state, or even personal moral
attitudes, we should not allow him to play out his intentions, especially
when his strategy is to curb the freedoms of innocent citizens.
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A Modest Proposal (A like-minded letter to the editor of Willamette Week
proposes an addendum to the legislation that would largely nullify the Oregon
Medical Marijuana Act. Rep. Mannix and Sheriff Noelle would be the people who
make the random searches of ill citizens who are certified to grow and smoke
marijuana for medicinal purposes. If they propose such invasive and offensive
laws, they should carry them out themselves - if the Oregon Legislature
proves to have the same kind of forward thinking as the good sheriff and his
political pal.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: (503) 243-1115
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Author: Jim McDonald, Monmouth (about 70 miles south of Portland)
Note: the referenced article is posted at:
http://www.pdxnorml.org/ii/990317.html#dmw

LTE: A Modest Proposal

I read your article regarding State Rep. Mannix and Sheriff Noelle's
proposal to monitor medical-marijuana users ["Dope Meddlers," WW, March 17,
1999]. I would like to tweak the bill just a bit.

I propose an addendum denoting that Mannix and Noelle be the people who do
the random snooping of ill citizens who are certified to grow and smoke
marijuana for medicinal purposes. If they propose such invasive and
offensive laws, they should carry them out themselves--if the Oregon
Legislature proves to have the same kind of forward thinking as the good
sheriff and his political pal.

I would think that Mannix and Noelle would be more than happy to heed this
special calling, given that they are both politicians with a true love for
meeting the people firsthand. This opportunity should not go unmet. Both
righteous gentlemen can bring their political campaigns directly to the
people who they wish would elect them for a next term.

My guess is that either of these happy campers could safely amass a large
statewide following and may seriously make a run for the next governorship
with all of the grassroots followers that they're likely to accrue. Skipping
merrily from house to house, they would almost certainly attract a large
groundswell of worshipers applauding their every visit.

Onward, gentlemen! You're ahead of the curve!
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Need For Addiction Services Exceeds County Aid (The Oregonian says Jim
Peterson, Multnomah County's addictions services manager, told the county
Board of Commissioners in Portland Tuesday that the $10.8 million budgeted
for about 8,200 drug treatment slots in this fiscal year was inadequate by
about 25 percent. Sometimes, he said, the treatment programs end up competing
with the county's Corrections Department for money.)
Link to related 1996 article
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 17:49:31 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US OR: Need For Addiction Services Exceeds County Aid Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/) Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 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: David Austin, the Oregonian NEED FOR ADDICTION SERVICES EXCEEDS COUNTY AID * More people are lining up for drug and alcohol treatment than commissioners anticipated when the $10.8 million budget was drawn up The number of people seeking help for drug or alcohol problems in Multnomah County far outpaces the amount of money available to pay for treatment that works. And if county officials don't come up with a way to pay for improved treatment programs, the system that deals with addicts could be in trouble. The county's Board of Commissioners heard that message at a Tuesday briefing on how its treatment programs operate. "We need to find a way to stabilize the system," said Jim Peterson, the county's addictions services manager. "The amount of funds available to us has been reduced because of the number of people we have to serve. And now we may be in a position where we're competing for the same money" with other county departments. Big gap in estimate The county has budgeted about $10.8 million for residential and outpatient treatment and other services for the 1998-99 fiscal year, which ends in June. That will enable officials to treat roughly 8,200 patients, Peterson said. But officials predict that more than 11,000 people will seek treatment by the end of the fiscal year. The county relies on local, state and federal money to pay for the bulk of its drug and alcohol treatment programs. "It's not like we need more money to serve more people," Peterson said after the briefing. "We need more money to serve the people we're seeing now. I'd say we're at about 75 percent funded and dealing with the issues somewhat adequately. What we really need to do is infuse more (money) into our system." And sometimes, he said, the treatment programs end up competing with the county's Corrections Department for money. Tuesday's briefing updated the board on changes being made within the behavioral health department as a result of an audit last year. The April 1998 audit found a series of deficiencies, including the need to develop a system that better tracks people through treatment. The board considered the financial predicament in the context of statistics presented by Peterson and Floyd Martinez, the manager of the behavioral health division, including: * For every dollar local government spends on substance abuse treatment, roughly $7 is saved in other areas. * Intensive residential treatment is about seven times more cost effective than jail time in reducing cocaine use. * About one-third of children who are cared for by the state are taken from their families because of their parents' alcohol or drug problems. Some of the commissioners were surprised to hear that about 25 percent of people who go through treatment aren't from Multnomah County. "If this is the case, we may as well go back to a state-funded system," said Commissioner Lisa Naito. Commissioner Diane Linn expressed concern about the increase in treatment cases. She said heroin is a particular problem in larger Northwest cities such as Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle, which could lead to a bigger problem in Oregon. "We really need to keep our eyes on the prize and focus on getting more resources for these kinds of problems," she said. The board didn't come up with any concrete solutions, but members agreed to examine where the money gets spent and how to identify areas that need more help. Martinez told the board that his department is in the midst of implementing a number of changes recommended in the audit. They include developing a clearer vision for the department, improving day-to-day management and refining how the department coordinates with other county agencies. You can reach David Austin at 221-5383 or by e-mail at davidaustin@news.oregonian.com.
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Plan seeks tobacco money in lump sum (The Oregonian says state Treasurer Jim
Hill plans to propose today that Oregon swap its rights to part of $2.4
billion in tobacco settlement payments over 25 years for a lump sum that
could be used right now to solve the Legislature's school finance stalemate.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 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: Steve Suo, the Oregonian

Plan seeks tobacco money in lump sum

* A proposal would have Oregon take an upfront payment from the national
tobacco settlement to help increase school spending

SALEM -- The state should swap its rights to part of $2.4 billion in tobacco
settlement payments over 25 years for a lump sum that could be used right
now to solve the Legislature's school finance stalemate, state Treasurer Jim
Hill plans to propose today.

The arrangement could help increase state school spending in the next budget
to the $4.95 billion that Gov. John Kitzhaber is seeking -- without the tax
increases that Kitzhaber wants and Republican legislative leaders reject.
And it would leave additional money for the state to invest for the future.

"That's the main part of the plan," Hill said Tuesday, though he would not
provide further details in advance of a news conference scheduled for today
at the Capitol.

The proposal by Hill, a Democrat, apparently caught both Kitzhaber and
Attorney General Hardy Myers, who helped negotiate the settlement with 45
other states last November, off guard. Aides in their offices would not
comment publicly. But legislators in both parties expressed interest.

In a concept drawing growing interest in other states, Oregon would sell its
share of payments from the $206 billion settlement, which gave immunity from
further lawsuits to the companies involved.

Oregon would receive an upfront payment, probably far less than the $2.4
billion it is owed under the settlement. But because the settlement allows
the industry's payments to Oregon to decline if cigarette sales drop, there
is a risk the full $2.4 billion won't materialize.

Accepting the upfront payment would eliminate that risk and provide money to
spend or invest immediately.

It was unclear Tuesday whether Hill would convert all of the settlement into
cash or just a portion. The financial industry has shown a growing interest
in similar plans around the country.

Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, said he would prefer to channel
any money from the settlement into a trust fund that uses its earnings to
pay for health care needs. But he likes the idea of taking a lump sum,
rather than a potentially unstable stream of settlement money during the
next 25 years.

"A bird in hand in my estimation is worth two in the bush," Adams said.

Rep. Randall Edwards, D-Portland, who once worked for Hill's office, said
the proposal has merit.

"The creative side of me says that might be a way to minimize having to go
out and raise a lot of taxes," Edwards said.

The concept also has political appeal because it offers a possible passage
out of a budget logjam that's stymied Kitzhaber, fellow Democrats and
Republicans who are in control of the Legislature.

In an effort to boost spending on elementary and secondary schools,
Kitzhaber has proposed raising the corporate income tax, canceling a surplus
income tax refund to individuals, spending the first $70 million from the
tobacco settlement and increasing the state's draw on the Common School Fund.

Republicans say they can boost school funding without raising taxes by
digging into the budgets of other state agencies. They have proposed
spending $4.73 billion on schools in 1999-2001, while a coalition of
educators and parents says $5.1 billion is needed.

"We're trying to bring the Legislature and the governor together," said
Michael Parker, a spokesman for the treasurer's office.

Hill's proposal would put Oregon on a growing list of states and local
governments exploring "securitization" of its legal settlement.

Just as some companies are in the business of offering immediate cash for
winning lottery tickets that pay out over a stretch of time, investment
firms are showing interest in taking over tobacco settlements.

In Nassau County, N.Y., officials have taken proposals from 14 Wall Street
banks hoping to buy the county's $650 million in tobacco settlement payments
-- an estimated $27 million a year -- for $170 million. The money would plug
the county's budget deficit.

New York City, meanwhile, has taken a different approach. It is planning to
sell $2.5 billion in bonds to pay for capital construction projects, using
its $6.7 billion from the settlement to repay them.

You can reach Steve Suo at 503-221-8234 or by e-mail at
stevesuo@news.oregonian.com.
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The Smoking Gun (Willamette Week, in Portland, says last week's record $80.3
million judgment against Philip Morris is mostly attributable to the jury
being exposed to confidential tobacco industry documents, which revealed that
executives knew about the addictive and carcinogenic properties of cigarettes
but engaged in a decades-long effort to suppress such information.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: (503) 243-1115
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Author: Chris Lydgate (clydgate@wweek.com)

The Smoking Gun

* Last week's staggering verdict in the local tobacco case shows the power
of confidential industry documents.

Last week's record $80.3 million judgment against Philip Morris represents a
major setback for the tobacco industry--not just because of the size of the
damages awarded, but also because it demonstrates the persuasive power of a
new legal weapon for plaintiffs: confidential company memos.

"The documents were the case," says lawyer Chuck Tauman, part of the legal
team that represented the Williams family. The family sued Philip Morris for
its role in the death of Portland janitor Jesse Williams, a lifelong
Marlboro smoker who died of lung cancer in 1997.

In the past, tobacco company lawyers have been able to defeat legal
challenges by casting doubt on the links between smoking, addiction and lung
cancer. That changed last year during the titanic legal battle between
cigarette makers and state attorneys general trying to recoup health-care
expenditures. A Minnesota judge ordered Philip Morris and other cigarette
makers to release thousands of previously undisclosed internal documents,
some dating back to the 1950s.

The documents revealed that executives knew about the addictive and
carcinogenic properties of cigarettes but engaged in a decades-long effort
to suppress that information. They also showed the industry supported
"front" organizations that echoed its message that the scientific evidence
on smoking was inconclusive.

By combining these memos with Jesse Williams' health records, the Williams
family's legal team--which, in addition to Tauman, included local lawyers
Bill Gaylord, Ray Thomas and Jim Coon--was able to convince a Multnomah
County jury to hit Philip Morris with the highest punitive damages ever in
an individual smoking case.

After the trial, jurors cited the documents as a key factor in their
decision. "I'd have to say it was the documents," juror Debra Barton told
The Oregonian.

Despite the lure of big fees and bold headlines, plaintiffs'
attorneys--hardly a diffident breed--have traditionally shied away from
suing cigarette manufacturers. Taking on Philip Morris was "a huge, huge
risk," says Coon. "As an investment it's insane." The main reason for this
reluctance is the tobacco companies' intimidating track record. Over the
past four decades they have managed to beat back virtually every smoker's
lawsuit filed against them. The few cases that have been decided against the
cigarette makers have been overturned on appeal.

In addition, tobacco litigation is enormously complex. The Williams team
spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars to assemble
its case. The kind of effort needed to defeat a corporate titan like Philip
Morris can easily exhaust the resources of plaintiffs' attorneys, who
typically work in small firms or in solo practice.

In the wake of the Minnesota settlement, however, suing cigarette makers has
gotten simpler, in part because a network of plaintiffs' attorneys and
anti-tobacco activists is busily trading unflattering confidential company
memos released in Minnesota.

The Williams case was only the second smoker's trial against Philip Morris
in which plaintiffs' attorneys were able to take advantage of those
documents. (The first trial came in February, when a San Francisco jury
slapped Philip Morris with $51.5 million in damages.)

Industry analysts are nervous about the implications. "The juries apparently
have been very angered by the allegation of differences between what the
companies knew privately and what they said publicly," Salomon Smith Barney
tobacco analyst Martin Feldman told Reuters. "The plaintiff lawyers have
been very effective at using the documents on an emotional basis."

The Williams trial is just the beginning. There are now hundreds of other
cases pending against Philip Morris around the country--many of which will
revolve around the very same documents that proved successful in Portland.

[Sidebar notes:]

* Under Oregon law, 60 percent of the $79.5 million in punitive damages in
the Williams trial would go to a victims assistance fund. The remainder
would be split between the Williams family and its legal team.

* Philip Morris Companies Inc.'s stock tumbled 14 percent to a two-year low
after news of the Williams verdict

Web Xtra: View some of the key documents in the Williams trial, including
confidential internal memos from Philip Morris
(http://www.wweek.com/html/tobaccoindex.html)

Other useful sites are http://www.tobacco.org,
http://www.smokescreen.org, and http://www.philipmorris.com.
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Tobacco judgment a sad victory (A letter to the editor of the Oregonian from
Wendy Bjornson of the Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon says a Portland jury's
recent $80.3 million judgment against Philip Morris was sad because Jesse
"Williams' death was among more than 6,000 in Oregon caused by tobacco every
year." Bjornson's logic is clearly prohibitionist, suggesting all sorts of
problems will magically disappear just by targeting tobacco companies.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 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: Wendy Bjornson, project director, Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon,
Northeast Portland

LTE: Tobacco judgment a sad victory

The recent court decision against Philip Morris Inc. was a sad victory. A
victory because the jury responsibly decided to hold the tobacco industry
accountable for its deception and for contributing to the addiction that
took Jesse Williams' life. Sad because Williams' death was among more than
6,000 in Oregon caused by tobacco every year.

Some argue that Williams could have quit had he wanted to badly enough, and
that addiction to nicotine is psychobabble. But what kind of argument is
that when thousands are losing their lives, from adults suffocating with
emphysema to infants dying from SIDS? This is a problem we need to solve
together.

Oregonians who want to quit can call the Tobacco Quit Line at 1-877-270-STOP
and take advantage of a number of cessation programs. And, smokers and
nonsmokers alike can urge the Oregon Legislature to:

Support the innovative tobacco education and prevention program, which is
part of the proposed Oregon Health Division budget and is paid for with
tobacco taxes.

Allocate national tobacco settlement funds to expand these effective
programs to reach more Oregonians.

Not take away the rights of local governments to adopt locally designed
tobacco-control laws. Several Oregon communities are considering new laws
that will help youths and adults alike.
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Freedom of Choice (A letter to the editor of Willamette Week from a
56-year-old woman with severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
follows up on a recent article on Ritalin, noting it is a drug that can
give some patients more choices by freeing them from the impulse to respond
to every new stimulus.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: (503) 243-1115
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Author: Becky Heath, Vancouver, Wash. (just across
the Columbia River from Portland]

LTE: Freedom of Choice

Kudos to Nigel Jaquiss for a well-researched and balanced article ["Readin',
Writin' and Ritalin," WW, Feb. 17, 1999]. It's a complex issue.

I'm a 56-year-old woman on Ritalin for severe ADHD. Just four years ago I
discovered how having undiagnosed ADHD explained why I was unable to
dislodge chronic failure from my life.

Dr. Russell Barkley now wants to rename this problem Impulse Control
Disorder (ICD). He has written a new book: "ADHD, Self-Control and Time" (in
press). He believes it all hinges on impulsivity: being unable to inhibit a
response or manage time/delay.

This accurately describes my experience. I lack the choice-making ability
most people take for granted. In a nanosecond, new stimuli take my attention
away from my previous focus, which is then immediately forgotten or added to
an overwhelming mass of alternatives.

Just saying no to a new stimulus really is impossible, and trying harder
compounds failure, making life miserably frustrating - impossible for some.

Behavior modification doesn't work very well for people with ADHD, Barkley
suggests. The environment must be engineered for success say Drs. Hallowell
and Ratey in their now-classic book "Driven to Distraction."

Stimulant medications give back choice-making ability. They (somehow)
stimulate the "say no" center of the brain.

Ritalin is giving me some choices. I'm back in college training for a new
career. For a change, change looks possible. Perhaps I can find success with
the rest of the working world.

Contact behkster@aol.com for information about a wonderful e-group for
adults with ADHD.
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One Size Doesn't Fit All (Another letter to the editor of Willamette Week
says its recent article about proposed legislation that would lock up some
people with mental illnesses and force them to take dangerous drugs omitted
the perspective of patients who have experienced civil commitment.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: (503) 243-1115
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Author: Kevin Fitts, Southeast Ankeny Street, Portland

LTE: One Size Doesn't Fit All

I am writing to express a voice unheard in the article "Unlocking Doors"
[WW, March 24, 1999]. I have been civilly committed in the Oregon State
hospital system. 14 years ago, after my first discharge while living in a
group home, the psychiatrist said I was severely mentally ill and would need
to be in supervised living the rest of my life. Today, I have the diagnosis
of manic depression. I watch my sleep and exercise daily but don't take
medication. I live independently and work full-time helping other
mental-health consumers in their process of recovery.

I am sorry that this and other firsthand experiences of civil commitment
were not represented at the attorney general's task force.

We don't need more restrictive laws - we need an examination of why many
individuals labeled with mental illness resist current treatment. Many
individuals diagnosed with mental illness do not take medications because
they believe medications are neuro-toxic. Medication damaged my immune
system and liver and left me with chronic sinusitis.

Restrictive civil commitment laws that force individuals into the
one-size-fits-all, pharmaceutical model of treatment are very costly and
don't work in the long run. We need to offer more to individuals in
emotional crisis. I was terribly saddened by Mary's death. The demonstrated
love that Carol has for her daughter will forever touch me. Mary Boos turned
away from the mental-health system as many individuals with mental illness
in Oregon do today. Let us learn from Mary's death. More treatment
alternatives, not more forced treatment.
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Careful What You Wish For (A similar letter to the editor of Willamette Week
says that making civil commitment and forced treatment easier won't affect
just a tiny group of weirdos. Psychiatrists claim that most people are crazy.
A 1993 study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health claims that
over a lifetime, more than half the population is mentally ill, yet only 4
percent who "need" it receive treatment. Think about that before advocating
that people should be forced to take psychiatric drugs, which cause serious
brain damage and turn people into bloated and numbed-out near-zombies. The
rights the attorney general wants to take away may be your own.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: (503) 243-1115
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Author: Ted Chabasinski, Berkeley, Calif.

Careful What You Wish For

Your article on loosening the commitment standards for "mentally ill" people
is yet another attack on a group that has been continually attacked lately
["Unlocking Doors," WW, March 24, 1999]. At least one out of 10 Americans has
been in a psychiatric facility, and there are several patients' rights groups
in Oregon led by former patients, but your story failed to give that point of
view. Thus, you portray mental patients as non-persons, unable to speak for
themselves.

I find this really frightening. Media portrayals of people with psychiatric
labels as dangerous and subhuman prepare the public to accept stripping away
their legal rights. This is reminiscent of the propaganda campaign against
the German Jews in the 1930s.

Please realize that making forced treatment easier won't affect just a tiny
group of weirdos. In their own journals, psychiatrists claim that most
people are crazy. A 1993 study funded by the National Institute of Mental
Health claims that over a lifetime, over half the population is mentally
ill, yet only 4 percent who "need" it receive treatment.

Think about that before advocating that people should be forced to take
psychiatric drugs, which cause serious brain damage and turn people into
bloated and numbed-out near-zombies.

The rights the attorney general wants to take away may be your own.
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Student Drug Use, Violence Rising, Survey Finds (The Seattle Times says the
seventh annual Kids Count Data book survey of Washington students suggests
the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs that are illegal to Washington
schoolchildren is on the rise, with "regular" use starting in sixth grade and
escalating to more than one in four 12th-graders reporting they went to
school drunk in the past year. More than one in three adolescents also showed
signs of clinical depression.)

Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 16:55:05 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WA: Student Drug Use, Violence Rising, Survey Finds
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Wed, 7 Apr 1999
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 1999 The Seattle Times Company
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Author: Lynne K. Varner, Seattle Times staff reporter

STUDENT DRUG USE, VIOLENCE RISING, SURVEY FINDS

Regular use of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs by Washington
schoolchildren is on the rise, with regular use starting in sixth
grade and escalating to more than one in four 12th-graders reporting
they went to school drunk in the past year, according to an annual
survey.

One in three teens experienced problems of substance abuse,
depression, violent behavior and poor school performance, said the
seventh annual Kids Count Data book, which acts as a yearly yardstick
of children's economic, social and physical well-being throughout the
state.

Moreover, the majority of teens who smoke or carry a gun exhibited
behavioral problems when they were 11 or 12 years old and if they
didn't receive help, those problems multiplied by 10th grade, said the
report, which was released today.

The survey also found that many sixth-graders already engage in risky
behavior. Two out of five tried alcohol last year; one in eight
attacked another person; and one in seven had been suspended from school.

"In sixth grade, these behaviors should not be viewed as harmless,
youthful experimentation," says Dr. Frederick Connell, a professor at
the University of Washington's School of Public Health and co-author
of the survey.

By 10th grade, the survey found, the numbers had risen, with two in
five students drinking alcohol regularly, and one in four involved in
fights and being suspended from school.

Schools need to increase their early-prevention programs to match the
large scope of these problems, says Rick Brandon, a UW Graduate School
of Public Affairs professor who researched the data in the survey.
Brandon said the right steps include preventive programs like STARS
(Students Taking a Right Stand), in which they sign contracts pledging
a nonviolent lifestyle, and creating a positive code of conduct.

Several middle schools and one high school in the Seattle School
District have STARS programs.

At Madison Middle School, where the STARS program won a Governor's
Award for being the best drug-, alcohol- and violence-prevention
program in the state, one-third of the student body is involved in it.
Eighth-graders mentor sixth-graders, and both groups go out to
elementary schools to talk to 9- and 10-year-olds about drugs and
alcohol. The students in STARS hold alcohol- and drug-free events and
perform community services.

The 300 or so STARS students at Madison also put on Day of the Dead in
which they symbolically "die" every half-hour to spotlight the rate at
which U.S. teenagers die because of drugs, alcohol or violence. The
continuous activity means kids are actually involved in preventing
substance abuse rather than listening to an adult tell them to "just
say no," says Madison's STARS coordinator, Jacob Ellis.

Other findings from the Kids Count Data Book:

-- The number of children in foster homes and other out-of-home
placements is outgrowing the system's capacity to handle this need.

-- The number of adults a child can talk to diminished from sixth to
12th grade.

-- The number of divorces in families involving children and the
percentage of out-of-wedlock births continued to rise.

-- One in three children continued to live in a family without
adequate income to afford the basic necessities.

-- More than one in three adolescents showed signs of clinical
depression.

-- Last year, one in 25 children lived in a family that had been
investigated for child abuse or neglect.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Donald Abrams to Speak on "Medical Marijuana: Tribulations and Trials"
(A list subscriber says the Lindesmith Center will sponsor a talk May 25 at
the San Francisco Medical Society by the UCSF professor who is carrying out
the first research with marijuana allowed by the federal government in this
decade.)

From: ekomp@earthlink.net
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 10:28:43 -0700
To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Subject: DPFCA: NEWSFLASH: Abrams to Speak
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Reply-To: ekomp@earthlink.net
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/

Dr. Donald Abrams of UCSF will speak on Medical Marijuana: Tribulations and
Trials at a Lindesmith-sponsored forum at the SF Medical Society on May 25,
from 5-7 PM. The talk will include reviews of the medical uses of marijuana,
the different pharmacokinetics between oral and smoked THC, issues of concern
for patients with HIV, and an outline of Dr. Abrams's clinical trial.

Also, Dr. Karl Sporer, who will be presenting at a April 29 Lindesmith forum
on heroin overdose prevention, is published in the April 6 issue of Annals of
Internal Medicine. The article, titled Acute Heroin Overdose, can be viewed
this week at:

http://www.acponline.org/journals/annals/06apr99/upover.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge keeps smoking verdict, cuts damages (According to the Oregonian, a
judge in San Francisco refused Tuesday to grant a new trial or to overturn a
local jury's verdict against Philip Morris, but lowered from $51.5 million to
$26.5 million the amount the company must pay to a former three-pack-a-day
smoker with inoperable lung cancer. When Patricia Henley won $51.5 million in
February, it was the largest award ever in a tobacco liability lawsuit filed
by an individual smoker. However, that verdict was surpassed last week by a
Portland jury, which ordered Philip Morris to pay a record-setting $80.3
million in damages to the family of Jesse Williams, a school custodian and
longtime Marlboro smoker. Philip Morris said it will take the case to the
California Court of Appeal.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Apr 07 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: wire and staff reports

Judge keeps smoking verdict, cuts damages

* The jurist calls $50 million in punitive damages excessive and says $25
million will adequately punish Philip Morris

SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge refused to overturn a jury's verdict against Philip
Morris on Tuesday but lowered from $51.5 million to $26.5 million the amount
the company must pay to a former three-pack-a-day smoker with inoperable
lung cancer.

When Patricia Henley won $51.5 million in February, it was the largest award
ever in a tobacco liability lawsuit filed by an individual smoker. That was
based on $1.5 million in compensatory damages to cover medical expenses,
pain and suffering, and $50 million in punitive damages.

However, that verdict was surpassed last week by a Portland jury, which
ordered Philip Morris to pay a record-setting $80.3 million in damages to
the family of Jesse Williams, a school custodian and longtime Marlboro
smoker who died of lung cancer at age 67.

On Tuesday, Judge John Munter said the $50 million punitive award in
Henley's case was excessive. A damage award of $25 million -- Henley asked
for $15 million -- is enough to punish Philip Morris for misleading the
public about the dangers of smoking and for marketing cigarettes to
teen-agers, he said.

Munter also denied the company's request for a new trial.

Harry Wartnick, a lawyer for Henley, noted that she has the option of
rejecting the reduced award and retrying the case. But he said $26.5 million
should be enough to "get a message across to Philip Morris and to any other
company that looks to market products that kill human beings."

Philip Morris said it will take the case to the state Court of Appeal. "We
are pleased that the punitive damages have been cut in half and while we
would have liked the court to have granted our motions in their entirety, we
recognize that it is rare that a trial court will completely overturn a
verdict," said James R. Cherry, associate general counsel for Philip Morris.

Henley, 52, of Los Angeles said she became hooked on Marlboros at age 15 and
smoked three packs a day until 1997, after she started suffering coughing
fits and other health problems. She was diagnosed last year with inoperable
lung cancer, which she says is now in remission after chemotherapy and
radiation.

Her suit was the first tried in California since the repeal of a 1987 law
that protected tobacco companies against suits by individual smokers.

In the Portland case, Judge Anna Brown of the state circuit court in
Multnomah County said she won't enter a judgment on the $80.3 million award
until completing a review required by Oregon law. She has set a hearing on
the matter for May 13. Philip Morris is challenging the $79.5 million in
punitive damages and the $821,000 in compensatory damages.

Three jury verdicts for smokers in other states have been overturned on
appeal, and juries in other cases have ruled in tobacco companies' favor.

Also Tuesday, Philip Morris rejected a proposal by 17 states to kill its
current anti-smoking ads and replace them with a more aggressive message.

State officials said the company's $75 million media campaign, which is
mandated as part of last year's national tobacco settlement and is aimed at
discouraging teen-age smoking, is not effective. They cited a study by a
Chicago firm, Teenage Research Unlimited, which found from 20 focus groups
that teen-agers are not influenced by the ads and that they do not offer
compelling reasons not to smoke.

Ellen Merlo, senior vice president for Philip Morris USA, said the company
had no intention of dismantling its current ad campaign.

"We think, from our research, that our message does communicate the message
not to smoke and communicates it effectively," Merlo said.

The ads show teen-agers in various settings being lured to take cigarettes
but rejecting the offer.

Joe Rojas-Burke of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Truth or DARE - The Dubious Drug-Education Program Takes New York (The
Village Voice says over the next four years, the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program will implement its full curriculum - kindergarten through
12th grade - in all of New York City's public schools. After first gaining a
foothold in the city in 1996, DARE America now donates $1.5 million worth of
supplies annually for 271 New York City elementary schools, while the NYPD
covers $8.5 million a year in salaries and benefits for the city's DARE
officers. Since 1983, DARE has become the world's dominant drug prevention
program. The $230 million operation conducts courses in all 50 states and in
44 countries, from Sweden and England to Brazil and Costa Rica. Eighty
percent of U.S. school districts have DARE. More than a dozen studies have
concluded that DARE has no lasting impact. And one six-year study found
increased drug use among suburban kids who graduated from DARE.)

Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 16:57:38 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Truth or D.A.R.E.
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Nicholas Merrill http://www.calyx.net/
Pubdate: 7 - 13 Apr 1999
Source: Village Voice (NY)
Copyright: 1999 VV Publishing Corporation
Section: Feature Article
Contact: editor@villagevoice.com
Address: 36 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003
Feedback: http://www.villagevoice.com/aboutus/contact.shtml
Website: http://www.villagevoice.com/
Author: Jennifer Gonnerman Research assistance: Hillary Chute
Note: Calyx supports an exellent email list about DARE. To join DARE-LIST,
send an email to listproc@calyx.net with the subject blank and the BODY of
the email containing nothing but the following line, without the quotes:
"subscribe DARE-LIST name"

Truth or D.A.R.E.

The Dubious Drug-Education Program Takes New York

Thirty sixth-graders begin to shout as a police officer enters their
classroom at P.S. 20 on the Lower East Side. "Good morning, Officer
Carla!" they call out to their favorite teacher. Officer Carla is
Carla DeBlasio, 35, a one-time transit cop who teaches weekly classes
as part of the NYPD's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, known
as DARE. On a recent Wednesday, the officer strides into the classroom
clutching DARE's mascot, a fuzzy stuffed lion named Daren.

Officer Carla wears a DARE pin above her police badge and a gun tucked
discreetly inside the waistband of her navy blue slacks. But she seems
more like a dedicated teacher than a typical cop. Indeed, she knows
every student's name, and when she discovered that P.S. 20 did not
have a basketball team, she started her own. Such devotion has made
Officer Carla a star in the city's DARE program. At first, the
students fired the usual questions at her. "Have you ever used your
gun?" "Have you ever shot anybody?" But now, near the end of DARE's
17-week curriculum, any anxiety the students may have had about cops,
or at least Officer Carla, seems to have dissipated.

Officer Carla begins by recapping last week's lesson on "positive
alternatives." "What happens when we hang out with the wrong people?"
she yells. Tiny hands shoot into the air as students holler the answers.

"Drinking!"

"Smoking!"

"Drugs!"

"Good," says Officer Carla, flashing a warm smile. Apparently, her
students have internalized DARE's message - resisting peer pressure and
choosing the right friends will keep them away from drugs.

DARE America started in Los Angeles in 1983 with what seemed like a
good idea: put cops in fifth-and sixth-grade classes to teach kids
about drug abuse. Since then, DARE has become the world's dominant
drug prevention program. This $230 million operation conducts courses
in all 50 states and in 44 countries, from Sweden and England to
Brazil and Costa Rica. Eighty percent of U.S. school districts have
DARE. The largest city program is right here in New York, with DARE
officers teaching in 271 public elementary schools. By the end of the
current school year, the total number of graduates from New York
City's DARE program will climb to 210,000.

As DARE America grows, so does criticism of its effectiveness. More
than a dozen studies have concluded that DARE has no lasting impact.
And one six-year study found increased drug use among suburban kids
who graduated from DARE. Even more damaging than these little-read
reports were a pair of stories penned by Stephen Glass, the prolific
young con man who wove fictitious anecdotes into his articles. Glass
wrote scathing pieces about DARE for The New Republic in 1997 and
Rolling Stone in 1998. Now Glass admits that many of the embarrassing
allegations in his stories were false. In February, DARE slapped
Rolling Stone with a $50 million libel suit.

Glass's deceitful journalism has not, however, dispelled the doubts
that continue to dog DARE. The list of cities that have dropped DARE -
either because they cannot afford it or do not believe it works - has
grown to include Seattle, Oakland, Spokane, Omaha, Austin, Houston,
Milwaukee, Fayetteville, and Boulder. Despite DARE's uneven track
record, New York City adopted the program in 1996. "I really believe
it is effective," says Captain James Serra, who oversees the NYPD's
DARE officers. "Any kind of prevention we can give the kids of New
York City is a great thing."

For the beleaguered DARE - struggling to hold on to its schools and
reputation - winning over New York City was a major coup. To woo the
NYPD, DARE offered an attractive deal. The national organization
provides free workbooks to New York City students - a perk for which
other cities usually pay. When Safir announced that the NYPD would
adopt DARE, he mentioned this freebie as a convincing selling point.
The price tag for the city's DARE program is $10 million a year, most
of which is paid for by the NYPD in the form of salaries for 100
full-time DARE officers.

To further strengthen its relationship with the city, DARE's national
office hired a fundraiser just for New York. (DARE programs in other
parts of the country raise their own funds.) "It is very important to
us to have a successful program in New York City," says Bill Alden,
DARE's deputy director and a former agent with the Drug Enforcement
Administration. "It took us four years to break through and finally
see the impact. Whatever it costs it's worth because we're reaching so
many kids we couldn't reach before."

New York City's DARE did not get off to a smooth start. In early 1998,
DARE's local fundraiser, Ronald J. Brogan, booked the Marriott Marquis
and was about to mail invitations to a $1000-a-plate dinner. That's
when the Rolling Stone story appeared. The dinner's honoree pulled out
and DARE cancelled the caterer. "Stephen Glass cost me $1 million,"
says Brogan, also a former DEA agent. "He cost me a year's worth of
work. If not for that story, there could be a DARE middle-school
program [in New York City] by now."

The 11- and 12-year-old kids in Officer Carla's after-lunch class are
riveted. Today's topic is "role models." So a handful of students have
moved their chairs into a circle around visitor Steven Adorno, a
22-year-old senior at Hunter College. Each child's DARE workbook is
open to a list of 19 suggested questions.

One student pops question number six: Why is it important for you to
be drug-free? "Drugs make you lazy," Adorno explains. "You want to
relax. You don't want to do your homework. You just want to play video
games."

After a few minutes, Adorno admits that he used to smoke weed. The
sixth-graders slide their chairs closer and begin peppering Adorno
with their own questions. "When you used drugs, did people still play
with you?" "Did your parents ever find out?" "Where in your house did
you hide the drugs?" "Did you have a girlfriend?"

Adorno answers every query and then delivers DARE's zero-tolerance
message. "It's fun in the beginning," he says. "But then it catches up
with you. It's hard to get out. You destroy your life by drinking, by
smoking even cigarettes."

In DARE's worldview, Marlboro Light cigarettes, Bacardi rum, and a
drag from a joint are all equally dangerous. For that matter, so is
snorting a few lines of cocaine. DARE's student workbook features an
eighth-grade alcoholic named Robert on page seven, Wendy the
pot-smoking eighth-grader on the next page, and by page 10 a
ninth-grader named Laura is trying to score some cocaine. After
reading these tales, students are supposed to list what they learned
about each drug.

This zero-tolerance, just-say-no approach has attracted plenty of
critics. "It really is irresponsible to place all drugs in the same
category," says Marsha Rosenbaum, who heads the West Coast office of
the Lindesmith Center, a drug policy reform organization. "What I
don't want kids to hear is that all drugs - and any amount you do - will
be the road to devastation. Once kids get to an age where they're
experimenting . . . they know that is not true, so they throw away the
entire prevention message. It isn't really education. It's
indoctrination."

The DARE curriculum condemns not only tobacco and drugs, but also
graffiti and tattoos. One section of the DARE workbook describes
sticky situations kids might confront, and it tells them to choose the
best "way to say no." These scenarios include Pete's friend urging him
to scrawl on the wall of a park bathroom, and Jana wandering into a
party packed with dangerously decorated strangers. "In a corner of the
room they . . . noticed that all of the boys and many of the girls had
tattoos," the workbook states, ominously. "There was even someone
getting a tattoo."

Glenn Levant, DARE's cofounder and president, insists it makes perfect
sense to include graffiti and tattoos in a drug prevention curriculum.
"What we're endeavoring to do is to keep kids from getting involved in
that type of activity because it can lead to a dangerous situation,"
says Levant, a former deputy chief with the Los Angeles Police
Department. "You could be involved in graffiti, and there are cases
reported from time to time when a property owner gets a shotgun and
tries to shoot someone involved in that type of thing. . . . It's a
social peer pressure that really leads to most of the trouble."

Back in the classroom, several students spend more time squeezing
Daren the lion, a foot-high stuffed animal dressed in a DARE T-shirt,
than they do studying their workbooks. The children play tug-of-war
with Daren, poke him with a pencil, and shake him so hard his mane
stands straight up. "I'm almost embarrassed to bring him," Officer
Carla says. "But when I leave him in my office, it's like 'Where's
Daren? Why didn't you bring him?'"

At the end of a recent DARE class, Eleen Ahmed, 12, is particularly
enthusiastic. "It's great," she says. "They teach you not to use
drugs, and not to get into fights, and it's fun to hug that doll Daren."

DARE may be fun, but does it work? Leonard Golubchick, the principal
of P.S. 20, insists the program is a success. "The bottom line is that
it creates relationships between children, students, and parents that
you rarely find anywhere," says Golubchick, whose school hosted the
city's first DARE. "My opinion is that the national data does not tell
the story of the great effects on children."

But a growing pile of evidence suggests that DARE's impact is
short-lived. Dennis P. Rosenbaum, a onetime DARE supporter who heads
the criminal justice department at the University of Illinois in
Chicago, published one of the most recent studies. Funded by the
Illinois State Police, Rosenbaum tracked 1800 kids at 31 schools over
six years. He found that all of DARE's effects - including instilling
negative attitudes toward drugs, positive attitudes about cops - had
worn off after four years.

Such findings anger DARE fans. "If you take German for 17 weeks,
you're not going to speak German," says Brogan, DARE's New York
fundraiser and spokesperson. "The critics say the effect dissipates
over the years. No shit, Sherlock. Is that supposed to be surprising?"
(DARE officials say the solution to this problem is not less DARE but
more of it, and they urge cities to teach DARE in middle and high school.)

Another of Rosenbaum's findings was even more alarming. He discovered
that "suburban students who participated in DARE reported
significantly higher rates of drug use . . . than suburban students
who did not participate in the program." DARE's president Levant
dismisses this explosive finding as "not statistically significant."
Also, Levant points out that DARE has changed its curriculum nine
times since 1983, which he claims raises doubts about the accuracy of
such critical studies.

Part of what makes DARE so popular is that participants get lots of
freebies. There are fluorescent yellow pens with the DARE logo, tiny
Daren dolls, bumper stickers, graduation certificates, DARE banners
for school auditoriums, DARE rulers, pennants, Daren coloring books,
and T-shirts for all DARE graduates.

Marsha Rosenbaum of the Lindesmith Center worries that sophisticated
kids will find these DARE items corny and eventually begin to mock
DARE's no-tolerance teaching. "What happens is that the culture takes
these messages and twists them around," Rosenbaum says, "which is what
happened with the 'This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs'
commercials. And now there's a whole T-shirt line that's a spoof."

DARE's just-say-no mantra and all its logo-bearing toys have also come
under attack from academics. Richard Clayton, director of the Center
for Prevention Research at the University of Kentucky, conducted a
five-year, 31-school study that, once again, found DARE has no lasting
impact. "It is sad to say, but an overwhelming majority of people in
the United States have a rather naive view of . . . how to solve
social problems such as drug use and abuse by adolescents," Clayton
cowrote in a 1996 book on drug prevention. "Drug use is not a simple
phenomenon. It will not be solved by simple slogans and bumper
stickers and T-shirts and a bunch of people believing DARE is 'the'
answer to drug abuse in America."

The NYPD captain who oversees the city's DARE officers shrugs off such
criticisms. "We'll never be able to measure how many kids do and don't
get involved with drugs," says Serra. "But whatever we are teaching
them, it's better than giving them nothing."

This better-than-nothing argument is popular among DARE boosters. But
there are programs that have proven more effective than DARE. The best
known is Life Skills Training, which was created by Gilbert J. Botvin,
a professor of both psychiatry and public health at Cornell University
Medical College. This program targets middle-school students and
stretches its classes over three years- longer than DARE's 17-week
core curriculum. A division of the U.S. Department of Justice recently
pledged $4.9 million to teach Life Skills Training at 70 sites across
the country, while the National Institute of Drug Abuse plans to spend
$5 million over five years to study its impact.

"This has got to be scaring the hell out of [DARE]," says Michael
Roona, an experienced researcher who is now a doctoral candidate at
Syracuse University studying drug prevention programs. "DARE America
is like any other multimillion-dollar corporation- they're very
concerned about competition in the marketplace. They were the IBM of
drug-prevention programs for a long time, and they don't want to go
the same way as IBM, when suddenly PCs transformed computing in
America and they weren't there."

So while DARE's Levant publicly insists that DARE works, behind the
scenes he is scrambling to bolster it. Mounting skepticism - and
prodding from Congress - has led DARE to solicit advice from its
fiercest critics. DARE leaders have met twice in recent months with
Dennis Rosenbaum, Richard Clayton, and other drug-prevention
researchers who have exposed DARE's failings. According to Clayton,
the first meeting was "blunt and bloody."

But by the next meeting, held in New York last October, the
researchers and DARE officials had smoothed out their differences, and
together drafted a plan to conduct a long-term study testing other
drug-prevention curriculums. Herbert D. Kleber, the Columbia
University psychiatry professor who chairs DARE's scientific advisory
board, says, "DARE has agreed to abide by the results of the
research." The project will last at least three years.

"We're very willing to change," says Levant, DARE's president. "If
someone's got a better mousetrap, we'll use it."

DARE supporters boast that their program is cheap. "The program costs
a buck a year per kid," Levant says. But this dollar covers only the
price of supplies, like workbooks and T-shirts. DARE America spends
$1.5 million annually on supplies for New York City, while the NYPD
covers the bulk of the program's costs. The NYPD's payroll includes
$8.5 million a year in salaries and benefits for the city's DARE officers.

DARE proponents insist the program is inexpensive because police
departments often redeploy officers rather than hiring new ones. To
launch its program, the NYPD trained cops in its Youth Division to
become DARE officers. "A critic would say the cops cost $10 million a
year, and that money could be better spent somewhere else," says
Brogan of DARE. "But the officers are already there."

Not every police department accepts this rationale, however. In 1987,
Rochester became the first city in New York State to adopt DARE, and
its DARE budget eventually climbed to almost $1.2 million. But last
year, Rochester dumped DARE. "We, as a police department, could not
justify being able to put in 30 or 40 officers just for this," says
Officer Carlos Garcia, spokesperson for the Rochester police
department. "We chose to move away from DARE because we needed more
officers on the street."

The recent uproar following the fatal police shooting of Amadou
Diallo, an unarmed immigrant from West Africa, raises questions about
what role, if any, cops should have in the city's classrooms. "It's
hard to face kids when a tough situation like that hits the papers,"
says Officer Carla. "Kids will come right out and ask why they shot
this guy 41 times. I tell them, 'Listen, I can't explain why they shot
this man 41 times, but don't pass judgment on all cops.' I told them
it's sad for both sides - it's sad for the man's family and it's sad
for the families of the cops."

During such tension-filled times, DARE can perform a valuable
public-relations service. "DARE officers give a different face of law
enforcement," says Levant, DARE's president. "A child's first
experience with a uniformed police officer is in a friendly, helpful
way. . . . You have to have programs like DARE in place so police
aren't viewed as an occupying army."

From the beginning, improving police-community relations was part of
the impetus for bringing DARE to New York City. "That seemed to me to
be one of the major benefits of the program," says Robert Strang, the
former DEA agent who chaired the mayor's advisory committee on
antidrug initiatives. "Forget about the drug education. . . . We saw a
relationship that could be built between the students and the police
officers. There's no other vehicle for that that we're aware of. . . .
For critics who say it's good PR for the police department, they're
absolutely right and we should do more of it."

This is precisely what DARE plans to do. Hoping to double the
program's size, the NYPD recently applied for a federal grant to add
100 more DARE officers and expand into the city's middle schools. But
DARE doesn't intend to stop there. Sounding like a proud father,
DARE's president reveals that over the next four years DARE will
implement its full curriculum - kindergarten through 12th grade - in all
of New York City's public schools.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

As Inmate Population Grows, So Does A Focus On Children (The New York Times
examines some of the unintended consequences for families of America's
booming prison-industrial complex. There are 7 million children with a parent
in jail or prison or recently released on probation or parole. Experts warn
that the nation's emphasis on imprisonment may be helping to create the next
generation of criminals.)

Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 09:20:34 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US:NY: As Inmate Population Grows, So Does A Focus On Children
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young
Pubdate: Wed, 7 Apr 1999
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/
Author: Fox Butterfield

AS INMATE POPULATION GROWS, SO DOES A FOCUS ON CHILDREN

OSSINING, N.Y. -- Baba Eng had been a prisoner at Sing Sing for 22 years,
serving a life sentence for murder, when a new inmate walked into the shower
room one day and stared at his face.

"Dad," the stranger finally exclaimed.

The man was his son, whom Eng had not seen since his arrest, and who now was
in prison himself for armed robbery. "It was the worst moment of my life,"
Eng recalled. "Here was my son; he had tried to imitate my life."

Eng's experience reflects a side of the nation's prison-building boom that
is only now gaining attention: there are 7 million children with a parent in
jail or prison or recently released on probation or parole. Those numbers
alarm experts who say that having a parent behind bars is the single largest
factor in the making of juvenile delinquents and adult criminals.

Although most jails and prisons do not even ask new inmates if they have
children, a few are taking steps to counter the effect of parental
incarceration, as experts have begun to realize the seriousness of the
problem. Some prisons have created special visiting areas for children; some
offer parenting classes for inmates.

But the experts also warn that the nation's emphasis on imprisonment to
fight crime may be helping to create the next generation of criminals.

"There is no free lunch in this business," said Lawrence Sherman, dean of
the University of Maryland's school of criminology and criminal justice. "If
you increase the number of people arrested and sent to prison, you may
actually be creating another problem. There is a multiplier effect."

Some 1.96 million children have a parent or other close relative in jail or
prison on any given day, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a
branch of the Justice Department, and 5 million more have parents who have
been incarcerated and are on probation or parole.

The link between the generations is so strong that half of all juveniles in
custody have a father, mother or other close relative who has been in jail
or prison, said Allen J. Beck of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. About 40
percent of the 1.8 million adults in jail and prison have a parent, brother
or sister behind bars, he said.

There are several reasons why children with a parent in prison are more
likely to get in trouble, experts say. Most of these children grow up in
families troubled by poverty, abuse, neglect and drug use. And separation
from a parent -- for any reason -- is a well-documented problem for
children.

But incarceration adds a special hazard. Children who see a parent arrested
and handcuffed, and who are frisked by guards during a prison visit, become
contemptuous toward law enforcement. More troublesome, many children with a
father behind bars make a hero of him.

"When children are not in contact with their parents, it is a breeding
ground for idealization, and when the parent is a big-time criminal, they
can turn them into legends," said Jaime Inclan, a clinical psychologist who
is director of the Roberto Clemente Center, a mental health center serving
poor families on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Despite the dimensions of the problem, little attention is paid because the
criminal-justice system is set up to deal with offenders, not their
children.

In most cities, when the police make an arrest, when a judge passes
sentence, or when an inmate enters jail and prison, no one asks if the
offender has children -- or if they happen to ask, does anything with the
information. And inmates are often evasive about their children, out of
shame or fear of losing custody or government benefits.

There is so little research on the subject that there is no agreement even
on the seemingly simple issue of whether it is good for children to visit
their father or mother behind bars.

Juliana Perez, a social worker who directs a parenting program in the county
jail in San Antonio, says contact between incarcerated parents and their
children is essential. In addition to helping the children, she said, "If
the system doesn't allow bonding, we destroy whatever chance we have of
changing the offenders' behavior."

But Judge Kathleen Richie of the Juvenile Court in Baton Rouge, La.,
disagrees. "The more these kids are exposed to prison by visiting, the more
they get used to it, and prison loses its stigma," she said.

Judge Richie recently had a case in which a social worker was taking four
children to prison to visit their mother, who had been convicted of selling
crack cocaine and was awaiting trial on charges of neglecting the children.
The judge ordered that the visits take place in her chambers, with the
mother in civilian clothes, so the children would not become accustomed to
prison.

The mother was puzzled why prison visits were a problem. She had taken her
children to visit her friends and relatives in prison for years before her
own arrest. Three of the four children have since been arrested and sent to
juvenile prisons.

"Sadly, these kids have fond memories, and their only memories, of their mom
behind bars," Judge Richie said. "If you have parents in jail, then it is
part of your life, and there is nothing offensive about it."

THE FATHERS Staying in Touch With Some Help he Children's Center of the
visiting room at Sing Sing is a small glass-enclosed space with shelves of
children's books, boxes of building blocks and toy cars, a crib full of
stuffed animals, and a computer.

It may not look much different than a day care center. But in one of the
nation's oldest and most forbidding prisons, it is a revolution, an attempt
to create a haven where convicts can meet quietly with their children in an
effort to preserve, or rebuild, the family bonds that prison often breaks.

One day Hector Millan, a 38-year-old from Spanish Harlem serving a 20-year
to life sentence for murder, was seated at a low table with his young
grandson, Hector III. His wife, Maritza, stood nearby. Millan has three sons
and two daughters, and is one of the lucky inmates who is still married and
visited by his family.

Nationwide, less than a quarter of male inmates are married, and fewer than
a third are visited by their families. But two-thirds of them have children.

"Prison destroys families," Millan said matter of factly. "I can't tuck my
children in bed at night. I can't be there to comfort them when they scrape
their knees. I can't help them when they have problems at school. The damage
done is irreparable."

Millan is enrolled in an unusual 16-week program at Sing Sing that tries to
teach convicts how to overcome the obstacles to parenting behind bars. The
program is part classroom reading -- with selections from the great child
psychologists Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Bruno Bettelheim -- and part
family therapy with counselors to help bridge the gaps during visits or in
writing letters home.

The program, and the special section of the visiting room, are the
brainchild of Elizabeth Gaynes, executive director of the Osborne
Association, a group based in New York that sponsors programs to aid
prisoners and their families.

"We tell them prison walls certainly make it harder, but you can still be a
parent," Ms. Gaynes said. "We say prison can be an excuse for not taking
your children to the library, but it is not an excuse for not teaching your
children the value of reading."

Among the lessons the program tries to impart, she said, are that prisoners
should stay in touch with their children, that they should not make false
promises about when they will be released, and that they should acknowledge
the pain they have caused their children, who are also victims of their
crimes.

The good news for the inmates, Ms. Gaynes said, is that while society "will
forever remember them for what they did on the worst day of their life,
their children will not judge them for just this."

In the past few years, as the number of inmates has exploded, a handful of
other programs have been started to help incarcerated parents, but most have
been for mothers.

Ms. Gaynes acknowledges that the impact on a child may be greater when the
mother is locked up, because the mother is often a single parent and the
child may be sent to a grandmother or foster home. But in sheer numbers,
fathers pose a more serious problem. Because most inmates are men, in 93
percent of the cases in which a parent is behind bars, that parent is the
father, the Justice Department said.

"People forget most of these men are someday going to be released," said
Creasie Finney Hairston, dean of the Jane Addams College of Social Work at
the University of Illinois in Chicago. "There is a growing body of research
that shows maintaining family ties while in prison leads to lower rates of
re-arrest for the fathers and makes a difference in the lives of their
kids."

Prisons, however, are in the business of punishment, and security is their
primary concern. Helping inmates preserve family ties is at the bottom of
the list.

Visits by wives and children are often viewed as a security threat by prison
officials, or at least a nuisance, because they can be an opportunity to
smuggle drugs or weapons and they consume guards' time.

For the families, visiting prisons, which often are in rural areas, can be
time-consuming and costly, and when they finally arrive, they can be kept
outside in the cold or rain for hours and then subjected to humiliating
searches.

"A visit to a prison is a very emotionally difficult experience," Dean
Hairston said. "There isn't time or space for normal family arguments, and
the kids tend to act out afterward and the wives or girlfriends can be
resentful."

Juan Hernandez, an inmate at Sing Sing, said his 14-year-old son is angry at
him for abandoning him, and his 16-year-old daughter is embarrassed and lies
to her friends about where he is. Neither will write or visit.

"I don't know how to deal with it," said Hernandez, who had just begun the
parenting class. "It's impossible to be a good father from prison."

One of the inmates' greatest fears, which they realize too late, is that
their children may consciously or unconsciously imitate them.

Gregory Frederick, a 52-year-old from Harlem who has been at Sing Sing for
10 years for murder, finds that his grandson "thinks I'm some sort of
countercultural hero."

"When he comes to visit," Frederick said, "he sees these guys walking around
with big muscles, and then when he goes back home, he tells his friends, 'My
grandfather is in prison,' and he's proud of it. In some communities, prison
just has no stigma any more. It's a very distorted rite of passage."

Children often imitate the behavior of those they are close to, said Angela
Browne, a psychologist who is an expert on prisoners and their children.
"Unfortunately," she said, "children imitate strong behavior, like anger and
drug abuse, more than subtle behavior."

THE CHILDREN Following Father, Right Into Prison he impact on children can
fall most heavily on blacks in poor city neighborhoods, where a
disproportionate number of people go to prison, contributing to a
concentration of fatherless families. But research has found the dynamic of
children being influenced by parents in prison in all populations.

In the 1940s, two pioneering researchers at Harvard Law School, Sheldon and
Eleanor Glueck, found that among boys sent to a reformatory from the Boston
area, two-thirds had a father who had been incarcerated, and half had a
grandfather who had been locked up.

Race was not an issue. All these boys were white.

Similar findings, that about half of incarcerated juveniles have a parent
who has been locked up, have been reported wherever the issue has been
studied: in London, Minneapolis, or Sacramento, Calif.

The most recent research, conducted last year in California among 1,000
girls in detention in Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, and Marin counties,
revealed that 54 percent of their mothers and 46 percent of their fathers
had been locked up. Leslie Accoca, a senior researcher with the National
Council on Crime and Delinquency, who directed the study, said that the real
number of fathers who had served time was undoubtedly higher, but the girls
knew less about them.

"Incarceration today is a family matter," Ms. Accoca said. "There is an
entire kinship system that is now moving through jail, prison, probation and
parole."

Corrections officials are sometimes stunned to find whole families locked
up. At the Laurel Highlands state prison in Pennsylvania, a father and son,
convicted of separate arsons, share the same cell. At the Allegheny County
Jail in Pittsburgh, a father, mother, and their four sons and two daughters
were all incarcerated for different bank robberies. In California, a
daughter, her mother, and her grandmother were in one women's prison for
separate crimes.

THE VISIT A Child's Treat, a Parent's Reward Sareena Bain, all of 4 years
old and dressed in a turquoise jumper, was waiting by the slam gate entrance
to the Bexar County Detention Center, the San Antonio jail, for a new treat,
a Saturday contact visit with her father, Bobby Bain, a convicted burgler.

A guard gently ordered Sareena to take off her shoes so they could be
searched for drugs, then passed her through a metal detector. Nearby,
civilian volunteers took off the diapers of a group of babies to check for
contraband, replacing them with fresh, jail-issued diapers.

Inspection finished, the children were ushered into a special visitors room,
the walls painted jungle green and emblazoned with a mural from the "Lion
King." Sarena scanned the large, unfamiliar men in orange jump suits in the
room and then let out a whoop. "Daddy," she said, and jumped into Bain's
arms.

Bain and the other men had earned the right to a one-hour visit with their
children by volunteering for an innovative program, Papas and their
Children, in which 70 of the 3,200 inmates in the San Antonio jail live in
the same pod and attend an hour of parenting classes five days a week.

Other inmates can talk to their visitors only by telephone through a glass
wall.

The San Antonio program, and an equivalent one for mothers in the jail, are
the best of their kind in the country, said Anna Laszlo, a criminologist in
Washington, D.C., who conducted a nationwide survey of programs for children
of incarcerated parents for the Department of Health and Human Services.

In the visitors room, Derrick Hunt, a bear of a man convicted of drug
possession, was bottle-feeding his month-old son, DiAnthony, in his arms.
Unfortunately, the baby had picked this moment to take a nap. But Hunt was
able to quiz his 5-year-old son, Derrick Jr., on his ABCs.

"I never really had a relationship with my children until I came to jail and
took the classes," Hunt said. "But I've learned how to control my anger and
how to put my kids in timeout rather than shout at them."

In the visitors room of the women's section of the jail, Mary Anne Garza was
lying on the gray carpet with her three children tight around her: Edward,
7, Anna, 4, and Briana, 9 months. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Ms. Garza's
brother is in prison for murder, her husband is in jail, and she had now
been convicted of auto theft.

Anna could not stop hugging her mother. "She wants to come to jail with me,"
Ms. Garza said. "She is so worried about what is happening to me, and she is
scared of the police and the guards."

Not long before, there was an automobile accident near her mother's house,
where the children are staying. When the police came, Anna said, "Don't go
outside. The police will take you away and there won't be any more moms."

Ms. Perez, the social worker who created the San Antonio, program for the
sheriff's department said, "From a management point of view, it has been a
success because it has been so popular it has changed jail culture."

The inmates who take part in it have never tried to smuggle in drugs, they
openly express their emotions and there are no racial cliques or fights in
the pods where they live.

"They are just parents, not brown, black or white," Ms. Perez said.

The inmates may actually be better parents in jail than before they were
locked up, Ms. Perez said. "Most of them are addicted, and when they are out
there, the drug is the number one thing to them. But once in here, they have
to be clean, they are able to think clearly and they learn now important
parents are to their children."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Farmers Show Interest In Hemp (The Intelligencer Journal, in Pennsylvania,
says Lancaster County Farm Bureau president Jane Balmer believes that falling
prices for corn, soybeans and tobacco mean the time is ripe for local farmers
to consider planting alternative crops, including hemp. The farm bureau board
voted Tuesday night to investigate the matter, so an organizational meeting
to explore the viability of forming the Pennsylvania Hemp Growers and
Processors Co-op will be held April 16 in New Holland. According to Shawn
Patrick House, owner of Lancaster Hemp Co., a wholesale distribution
business, Lancaster County in 1850 was growing 540 tons of hemp, the same
amount that was imported to the United States in 1996.)

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 17:49:17 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US PA: Farmers Show Interest In Hemp
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: agfuture@kih.net
Pubdate: Wed, 07 Apr 1999
Source: Intelligencer Journal (PA)
Copyright: 1999 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
Contact: intellletters@lnpnews.com
Website: http://www.lancnews.com/intell/index.html
Author: Daina Savage Intelligencer Journal Staff

FARMERS SHOW INTEREST IN HEMP

County Official wants Government to Lift Ban on Growing Crop

With sinking prices for corn, soybeans and tobacco, the time is ripe for
farmers to consider planting alternative crops, according to county Farm
Bureau president Jane Balmer.

One of her suggestions is a crop that was grown abundantly here for more
than 200 years, providing textiles, food, oil and paper.

Trouble is, it's presently illegal to cultivate industrial hemp in the
United States and has been since a 1937 ban was imposed to eliminate
harvests of marijuana, industrial hemp's intoxicating cousin.

Balmer's hope is that state legislators and the federal government will see
fit to lift that ban and reintroduce industrial hemp as a cash crop for
farmers.

But first she wants to find out if the state's farmers are interested in
growing a crop that hasn't been cultivated here for generations, but could
be an answer to plummeting tobacco prices.

An organizational meeting to explore the viability of forming the
Pennsylvania Hemp Growers and Processors Co-op will be held April 16 from 1
to 4 p.m. at Yoders Restaurant in New Holland. The meeting is open to the
public, but seating is limited. Call 399-8369 for reservations.

The county's farm bureau board voted Tuesday night to investigate the matter
and decide if it should be grown again here.

And a number of states, including Hawaii, Minnesota and Virginia, have
introduced legislation to make the crop legal.

"There are a lot of states getting into this. I guess we're going to try to
be one of them," Balmer said.

At an estimated return of $700 an acre, hemp doesn't seem as lucrative a
crop as tobacco, which was earning more than $3,000 an acre several years
ago. But declining tobacco prices in the past two years have brought that
yield down to $1,000 an acre, with an increasingly uncertain future.

"It's a 90 to 100 day crop," Balmer said of hemp. "It needs to be planted
the same time as we plant tobacco. It's harvested at the same time. So it
would work in with same schedule as tobacco."

"We've got to do something to help these farmers," she said. "This may be a
way to help save farms the right way by helping farmers make a profit."

According to Shawn Patrick House, owner of Lancaster Hemp Co., a wholesale
distribution business, reintroducing hemp here is a natural step to
diversifying farms.

"We want to prepare farmers for the inevitable," House said. "We want to be
growing hemp here by the year 2000."

House's ambitious plans include first teaching farmers how to grow the crop
by visiting Canadian farmers that grow hemp and then how to sell it to a
burgeoning American market.

"We want to see what Canada's doing, but do it better," he said. "We're
behind now but will swiftly catch up."

According to House, in it's heyday in 1850, Lancaster County was growing 540
tons of hemp, the same amount that was imported into the United States in
1996 to meet the growing demand.

"I personally want to see Lancaster County be the first county in the nation
to grow hemp," House said. "If farmers desire to grow industrial hemp they
should be able to. We need to find out what laws need to be repealed to make
it possible."

He said there are 50,000 products that can be made from hemp, from the
heavy-duty roping made from hemp fibers, to the oil, food and cosmetics made
from its seeds.

"When you read about all of the uses, my mind wonders: Why did we ever give
this up?" Balmer said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Number Of Drug Deaths In Florida Rises (The Tampa Tribune says deaths in
Florida last year attributable to illegal drugs increased dramatically. There
were 206 deaths caused by contaminated street heroin and the ignorance of
users, up 51 percent from 1997. More than five times as many people - 1,128 -
died from cocaine-related causes, up 65 percent since 1992, including last
year's 8.6 percent jump. The state's new drug czar, James McDonough, formerly
of the White House drug czar's office, said many of the victims were
long-term addicts in their 30s and 40s who finally succumbed to years of drug
abuse.)

Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 16:17:34 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US FL: Number Of Drug Deaths In Florida Rises
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Chase
Pubdate: Wed, 07 Apr 1999
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 1999, The Tribune Co.
Contact: tribletters@tampatrib.com
Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/
Forum: http://tampabayonline.net/interact/welcome.htm
Author: A Tampa Tribune staff, wire report. Staff writers Ace Atkins and
Vickie Chachere contributed to this report.

NUMBER OF DRUG DEATHS IN FLORIDA RISES

When Tampa General Hospital emergency doctor Cathy Carrubba trained in
Philadelphia 15 years ago, heroin overdoses were all too common.

These days she's noticed the return of her old enemy.

"It's kind of deja vu for me," she said. "It [the emergency room
visits] runs in batches depending on what's on the street. It's been
pretty outrageous."

Tampa isn't alone.

Drug deaths in Florida last year increased at such a dramatic rate
that the state's new drug czar described the crisis Tuesday as
"totally out of control."

Heroin deaths were up 51 percent from 1997 and cocaine-related deaths
have climbed 65 percent since 1992, including last year's 8.6 percent
jump.

Most of the 1,128 cocaine-related fatalities and 206 deaths from
heroin use were in the state's most populated areas. More than 400 of
the cocaine-related deaths were recorded in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Tampa reported 13 heroin-related deaths in 1998 and three in 1996.
There were 72 cocaine-related deaths last year and 58 in 1996.

St. Petersburg had 10 heroin-related deaths last year and seven in
1996. There were 52 attributed to cocaine last year and 32 in 1996.

"Heroin has been on the rise for over a year now," said Lt. Louis
Potenziano, head of the Tampa Police Department's Quad Squad.

He said new methods of taking the drug, such as smoking and snorting,
and falling prices have made the drug attractive to new users.

A gram cost about $300 last year but is now going for $180, Potenziano
said.

"We're also seeing a different clientele using heroin," he said. "It
used to be inner city. Now, we see it on the north side of Tampa."

James McDonough, director of the Office of Drug Control Policy in the
governor's office said many of the victims in the state were long-term
addicts in their 30s and 40s who finally succumbed to years of drug
abuse.

He also warned that a purer drug is killing many - including
first-time users.

The number of young people and suburbanites taking up new forms of
smokable and snortable heroin is worrying national drug policy experts
as well.

"The new users are thinking it is safer when in fact they are just as
dead after they use it," said Bob Weiner, spokesman for Barry
McCaffrey, director of the national drug policy office in Washington.
"Some of our new national media ads are targeted at kids using heroin
to show the deadly impact."

Eight of the 1998 heroin victims in Florida were younger than 20 years
old while 187 were between 20 and 50. Most of the victims, 83 percent,
were men. By race, 150 were white, 38 Hispanic, 17 black and one
listed as "other."

Heroin deaths in Florida have virtually doubled over the past two
years in a state where more than 1 million people are being treated
for some form of drug dependency. There are an estimated 12.8 million
drugs users in the nation, McDonough said.

McDonough, who was named to head up the state's drug program in
February, plans to unveil a strategy this summer with the state's law
enforcement and social services agencies to try to reverse the trend.

Also playing a part in the equation is the scarcity of drug treatment
programs. Typically, people don't seek drug treatment until their drug
use is spiraling out of control.

In Hillsborough County, there is at least a two-month wait for
treatment in an in-patient treatment center and often the wait can be
as long as six months, said Pat Marsicano, general manager of the
Hillsborough County Drug Alliance, which helps fund treatment centers.

There is at least a two-week wait for out-patient treatment. The
county program provides about $1.8 million to help five local
treatment agencies.

"It's critical because you have them at a point when they have a
motivation to help themselves, and they're told to wait," she said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI investigating death of DEA agent (The Associated Press says George
Gehring, 34, whwo had been assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration
office in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, was found Wednesday morning with a bullet wound
to the temple. Police recovered a pistol at the scene. The wire service
doesn't say whether a copy of the March 17 Institute of Medicine report on
medical marijuana was also found nearby.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: FBI investigating death of DEA agent
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 09:00:38 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

FBI investigating death of DEA agent
By Associated Press, 04/07/99 20:05

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - FBI agents Wednesday investigated the shooting
death of a U.S. drug agent, whose body was found at his home in eastern
Puerto Rico.

George Gehring, 34, was assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration
office at the Roosevelt Roads naval base in Ceiba. His body was found
Wednesday morning with a bullet wound to the temple in nearby Luquillo, said
Puerto Rico police Capt. Victor Rivera. Police recovered a pistol at the
scene.

FBI and DEA agents said they hadn't determined whether Gehring's death was a
homicide or a suicide.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Smoke eater fined $2,500 for pot (The Edmonton Sun says Dean Troyer, a city
firefighter, was sentenced yesterday in an Alberta court for growing 15
cannabis plants to combat depression and physical pain.)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Smoke eater fined $2,500 for pot
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 08:26:55 -0700
Lines: 64
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Edmonton Sun (Canada)
Contact: sun.letters@ccinet.ab.ca
Pubdate: Wednesday, April 7, 1999
Author: Tony Blais

Smoke eater fined $2,500 for pot

A city firefighter who was growing potent pot in his basement to combat
depression and physical pain was fined $2,500 yesterday in provincial court.

Dean Troyer, 41, was also put on probation for six months after pleading
guilty to simple marijuana possession and cultivating marijuana.

His wife Marie had similar charges dropped yesterday.

The 17-year veteran smoke eater had been very vocal about his marijuana use
for medicinal purposes at an earlier court appearance and had compared his
hydroponic operation to his home wine-brewing.

However, neither Troyer nor lawyer Alex Pringle had any comment after
yesterday's sentencing.

Inside court, Troyer apologized for his actions and said they have led to
some hard times for his family.

"I've certainly learned a lesson through all of this," said Troyer, who has
been on stress leave from his position as a senior firefighter for two
years.

Edmonton fire Chief Jim Sales is looking into the case and will decide
whether the sentence will affect Troyer's ability to do his job, said a
spokesman with the emergency response department yesterday.

"The severity of the offences will be a factor," said Jean Kirkman, adding
the city does not have a blanket policy on employees who are convicted of
criminal offences.

Federal prosecutor Carrie Sharpe told court that Troyer was busted by RCMP
drug investigators after they raided his west-end home on Sept. 17, 1997.

Cops discovered a sophisticated hydroponic grow-operation in his basement
with 15 plants, eight of which were up to one metre tall. About four
ounces of drying marijuana buds were hanging from the floor joists, said
Sharpe.

Another three ounces of dried marijuana buds and more than six ounces of
marijuana leaves were also found, evidence that it wasn't the first crop
grown there, said Sharpe.

Sharpe, who was seeking an intermittent jail term, said police tested the
marijuana and discovered it had a high potency.

"This isn't someone who is just growing marijuana in their closet," said
Sharpe. "There is definitely some level of sophistication here."

Pringle told the court that Troyer is seeing a psychologist for depression,
which has kept him on medical leave since 1997.

He added the firefighter also has bouts of excruciating pain due to a tear
in his anus that leaves a bundle of nerves exposed.

"The marijuana helped in both of these conditions and was the primary
factor behind the growing operation," said Pringle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Canadians high on medicinal pot: poll (According to the Edmonton Sun, a
recent Decima poll showed 78 percent of Canadians support the use of
marijuana as medicine. Only 18 percent of respondents opposed it. The
strongest support, 83 percent, came from households with at least $60,000
annual incomes and individuals with a university education. The poll shows
medical marijuana "is more popular than any of the political parties.
They're lucky to get 40 percent support," said Amanda Stewart, director of
the Cannabis Re-legalization Society of Alberta. Stewart estimated about 10
percent of the population in Edmonton already uses the herb to ease physical
pain and-or mental anguish.)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Canadians high on medicinal pot: poll
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 08:28:38 -0700
Lines: 51
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Edmonton Sun (Canada)
Contact: sun.letters@ccinet.ab.ca
Pubdate: Wednesday, April 7, 1999
Author: Marty Yaskowich

Canadians high on medicinal pot: poll

Medicinal pot users say they weren't blowing smoke when they claimed most
Canadians support their cause - now they have the numbers to prove it.

A recent Decima poll showed 78% of Canadians support the use of marijuana
for medical treatment. Just 18% of respondents opposed it. The study is
considered accurate within plus or minus 2.1%, 19 times out of 20.

"More than anything it says (the idea) is more popular than any of the
political parties. They're lucky to get 40% support," said Amanda Stewart,
director of the Cannabis Re-legalization Society of Alberta.

"I think that with everyone pushing for it, it's inevitable."

Decima Research Inc. asked 2,026 adults whether they strongly agree, agree,
oppose or strongly oppose the federal government's consideration of
legalizing pot as a medical treatment.

The strongest support, 83%, came from households with at least $60,000
annual incomes and individuals with a university education. Fewer older
people were enthusiastic about the plan, which is being studied by Health
Minister Allan Rock, but a vast majority - 72% - of those over 50 did
support it.

Twenty years ago, a Decima poll showed 55% of Canadians opposed and 39%
favoured a federal initiative to reduce criminal implications associated
with marijuana.

"I'm not surprised by the numbers," said Harland Calliou, who admits he
uses the drug as an appetite stimulant. "I guess people have stopped
listening to the devil-weed stories and are realizing it's good for
everything and bad for nothing."

Stewart estimated about 10% of the population in Edmonton already uses the
drug to ease physical pain and-or mental anguish.

She says pot helped her through serious bouts of depression when she was in
her early 20s and said the government could capitalize on it.

"Right now people are making huge amounts of money on the black market,"
she said. "It's not under control at all."

A march is planned for April 20 beginning at Emily Murphy Park, and 5,000
pro-pot postcards are being mailed to Rock, Stewart said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Canadians Favour The Use Of Medical Marijuana (The National Post version)

Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1999 18:39:42 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Canadians Favour The Use Of Medical Marijuana
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Dr. Kate
Pubdate: Wed, 7 Apr 1999
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 1999 Southam Inc.
Contact: letters@nationalpost.com
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~canada
Author: Tom Arnold 	

CANADIANS FAVOUR THE USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Canadians overwhelmingly support the medicinal use of marijuana, 	according
to a new national survey.

In a survey of 2,026 people, conducted last month by Decima Research Inc.,
78% of those polled said they support the federal government's plan to
consider the use of marijuana as a possible treatment for various medicinal
conditions. The survey is considered accurate within 2.1 percentage
points, 19 times out of 20.

"That's a very very strong consensus," said Dave Crapper, seniour
vice-president of Decima. "In public opinion terms, that's a reallly big
number. And for a third of the population to strongly support anything is
very impressive."

About 33% of those polled strongly support the medicinal use of marijuana
while, 45% said they support its use. Just 10% are opposed, while 8% are
strongly opposed; 4% had no point of view.

Support for marijuana's medicinal use was strongest among those who are
university educated and with household incomes of more than $60,000 annually.

Older people were less than enthusiastic, but still 72% of those over 50
supported the idea.

It's been 18 years since Decima asked Canadians about marijuana.

In 1981, the company asked more than 1,500 people if they were in favour
of possible government initiatives and 39% of them favoured them.

Alan Rock, the federal Health Minister, announced last month that health
officials would conduct clinical trials on the medicinal use of marijuana
to determine whether the drug can help relieve side-effects for patients
being treated for illnesses such as AIDS and cancer. 	

No timetable has been set, but Mr. Rock said scientists will gather
evidence "as soon as possible" and develop appropriate guidelines for the
medical use of the drug and to provide access to a safe supply.

Mr. Rock's announcement came more than a year after an Ontario judge ruled
it is legal to grow and use marijuana for medicinal use.

In December, 1997, Mr.Justice Patrick Sheppard said Terry Parker, a Toronto
resident, was deprived of his "right to life, liberty and security" by
being charged with possession of marijuana.

Mr. Parker had been smoking marijuana for more than 20 years to ease the
severity of epileptic seizures. An appeal of the judge's ruling has yet to
be heard.
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Fugitive Former Governor Of Mexican State Charged With Drug Trafficking (An
Associated Press article in the Seattle Times says the indictment of Mario
Villanueva yesterday, the day after the expiration of his term as governor of
the state of Quintana Roo, came nine days after he dropped out of sight.
Prosecutors denied they delayed the criminal case to avoid charging and
impeaching a sitting governor, something that has never been done in Mexico.
Villanueva said in a letter published yesterday by Mexican newspapers that
the case was politically motivated.)

Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 18:07:20 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: Fugitive Former Governor Of Mexican State Charged With
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Wed, 7 Apr 1999
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 1999 The Seattle Times Company
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Author: The Associated Press

FUGITIVE FORMER GOVERNOR OF MEXICAN STATE CHARGED WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING

MEXICO CITY - A fugitive former state governor in Mexico has been
charged with drug trafficking and organized crime, prosecutors said.

Yesterday's announcement came a day after Mario Villanueva left office
and nine days after he dropped out of sight. Prosecutors denied they
delayed the criminal case to avoid charging and impeaching a sitting
governor, something that has never been done in Mexico.

But Villanueva said in a letter published yesterday by Mexican
newspapers that the case was politically motivated.

"Harassed by an investigation aimed at incriminating me at any cost
with the trafficking and use of drugs . . . I have abandoned my turf
to avoid being jailed," Villanueva wrote.

His lawyer, Juan Collado, confirmed Villanueva had written the letter,
the daily Reforma newspaper said. The former governor did not reveal
his whereabouts.

The warrant and charges against Villanueva and five alleged
accomplices cap a long-running scandal in the Caribbean coast state of
Quintana Roo, which U.S. and Mexican officials say has become a relay
point for Colombian cocaine entering the United States.

Villanueva claimed the accusations he worked with drug traffickers
were "absurd and ridiculous," saying that as governor he had no
opportunity to protect drug traffickers from federal authorities. He
said the charges were politically motivated because he opposed efforts
by national leaders of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party to
control Quintana Roo's state government.

The attorney general's office had no comment yesterday.

Prosecutors have asked Interpol and "other police agencies" to help in
the search for Villanueva, indicating they believe he may have fled
the country. U.S. authorities, including the Drug Enforcement
Administration, have joined Mexican police in the search.

Media reports have suggested Villanueva may have fled to Panama, where
he has business contacts.

Villanueva's successor, Joaquin Hendricks Diaz, said yesterday that
the attorney general's office had every right to investigate the
former governor and that the new state administration would cooperate
by providing information about the case, the government news agency
Notimex reported.

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[End]

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