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

Ready For Medical Marijuana Research (A staff editorial in the Oakland
Tribune says the "unruly debate" over medical marijuana persists because the
federal government is stubbornly obstructing the will of the people. Science
is ready and the people have spoken, but are the bureaucrats ready?)

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 18:14:28 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Editorial: Ready For Medical Marijuana Research
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jerry Sutliff
Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 1999
Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 1999 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact: eangtrib@newschoice.com
Address: 66 Jack London Sq., Oakland, CA 94607
Website: http://www.newschoice.com/newspapers/alameda/tribune/
Note: Our newshawk writes: The Oakland Tribune several years ago advocated
decriminalization of marijuana for adults.

Our Opinion

READY FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH

Seven states have approved the medical use of marijuana since 1996,
including California, yet an unruly debate persists thanks to the
federal government's stubborn obstruction of the will of the people.

Attorney General Janet Reno has already "reminded" state Attorney
General Bill Lockyer that California's Proposition 215 is illegal
under federal law, Barry McCaffrey, the so-called federal drug czar,
agrees.

We remain strong advocates of medical marijuana and accept the
conclusion reached by a major study released last month that certain
compounds in marijuana do have some potential as medicine.

Opponents, on the other hand, contend that the harmful effects of
smoking far outweigh benefits for most patients.

Federal policy makes should separate the evidence of marijuana's
potential from society's larger concerns about its use, according to
investigators who produced the Institute of Medicine's study on the
medical use of marijuana.

In a paper titled "Separating Smoke from Science," two physicians
believe such a separation may be the key to a reasoned debate founded
in science.

The scientific realm has found a consensus that marijuana's components
have potential to relieve pain, nausea and vomiting, and the poor
appetite associated with AIDS or cancer.

There are other effective drugs for the sick and dying, but physicians
encounter patients who don't respond well to standard medications.
These patients could benefit from smoking marijuana or by taking new
drugs based on "cannabinoids," the active components in marijuana.

The drug Marinol, a THC capsule, is approved by the FDA, but patients
complain of its slow and variable effect. These patients deserve a
fast-acting medication that may arrive if clinical trails move forward
to develop a rapid-onset, nonsmoked system such as an inhaler.

It is understood that longterm, chronic marijuana smoking is itself a
health hazard, but we believe it should be available as a short-term
option, or for the terminally ill.

We urge Washington to support the concept of medical marijuana
research, especially the development of new drugs from cannabinoids.

Science is ready and the people have spoken, but are the bureaucrats ready?

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

These are your kids on drugs (An op-ed in the San Francisco Examiner by
Steven Okazaki, an Academy Award-winning film maker who produced "Black Tar
Heroin: The Dark End of the Street" for HBO, criticizes the White House drug
czar's $1 billion anti-drug advertising campaign. "Not one of the kids I
talked to was ignorant of the dangers of drug use when he or she began."
Certainly, prevention is important. But it's not prevention to tell kids to
stay away from drugs while we ignore the circumstances of their lives. Don't
expect things to get better as long as policy makers refuse to back off the
tough-on-crime bluster and address the frayed social services net and lack of
treatment options for addicts.)

Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 15:40:14 -0500
From: "Frank S. World" (compassion23@geocities.com)
Organization: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7417/
To: DPFCA (dpfca@drugsense.org), editor (editor@mapinc.org)
Subject: DPFCA: US CA SFX OPED: These are your kids on drugs
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Reply-To: "Frank S. World" (compassion23@geocities.com)
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/
Source: San Francisco Examiner
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com
April 18, 1999
(c)1999 San Francisco Examiner

THESE ARE YOUR KIDS ON DRUGS

STEVEN OKAZAKI

LAST NIGHT I saw the ad again - part of the clever, $1 billion anti-drug
campaign aimed at young people that President Clinton announced last year.

A riff on the old "This is your brain on drugs" spot, it shows a teenage
girl smashing an egg with a frying pan, then demolishing her kitchen to
illustrate the horrors of heroin.

This renewed concern over hard drug use among the young seems encouraging,
but if the message is simply "drugs are bad," it's hard to feel hopeful.

For the past three years, I have filmed young heroin addicts on the streets
of San Francisco, where black tar heroin is cheap, abundant and more potent
than ever. They come from all over the country to take refuge in The City's
drug underworld. They are mostly white, the children of the affluent as well
as the poor.

The average heroin user is about 20, but I've met addicts as young as 14,
boys and girls who've turned to crime and prostitution to support their
habits.

At times, the misery and desperation seem unfathomable. I'll never shake the
memory of sitting on the floor of a seedy hotel room with Jessica, an
18-year-old, HIV-positive prostitute, as she shot up a gram of heroin,
followed by a hit of crack, followed by a shot of whiskey, followed by
another hit of crack. Then she told me how much she missed her mother.

Or the time Jake, 20, also HIV-positive, hospitalized with a
life-threatening blood infection, sneaked out of the hospital and used his
I.V. shunt to inject his drugs.

They know drugs are bad. Not one of the kids I talked to was ignorant of the
dangers of drug use when he or she began. Heroin simply blotted out a pain
that couldn't be dulled or silenced any other way - a despair that, for the
most part, started with parental neglect, alcohol- or drug-abusing parents
and, often, extreme child abuse.

Periodically, a celebrity or the child of a celebrity dies of an overdose
and, briefly, addicts are given a face. Most recently, the death of musician
Boz Scaggs' son, Oscar, age 21, did that in San Francisco. But to deal
effectively with the falling age of addiction, we need to be willing to put
faces on all the other addicts: on Jake and Jessica, on the neighbors' kids,
on our own children.

In addition to the catchy ads, the Clinton administration recently committed
another $18 billion to the war on drugs, the bulk of which will go towards
law enforcement. This, despite the fact that a 1994 Rand Corporation study
found that was the most expensive, least effective strategy.

Will increased border patrols help Jake and Jessica? Will a higher arrest
rate?

Certainly, prevention is important. But it's not prevention to tell kids to
stay away from drugs while we ignore the circumstances of their lives.

As long as policy makers refuse to back off the tough-on-crime bluster and
address the frayed social services net and lack of treatment options for
addicts, as long as communities resist looking at what drives so many young
people to such desperation, until we look at ourselves as parents - and come
to terms with the times we look away from our kids - there are going to be a
lot more broken eggs.

Get the picture?

Examiner contributor Steven Okazaki is an Academy Award-winning film maker.
His documentary, "Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street, was shown
Wednesday on HBO and will be repeated at 10 p.m. Monday.

(c) 1999 San Francisco Examiner Page D 7

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

Bad Marijuana Bill (A letter to the editor of the Daily Herald, in Arlington
Heights, Illinois, from the director of the Illinois State Crime Commission,
pans HB 792, which would make it illegal for anyone to transmit "cannabis
information" through the Internet. The crime commission oftentimes finds
itself delivering new, sometimes groundbreaking information about illegal
drugs. Supporters of the measure admit that HB 792 contains a number of "gray
areas" that would have to be addressed by the courts.)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 21:03:22 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US IL: PUB LTE: Bad Marijuana Bill
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 1999
Source: Daily Herald (IL)
Copyright: 1999 The Daily Herald Company
Contact: fencepost@dailyherald.com
Website: http://www.dailyherald.com/
Author: Jerry Elsner

BAD MARIJUANA BILL

A legislative proposal that aims to ban the distribution of marijuana-
related information from the Internet could affect the Illinois State
Crime Commission's efforts to educate parents about illegal drugs, if
it is approved by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Ryan. The
measure, HB 792, would make it illegal for anyone to transmit
"cannabis information" through the Internet. If the measure is
approved, offenders could face up to a year in jail.

A recent article on the measure reported that HB 792 has raised
concerns about free speech and the practicality of enforcing the
poorly worded proposal. In fact, supporters of the measure admit that
HB 792 contains a number of "gray areas" that will have to be
addressed by the courts. The bill's supporters also acknowledge that,
if approved, the law might be misinterpreted and misapplied.

I am very concerned about the "gray areas" in HB 792. I believe that
HB 792 will have a "chilling" effect on those who collect and share
information about illegal drugs. As you well know, the crime
commission oftentimes finds itself delivering new, sometimes
groundbreaking information about illegal drugs. The commission broke
the story on a new wave of heroin dealers in Chicago. We sounded an
early warning about crystal meth, a cheap but deadly new drug. We
described how marijuana is often used as a delivery agent for heroin
and D-methamphetamine.

The commission now has a solid record of collecting strong "street"
intelligence. Police officers, parents, educators and the media look
to the commission for reliable information about illegal drugs. Such
information is often ugly, but banning it from public discourse will
not eliminate illegal drugs and the damage they do to our society.

Let us not attack a bad situation with a bad law that is ripe for
abuse. I believe we should stand by the First Amendment and urge the
state Senate to reject HB 792.

Jerry Elsner

Executive Director
Illinois State Crime Commission
Lisle

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

El-Amin Gets Warm Reception (The Charlotte Observer, in North Carolina, says
Khalid El-Amin, arrested for marijuana on Tuesday, was clearly the fan
favorite Saturday during a parade in Hartford honoring the University of
Connecticut's NCAA championship basketball team.)

Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 22:56:43 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CT: El-Amin Gets Warm Reception
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 1999
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 1999 The Charlotte Observer
Contact: opinion@charlotte.com
Website: http://www.charlotte.com/observer/

EL-AMIN GETS WARM RECEPTION

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A parade honoring NCAA champion Connecticut's basketball
team provided a smooth ending Saturday to what had been a very rough week
for popular point guard Khalid El-Amin.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore was arrested on marijuana charges Tuesday, 15 days
after leading his team to the national title over Duke. By Thursday, he had
delivered a public apology to his team and fans. Friday, he helped pick up
trash as part of his community service that will wipe his record clean in 30
days.

And Saturday, as he rode atop a flatbed on the 1 1/2-mile route, he was
clearly the fan favorite.

Capitol police said more than 250,000 people turned out for the parade.
There were some scary moments. A young girl was injured when she darted into
the street and was hit by a police motorcycle.

She was listed in fair condition at Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
Her name was not released.

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

Billboards Come Down In 45 States (The News-Times, in Connecticut, says a
settlement with that takes effect Friday will remove all billboard and
transit advertisements for four tobacco companies' cigarettes. The settlement
also obliges tobacco companies to turn over the remaining time on their
advertising leases to the states' attorneys general so the states can run
anti-amoker propaganda. Until now, the tobacco companies spent $300 million a
year in outdoor advertising.)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 03:47:35 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US RI: Billboards Come Down In 45 States
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Dave Bonan
Pubdate: Sun,, 18 Apr 1999
Source: News-Times (CT)
Copyright: 1999 The News-Times
Contact: mconnolly@newstimes.com
Website: http://www.newstimes.com/

BILLBOARDS COME DOWN IN 45 STATES

Providence, R.I. - Something will be missing on Valley Street
in Providence next week.

The Newport cigarette billboard will be taken down Friday in
accordance with a tobacco settlement signed in Rhode Island and 45
other states with four tobacco companies.

The companies agreed to remove all billboard and transit advertisement
and to turn over the remaining time on the lease of the space to the
state attorneys general.

The billboards that depict healthy-looking people smoking cigarettes
will now be replaced by tobacco-prevention messages. The Rhode Island
Department of Health Director Patricia Nolan said the affect will be
dramatic.

"Where the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel have preyed on our community for
decades, we now have an opportunity to give people some truthful
information they can use to increase the quality of their lives," she
said. Until now, the tobacco industry spent about $300 million a year
on outdoor advertising, Nolan said.

As of next week, nine billboards in the state will be showing off
anti-tobacco ads until December 1999.

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

D.C. Medical Marijuana Referendum Is In Limbo (The Kansas City Star describes
how Congress quashed the results from Initiative 59 in Washington, D.C. last
November. After five months, a federal judge still has not ruled on whether
anyone should see them.)

Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 22:15:15 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US DC: WIRE: DC Medical Marijuana Referendum Is In Limbo
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 1999
Source: Kansas City Star (KS)
Contact: letters@kcstar.com
Website: http://www.kcstar.com/
Author: David Goldstein (KRT)

D.C. MEDICAL MARIJUANA REFERENDUM IS IN LIMBO

WASHINGTON -- Locked away in the memory of a government computer are
election results that Congress doesn't want the voters of the nation's
capital to see.

No one has seen them, in fact -- not the city's election officials, whose
computer recorded the votes; not the members of Congress, who control the
political life and the pocketbook of the capital; not the federal judge who,
after five months, still has not ruled on whether anyone should see them.

They are the results of a referendum last November to decide whether
marijuana should be legalized in the District of Columbia strictly for
medical uses, such as for AIDS victims. In a city with the highest number of
AIDS-related deaths per capita in the country, the issue resonated with a
special urgency.

A simple keystroke on an election-board computer would reveal the political
will of more than 140,000 city voters. But a conservative Congress wary of
any move toward legalizing drugs refused to appropriate money to pay for the
vote count -- less than $500, according to the election board, $1.64
according to referendum supporters.

``In this great democracy of ours, where we are espousing democracy around
the world and we don't let the citizens of our nation's capital count the
votes of a democratically held procedure, to me, that is unconscionable,''
said City Councilwoman Carol Schwartz, an unsuccessful Republican candidate
for mayor last fall.

Few can point to something like this ever happening before in which an
election is held, but the votes never are counted and the results never
announced.

``I don't think it has happened in the United States,'' said Austin Ranney,
an expert on elections and referendums, at the University of California at
Berkeley. ``In that sense it's unique. There have been instances elsewhere
in the world, but under highly volatile circumstances.''

Such as wars and coup d'etats. Neither applies here, although advocates of
statehood for the District of Columbia sometimes wonder whether they ever
will see a time when Congress does not overrule even local taxicab
regulations.

AIDS activist Steve Michael launched the petition drive to get the medical
marijuana question on the ballot to help district residents with the
disease. Before Michael died of AIDS in the middle of the drive, he made his
partner, Wayne Turner, promise to take over the effort, because he knew
that, by law, the sponsor had to be a living city resident.

Turner is angry at being dismissed as one ``these drug-legalization people''
by U.S. Rep. Robert L. Barr Jr., a Georgia Republican. ``This is for people
who are very seriously and terminally ill, not for people with hangnails,''
Turner said.

An outspoken figure familiar to anyone who followed the impeachment of
President Clinton, Barr was one of the House prosecutors in the Senate
trial.

A former federal prosecutor, Barr sponsored an amendment to the city's
annual appropriations bill that outlawed the use of federal money on any
ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana. It passed in August by a
voice vote with little debate. Barr could not be reached for comment for
this article.

The election board held the referendum anyway, because by the time Congress
passed the budget, the ballots already had been printed using the city's
1998 federal appropriation. Barr's amendment prohibited use of 1999 money.

It was the second time in a year that Congress had waded into an
AIDS-related funding issue for the District of Columbia. Last fall Rep. Todd
Tiahrt of Kansas and Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri, both Republicans, were
authors of measures to ban federal money for needle-exchange programs in the
capital for intravenous drug users. Supporters argue that such a program
would cut down on transmission of AIDS and other diseases.

Several states have passed medical marijuana referendums in recent years,
including California, Arizona, Alaska, Nevada, Washington and Oregon.
Supporters say that marijuana use helps ease suffering from AIDS, cancer,
multiple sclerosis, migraine headaches and glaucoma. Medical and scientific
groups have offered qualified endorsements for at least further research.

The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine concluded last month
that the active substance in marijuana might be ``moderately'' useful in
treating pain but that smoked marijuana had little future as a medicine.

``This was a tough one for me,'' said Schwartz, who backed the referendum
when she ran for mayor last fall. ``But more and more it's proving that
(marijuana) does offer a great deal of relief to those who are suffering. I
have friends going through chemotherapy. This was only thing that allowed
them to keep food down. We know that people who are that sick can often
starve to death.''

Which was exactly what was happening to Michael, the original sponsor of the
initiative. Suffering from AIDS wasting syndrome, he dropped nearly 60
pounds in just a few months. Michael hated marijuana, but in an ironic
punctuation to his own crusade, Turner said, he turned to it for relief.

But the politics that silenced the outcome of the referendum quickly
expanded the debate. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the city's
election board, charging that it violated the voters' First Amendment
rights. Even City Hall agreed and, though it was being sued, filed a brief
in support.

Referendum supporters called Barr's amendment a gratuitous slap. Congress,
which has veto power over laws in the district, could have just as easily
rejected the marijuana measure if it passed -- and exit polls on Election
Day predicted it would be approved by nearly 70 percent.

``It's an outrage within an outrage within an outrage,'' said Art Spitzer,
legal director for the national capital area office of the ACLU. ``First
D.C. citizens don't get a vote in Congress. Second is that Congress doesn't
let the local D.C. government pass even the most local trivial laws without
review. The third level of outrage is that Congress would interfere this way
within the election process.''

Now everyone waits, as they have for five months, for a federal judge to
rule on the ACLU lawsuit. The decision probably will be appealed.

For Turner, who took up his friend's banner after his death, the delay has
had profound and tragic meaning.

``In my world, in the world of AIDS where time is crucial, I've lost
probably about five to 10 friends in that time,'' he said. ``I feel a lot of
anger. But I'm clinging to my faith in democracy right now. I have to. I
have no choice.''

***

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 13:56:42 -0400
From: Ann McCormick (amccormick@home.com)
From: "CRRH mailing list" (restore@crrh.org)
Organization: @Home Network
To: restore@crrh.org
Subject: Re: US WIRE: D.C. medical marijuana referendum is in limbo

Wasn't the VietNam war started because the Eisenhower administration
refused to acknowledge voting results that they disapproved of? (circa
1954?) Or was it that they refused to let the election go forth at
all? I vaguely remember something about Eisenhower being told that the
communists would win and his responding that, in that case, there would
be no election. Does anyone have a clearer memory of any of this? (In
1954, I was 3yrs old!)

ann

***

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 16:09:27 -0400
From: Richard Lake (rlake@mapinc.org)
From: "CRRH mailing list" (restore@crrh.org)
Subject: Re: US WIRE: D.C. medical marijuana referendum is in limbo
To: Ann McCormick (amccormick@home.com), restore@crrh.org

There was not doubt, at the time, that if an election which had been agreed
upon had gone forward, the government in Hanoi would have won. The truth of
the matter is that it is not all clear that that government was communist,
but it was nationalist without question. At the time if you wanted to buy
arms you had little choice of where to buy them, and saying you were
communist was a requirement.

The government in Saigon at the time was a government composed of those who
had gone over to the colonial force, the French, and learned their language
and accepted their religion. The government in the south was different in
no substantial way from that set up in Norway by the Germans's during WWII.
They represented a small minority of the people, and the minority they
represented were turncoats, but that is not the word I am looking for.
Quisling?

There was no election, which resulted directly in the war.

Richard

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

JAX Election Scam! (A bulletin from the Florida Cannabis Action Network says
petitioners for a medical marijuana ballot measure being sponsored by
Floridians for Medical Rights were once again prohibited from gathering
signatures Tuesday near a polling station in Jacksonville, despite a federal
court order prompted by similar repression November 3. A local law
enforcement official allegedly threatened to arrest petitioners and another
stood by as a Baptist preacher threatened them with violence.)

From: cowboy@jug-or-not.com
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 01:19:55 -0400
To: peter@mcwilliams.com
Subject: [cp] JAX ELECTION SCAM!

IMPORTANT FIRST AMENDMENT EMERGENCY CONTINUES!

Dear all activists:

Once again those petitioning in Jacksonville Florida to place medical
marijuana onto the Florida State Ballot have been removed from the polling
stations under the threat of arrest and violence. In Novemeber, petitioners
were removed from the polls in Jacksonville under threat of arrest from
police and violence from Baptist Church Workers.

Scott Bledsoe and Floridians for Medical Rights sued the Jacksonville
Sheriff's Office and Duval County Supervisor of Elections in the Federal
Court, Middle District of Florida. As a part of their settlement agreement
the sheriff distributed a directive to all police officers clearly stating
the right of petitioners to be at the polls and under no circumstances should
they be ordered to leave without first contacting the sheriff or the city's
general counsel. Also, the supervisor of elections distributed a directive
ordering them to leave us alone. As you will tell by the report below filed
with the internal affairs division of the JSO, Florida Department of Law
Enforcement, and Supervisor of Elections, it did not matter at all.

We have a good portion of this complaint on a clear audio recording.

BELOW IS THE COMPLAINT:

On April 13th, 1999 Michael Johnson and Donald Land began collecting
petitions at polling station number 6N (First Southern Baptist Church, Old St
Augustine Rd, Jacksonville, Florida) Around 2:10PM, a heavyset male poll
worker, (name unknown) approached Land and Johnson, ordering them to leave
the polling location. Land and Johnson were well outside the 50' boundary
provided in the Florida State Election Laws. Pollworker decided to call the
Supervisor of Elections and left. Petitioners peacefully petitioned for two
full hours, when around 4:20 pm Pastor Youngblood, reverend of the church
arrived on the scene. Pastor Youngblood accosted petitioners and ordered
them to leave. Petitioners attempted to present Youngblood with settlement of
Federal Case Number 98-1185-CIV-J-16C, which advised poll owners of the
rights of petitioners at the polls. Youngblood refused to examine and claimed
non-receipt of these items. (A condition of our settlement agreement). Pastor
called Police.

Around 4:40 pm JSO Officer T.A. Gagnon Badge #5715 arrived. Officer Gagnon
upheld right of petitioners. Youngblood became enraged and told Gagnon "If
you do not make them leave, I'll bust him upside the head and knock him on
his ass", (he indicated Michael Johnson). The officer then demanded
identification from Land who refused. Officer Gagnon then informed Johnson
that since there may be violence if they refuse to leave, it may be a good
idea for them to vacate the polling station. Before leaving under duress and
threat of violence, several voters informed the petitioners that there were
"Youngblood" campaign signs displayed inside the polling station.

Donal Land and Johnson arrive at polling location 6M where Scott Bledsoe and
Kevin Aplin were collecting petitions and informed them of the situation
which had just occured at 6N. All petitioners decide to set up at 6N and
leave to go to that station. Bledsoe arrives first at 6N and begins setting
up around 6:20 PM. Bledsoe is immediately approached by pollworker Charles
Newsome who orders Bledsoe to leave premises. Bledsoe then displayed and
presented pollworkers with copy of settlement agreement from Sheriff Nat
Glover and Supervisor of Elections Tommie Bell. Newsome claims non-receipt.
(deliverance to all poll workers was condition of settlement) Bledsoe
questioned pollworkers about campaign signs inside the poll and was told by
Newsome "they have been removed". Bledsoe then asks to be able to see if sign
were removed and was denied access. Bledsoe then demands that the pollworkers
contact the supervisor of elections. Bledsoe was told by Newsome, "no way to
contact". Poll worker Carol Bell then state that soince she is not paid, she
does not have to contact the supervisor. Bledsoe calls supervisor of
elections office and pollworkers are ordered to allow us to petition.

***

BEGIN TAPE RECORDING

Around 6:30 PM JSO Ofiicer JR Windham Car #837 arrives. Windham is aware of
and informed that Bledsoe is taping events. Windham asks, "Did Someone ask
you to leave?". Bledsoe responds "yes".

Windham: "Then why didn't you leave?" Bledsoe displays copy of settlement
agreement and memorandum from sheriff. Windham examines and then orders
Bledsoe to cease collecting petitions until he finishes his investigation.
Bledsoe informs Windham that by doing so he was in direct violation of the
first amendment and the sheriff's order. Windham orders Bledsoe to stop
again. Bledsoe continues to collect petitions. Windham states he is waiting
for complaintant. Windham waits for pastor while petitioners continue
petitioning. Bledsoe pleads with Windham to stop interferring. Pastor then
arrives, advises officers "previous petitioners were forced to leave, and
that (we) were just more who came to show support"

Pastor Youngblood then borrows Windham's phone to call tow truck to have
petitioners' cars towed.

Bledsoe advises Youngblood of consequences of actions. Pastor responds "Sue
me". Windham then confirms he does not care about settlement agreement.
Windham then orders Bledsoe to stop recording. Bledsoe refuses order. Windham
says it is a crime to record his conversations. Bledsoe advises of public
domain rights. Pastor continues to taunt petitioners about towing their cars.
Bledsoe informs Youngblood that towing cars would be considered in a civil
lawsuit. Youngblood became further enraged and told officer Windham, "I'm
gonna go get my baseball bat". Bledsoe demanded clarification from pastor on
whether he intended to cause bodily harm to himself. Bledsoe then demanded
Windham to take action to subdue Youngblood. Windham just stands and ignores
threats from Youngblood. Pastor berates and intimidates petition signers.

Around 6:45 JSO Sgt. Asa A. Higgs arrives on scene followed shortly by tow
truck from Bruce's Towing Comapny. Bledsoe lies behind wheel of vehicle to
block towing. Aplin presents Higgs with settlement documentation, which Higgs
carefully examines. Upon reveiw Higgs then says "Well it looks like you are
going to have to leave". Aplin just walks away and continues petitioning.
Officer Higgs and Windham then announce that they would be arresting
petitioners if they did not leave. Then he says we had to move our vehicles
and petitioning to the sidewalk bordering Old St. Augustine Rd. Bledsoe then
gets up and approaches his with recorder and asks "So you are telling us we
cannot be here collecting petitions?"

Higgs respond, "That is what I'm telling you". Bledsoe: "and your name sir?"
Higgs: "Sgt A.A. Higgs".

Aplin and Land refused to leave and are threatened with arrest. Bledsoe begins
to gather equipment to be moved with vehicle so it is not towed. Officers
allow Bledsoe to gather names and cards and orders tow truck driver to wait.
As Bledsoe is leaving Aplin, Land, and Johnson continue petitioning. Bledsoe
asks Higgs one last time, "Mr. Higgs this has already been settled in a
Federal Court Lawsuit, do you not care about that?" Higgs, "No Sir I don't".
Aplin decided to leave because it was 7:00.

TAPE ENDS

***

This is an egregious and wilfull violation of the sheriff's direct memorandum
99-3 dated March 23, 1999, regarding police actions and first amendment
exercise of Free Speech. The sheriff agreed to the terms of the settlement
reached over the dispue, which occured at another polling location on
Novemeber 3, 1999. The officers mentioned in the complaint willfully
disobeyed police directives and violated Florida State Election Statutes and
are guilty of First Degree Misdemeanors.

Florida State Statutes Chapter 104.11

NEGLECT OF DUTY BY SHERIFF OR OTHER OFFICER

Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other officer who willfully neglects or
refuses to perform his or her duties relating to elections is guilty of a
misdemeanor in the first degree, punishable as provided in s.775.082 or
s 775.083.

Mr Higgs refused and willfully disobeyed the order of Sheriff Glover dated
March 23, 1999, when he ordered us to leave without consulting with a city
attorney and disobeying all other instructions in the memorandum. Mr. Windham
although he did the right thing by calling a supervisor, he allowed threats
of violence and intimidation by Pator Youngblood which is in direct defiance
of the Sheriff's orders as well.

When questioned about the order responded, that he "did not care" about the
order.

He also ordered petitioners to stop collecting petitions in a place that they
are legally protected to do so by the first amendment and Florida State
Elections Laws. We the undersigned demand the immediate termination of
Officer Higgs for insubordination and harrassment and intimidation of legal
petitioners and a direct defiance without concern of an order from the
sheriff of Jacksonville Nat Glover. Mr. Higgs and Mr Windham aided and
assisted in the interference with, intimidation of, and removal of
petitioners collecting petitions where legally permitted to do so by law.

Mr Windham and Mr. Gagnon refused to act on very valid threats of violence
from the Baptist preacher.

Police also refused to act upon complaint of election fraud by not
investigating the placement of campaign signs inside polling station.

The only action you are afforded by your past explanations for these
continued violations of our first amendment rights, is the immediate
termination and prosecution of Sgt Higgs. We also feel it is neccessary for
the state attorney to conduct and investigation into the actions of Mr.
Higgs. We also demand the swiftest and strongest possible internal
disiplinary actions are taken against Officer Windham.

We hereby request and demand written determination and explanation of
internal investigation results from this complaint.

Details Call:

Scott Bledsoe, Vice President Florida Cannabis Action Network
904-278-0993, http://www.jug-or-not.com/can

***

From: "christian" (spirit@globaldialog.com)
From: "CRRH mailing list" (restore@crrh.org)
To: (cowboy@jug-or-not.com), "CRRH mailing list" (restore@crrh.org)
Subject: Re: JAX ELECTION SCAM!
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 12:40:51 -0500

Isn't it possible for a citizen to arrest a police officer, in uniform or
not, if they are committing a crime? An activist in California used to
place officers under arrest. Even though it would be surprising for a D.A.
to file the charges...the charges go on the officer's record. Since at this
polling place, the petitioners were breaking no laws and the officers were
guilty, isn't it possible to cite them...isn't a "threat" actually charged
as "assault"? Wouldn't it have been possible to make a citizen's arrest
of the pastor who was guilty of assault? If the officers didn't prevent
the assault, wouldn't they be accessories? I always heard that
"citizen's arrest" is real. Info, anyone? Isn't it also a citizens right
to a grand jury? Some recourse that would press criminal charges. I'm sure
the law is different in each State, which complicates things.

Kris

----- Original Message -----
From: cowboy@jug-or-not.com ; CRRH mailing list
To: peter@mcwilliams.com
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 1999 12:19 AM
Subject: JAX ELECTION SCAM!

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

ACM-Bulletin of 18 April 1999 (An English-language bulletin from the
Association for Cannabis as Medicine, in Cologne, Germany, features news
about an Australian Survey on the medical use of cannabis; a science report
on the Interaction of anandamide with dopamine, a basis for the treatment of
movement disorders and schizophrenia; and a California town's attempt to
implement the voter-approved medical marijuana law.)

From: "Association for Cannabis as Medicine" (info@acmed.org)
To: acm-bulletin@acmed.org
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 22:48:10 +0200
Subject: ACM-Bulletin of 18 April 1999
Sender: info@acmed.org

***

ACM-Bulletin of 18 April 1999

***

* Australia: Survey on the medical use of cannabis

* Science: Interaction of anandamide with dopamine, a basis for
the treatment of movement disorders and schizophrenia

* USA: Implementation of medical marijuana law in a Californian
town

***

1. Australia: Survey on the medical use of cannabis

Most people who regularly use cannabis for medicinal purposes
had discussed using the illegal drug with a doctor or health
worker, according to a survey released on 15 April. "The survey
shows that general practitioners (GPs) don't fly into a rage and
chuck people out of their room when a patient talks about
cannabis use," said the survey's author David Helliwell, based in
the northern New South Wales town of Nimbin.

He analysed the responses of 202 medicinal cannabis users from
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and
overseas. 63 per cent of respondents had discussed using
cannabis with a health worker while about 50 per cent had spoken
to their local doctor about using it.

Dr. Helliwell said his research found that some chronic pain
sufferers, such as those on slow-release morphine and other
strong pain relief drugs, had been able to reduce their dosages
through the medicinal use of cannabis. Amongst medicinal
cannabis users, anxiety and stress were the commonest complaint,
with 71 per cent saying they used the drug to reduce symptoms.
Depression was the second most common condition, with 56 per
cent of respondents, followed by somatic pain in 55 per cent.

Just over half the female respondents, 51 per cent, stated they
used cannabis medicinally for both pre-menstrual tension and
dsymenorrhoea. Other conditions treated with cannabis were
nausea (32 per cent), chronic pain (31 per cent), muscular spasm
(23.5), digestive disorders (21.5), glaucoma (4.5), nausea
associated with chemotherapy (3.5) and wasting associated with
HIV/AIDS.

(Source: AAP of 15 April 1999)

***

2. Science: Interaction of anandamide with dopamine, a basis for the
treatment of movement disorders

In a brain region, the so-called striatum, that controls planning and
execution of motor behaviours, researchers of the University of
California at Irvine have demonstrated interactions of the
endocannabinoid signalling system with the dopamine
neurotransmitter system. The striatum contains a large number of
CB1 cannabinoid receptors. Abnormalities in the striatal
neuromodulation have been linked to diseases such as Parkinson's
disease and Tourette's syndrome. Dr. A. Giuffrida and colleagues
revealed a physiological mechanism by which endocannabinoids
are involved in the function of striatal neurons. Their study with
male rats was published in the April issue of nature neuroscience
(Giuffrida et al. 1999).

The results were as followed:

1. The endocannabinoid anandamide was released by neural
activity, but there was no effect on the endocannabinoids
palmitylethanolamide, oleylethanolamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol.
This indicates that in the striatum such a role is specific to
anandamide.

2. Activation of dopamine receptors with a dopamine-2(D2)-like
receptor ligand led to an eightfold stimulation of anandamide
outflow. Dopamine-1(D1)-like receptor agonists had no effect.

3. The behavioural response to a systemic administration of D2-
like agonists -- a biphasic motor response characterized by a
transient suppression of movement followed by a longer-lasting
hyperactivity -- were affected by the CB1 receptor antagonist
SR141716A. The late phase was markedly potentiated by the
CB1 antagonist.

The researchers concluded, that the physiological role of
anandamide may be "to counter dopamine stimulation of motor
activity. (...) Thus, our findings may have implications for
neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, Tourette's
syndrome and Parkinson's disease and may point to novel
therapeutic approaches for these conditions." It seemed that
anandamide may act in the central nervous system more as a
local mediator such as the prostaglandins than as a classical
neuromodulator.

In a commentary Dr. David W. Self from the Division of
Molecular Psychiatry at Yale University added, that this research
promises "to propel anandamide from candidate status to bona
fide neurotransmitter" (Self 1999). In the striatum anandamide
"seems to function as a brake" that limits the behavioural response
to dopamine receptor activation. This could lead to the
development of drugs that block the cannabinoid receptor to
enhance the therapeutic efficacy of dopamine-based treatments,
and to drugs that stimulate the CB1-receptor, reducing dyskinetic
movements caused by a hyperactivity of dopamine.

This hypothesis is supported by the successful use of cannabis by
patients suffering from hyperkinetic movement disorders such as
tremor in multiple sclerosis, Tourette's syndrome, and tardive
dyskinesia due to antipsychotic medication. Dr. J. M. Brotchie
from the university of Manchester, Great Britain, discussed
cannabinoids as well as an adjunct to dopamine replacement to
reducing the problem of dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease
(Brotchie 1998).

(Sources: Giuffrida A, et al: nature neuroscience (1999 Apr)
2(4):358-63; Self DW: nature neuroscience (1999 Apr) 2(4):303-4;
Brotchie JM: Mov Disord (1998 Nov) 13(6):871-6; Reuters of 24
March 1999)

***

3. USA: Implementation of medical marijuana law in a Californian
town

Law-enforcement officials in Arcata, California, have found a
way to effectively implement the state's Proposition 215, a voter
initiative legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in
1996. "Here, law enforcement is holding out the olive branch to
people who smoke medical marijuana," said Mel Brown, Arcata's
police chief.

Brown issues photo identification cards with his signature to
people who register as medical-marijuana patients. In order to
register, people must confirm that they have a doctor's
recommendation. Brown instructs his police officers not to arrest
marijuana growers or smokers who carry the identification card.
So far, he has issued about 100 of the "stay out of jail" cards.

"What makes Arcata's program work is the fact that law
enforcement and the medical community are involved," said
Nathan Barankin, spokesman of Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
After the Federal Justice Department won a court order to close
most of the cannabis clubs in California for violating federal laws
against marijuana, Lockyer is seeking a compromise that will
avoid the wrath of federal officials. He has formed a task force of
law enforcement officers and medical marijuana advocates to
study the issue.

"The task force has been asked to look at Arcata as a model and
perhaps make some recommendations on whether what works for
Arcata works for Los Angeles and other larger communities,"
Barankin said. District Attorney Norman Vroma is expected to
introduce a similar identification card system in Mendocino
County.

(Sources: AP of 9 April 1999, Join Together Online of 13 April 1999)

***

4. News in brief

***

Canada/USA:

78 per cent of Canadians support legalizing marijuana for medical
use, a Decima Research Inc. poll reported on 7 April. The polling
firm asked 2,026 Canadian adults whether they strongly agree,
agree, oppose or strongly oppose the recent federal government's
consideration of legalizing marijuana as a medical treatment. 73
per cent of Americans support amending federal law to allow the
legal use of marijuana as a medicine, a Gallup Poll reported on 26
March.

(Sources: NORML of 1 and 8 April 1999)

***

USA:

Mary Jane Rathbun, better known as "Brownie Mary", the
grandmotherly activist whose arrests for distributing pot brownies
to AIDS patients built momentum for the medicinal marijuana
movement, has died at 77. She died at a hospital on 10 April of
undisclosed causes. Ms. Rathbun became a fixture at San
Francisco General Hospital in the early days of the AIDS
epidemic, preparing and delivering marijuana-laced baked goods to
sick people to relieve their nausea and pain.

(Source: AP of 12 April 1999)

***

USA:

San Mateo County (California) officials submitted a proposal to
the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeking approval to
conduct clinical trials with marijuana on patients suffering from
severe nausea and weight loss. This is the third state
governmental agency to submit a medical marijuana research
proposal to NIDA since 1996. Previous proposals by the
Washington and Massachusetts state boards of health were
rejected by the agency. NIDA rejected a separate protocol from
private researchers to study marijuana in migraine treatment last
fall.

(Source: NORML of 8 April 1999)

***

Great Britain:

51-year-old Candace Kelly growing cannabis plants at her home
to alleviate the pain from the chronic fatigue syndrome was
sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for a year at
Plymouth Crown Court. 49-year-old Peter Harris suffering from a
painfull degenerative spinal complaint was jailed for nine months
after he pleaded guilty to growing cannabis plants in two
bedrooms of his home and supplying some of the flower heads to
a friend who also suffered from ailments untreatable by
conventional drugs.

(Sources: PA News of 8 and 16 April 1999)

***

Germany:

There is only one pharmacy in Germany -- in Frankfurt -- that is
allowed to deliver the active ingredient of cannabis, THC or
dronabinol, to patients, the city council of Frankfurt said in reply to
an inquiry of the Greens. Until now there are no other pharmacies
that have applied to the necessary permission at the responsible
authority (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte).
(Source: Frankfurter Rundschau of 15 April 1999)

***

5. THE COMMENT

... on the reactions on the recent Institute of Medicine (U.S.)
report:

"The report by the Institute of Medicine on medical uses of
marijuana provides guidance on a subject that has been politicized
beyond both its actual medical promise and its actual law
enforcement implications. The report has been spun as a victory
by all sides, but its contents are neither a ringing endorsement nor
an outright rejection of marijuana's therapeutic qualities."

Editorial, Washington Post of 14 April 1999.

***

Association for Cannabis as Medicine (ACM)
Maybachstrasse 14
D-50670 Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49-221-912 30 33
Fax: +49-221-130 05 91
Email: info@acmed.org
Internet: http://www.acmed.org

If you want to be deleted from or added to the ACM-Bulletin
mailing list please send a message to: info@acmed.org

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

Russian Police Make Major Pot Bust (According to the Associated Press, the
ITAR-Tass news agency said Sunday that police seized 1,320 pounds of
marijuana from a truck crossing into Russia from the Central Asian republic
of Kazakstan.)

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 13:34:54 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Russia: Russian Police Make Major Pot Bust
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 1999
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press

RUSSIAN POLICE MAKE MAJOR POT BUST

MOSCOW (AP) - Police seized 1,320 pounds of marijuana from a truck
crossing into Russia from the Central Asian republic of Kazakstan,
the ITAR-Tass news agency said Sunday.

According to the report, the marijuana was stashed in 42 sacks in the
back of the truck, which was stopped by officials at a border
crossing near the central Siberian city of Omsk.

The truck's driver, as well as an unspecified number of passengers,
were arrested, ITAR-Tass said.

Kazakstan and other former Soviet republics in Central Asia have
become part of a major drug route leading from Afghanistan to Russia
and further into Europe.

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

Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies, Year 5, No. 15 (A summary of European
and international drug policy news, from CORA, in Italy)

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 09:54:33 +0200
From: CORAFax (cora.belgique@agora.stm.it)
From: "CRRH mailing list" (restore@crrh.org)
Subject: CORAFax #15 (EN)

ANTIPROHIBITIONIST OF THE ENTIRE WORLD ....
Year 5 #15, April 18 1999

***

Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies

***

Edited by the CORA - Radical Antiprohibitionist Coordination, federated to
- TRP-Transnational Radical Party (NGO, consultive status, I)
- The Global Coalition for Alternatives to the Drug War

***

director: Vincenzo Donvito
All rights reserved

***

http://www.agora.it/coranet
mailto:cora.news@agora.it

***

CORA NEWS

***

ITALY - The general attorneys of Asti and Vercelli are investigating on an
account of facts presented by the CORA which shows how public services for
drug addicts are not working as they should, especially regarding methadone
distribution. The Judiciary Police has heard two members of the CORA.

***

NEWS FROM THE WORLD

***

000575 08/04/99
E.U. / NL / ROTTERDAM
ADDICTION
FRANKFURTER

An independent association of drug addicts says that some workers of a
company that employs addicts for part-time jobs and that in part funded by
the city could have received drugs in the place of their salary.

***

000576 13/04/99
E.U. / PORTUGAL
INITIATIVE
EL PAIS

The Portuguese Government has decided to support those companies and cities
that employ drug addicts who are in the course of rehabilitation. The State
will thus cover 80% of the minimum salaries and the social needs for those
addicts.

***

000573 08/04/99
E.U. / FRANCE
JUSTICE
LE MONDE

Following the indication of the Ministry of Health, the Law Commission of
the Senate has approved an amendment that allows precedures of compromise
for consumers of light drugs. It will be possible, among other things, to
avoid the penal procedures by simply payng a fine.

***

000574 08/04/99
E.U. / SPAIN
JUSTICE
EL PAIS

The Court of Madrid has decided to not comminate charges for smuggling
against petty drug carriers. About a hundred imprisoned people, in fact,
have their sentence reduced by one or two years.

***

000577 13/04/99
EUROPE / HUNGARY
LAWS
LIBERATION

In the end of 1998 Hungary enacted one of the most repressive anti drug
laws in Europe. The law foresees life imprisonment for big calibre
traffickers and two years for simple drug consumers. The Prime Minister
Viktor Orban says: 'Those who use drugs have sealed a pact with the devil'.

***

000578 13/04/99
E.U. / ITALY
LAWS
LA REPUBBLICA

The pop group '99 Posse' has been acquitted from the charge of instigating
people to use drugs. The group had showed a chilum to their public before
playing an anti prohibitionist song.

***

000579 14/04/99
E.U. / ITALY
LAWS /
IL SOLE 24 ORE

The Court of Cassation has annulled the forced dismissing of a bank
employee from his job. The man had once been a drug addict and his
dismissing had been previously approved by the regular court and by the
judge.

***

CORAFax 1999

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[End]