------------------------------------------------------------------- Explore private prison (A staff editorial in the Oregonian - the state's leading spokesman for the prison-industrial complex - endorses SB 1247, claiming 30 other states have found some savings and sense in letting corporations run state prisons for profit.) Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/) Pubdate: Sun, May 23 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/ Explore private prison * Senate bill requiring next medium-security prison to be private would challenge state system to show why not Privately built and operated prisons make a lot of people nervous, particularly public corrections officials and unions. But 30 other states have found some savings and sense in them. Oregon ought to give the idea a try. Senate Bill 1247 would give Oregon that chance. Opponents of privatizing corrections would like to derail the measure by requiring more study. It's not necessary. There are 120 private prisons operating or being built around the nation already. Oregon has had some experience by leasing space in some of those prisons because of overcrowding here. Numerous studies have compared private-prison costs and quality of operations with public prisons since the privatization trend started gaining momentum in the 1980s. The results are in: Private prisons have problems, but so do public prisons. Private prisons are cheaper and quicker to build, cost less to operate. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Eileen Qutub, R-Beaverton, wouldn't force the state to run out and contract for a private prison. It would create a Correctional Privatization Commission, to be appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate. The commission would contract with a private prison company for the state's next men's medium-security prison "unless the commission determines . . . the Department of Corrections can provide the same services in a more cost-effective and secure manner than a private provider." Cost-effective is defined in the bill as no more than 7 percent above that of a private company. That's reasonable from a taxpayer perspective. The bill further specifies that a contractor has to meet state security, housing, medical-care, staff-training and other standards that apply also to state prisons. It quite properly also requires state permission to house out-of-state prisoners, since profit-driven operators in some states have mixed dangerously violent prisoners with inmates who should not be near them. These requirements are designed to address concerns about public safety and the humane treatment of prisoners. Liability, however, is also a strong motivator for appropriate treatment of inmates, perhaps more so in private prisons where litigation and damages would cut into stockholders' profits. SB 1247 offers the kind of hard look at alternatives to government management of services that government itself should be constantly exploring. It's an invitation to find better ways to do things, and an incentive to change what should be changed.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Hemp Education Day in Washington State (A press release from the Washington Hemp Education Network spreads the advance word about the fourth annual festival noon-4 pm Sunday, Aug. 29, one week after the Seattle Hempfest, outside the Washington state capitol in Olympia. Volunteers are needed. Gideon Israel, the founder of Hemp Education Day, will be out of Thurston County Jail in time for the event, sporting a new pacemaker and High Times' magazine's July "Freedom Fighter" award.) Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 22:48:17 -0700 (PDT) From: Eve Lentz (eve@hemp.net) To: hemp-talk@hemp.net Subject: HT: Press release: Hemp Education Day (WA state) Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net Press Release: Seattle/Mount Vernon, Washington The 4th annual Washington State Hemp Education Day (HED) will be held on the Washington State Capitol Dome Steps, in Olympia, Washington, on Sunday, August 29, 1999 from noon to 4p.m. This is being held EXACTLY one week after the Seattle Hempfest (8/22/99) so that all promotion and advertising at the Seattle Hempfest may benefit Hemp Education Day. We have asked the Herbivores, again, this year to play, and we may have several acoustic musicians. The emcee this year will be our own Jeanne (Magic) Black-Ferguson. We would like to invite all potential speakers to contact me at eve@hemp.net to let me know if you can join us. Hemp Education Day is presented this year by the Washington Hemp Education Network (W.H.E.N.) It will be co- sponsored by Peace Movement Northwest, Seattle Hempfest, the November Coalition, and the Green Cross Patient Co-op. We need help from anybody and everybody to publicize this event. It is a worthy cause with many wonderful speakers (suprise speakers this year)! ANY OF YOU THAT HAVE EVENTS THAT YOU LIST EITHER ON-LINE OR IN A MAGAZINE, P L E A S E ADD THIS EVENT TO YOUR CALENDARS. Tell your friends, your neighbors, etc. We appreciate all of the help you can give us. (especially donations to help with costs!) We are also needing a computer/printer/scanner if there is one available to give or loan us until after Hemp Education Day is over. Donations and any information can be sent to: Eve Lentz, P.O. Box 231, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. You can email me at eve@hemp.net, or you can call the Washington Hemp Education Network (W.H.E.N.) phone at: (360) 956-0769. Check our website out at: http://www.olywa.net/when/ I visited the founder of Hemp Education Day, Gideon Israel, this morning at the Thurston County Jail, where he is serving a sentence for drug possession. Gideon will be out of jail in time for both the Seattle Hempfest and he will be a guest speaker at Hemp Education Day. We almost lost Gideon several weeks ago when his heart slowed down. He was rushed to a Hospital, where he got a pacemaker put in. He is back in jail in the infirmiry, trying to take it easy. He has lost weight and says he has never felt better!! What a guy!! Gideon also told me that he was selected Freedom Fighter of the year 1999 in High Times Magazine. (July issue) Congratulations to our own WA state activist Gideon. Gideon would appreciate any letters to his address of: Gideon Israel c/o Thurston County Jail 2000 Lakeridge Dr., S.W. Olympia, WA 98502 Let us show him how much we have valued his Hemp/Marijuana/ peace/love culture gatherings at the beautiful Rainbow Valley in Little Rock, WA. and for other ways he has given his love and home to many homeless people. Thanks, Eve Lentz W.H.E.N. Director of Activities and Staff Photographer Hemp Education Day Director *** hemp-talk - hemp-talk@hemp.net is a discussion/information list about hemp politics in Washington State. To unsubscribe, send e-mail to majordomo@hemp.net with the text "unsubscribe hemp-talk". For more details see http://www.hemp.net/lists.html
------------------------------------------------------------------- Man Convicted In First Medicinal-Pot Trial (The Orange County Register recaps the cultivation conviction Friday in Sacramento of B.E. Smith. The trial is believed to be the first in a California federal court involving a medical-need claim since Proposition 215 was passed in 1996.) Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 12:19:03 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US CA: MMJ: Man Convicted In First Medicinal-Pot Trial Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: John W.Black Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 1999 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Section: News,page 4 Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register Contact: letters@link.freedom.com Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ MAN CONVICTED IN FIRST MEDICINAL-POT TRIAL A man who said his Vietnam War experiences caused him to begin using marijuana was convicted of pot cultivation and possession in a case that included actor Woody Harrelson as a defense witness. Attorneys for B.E. Smith, 52, said after the verdict Friday that they would appeal the decision. The case is believed to be the first criminal marijuana trial in a California federal court involving a medicinal claim since passage of California's medical marijuana law in 1996. That law allows people to grow marijuana for personal use if they have medical authorization. Growers generally must have a terminal illness or no alternative remedy for an ailment. Federal prosecutors said Smith did not meet the medical authorization standards, and noted that Smith's prescription was written by a chiropractor. They also said federal law, which supersedes state law, prohibits prescriptions for marijuana.
------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Three Strikes' Reform Fouls Out (The Orange County Register says prospects for serious reform of California's draconian "three strikes" law appear dim, at least for this year. Santa Monica Democratic Sen. Tom Hayden's SB 79, which would require that a third "strike" would have to be a serious or violent felony, rather than, for example, smoking marijuana, to receive a 25-years-to-life sentence, is languishing and will probably not be brought up for a full Senate vote this year. But things look better for San Jose Democratic Sen. John Vasconcellos' SB 873, which would authorize a joint study on the costs and benefits of the "three strikes" law. A similar bill passed the legislature last year but was vetoed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson.) Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 14:52:03 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US CA: Editorial: 'Three Strikes' Reform Fouls Out Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: John W.Black Pubdate: Sunday,May 23,1999 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register Contact: letters@link.freedom.com Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Section: Metro,page 6 'THREE STRIKES'REFORM FOULS OUT Prospects for serious reform of California's draconian "three strikes" law appear dim, at least for this year. Santa Monica Democratic Sen. Tom Hayden's S.B. 79, which would require that a third "strike" would have to be a serious or violent felony (rather than any felony) to merit a 25-years-to-life sentence, is languishing and will probably not be brought up for a full Senate vote this year. That means it would become a "two-year" bill, subject to a vote during the next legislative session next January. That leaves San Jose Democratic Sen. John Vasconcellos' S.B. 873, which would authorize a joint study on the costs and benefits of the "three strikes" law by the legislative analyst in cooperation with the Judicial Council, the attorney general and the University of California. A similar bill passed the Legislature last year but was vetoed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson. Sen. Vasconcellos (who heads the Public Safety Committee) expects his bill to pass again this year. Rocky Rushing, Sen. Hayden's chief of staff, candidly acknowledged to us last week the S.B. 79 probably wouldn't have passed even the full Senate this year because questions about California's uniquely onerous "three strikes" law are not yet widespread enough to deflect fears by elected politicians that they could be viewed as "soft on crime" by voters. Mr. Rushing believes organizations such as the California District Attorneys Association - which actually backed a version of a "three strikes" law similar to what S.B. 79 would put in place early in the debate - will have to be at least neutral on "three strikes" reform before elected politicians will have the political cover to support reform openly. "We have about 5,000 inmates in state prison on a 'third strike' now, and about half of them are in for non-violent crimes," Mr. Rushing told us, "but many taxpayers are not yet fully aware of what an incredible burden has been placed on them." A few reminders are in order. Some 26 states and the federal government have enacted some version of a "three strikes" law that mandates enhanced punishment for a third violent offense. California is the only jurisdiction in which a non-serious, non-violent felony can be counted as a strike. It is one of only seven states with enhanced punishment for a second "strike." And California is one of the few states without a time limit to activate enhanced punishment - in most states it takes three violent crimes within five years for "three strikes" to kick in. California is almost the only jurisdiction in which juvenile offenses can be counted as a "strike." As a consequence, as of the middle of last year, the state had 227 people serving 25-to-life at the taxpayers' expense whose third strike was petty theft with a prior, 100 for receiving stolen property, 387 for possession of a controlled substance and 240 for possession of a weapon. "Three-strikes" advocates like to claim that the law has been at least partly responsible for reducing serious crime. We havae noted anomalies in crime-reporting methods that make it dubious to use them as the basis for year-to-year comparisons. Even the FBI website (fbi.gov./ucr/faqs.htm) acknowledges certain shortcomings and cautions readers against various kinds of simplistic comparisons. Taking this into account, however, it is worth noting that the official statistics show crime beginning to decline in California in 1991 and declining steadily since then. The "three strikes" law, passed in 1994, neither increased nor decreased the rate of decline. Crime has declined in states without "strikes" laws at virtually the same rate as it has declined in states with such laws. California's "three strikes" law costs taxpayers hundreds of million of dollars a year, has led to injustices in sentencing and has no demonstrable impact on crime rates. It will be a long and difficult job to spread the knowledge and build the necessary support, but changing this law should be near the top of the agenda of any politician who claims to value substance over symbolism.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizonans Back Docs' Ability To Prescribe Pot (According to the Arizona Daily Star, a recent poll by the Behavior Research Center says a large majority of Arizonans, 66 percent, oppose revoking the licenses of doctors who prescribe marijuana. Twenty-seven percent support doing so. Incredibly, Chuck Blanchard, chief counsel to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said "There has not been one doctor whose license has been even threatened." Just every doctor in California and Arizona. Unfortunately, the newspaper failed to follow up by asking if Blanchard meant the Clinton administration is going to relent on Conant v. McCaffrey, which is still being litigated.) Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 11:29:55 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US AZ: MMJ: Arizonans Back Docs' Ability To Prescribe Pot Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Frank S. World Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 1999 Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ) Contact: letters@azstarnet.com Website: http://www.azstarnet.com/ Author: Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services ARIZONANS BACK DOCS' ABILITY TO PRESCRIBE POT PHOENIX - A large majority of Arizonans opposes revoking the prescription-writing licenses of doctors who prescribe marijuana, a recent poll found. The statewide survey shows 66 percent were opposed to license revocation while 27 percent supported it. The survey comes more than two years after Arizona voters changed the law to allow doctors to prescribe otherwise illegal drugs, ranging from marijuana to LSD to heroin, to treat illness and relieve pain. Last November, voters rejected legislative revisions of the law. But federal officials have warned doctors that they risk losing their right to prescribe drugs if they write such prescriptions, even if specifically allowed by state law. There have been no reported cases of Arizona doctors actually writing prescriptions for these drugs. Pollster Earl deBerge of the Behavior Research Center said the survey results show Arizonans want to change the federal policy. He also noted that the survey, conducted last month, comes on the heels of a federally commissioned study that suggests marijuana may be beneficial for pain relief, nausea control and appetite stimulation. Chuck Blanchard, chief counsel to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the survey is based on a flawed premise. ``There has not been one doctor whose license has been even threatened,'' Blanchard said. ``The great scare that a lot of people claim we're imposing is not a reality.'' But Blanchard, an Arizona state senator before he took the post in Washington, acknowledged that the law allowing the Drug Enforcement Administration to revoke prescription-writing privileges remains on the books - and probably remains a deterrent for doctors. He said enforcement actions in California, where voters approved a similar law, have not been taken against doctors. Instead, federal officials have filed civil suits to close the ``cannabis clubs'' that sprang up to supply marijuana. The California law, though, has a key difference: It requires only that a doctor recommend marijuana. In Arizona, a doctor would have to actually prescribe it. The survey of 708 adult heads of household has a margin of error of 3.7 percent.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Officials Find More Teens Using Marijuana (According to an Associated Press article in the Charlotte Observer, in North Carolina, a 1997 study conducted by the University of South Carolina indicates marijuana is making a comeback among South Carolina high school students, with 45 percent having tried it at least once and 26 percent having smoked it within the past month. Contradicting the March 17 Institute of Medicine report, which found no convincing evidence to substantiate the "gateway" theory, state health officials said the increase in marijuana use was "opening the door for more serious substance abuse problems." In fact, state officials are more worried about the health risks of marijuana than tobacco, calling the latter a "risk factor" for the former.) Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 16:42:41 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US SC: Health Officials Find More Teens Using Marijuana Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Mike Gogulski Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 1999 Source: Charlotte Observer (NC) Copyright: 1999 The Charlotte Observer Contact: opinion@charlotte.com Website: http://www.charlotte.com/observer/ Author: Associated Press HEALTH OFFICIALS FIND MORE TEENS USING MARIJUANA HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Marijuana is making a comeback among S.C. high school students, opening the door for more serious substance abuse problems, state health officials say. Forty-five percent of the state's high school students had tried marijuana at least once and 26 percent were regular users having smoked it within a month of a 1997 study conducted by the University of South Carolina. That is up from 27 percent smoking marijuana once and 12 percent smoking regularly in the 1991 survey. The 1997 figures are the latest available. The state Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services released the results of another study last week that showed teen-age access to tobacco products is down even though the number of teen-agers who smoke is increasing. Cigarette smoking can often be the gateway to other substance abuse problems, said Dennis Nalty, the agency's research director. He said 40 percent of high school cigarette smokers also use marijuana while only 6 percent of nonsmokers use marijuana. "Parents should have a massive wakeup call when they find cigarettes in their kid's sock drawer," Nalty said. "It's a big risk factor." Cigarette smoking is often the first step toward other risky behaviors because smokers are usually more tolerant of drugs and alcohol, Nalty said. He said 76 percent of smokers also use alcohol and more than half use some type of illicit drug. "If they make one choice it makes it easier to make other choices," said Dick Vallandingham of the Beaufort County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Department. "They move into a different set of social norms." Health officials have a variety of answers to explain why cigarette and marijuana use is on the rise. They cite the resurgence in 1970s culture and the acceptance of drugs in movies like "Trainspotting." They also agree that cigarette and drug use is cyclical. The anti-drug crusade of the 1980s was successful in reducing drug use, but government officials grew complacent with the results, allowing drugs to make a comeback, officials said. Now, instead of all drugs being dangerous, students feel that only some are. "Young people do not perceive marijuana and cigarettes as being as dangerous as other illicit drugs like cocaine," Nalty said. "Their response is always, `Hey, at least I'm not doing crack.' " Teen-agers also tend to be more concerned with the present than with the future. Baron Holmes, the state's Kids Count project director, said cigarettes and marijuana have no immediate repercussions because the negative impacts are usually felt later in life. "Their perception of what all this means needs to be probed," Holmes said. "What the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) or the surgeon general says doesn't play a very big role in their world. But consequences begin to build up. "Eventually, the evidence builds up that this is bad and they begin to back off."
------------------------------------------------------------------- Dubious Lead for Bay Area Campuses (The San Jose Mercury News says an annual survey to be released today by the Chronicle of Higher Education shows arrests in 1997 on American college campuses increased 3.6 percent for alcohol and 7.2 percent for other drugs. UC-Berkeley and San Jose State University reported the most arrests, apparently because of increasing police crackdowns on non-students hanging out on or near those urban campuses.) Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 11:43:14 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US CA: Dubious Lead for Bay Area Campuses Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Joel W. Johnson (jwjohnson@netmagic.net) Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 1999 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 1999 Mercury Center Contact: letters@sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Author: DANA HULL DUBIOUS LEAD FOR BAY AREA CAMPUSES Berkeley, SJSU rank 1st, 2nd in drug arrests BY DANA HULL Mercury News Staff Writer UC-Berkeley and San Jose State University reported more drug arrests in 1997 than any other colleges in the country, according to a national survey. University of California - Berkeley led the nation for the second year in a row with a reported 179 drug arrests, followed by San Jose State with 162. Berkeley was third in the country for alcohol-related arrests. The annual survey, to be released today by the Chronicle of Higher Education, is based on the crime statistics that campuses are required by federal law to disclose each year. This year's survey examined crime reports at 483 four-year colleges and universities. It found that arrests on campus are up 7.2 percent for drugs and 3.6 percent for alcohol. But the study's authors emphasize that the number of arrests should not be interpreted to mean that Berkeley and San Jose State have mushroomed into huge drug and party schools. In fact, it may simply indicate that campus police officers have succeeded in their efforts to crack down on drug and alcohol offenses. ``Nationwide, we hear some of each,'' said Scott Jaschik, managing editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education. ``Some are saying it is tougher enforcement. Some say there is more substance abuse, which leads to behavior that causes arrest. But whatever the theory, it's clear that the numbers of arrests are going up.'' Officials at UC-Berkeley and San Jose State attribute the high numbers to the perseverance of campus police officers, and say that ranking high in the national survey is a source of pride, not embarrassment. They also say that many of the arrests occurred near the campuses but not on them, and included numerous citations of people who were not students. ``I went to Berkeley. Berkeley is not a party school. You don't have time to party,'' said Lt. Adan Tejada, director of the university's crime prevention unit. ``We're proud of the fact that our officers are doing a good job.'' Berkeley's numbers are also high because People's Park, which traditionally draws marijuana activists, is a part of the UC campus. Police officers there also routinely make arrests along Telegraph Avenue, a commercial strip full of head shops that habitually sports its share of drug addicts. Monitoring drug activity in the park and along Telegraph has long been a source of debate and friction within the Berkeley community. Tejada said that of the 179 drug arrests, 140 were misdemeanors -- the bulk of them for marijuana possession. And of the 140 arrests, only 22 were of individuals directly affiliated with the university. ``We have two officers that work Telegraph Avenue,'' Tejada said. ``We made more arrests there than the rest of the UC system combined. The students really aren't the problem.'' Officers at San Jose State voice similar sentiments. The 27,000-student school is largely a commuter campus, and many students are older individuals who also work or are returning to school. Nearly half of the students are 25 and over. ``The university is located in the busiest crime district in the city,'' said Ric Abeyta, chief of police for the San Jose State University Police. ``Our officers are very diligent in their efforts to eliminate crime around the campus.'' San Jose State police say they enjoy a strong working relationship with city police and routinely collaborate with them. A city-university neighborhood task force has been in place for nearly five years. ``I think the campus is very safe,'' Abeyta said. ``We have a lot of people watching out for the students. Occasionally we'll have a fraternity party with a little too much alcohol, but that is very seldom. A lot of fraternities and sororities are becoming dry houses. They are starting to police themselves.'' The annual survey of campus crime statistics comes on the heels of renewed concern about binge drinking -- or drinking to get drunk. While research shows a drop in the number of college students who are drinking, those who do are drinking more heavily than ever. Deaths from binge drinking in recent years have led many campuses to enact stricter rules or ``zero tolerance'' policies. And binge drinking, which results in intoxication, often leads to the type of behavior that causes arrest. UC-Berkeley student Kevin Sabet, a sophomore who directs a drug awareness and prevention group, said the Bay Area's tolerant culture is partly to blame. ``Berkeley is different,'' said Sabet, director of the student group Citizens for a Drug Free Berkeley. ``The drug culture was born here in the Bay Area. You have remnants of that still. There is drug use on campus. And alcohol continues to be a badge of adulthood.''
------------------------------------------------------------------- College Drug Arrests Up For 6th Year (The New York Times version in the Orange County Register says that, as in past years, college law-enforcement officials and administrators attributed the rise to aggressive enforcement policies rather than to more use of alcohol or other drugs.) Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 12:19:06 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: College Drug Arrests Up For 6th Year Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: John W.Black Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 1999 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Section: News,page 12 Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register Contact: letters@link.freedom.com Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Author: The New York Times COLLEGE DRUG ARRESTS UP FOR 6TH YEAR Crime: Officials say enforcement is behind 7% higher alcohol-related detentions and 4% more illicit-substance violations. Washington - Drug arrests rose by 7.2 percent and alcohol-related arrests by more than 3.6 percent on college campuses in 1997, the sixth consecutive year of increases, according to a survey being released Monday by The Chronicle of Higher Education, a national newspaper that covers education and academic life. In 1996, alcohol-related arrests increased by 10 percent and drug arrests by 5 percent. As in past years, college law-enforcement officials and administrators attributed the rise to aggressive enforcement policies rather than to more use of drugs and alcohol. "There is greater attention to security concerns at colleges becausethe consumers - parents - forced schools to make campuses safer," said S. Daniel Carter, the vice president of Security on Campus Inc., a nonprofit organization based in King of Prussia, Pa., that works with colleges and universities to prevent campus crime and to deal with violators and victims. According to the annual study, which tracked crime reports at the nation's major colleges and universities, there were 7,897 drug arrests in 1997, up from 7,370 in 1996, and 17,624 alcohol-related arrests, up from 17,019 in 1996. Colleges are required by federal law to compile the number of crimes reported on campus each year. The Chronicle's survey covers 483 four-year colleges and universities with more than 5,000 students each. Keeping pace with national trends, the number of robberies and burglaries fell 9 percent in 1996 and 8 percent in 1997, for a total of 14,837 in 1997. Motor-vehicle thefts were down by 9 percent. Reports of aggravated assaults were down, and the number of murders on compus fell after increases the previous two years, from 15 in 1995 and 19 in 1996 to 13 in 1997. The number of reported sex assaults grew to 1,053 from 1,049. Other sex offenses - including statutory rape, incest, indecent exposure and lewd behavior - were down 29.5 percent, to 93. But safety experts noted that sex offenses are the crimes least likely to be reported by victims. About 40 percent of the schools surveyed indicated that hate crimes had occurred on their campuses in 1997; about one-third reported this in the previous survey. The University of California, Berkeley (with an enrollment of 29.797), which had the most drug arrests in 1996, topped the list in 1997 with 179. It was followed again by San Jose State University, with 162. There were 142 arrests at the University of Arizona, 127 at Arizona State University and 126 at the University of Utah. For the second year in a row, Michigan State University (with an enrollment of 41,545) reported the highest number of alcohol-related arrests, 633. Next cam the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, with 555. They were followed by UC Berkeley, with 460.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Drug and Alcohol-Related Arrests Increase at Colleges (The original New York Times version) Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 11:30:05 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: Drug and Alcohol-Related Arrests Increase at Colleges Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Dick Evans Pubdate: Sun,23 May 1999 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company Contact: letters@nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/ DRUG AND ALCOHOL-RELATED ARRESTS INCREASE AT COLLEGES WASHINGTON -- Drug arrests rose by 7 percent and alcohol-related arrests by more than 3 percent on college campuses in 1997, the sixth consecutive year of increases, according to a survey being released Monday by The Chronicle of Higher Education, a national newspaper that covers education and academic life. In 1996, alcohol-related arrests increased by 10 percent and drug arrests by 5 percent. As in past years, college law enforcement officials and administrators attributed the rise to aggressive enforcement policies rather than to more use of drugs and alcohol. "There is greater attention to security concerns at colleges because the consumers -- parents -- forced schools to make campuses safer," said S. Daniel Carter, the vice president of Security on Campus Inc., a nonprofit organization based in King of Prussia, Pa., that works with colleges and universities to prevent campus crime and to deal with violators and victims. "With the statistics available now, you must face the issues." Carter said that schools are reacting to campus violence and other criminal behavior more thoroughly now than a decade ago, focusing on the community's specific needs with better resources. According to the annual study, which tracked crime reports at the nation's major colleges and universities, there were 7,897 drug arrests in 1997, up from 7,370 in 1996, and 17,624 alcohol-related arrests, up from 17,019 in 1996. Colleges are required by federal law to compile the number of crimes reported on campus each year. The Chronicle's survey, covering 483 four-year colleges and universities with more than 5,000 students each, is scheduled to appear on its Web site and in the May 28 issue. Keeping pace with national trends, the number of robberies and burglaries fell 9 percent in 1996 and 8 percent in 1997, for a total of 14,837 in 1997. Motor vehicle thefts were down by 9 percent. Reports of aggravated assaults were down, and the number of murders on campus fell after increases the previous two years, from 15 in 1995 and 19 in 1996 to 13 in 1997. The number of reported sex assaults grew from 1,049 to 1,053. Other sex offenses -- including statutory rape, incest, indecent exposure and lewd behavior -- were down 29.5 percent to 93. But safety experts noted that sex offenses are the crimes least likely to be reported by victims. About 40 percent of the schools surveyed indicated that hate crimes had occurred on their campuses in 1997; only about a third reported this in the previous survey. The University of California at Berkeley (with an enrollment of 29,797), the top institution in drug arrests in 1996, topped the list in 1997 with 179. It was followed again by San Jose State University, with 162. There were 142 arrests at the University of Arizona, 127 at Arizona State University and 126 at the University of Utah. For the second year in a row, Michigan State University (with an enrollment of 41,545) reported the highest number of alcohol-related arrests, 633. Next came the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, with 555. They were followed by the University of California at Berkeley, with 460; Western Michigan University, with 401, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, with 342.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Zero Tolerance - A Euphemism (A list subscriber recalls the old-fashioned word for it was "intolerance.") Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 14:02:18 +0000 To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org) From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc) Subject: Re: "ZERO TOLERANCE" - a euphemism. Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org At 16:33 23/05/99 -0400, Tim Sheridan wrote: >Let's face it. Anyone using the "zero tolerance" code-word is either >wittingly brainwashed or hiding somthing. The reason is that it is a new >word for an old idea. The old term for "zero tolerance" - We call it >"intolerance" Zero Tolerance is a symptom of Zero Thinking.
------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Government Makes It Easier To Buy Marijuana (Reuters follows up on Friday's news about the change in policy that will allow physicans to carry out experiments with medical marijuana, and purchase it from the government. NIDA will not take street prices of the drug into account. "The street stuff isn't grown in a secure environment where they do analysis," said Steve Gust, special assistant to the director of the NIDA. And he warned the government is not in the business of selling the high-grade product. "I think we have a reputation for not growing primo stuff," he laughed. There are three studies underway in the United States now.) Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 16:23:44 -0400 From: David (hansi@lancnews.infi.net) To: "Pot News from hemp SA" (pot-news@beetroot.va.com.au) Subject: [pot-news] U.S. Government Makes It Easier To Buy Marijuana U.S. Government Makes It Easier To Buy Marijuana 02:00 a.m. May 23, 1999 Eastern By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government said Friday it was getting into the business of selling marijuana -- although only to ``bona-fide'' researchers. The problem is, it doesn't know how much to charge and has no idea how many people will be interested in buying. Two months after a government-commissioned study found smoking marijuana may have some medical uses, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it was changing the rules on who can get government-grown marijuana for research. The HHS's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said it would open its program for selling research-grade marijuana to any researcher, not just those funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ``We are expanding the potential availability by saying that we will provide marijuana to bona fide researchers who are not NIH-funded,'' Steve Gust, special assistant to the director of the NIDA, said in a telephone interview Friday. In March the Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the arms of the National Academy of Sciences, backed certain uses of marijuana, which is illegal for any use in most states. The IOM study said marijuana clearly controlled some forms of pain, was not particularly addictive and appeared to help some patients with severe AIDS or cancer symptoms such as nausea, weight loss and lack of appetite. NIDA has for years distributed specially grown marijuana to researchers studying its effects. It is grown in controlled plots at the University of Mississippi, where it is analyzed for purity and content. ``You have to provide a product that you know what it is so you can measure the results,'' HHS spokesman Campbell Gardett said. ``It's research-grade marijuana.'' Gust said the marijuana had been given free to researchers but now his department was going to have to start charging for it. ``We are still trying to cost it, given that this is a change in the way the farm contract works. It's more complicated than you might think,'' he said. NIDA will not take street prices of the drug into account. ''The street stuff isn't grown in a secure environment where they do analysis,'' Gust said. And he warned the government is not in the business of selling the high-grade product. ``I think we have a reputation for not growing primo stuff,'' he laughed. Many of the volunteers testing marijuana for medical effects are long-term users and have offered their critiques. But the research-grade weed is good for the purpose. ``I think the stuff we grow definitely has adequate THC content to have an effect and to be adequately tested for these effects,'' Gust said. THC, or tetrahydrocannobinal, is the main active ingredient in marijuana. Gust said his agency has no idea how many requests it will get for the marijuana. ``I would anticipate that we might get some, based upon past history in terms of proposals that have been submitted to regular NIH channels,'' he said. So far that has only been a handful. But, he added, it could be the attention surround the IOM report would generate more interest. He said only three studies are underway now. One is looking at the safety of smoked marijuana in HIV patients, particularly those taking antiviral drugs. Another about to start at the Medical College of Virginia will compare THC pills to smoked marijuana in moderating pain. Some patients complain that the pills are not as effective. And a team at the University of Chicago is studying whether smoked marijuana works better on THC in easing nausea. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Ritalin At Center Of Addiction Debate (The Chicago Sun-Times says a controversial study by Nadine Lambert, an education professor at the University of California at Berkeley, has contended that the use of Ritalin and other stimulants by children raises the risk of later drug abuse. However, an exactly opposite conclusion has neen reached in a study to be published in the August issue of Pediatrics. Harvard psychiatrist Tim Wilens and his colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital studied 500 children from age 10 to age 15 and found that Ritalin and other drug treatments actually reduced the risk of drug abuse, because untreated kids are more prone to self-medicate and abuse chemicals. The Harvard study parallels findings by psychologist Jan Loney of the State University of New York at Stonybrook.) Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 21:21:46 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US IL: Ritalin At Center Of Addiction Debate Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: EWCHIEF Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 1999 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 1999 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: letters@suntimes.com Website: http://www.suntimes.com/index/ RITALIN AT CENTER OF ADDICTION DEBATE Ritalin, the embattled stimulant drug prescribed to millions of young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is at the center of a new debate. Whirlwinds in perpetual motion, children with ADHD have trouble with focus and impulse control, disrupting their home and school life. But they are also at high risk for drug abuse. Now a controversial study from the University of California at Berkeley contends that Ritalin and other stimulants further raise the risk of drug abuse. Nadine Lambert, a professor of education, followed almost 500 children for 26 years. She argues that exposure to Ritalin makes the brain more susceptible to the addictive power of cocaine, and doubles the risk of abuse. "This reinforces an old stereotype," retorts David Smith, founder of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco. "It's one of the reasons people haven't treated children, for fear it would turn them into addicts." "I very much doubt Ritalin predisposes children to take other drugs of abuse unless they were abusing it," added Nora Volkow, a psychiatrist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y. While Ritalin is addictive if snorted or injected, oral Ritalin taken in the proper dose "doesn't produce a pleasurable high." Other critics contend the study participants who got medication probably had more severe ADHD to begin with than the untreated group - a factor that could explain their higher rates of drug abuse. "I stand by our results," Lambert said Stay tuned. Studies heading for publication later this year will reach exactly the opposite conclusion, finding that Ritalin and other drug treatments actually reduce the risk of drug abuse. Untreated kids are more prone to self-medicate and abuse chemicals, they conclude. Harvard psychiatrist Tim Wilens and his colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital studied 500 children from age 10 to age 15 and exonerate Ritalin. "The unmedicated group of ADHD patients clearly was at risk for substance- abuse disorder in mid-adolescence," Wilens said. By contrast, kids who were treated with stimulants such as Ritalin had lower drug-abuse rates, much like those of a control group that didn't have the disorder. "Drug therapy," he concluded, "was protective." Wilens' study is scheduled to be published in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics. The Harvard study parallels findings by psychologist Jan Loney of the State University of New York at Stonybrook. She tracked 300 Iowa youths who were diagnosed with the disorder in the late '60s and '70s. By their 20s, she said, "we found the medicated kids were less involved with substances of abuse, less antisocial and generally better off than unmedicated kids were." James Swanson, professor of pediatrics and cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine, said ADHD might be rooted in the receptor for the neurotransmitter dopamine. Ritalin is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor - meaning it keeps more of the substance in circulation. Swanson said Ritalin, while effective for many, fails to help 20 percent to 30 percent of patients. Moreover, it wears off in two hours, requiring children to take medicine at school. A newer stimulant, Adderal, is active longer. Other conventional drug treatments include the stimulants Dexedrine and pemoline (Cylert), the drug clonidine (Catapres) and a variety of antidepressants. Soon, the National Institute of Mental Health will air results of a study comparing drugs, behavioral therapy and a combination of the two. Peter Jensen, associate director for child and adolescent research at NIMH, said the study examined 600 children. Drugs alone - Ritalin, Dexedrine, Cylert or the antidepressant imipramine - worked well for simple ADHD, he said. But for many children suffering from related social problems, anxiety or depression, the combination was superior. The behavioral therapy combined a system of rewards for meeting goals with parental education, classroom support and a special summer camp devoted to building skills.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Drug Rumours Haunt Bush Presidency Bid (The Daily Telegraph, in Britain, says campaigners for George W Bush, the leading Republican in the US presidential race, have accused rivals of spreading malicious rumours that the Texas governor was once a user of marijuana and cocaine. American newspapers largely brushed aside dark and persistent rumours about the full extent of Bill Clinton's womanising dueing the 1992 presidential election, but may attempt to be more tenacious this time. One senior Republican said: "After eight years of Bill Clinton, character is an issue that will be looked at closely. The way Bush is answering these questions has fuelled the media's interest.") Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 20:16:01 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: Drug Rumours Haunt Bush Presidency Bid Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie) Pubdate: 23 May 1999 Source: Daily Telegraph (UK) Copyright: of Telegraph Group Limited 1999 Contact: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Author: David Wastell in Washington DRUG RUMOURS HAUNT BUSH PRESIDENCY BID CAMPAIGNERS for George W Bush, the leading Republican in the US presidential race, have accused rivals of spreading malicious rumours that the Texas governor was once a user of marijuana and cocaine. Campaign workers for Bush's Republican opponents, Steve Forbes and Lamar Alexander, are said to have raised the drug question in an effort to slow the momentum of Mr Bush's campaign. Both camps deny it. However, Brian Kennedy, Mr Alexander's campaign director, warned that Mr Bush would continue to face the speculation about drugs until he spoke out. "This sort of talk is out there, and it's encouraged when he admits to having had problems with drink but refuses to answer questions on drugs. Until such time as he gives a full answer, the Governor can expect that it will be an issue in the campaign." At the same time, lawyers acting for Mr Bush's campaign committee are trying to prevent the publishers of Internet websites from displaying similar, unproven allegations that he dabbled in drugs in his youth. The attempt by Mr Bush's team to quash damaging rumours comes as he prepares to leave the relative safety of Texas to try out his campaign nationally. He will be the last of 10 would-be Republican candidates to visit Iowa and New Hampshire, where the first contests for the presidential nomination will be held. Mr Bush has held on to a clear lead over his rivals by avoiding controversy and sticking to his own back-yard. He and his advisers are bracing themselves for fiercer scrutiny once he launches himself on to the national stage. "It will be open season," one ally admitted. Despite the threat of smear-campaigns, Mr Bush has so far stuck to his strategy of refusing to answer questions about what he admits were "mistakes" when he was a younger man. Rumours of wild-living before Mr Bush met and married his wife, Laura, have been fuelled by his admission of heavy drinking before he renounced alcohol at the age of 40, and the lack of denials when asked specific questions about drugs. Karen Hughes, spokeswoman for Mr Bush, said the rumours reflected the "sad state of American politics". She said: "Governor Bush has admitted that he was not perfect, that he made mistakes more than 20 years ago. He is not willing to itemise them because he does not want his own daughters or any other young people in America to do something because he did it." Mr Bush's official line, as he put it in one interview, is: "What I did as a youth is irrelevant to this campaign. What is relevant is, have you grown up, and I have." But the result is a widespread belief, despite the lack of any evidence, that there is, as one Democrat strategist put it, "something waiting in the woodwork". The "character issue" is certain to dominate the run-up to the 2000 elections following the stream of revelations about Bill Clinton's philandering private life. And two leading American broadsheet newspapers have this month run lengthy investigations into Mr Bush's past as the subject has come to the fore. After interviewing dozens of past friends and acquaintances, the conservative Wall Street Journal concluded that there was not a "shred of proof" to the cocaine rumours, which it put down to a "culture of gossip". The New York Times investigated Mr Bush's business dealings at even greater length, but found little to criticise. Allegations of drug use by Mr Bush have been aired or hinted at on dozens of television shows and in the pages of more than a score of newspapers and magazines. The front-page Wall Street Journal report, under the headline "Empty Chatter", included what it calls a "gossip-circuit favourite", that Mr Bush bought cocaine on a Washington street corner and was high on the drug at his father's inauguration as president. But two friends who were with him at the ceremony categorically denied that he had been taking drugs. The article also featured another suggestion that there exists a photograph of the governor in his younger days dancing naked on top of a bar. But although the paper quoted the former social chairman of Mr Bush's Yale fraternity recalling that "Saturday night was party night" and "we drank a lot of beer", the closest it came to establishing drug abuse was the suggestion that the Texas governor once used to chew tobacco. Other Bush contemporaries were quoted as saying that they did not believe he had ever used drugs. Republican strategists admit that it is unusual for there to be this degree of scrutiny of a potential presidential candidate so long before the election. The first primary contests will be held next February, and the election itself is still 18 months away. American newspapers largely brushed aside dark and persistent rumours about the full extent of Bill Clinton's womanising in the run-up to the 1992 presidential election, but may attempt to be more tenacious this time. One senior Republican said: "After eight years of Bill Clinton, character is an issue that will be looked at closely. The way Bush is answering these questions has fuelled the media's interest."
------------------------------------------------------------------- Courts To Spare Addicts (The Independent on Sunday says Jack Cunningham, the British Cabinet Office minister, will announce Tuesday in a Commons statement that criminals who use drugs are to be sent into rehabilitation centres rather than prison as part of a government drive to halve the rate of reoffending among addicts. Ministers believe that many soft-drug users move on to harder substances while in prison.) Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 12:31:15 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: UK: Courts To Spare Addicts Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie) Pubdate: 23 May 1999 Source: Independent on Sunday (UK) Copyright: Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd. Contact: letters@independent.co.uk Address: 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/sindy/sindy.html Author: Rachel Sylvester COURTS TO SPARE ADDICTS CRIMINALS who use drugs are to be sent into rehabilitation centres rather than prison as part of a government drive to halve the rate of reoffending among addicts, writes RACHEL SYLVESTER. Jack Cunningham, the Cabinet Office minister, will announce - in a Commons statement on Tuesday - tough new targets for cutting crimes committed by drug users as part of a drive to tackle the wide-ranging social effects of narcotics. He will say that the Government aims to reduce addicts' reoffending by a quarter by 2005 and by a half by 2008. Judges will be encouraged to send offenders for treatment rather than to jail, as ministers believe that many soft-drug users move onto harder substances while in prison. Tony Blair will say that the policy - which has been piloted around the country - is designed to "break the terrible cycle of drugs and crime which blights so many lives". New research shows that about a third of 14-year-olds have experimented with illegal substances and the majority of 16-year-olds say they have been offered drugs. Home Office findings, to be published this week, show a clear correlation between drug abuse and crime. The research, conducted by Keith Hellawell, the Government's drugs "czar", shows that drug addicts are responsible for 30 per cent of all crimes, but only 20 per cent had received any treatment for addiction. It found that heroin and cocaine addicts generally earn between UKP10,000 and UKP20,000 a year from crime. Ministers believe that drug treatment orders - through which addicts are sent for counselling rather than to jail - have been successful in trials and have decided to roll out the programme nationally from April. George Howarth, the Home Office minister, said yesterday that the Government wanted to take a flexible approach to the problem. "The courts [have] an option to say to young people or anyone involved in drugs and crime, get off drugs and we can work with you," he told the BBC. "The other option might be prison."
------------------------------------------------------------------- West Falls Prey To Depression (The Guardian Weekly, in London, says an annual report on the health of the world's 6 billion people, released last week by the World Health Organisation, indicates depression is the second leading cause of death after heart disease in affluent Europe and the United States. Using what they called the disability adjusted life year, WHO experts also measured the real burden of diseases that generally don't show up on cause-of-death lists. In the high-income countries of the West they found that neuropsychiatric conditions - from depression to alcohol or drug dependence, dementia and panic disorder - accounted for 23 per cent of the disease burden, heart disease 18 per cent and cancers 15 per cent.) Date: Sun, 30 May 1999 14:46:24 +0000 To: editor@mapinc.org From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc) Subject: [] Guardian Weekly: West Falls Prey To Depression Newshawk: Peter Webster Pubdate: May 23, 1999 Source: The Guardian Weekly (London) Page: 7 Contact: weekly@guardian.co.uk Copyright: Guardian Publications 1999 Author: Sarah Boseley WEST FALLS PREY TO DEPRESSION Sarah Boseley Depression is the second greatest cause of death after heart disease in affluent Europe and the United States, according to figures from the World Health Organisation. The findings surprised even Who officials, who last week published their annual report on the health of the world's 6 billion people. For the first time, they published statistics not only for mortality from disease, but for combined premature death and disability. Using what they called the Daly (disability adjusted life year), Who experts measured the real burden of disease and ill health. In the high-income countries of the West they found that neuropsychiatric conditions - from depression to alcohol or drug dependence, dementia and panic disorder - accounted for 23 per cent of the disease burden, heart disease 18 per cent and cancers 15 per cent. "Neuropsychiatric conditions have been ignored for a long time, as they are absent from cause of death lists," said the report. "However, when disease burden measurement includes time lived with a disability, several of the neuropsychiatric disorders become leading causes of disease burden worldwide. "Depressive illness was on the rise throughout the world, and in some developing countries, where depression might not be recognised in the same way as in the West, it was probably still being underestimated." Heart disease and stroke were the other most significant causes of lost years of active life, not only in higher-income countries, but also increasingly in the developing world, which was fast adopting a Western way of life, filled with junk food, cigarettes and lack of exercise. By 2020 heart disease will be the greatest single cause of death. Lung cancer caused by smoking was the biggest problem among the cancers. Recent studies showed half of smokers died of the habit, and if trends continued tobacco would kill 10 million people a year by 2030. The Who also reported that Aids has become the world's most deadly infectious disease, causing more than 2.28 million deaths worldwide last year, 2 million of those in Africa. Diseases caused by bacteria such as tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, and dysentery were still causing concern. "Possibly 1 million to 2 million die because of malaria each year. That is absolutely unnecessary," said Dr David Nabarro, incharge of the Who's anti-malaria project.For the first time the report took a strong stand on the economic folly of allowing poor people to suffer from disease. Countries in the developing world that wanted to prosper needed healthy citizens to create wealth rather than becoming a drain on resources. The Guardian Weekly Volume 160 Issue 21 for week ending May 23, 1999, Page 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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