1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
February 12-18

Thursday, February 12, 1998:
• NORML Weekly News (Canadian AIDS Patient Files Civil Suit Demanding Federal Government Supply Medical Marijuana; Growing Number Of US College Students Say They Support Legalizing Marijuana; Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Agrees To Retry Seven Year Old Marijuana Seed Case - Selective Prosecution Motivated By Defendant's Activism; Arbitration Court Rules Snowboarder May Keep Gold Medal Despite Positive Drug Test)
• Drug Use In Prisons Fades After Random Tests ('Associated Press' Story In 'The Oregonian' Says Use Of Illegal Drugs In State Prisons Has Declined Since Drug Testing Of Inmates Began Almost A Decade Ago - But Fails To Note Drug Testing Of Everyone Else Has Had No Effect Either)
• Portland, Oregon, Methadone Support Demonstration (Floyd Ferris Landrath Of American Antiprohibition League Announces Plans For Weekly Demonstrations Every Saturday To Protect Clinic From Ignorant, Illiberal Neighbors)
• Narcotics Team Back At Work After Inquiry ('Statesman Journal' In Salem, Oregon, Says Allegations Against Linn-Benton Police Found To Be 'Substantially Lacking In Factual Basis' - By Other Police)
• Medical Marijuana Advocates Accuse California AG Lungren Of Lying About Proposition 215, Then Lying To Cover Up The Lies ('Marijuananews.com' Recaps Two Cases In Which California Officials Contradict Statistics, Reporters - And Will Of People)
• Pot-Smoking Advocate Seeks Judge's Okay ('Orange County Register' Notes 27-Year-Old Cancer And Medical Marijuana Patient Todd McCormick Asks Federal Judge In California To Be Allowed To Use Medicine Pending Trial For Bel-Air Bust With 4,116 Plants)
• Cancer Patient Seeks Judge's OK To Use Marijuana ('Los Angeles Times' Version Notes Hearing Scheduled March 9)
• City Sued For Alleged Mishandling Of Medicinal Marijuana Petitions ('Press-Herald' In Portland, Maine, Says Mainers For Medical Rights Are 2,433 Signatures Short Of Getting On Ballot, But Portland Officials Are Sitting On 3,239)
• New Hampshire Hemp Bill Killed (Local Activist Says HB 1576, Industrial Hemp Bill, Dies In 175-164 Legislative Floor Vote)
• Club Owner Acquitted Of Drug Charge ('Associated Press' Says Lawyer For New York Nightclub Owner Accused Prosecutors Of Using Fabricated Evidence And Uncorroborated Testimony By Several Convicted Criminals To Go After His Client For Sales Of Ecstasy, Cocaine, At The Limelight And The Tunnel)
• Two Students Are Expelled For Having Legal Drugs ('St. Louis Post Dispatch' Says Two Of Four Girls At North Junior High School In Collinsville Had No-Doz, Aleve, And Prescription Drug For Acne)
• Satcher Sworn In As Surgeon General ('Los Angeles Times' Says First US Surgeon General Since Dr. Joycelyn Elders Was Forced Out Over Marijuana Statements Will Use His Bully Pulpit To Focus On Personal Responsibility For Improving Health, Including Prevention Of Teenage Pregnancy And Smoking - But Not Trauma Caused By Record 641,641 Marijuana Arrests In 1996)
• Democrats On Track With Tobacco Bill ('San Francisco Chronicle' Staff Editorial Endorses Anti-Tobacco Bill Unveiled Yesterday By Vice President Al Gore And Several Democratic Senators Because It Would Impose Harsh Monetary Penalties On Tobacco Companies If They Fail To Reduce Teen Smoking By 67 Percent Over 10 Years)
• Derapage For Pain (List Subscriber Comments On FDA Recall Of Duract, A Patented Pain-Killer That Rots Your Liver)
• Drug Raid Error Irks Senior Citizen (UPI Says 72-Year-Old Man In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Who Had Asked Police To Round Up Drug Dealers In His Neighborhood Was Watching 'Law And Order' When A SWAT Team Broke In, Mistaking Him For A Drug Dealer)
• Panel Meeting To Decide Fate Of Rebagliati ('Oakland Tribune' Notes Arbitration Panel Met Wednesday To Decide Whether To Return Gold Medal To Canadian Snowboarder Or To Uphold International Olympic Committee's Decision To Take Away Medal Because Athlete Tested Positive For Marijuana)
• The Highest High And Lowest Low ('Toronto Sun' Columnist Hopes Debate Over Olympic Snowboarder Ross Rebagliati Testing Positive For Cannabis Will Provide Some Answers 'For Those Of Us Who Aren't Really Opposed To Marijuana, Just Reticent About The Prospect Of Its Widespread Use' - Though Use Is Less Than 5 Percent Even Where It's Decriminalized)
• Canada, What Else Can Happen? ('Orange County Register' Columnist Jokes That, When Canadians Claimed They Were Going To Win More Winter Olympic Medals Than The US, They Weren't Just Blowing Smoke - Well, Maybe One Of Them Was)
• Reefer Madness Clouds Issue ('Toronto Sun' Columnist Ponders Stripping Of Olympic Gold Medal From Canadian Snowboarder And Concludes, 'I Guess We Better Change Those Marijuana Laws')
• Gold Medal Restored To Canadian Snowboarder ('Associated Press' Says Court For Arbitration Of Sport Ruled On One Point Only - That International Olympic Committee, Lacking Agreement With International Ski Federation On Marijuana Use, Could Not Sanction Ross Rebagliati For Positive Urine Test)
• 'Boarder Gets Medal Back ('Toronto Star' Version)
• Final Victory For Rebagliati - CBC - The National Transcripts On Ross Rebagliati (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Television Newscast From Winter Olympics In Nagano, Japan, Notes Snowboarder's Gold Medal Has Been Returned)
• Canadian Vows To Don Gas Mask Near Dope-Smoking Friends ('Reuters' Misses Use Of Word 'Might' In Ross Rebagliati's First Appearance Before Media Since He Won-Lost-Won His Gold Medal Over Positive Marijuana Test)
• What Rebagliati Really Said (List Subscriber Quotes Directly From Press Conference)
• Canada Backs Rebagliati - Support Strong In Medal Battle ('Calgary Herald' Says Many Of Canada's Political And Sports Leaders Came To Defence Wednesday Of Ross Rebagliati, Gold-Medal Winning Olympic Snowboarder Who Tested Positive For Marijuana)
• Rebagliati Still A Hero - Many Factors Determine How Long Marijuana Stays In Bodies (Interesting Details About Urine Testing In 'Hamilton Spectator' Story)
• Rebagliati Now Worth Even More, Agent Says ('Vancouver Sun' Quotes Barry Frank Of New York's International Management Group Saying, 'I Can't Think Of A Single Sponsor Who Would Take Him, Aside From The Hemp Growers Of America,' But Marc Emery Of Hemp BC Says Rebagliati Is Now Poster Boy For BC's Billion Dollar Marijuana Industry, And There Is Already Talk Of Naming A Strain Of BC's World-Renowned Pot Golden Boy, In Rebagliati's Honour)
• Don't Forget You're Still King Of The Hill (The Dinger, A Columnist For 'The Calgary Sun,' Sympathizes With Canadian Snowboarder At Olympics Who Tested Positive For Cannabis)
• There Was A Lot Of Pot Smoking Going On (Three-Part Article In 'Ottawa Citizen' Provides Background On Olympic Gold Medal Winner's Milieu In British Columbia, Prevalence Of Cannabis Use, Asks Did He Or Didn't He, Outlines Leagues' Testing Policies)
• Whistler Wake Thick With Smoke ('Calgary Herald' Article, Also In Previous Three-Part 'Ottawa Citizen' Item, Portrays Olympic Snowboarder's Background In British Columbia - Says He Was Exposed To Second-Hand Smoke January 13 During Wake For Friend At Shredder Bar)
• Marijuana Rule Shameless - Rebagliati Deserves Gold Medal Honor (Exasperated Op-Ed By 'Ottawa Sun' Reporter Against Cannabis Prohibition, Reminiscent Of Speech In US Congress That Turned Tide Against McCarthyism)
• Don't Let International Olympic Committee Disgrace A True Hero ('Calgary Sun' Sports Columnist Protests Possible Loss Of Snowboarder's Gold Medal Over Urine Test - Notes, 'Isn't It Ironic The People At Canada Centre For Drug-Free Sport Have Been Working Around The Clock In An Effort To Help Rebagliati Beat A Drug Rap?')
• Ross Robbed Of Reputation (Licia Corbella, Editor Of 'Calgary Sun,' Says, 'Under The Same Circumstances, You Can Bet The IOC Wouldn't Pull Such A Stunt On An American Or A German' - And Quotes One Of World's Top Urine-Testing Experts, Dr. Siu Chan, Director Of Calgary's Centre For Toxicology And Head Of Drug Testing At Calgary's 1988 Winter Olympics, Who Says, 'We Have Been Doing The Legal Analysis Of Marijuana In Urine And My Policy Is If It's Under 18 Nanograms, We Won't Report It Because There's A Statistical Chance That It's Actually Under 15' - So There You Go - There Is A Chance That The Reading Of 17.8 Could Actually Be 14.9 Or Less - That's The Science)
• Rebagliati Bitter Against Canadian Testers (Or At Least, According To 'Canadian Press' Item Quoting Him On CBC-TV Thursday Evening, He Wants To Know Why He Wasn't Told He Had Traces Of Cannabis In His System Before He Went To Nagano, Japan, For Winter Olympics)
• Re - Olympic Snowboarder Gets His Gold Back (Drug Policy Reform Activist Adam J. Smith Recounts Interview With Australian Radio - Relevant Question Is Whether Or Not Marijuana Enhances Athletes' Performance - Plus Other Commentary From List Subscribers)
• Our Opinion (Excellent Staff Editorial In Alberta's 'Lethbridge Herald' About Near-Loss Of Canadian Snowboarder's Gold Medal Observes, 'By Appearing To Take A Stand On A Social Issue, The IOC Has Wandered Off The Sporting Track - If Social Issues Were Important To It In The First Place, It Would Have Upheld Its Ban Against Professionals, The Moscow Summer Olympics Never Would Have Been Held, And The Nations Known To Be Experimenting With Performance Drugs Would Have Been Kicked Out Years Ago')
• Snowboarders On The Loose - Olympics Asked For It (In Aftermath Of Gold Medal Being Stripped Due To Supposedly Positive Urine Test For Cannabis, 'San Francisco Chronicle' Sports Columnist Pokes Fun At Stereotypes Of Snowboarders, But Notes, 'Television Loves The Board-Guys - They Fit The Demographic Perfectly - Let's Be Honest, Do You Think The Olympics Are Adding Sports To Give Committed Young Athletes A Chance To Compete Against The Best In The World? Or Is It To Get Killer Ratings On TV? Exactly)
• Riders Line Up To Support Rebagliati ('The Oregonian' Says 'Blow To Snowboarding Came At A Time When The Sport Was Gaining New Legitimacy')
• Workplace Drug-Testing Ruled Illegal (Canadian Press Item In 'Halifax Daily News' Says Ontario Court Has Thrown Out Imperial Oil's Tough Alcohol- And Other Drugs-Testing Policy As Discriminatory - Court Also Affirms Dependence On Alcohol, Other Drugs Are Handicaps Under Human-Rights Legislation)
• Addiction Policy Slammed - Imperial Oil Relied On Stereotypes ('Calgary Sun' Version)
• Pregnant Women Are Warned Not To Panic Over Tap Water Scare ('Vancouver Sun' Reports New Study In Journal 'Epidemiology,' Based On Research In California, Shows Pregnant Women In First Trimester Who Drink Plenty Of Chlorinated Tap Water May Be At Higher Risk Of Miscarriage)
• Police Finish Off Arthrology (Canadian Hempster Says Police In Vancouver, British Columbia, Have Shut Down Cannabis Speakeasy Once And For All, This Time Busting Proprietor Wayne 'Bubba' Lubkey - Who Says Arthrology Will Reopen Elsewhere)
• Hemp BC Update (Despite What You May Have Heard About Events In Vancouver, British Columbia, Hemp BC, Cannabis Canada, Cannabis Cafe And HempBC Web Site Are Still Very Much In Business - But There Have Been Some Big Changes)
• West Vancouver, British Columbia Students To Be Asked About Sex, Drugs ('Vancouver Sun' Says School Trustees Allow Survey On Adolescent Health With Questions About Sex, Alcohol, Other Drugs)
• Boxer Punches Home Anti-Drug Message ('The Guardian' Portrays 60-Year-Old Canadian Boxing Legend George Chuvalo - After Illegal Heroin Claimed Lives Of Three Sons, In Past Six Months He's Talked To 200,000 Schoolchildren)
• Fantasy Ordered Over The Internet By Mistake (Australian Broadcasting Corporation Says 26-Year-Old Who Ordered Designer Drug Fantasy, Or GBH, From United States Distributor, Avoids Conviction, Saying He Thought It Was Health Food, Not Illegal)
• Growing Heroin Problem Outside Dublin (Despite Ireland's Punitive Anti-Drug Policies, Increasingly Like Those In US, 'Republican News' Says Youth In Counties Monaghan, Cavan And Meath Are Now 'Chasing The Dragon' - Smoking Heroin - In A Serious Extension Of A Crisis That Was Long Confined To The Capital)
• Antiprohibitionist Action Report, Year 4, Number 3 (Summary For Activists Of International Drug Policy Reform News, From CORA In Italy)
  Bytes: 194,000 Last updated: 5/22/98
  

  Friday, February 13, 1998:

• Dons' Roommate Indicted On Eight Charges - Jeffery Moore Arrested For Drug Possession And Child Neglect (KOIN News, Portland's CBS Affiliate, Notes Multnomah County District Attorney Is Drumming Up Charges Against Housemate Of The Victim Of The Portland Marijuana Task Force's Warrantless Break-In - But Fails To Explain How A Plant That Never Killed Anyone, Kept Behind A Locked Door, Endangers A Visiting Child)
• Medical Pot Users Cry Foul - They Say San Francisco Cops Are Harassing Them - Police Deny It ('San Francisco Chronicle' Portrays Public Hearing Where A Man In A Wheelchair Breaks Into Tears While Speaking Before The Board Of Supervisors' Health, Family And Environment Committee)
• Medical Pot Law A Headache For Cops ('San Francisco Examiner' Notes San Francisco Police Department's Top Anti-Drug Enforcer, Lt. Mike Puccinelli, Complains Officers Have To Determine When Pot Is Legitimate, Even Though Rules Aren't Clearly Spelled Out, But Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Who Held A City Hall Hearing Thursday On City's Compliance With California Compassionate Use Act, Is Calling For Coordinated Effort Among City Agencies To Address Everything From Access To Enforcement)
• Satcher Dodges Cannabis Decrim Question ('New York Times' Notes Dr. David Satcher Sworn In As US Surgeon General For Five-Year Term - Office Vacant For Three Years, Since Dr. Joycelyn Elders Was Dismissed In December 1994 After Suggesting Decriminalization Of Marijuana Be Considered - Satcher Says He 'Doesn't Have The Information That Would Lead Me To Favor Decriminalization')
• Clinton Launches $17.1 Billion Anti-Drug Strategy ('Reuters' Notes Proposal For $17.1 Billion Budget For Drug Czar's Office To Do More Of The Same Comes Despite Its Own Litany Of Failures On Every Front Of War On Some Drugs - Interesting Statistics Cited Include $30 Billion Americans Still Spend On Cocaine)
• White House Crafts Plan To Halve Illicit Drug Trade ('Los Angeles Times' Account Of Drug-War Budget For ONDCP Celebrates Clinton's 10-Year-Plan To Cut 'Chronic Drug Users' In Half As If It Weren't Just More Of The Same Old Failed Policies Based On False Assumptions)
• Bills Get Tough On Drunken Drivers ('Associated Press' Says Washington State Senate Approves Politically Chic Anti-Drunken Driver Bills, But Not Money To Enforce Them - As If Legislature Ever Appropriated All Money Needed To Arrest, Prosecute, Imprison 7 Percent Of Population Using Illegal Drugs)
• Votes Are Bad News For Crime (Showing A Touching Triumph Of Faith Over Experience In Its Headline, 'Wisconsin State Journal' Notes Wisconsin Senate Votes 24-4 To Keep Convicts Behind Bars For Full Sentences - Proposal May Cost Taxpayers $1 Billion - State Prison Budget More Than $666 Million In 1997-98)
• Mexico Drug War Diverts Cocaine Back To Florida ('Reuters' Quotes DEA Official Alleging Bloody Drug War In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Is Forcing Cocaine Cartels To Shift Smuggling Routes From US-Mexico Border Back To Florida)
• Rebagliati Case Message Concerns Educators, Police ('London Free Press' In Ontario Solicits Drug Warriors' Spin On Canadian Snowboarder Ross Rebagliati Testing Positive For Pot After Winning Olympic Gold Medal - 'It Says To Young People, This Marijuana Thing's Not So Bad')
• Marijuana Penalty Should Have Stood (Self-Righteous 'Philadelphia Inquirer' Sports Columnist Says Giving Gold Medal Back To Snowboarder Who Tested Positive For Cannabis 'Just Reinforced The Impression Rebagliati Has That A Lifestyle That Involves Regular Exposure To Drugs Is Accepted In The Olympic Community')
• Don Cherry Wants To Cut Your Heart Out (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Allegedly Gives Forum To Bar Owner/Commentator Who Says Twice, Regarding Furor Over Olympic Gold Medal-Winning Snowboarder, 'I'd Cut The Heart Out Of Anyone Who Came Near Me Who Had Touched Marijuana')
• Golden High - Get Baked, Snowboard, Keep Gold Medal, Not Bad ('Associated Press' Notes Court For Arbitration Of Sport Reinstated Ross Rebagliati's Olympic Award Thursday)
• Legalized Pot Proponents See Golden Opportunity For Debate ('Victoria Times-Colonist' Says Outpouring Of Support By Canadians For Embattled Olympic Snowboarder Ross Rebagliati Has Been A Mind-Expending Experience For Parliamentarians - Several Canadian Politicians Said Thursday They Would Welcome Debate On Decriminalizing Marijuana Use After Rebagliati's Positive Test For Pot At Winter Games)
• Olympic Marijuana Debate - Don't Worry About The Kids ('Halifax Daily News' Interviews Andrew Nelson, 18-Year-Old Snowboarding Son Of National Ski Industry Association Executive, Who Says Parents Shouldn't Worry That Giving Ross Rebagliati His Medal Back Sends A Message To Kids That Drugs Are OK)
• Canada Opens Heart To Marijuana (Quoting Several Prominent Canadian Politicians, Dan Loehndorf Writes That, When Rebagliati's Gold Medal Was Threatened, Canada Became Polarized On Marijuana Issue, But When Medal Was Returned, It Was A Message Of Tolerance For Marijuana Smokers Everywhere, Especially In British Columbia, Where Rebagliati Lives And Trains - Emotionally, The Country Began To Accept The Harmlessness Of The Healing Herb)
• Police Columnist Backs Down (List Subscriber Says Police-Officer Columnist For 'Vancouver Province' Today Retracted February 6 Piece - Admits Marijuana Smoking Should Be Personal Choice)
• Overworked Police Have Given Up Solving Petty Crime ('Ottawa Citizen' Says Crime Isn't Rising, But With Police Resources Limited Now Because Provincial Government Has Made Municipalities Fully Responsible For Police Funding, In Most Major Cities, Police Have Effectively Given Up On Property Crimes)
• Man Warned Over Importing Drug Compounds Off Internet ('Canberra Times' Version Of Yesterday's News Notes Man In Downer, Australia, Used Computer To Import Gamma Butyrolactone And Sodium Hydroxide, Reportedly Legal In Parts Of United States)
• Tobacco Litigation ('Alcohol And Other Drugs Council Of Australia News Of The Day' Says Lawyers Experienced In Asbestos Litigation Are Suing Federal Government For Supplying Cigarettes To Australian Troops In Vietnam)
• The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 29 (News Summary For Activists, From The Drug Reform Coordination Network - Articles Include - ONDCP 1999 Drug Strategy To Be Released This Saturday; 69th Anniversary Of The St. Valentine's Day Massacre; Penn State Professor Continues Marijuana Civil Disobedience For Fourth Consecutive Week; And Editorial By Adam J. Smith - Give Us Just One Good Reason Why The Olympic Committee Is Testing Athletes For Marijuana)
  Bytes: 104,00 Last updated: 5/22/98
  

  Saturday, February 14, 1998:

• Steven Douglas Dons And His Roommate, Jeffery Harlan Moore, Face Child-Neglect And Drug Counts ('The Oregonian' Notes Multnomah County District Attorney Is Throwing Book At Victim Of Portland Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In, And Now His Neighbor, But Fails To Explain How A Plant That Never Killed Anyone, Kept Behind Locked Door, Endangers A Visiting Child, Or, When 7 Percent Of Population Is Using Illegal Drugs, How Many Billions Of Dollars It Will Cost To Prosecute All Such Parents And Put All Their Kids In Foster Homes)
• Criminals Force Police Into An Arms Race ('Oregonian' Article Written In Response To Fatal Cop Shooting During Warrantless Break-In By Portland Marijuana Task Force Makes It Sound Like Police Don't Already Have A Military Arsenal At Their Disposal That Has Already Cost City Six-Figure Legal Settlement To Victims)
• Medical Marijuana Advocates Frustrated ('Bangor Daily News' Says A Kennebec County Superior Court Judge Heard Arguments Friday In Mainers' For Medical Rights Attempt To Get City Of Portland, Maine, To Live Up To The Law And Certify Signatures For Initiative Petition)
• Judge To Decide Whether Petition Can Miss Deadline ('Portland Press Herald' Version)
• President Touts Cigarette Tax Hike ('Houston Chronicle' Says Overeating Cigar Smoker Wants $1.10 Per Pack Increase To Cut Teen Smoking In Half - Will Only Rich People Be Allowed To Smoke? Hell Of A Way To Deglamorize Tobacco...)
• Clinton, Gingrich Bicker On Drugs ('Associated Press' Notes President Lays Out New 10-Year Plan To Cut Illegal-Drug Use 50 Percent - Proposed Budget For Drug Czar's Office $17.1 Billion Next Year, Up 6.8 Percent - Gingrich Would Prefer Four-Year Civil War But Doesn't Mention Cost - Plus, URL For 1998 National Drug Control Strategy)
• Clinton Wants Illegal Drug Use Cut In Half ('Reuters' Story On Proposed Budget For Federal Drug War)
• Gingrich - Clinton Drug Plan Failure ('United Press International' Quotes House Speaker Saying Proposed Budget For Federal Drug War Is DOA, Republicans Will Wage 'World War II-Style Victory Campaign Against Illegal Drugs')
• Record Budget Sought To Carry Out Drug War - $17 Billion Requested For Agents, Equipment ('Houston Chronicle' Account Of US Federal Money-For-Drugs Proposal)
• California Highway Patrol Study On Cannabis-Smoking Drivers Found Some Drive Better (List Subscriber Posts Quote From Book, 'Marijuana - Not Guilty As Charged,' About 1986 Research Published By California Department Of Justice, 'Marijuana And Alcohol - A Driver Performance Study')
• Study Turns Up Little Proof Of Date-Rape Drug ('Associated Press' Report In 'Orange County Register' Says Study Of 578 Rape Victims Found Rohypnol In Five - But Alcohol In 40 Percent, According To Dr. Mahmoud El-Sohly Of University Of Mississippi, Speaking At American Academy Of Forensic Sciences Conference In San Francisco)
• Likeliest Date-Rape Drug Used Is Alcohol, According To Study ('Houston Chronicle' Version Of 'Associated Press' Story, Somewhat Different)
• Anti-Drug Mexican Journalist Gunned Down ('Dallas Morning News' Says Mexico City's 'Reforma' Newspaper Quoted Witnesses Saying Eight Police Agents Surrounded Luis Mario Garcia On Thursday Night And Roughed Him Up Before One Of Them Drew A Gun And Killed Him)
• Drug Lord Slain In Inside Job, Officials Allege ('Los Angeles Times' Quotes Top Mexican Anti-Drug Prosecutor Mariano Herran Salvatti Saying Cocaine Cartel Of Amado Carrillo Fuentes Ordered Him Killed In July Because He Had Become A Liability - Story Also Alleges Three Plastic Surgeons Who Killed Fuentes Were Then Tortured To Death By Fuentes' Family In Attempt To Discover Mastermind)
• Rebagliati Disgraces Medal ('Ottawa Sun' Columnist Who's Lived In His Ivory Tower Too Long Insists Canadian Snowboarder Who Won Olympic Gold Medal And Tested Positive For Cannabis Broke The Rules)
• Re - Rebagliati Disgraces Medal (Letter To Editor Of 'Ottawa Sun' Responds To Rant By Nauseated Columnist, Noting November Angus Reid Poll Showed Majority Of Canadians Favour Cannabis Decriminalization - Suggests Columnist Avail Himself Of Medical Marijuana From Ottawa Club)
• Re - Rebagliati Disgraces Medal (Another Letter To Editor Of 'Ottawa Sun' Rebuts Assertion By Columnist Earl McRae That Marijuana Is 'Illegal For Good Reason')
• Chretien Says He's Opposed To Relaxing Marijuana Laws ('London Free Press' In Ontario Quotes Canadian Prime Minister After His Moment Of Weakness Friday When He Cautiously Endorsed Ross Rebagliati Being Allowed To Keep His Olympic Gold Medal Despite Testing Positive For Cannabis)
• Olympic Winning Boxer Smoked Pot (List Subscriber Notes Canadian Snowboarder Who Just Won Gold Medal, Then Tested Positive For Cannabis Metabolites, Isn't First Great Green Hope - 1992 'Sports Illustrated' Article Documents Case Of US Boxer Eric Griffin, Disqualified From 1988 Team Over Positive Test)
• Clubs Grow Like Weeds ('Toronto Sun' Says Eight Dispensaries For Medical Marijuana Are Or Soon Will Be Serving Patients In Toronto, Southern Ontario)
• Medical Pot Users To Form Buyer Network ('Toronto Star' Version Also Notes Activists Face Life In Prison For Trafficking)
• Marijuana Buyers Clubs Launched ('Ottawa Citizen' Says Six Civilly Disobedient Outlets Are Planned For Ontario In Aftermath Of Ontario Court's Ruling Giving Toronto Man With Epilepsy Constitutional Right To Grow And Smoke Marijuana)
• Pot Club To Open Here ('London Free Press' Says Medical Marijuana Buyers Clubs Of Ontario Will Open A Medical Cannabis Dispensary In London By Late March)
• Canadian Crime At Crossroads, US Expert Warns ('Halifax Daily News' Says William Bratton, New York City's Police Commissioner In Mid-1990s, Recommends Giuliani's Tactics Of Harassing Squeegee Kids, But Some Look At New York's New And Improved Murder Rate - 800 Last Year Per 7.5 Million People, Compared To 61 In Canada's Largest City, With 2.2 Million, And Note That Efficacy Of Bratton's And Giuliani's Tactics Is 'Completely Unsubstantiated')
• Colombian Army Accused In Massacre ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says Colombian Soldiers Did Nothing To Stop, And May Have Aided, Paramilitary Gunmen Kill 48 Civilians Suspected Of Sympathizing With Guerrillas - Paramilitary Death Squads Could Be Seeking To Wrest Control Of Cocaine Trade, As They Have Done In Other Regions Recently)
• Skipper Free After Cocaine Charges Are Thrown Out (Ireland's 'Examiner' Notes Case Against Icelandic Captain At Cork Circuit Criminal Court Collapses And He Walks Free)
  Bytes: 111,000 Last updated: 2/28/98
  

  Sunday, February 15, 1998:

• Drug Problem's No Secret (Letter To Editor Of 'Bulletin' In Bend, Oregon, Responds To Its Article About Poly-Drug Abuser, Asking, 'What's The Point?')
• DARE Fails Test (Letter To Editor Of Bend, Oregon, 'Bulletin,' Says Last Sunday's Fear Fest About Illegal Drug Use By Teens Just Shows DARE Has Been Ineffective)
• Pot, Trust, Truth In Legal Tangle ('The Herald' In Everett, Washington, Says Local Defense Lawyers Are Crying Foul Over Government's Use Of Attorney Mark Mestel's Own Private Investigator As Confidential Informant Implicating Him In Cannabis Cultivation Ring)
• Sonny Bono Was Not Drug Free After All (List Subscriber Recounts And Speculates About Seattle 'Post-Intelligencer' Item Saying Late GOP Senator From California Had Valium And 'Another Sedative' In His System)
• QuickTrading Company Site Update (Fred Quick Of QuickTrading Book Company, A Top Seller Of Cannabis-Related Titles, Offers Ecstacy For Half-Price Over Web - $10 Book Debunks Myths About Rave Drug, Both MDMA And Herbal Form)
• Will Fear Again Rule The Neighborhood? ('Los Angeles Times' Examines Infusion Of Resources Beginning Four Years Ago By City Of Los Angeles In Unprecedented Effort To Salvage Alvarado Corridor, A Once Fashionable Neighborhood West Of Downtown That Had Degenerated Into West Coast's Largest, Most Violent Market For Illegal Drugs)
• Predatory Billboards Encourage Addictions (Dick Gregory In 'San Francisco Examiner' Applauds Removal Of Billboards By What He Says Are Predominantly African American And Latino Communities Where Tobacco, Alcohol Industries Use Them To 'Push Their Drugs')
• Straight Edge, Bent View - Suburban Gangs Says No To Drugs, Smoking, Sex But Yes To Violence ('Houston Chronicle' Says 'Straight Edger' Teen Gangs In Salt Lake City, Utah, Eschew Mormon Vices, Travel In Packs' From 'One Bloody Melee To Another')
• Gingrich Blasts Clinton's Anti-Drug Plan As A 'Timetable For Defeat' ('Los Angeles Times' Account Of Dueling Radio Broadcasts Saturday Quotes Clinton Saying Drug Use Down By Half Since 1979 And Gingrich Saying It's Up Among Teens By 70 Percent Since 1992)
• Chill Out Dude, You're A Hero (Columnist Rick Gibbons In 'Ottawa Sun' Says, 'The Point Is That Somehow Rebagliati Accomplished Something Far Beyond Capturing An Olympic Gold Medal - Somehow, He Also Turned Entire Country On Its Head, Triggering Renewed Debate On Issue Of Legalizing Marijuana - The Nightly News Tells Us Drug Industry In Canada Is Largely Organized And Controlled By Criminal Bike Gangs And Colombian Drug Kingpins, But Make A Good-Looking Boy Next Door The Poster Child For Illegal Marijuana Use And Public Opinion Shifts Rather Dramatically')
• When The Smoke Clears . . . (Staff Editorial In 'Ottawa Citizen' Says Ross Rebagliati Affair Demonstrates Most Of Canadian Public No Longer Accepts Myth That Marijuana Is A Serious Danger That Warrants Criminalization - If Parliamentarians Still Take Seriously Their Responsibility To Reflect Public Will In A Considered Way, Sweet Smell Of Frank Debate Will Soon Waft Through House Of Commons)
• Cannabis Campaign - Let Cool Heads Decide (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Continues Its Weekly Push For Reform Of Marijuana Laws With Staff Editorial About House Of Lords' Decision To Hold Inquiry On Both Medical And Nonmedical Uses Of Cannabis)
• Hidden Agenda To IRA Hits On Drug Dealers (England's 'Sunday Times' Says Irish Republican Army Boasts Of Killing 'Enemies Of Nationalist Community' And Cast Themselves As Guardians Against Drug Barons, But Direct Action Against Drugs, Cover Group For IRA, Only Eliminates IRA's Competition In Drugs Trafficking Used To Fund Irish Civil War)
  Bytes: 69,900 Last updated: 2/27/98
  

  Monday, February 16, 1998:

• Frank Carsner Dies (Sandee Burbank Of Mosier, Oregon, Notes Premature Passing Of Portland Medical Marijuana Patient)
• Citizen Petitions - Portland Can Do Better When Verifying Signatures - Medical Marijuana Supporters Have A Legitimate Gripe (Staff Editorial In 'Portland Press Herald' Faults Election Officials In Portland, Maine, For Disenfranchising Voters Who Signed Mainers For Medical Rights' Initiative Petition)
• Maine Calendar Of Events '98 (Bulletin From Don Christen Of Maine Vocals Lists Upcoming Events Of Interest To Hempsters)
• Drug Czar - Gingrich 'Irresponsible' ('Associated Press' Says US Drug Policy Chief Barry R. McCaffrey Charges House Speaker Newt Gingrich With Playing Partisan Politics In Rejecting Out-Of-Hand President Clinton's 10-Year Plan To Reduce Number Of Illegal Drug Users In Half)
• Notes From A Media Training Seminar By Michael Shellenberger (List Subscriber Shares Tips On Getting Print, Broadcast Media To Improve Coverage Of Drug Policy Issues)
• US Wants Drug Treaty To Replace Certification ('Los Angeles Times' Says Clinton Administration Is Tired Of Annual Debate With Congress, And With Mexico And Other Nations Who See Current Process As Unilateral, And Wants Pact Creating Hemispheric Alliance With Penalty Mechanism)
• Hope And Doubt - Another New Drug-Fighting Deal Between US And Mexico ('Houston Chronicle' Staff Editorial About 'New' Strategy Agreed To By Mexico And US Says 'Mexico Has Been Its Own Worst Enemy' In Annual Certification Process)
• Bloody Battle Rages For Drug Lord's Empire ('Dallas Morning News' Says Battle For Control Of Amado Carrillo Fuentes's Empire Has Claimed Lives Of At Least 50 People In Ciudad Juarez)
• US Agent's Indictment Imperils Drug Case ('San Jose Mercury News' Says Federal Agent In San Francisco Responsible For Assembling Complex Case Against Thanong Siriprechapong, A Wealthy, High-Living Member Of Thailand's Parliament Charged With Smuggling 49 Tons Of Cannabis Into US, Has Been Indicted For Accepting $4,000 Kickback And Pair Of Nikes From Informant In Same Investigation)
• Let Prisoners Hang Onto Their Law Libraries (Letter To Editor Of 'San Jose Mercury News' Criticizes California Governor Pete Wilson's Proposal To Remove Lawbooks From State Prisons)
• The Return Of The Gold (First Of Two Letters To Editor Of 'New York Times,' From Assistant Professor Of Chemistry, Says Case Of Canadian Snowboarder At Olympics Who Had 17.8 Nanograms Of Marijuana Traces In His System When 15 Is The Legal Limit, Is Not So Much A Lesson In Chemistry As In How Fast Science Is Outstripping Ability Of Nonscientists To Comprehend New Tools - Second Letter Says If Medal Hadn't Been Returned, Message Would Have Gone Out To Youngsters That Marijuana Is Considered Performance-Enhancing Substance)
• Olympics - Marijuana Decision May Be Wrong Drugs Message - Police ('Reuters' Says Japanese Police Question Canadian Snowboarder Rebagliati For Nearly 10 Hours, Search His Room And Luggage, Sending A Clear Message To Adults They Should Spend Their Next Vacation Somewhere Else)
• Remind Your Children That Marijuana Is Harmful (Louise Brown's 'Growing Pains' Column In 'Toronto Star' Says Parents Who Think 'All This Olympic Coverage Is Making Cannabis Seem More Socially Acceptable' Should Stick To Same Old Message That Has Made It Easier To Obtain Than Beer - 'Drugs Can Lead To So Many Dangers, We Just Don't Need Them In Our Lives' - No Comment From Canadian Physicians, Alcohol Manufacturers)
• The Uneasy Mix Of Marijuana, Sport ('Associated Press' Article In 'Los Angeles Times' Quotes Various Olympic Officials, Athletic Figures, Assessing Where Status Of Cannabis, Sports And Drug Testing Will End Up)
• International Olympic Committee Weighs In On Medal Controversy ('Los Angeles Times' Quotes IOC Director General Francois Carrard Saying Five-Member Group To Consider Banning Cannabis For Next Games And Will Scrutinize Marijuana Use In Context Of 'Matters Of Social And Ethical Concerns, And Fundamental Values Which Are At Stake' - Doesn't Sound Like Freedom Of Choice Is One Of Them)
• Pot Store Review Is Reefer Madness - Judge Said Store Owner Man Of Good Moral Character (Staff Editorial In 'Victoria Times-Colonist' Says Attempt By Police In Victoria, British Columbia, To Have City Council Review And Then Lift Ian Hunter's Business Licence For Sacred Herb Hemp Store Makes As Much Sense As Stripping Canadian Snowboarder Ross Rebagliati Of His Olympic Gold Medal)
• Drug User Abuse Must Be Stopped (Letter To Editor Of Alberta's 'Lethbrige Herald' Retorts, If Government's Brutal Pogrom To Punish Innocent Drug Users Is Laissez-Faire, Then Hitler Was A Libertarian)
• The Caribbean Connection - Puerto Rico A Major Gateway To The US ('Washington Post' Says Cocaine, Heroin Traffickers Have Shifted Tactics, Making Island Territory Most Important Way Station Of Growing Smuggling Route Through Caribbean, According To Usual Law Enforcement Officials, Experts On Drug Trade)
• Cartels 'Buying' Haiti ('Washington Post' Says Corruption Is Widespread And Drug-Related Corruption Epidemic - No Successful Prosecutions Of Drug Cases In Haiti In At Least Two Years - Though President Rene Preval Has Orchestrated Arrests In Recent Months Of Nearly Three Dozen Officials, Including Police Officers, A Prosecutor, Two Judges, Mayors, And Council Members On Drug Charges That Include Complicity In Drug Trafficking And Dealing)
• Tobacco Firm 'Knew Product Was Addictive' (Britain's 'Independent' Says Internal British American Tobacco Documents Presented In A US Court In Minnesota Show Company Feared Losing Smokers And Considered Developing Alternative Products That Would Also Be Addictive But Produce No Smoke - Tobacco Manufacturers' Association Denies Smoking Addictive, Notes 11 Million People Gave Up Smoking In Last 20 Years In UK - 'What Is Addictive? Coffee, Tea, Sex And Shopping Are All Said To Be Addictive - We Refute The Addiction Argument And Always Have')
• Bid To Coax Drug Growers Out Of Trade (Ireland's 'Examiner' Describes European Community's Attempt To Step Up Its Multi-Million Pound Effort To Coax Latin Americans To Produce Something Less Lucrative Than Illegal Drugs)
  Bytes: 114,000 Last updated: 3/14/98
  

  Tuesday, February 17, 1998:

• OCTA Multilith Majic - 30,000 Copies Printed Today! (Update From Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Campaign Notes It Now Has A Heavy Duty Printing Press At Its Disposal - Pledge Drive Announced)
• US Civil Suit Links Real Estate Agent, Marijuana Growing ('The Oregonian' Says Suburban Portland Real Estate Agent Allegedly Helped Growers Buy Houses - Prosecutors Say Agent Paid $3,800 Per Pound, Over Five Years Shipped $10 Million Worth Of Cannabis To California For Resale - No Credit To Regional Organized Crime Narcotics Task Force - Agent Betrayed By Several People He Trusted)
• Analysis - The Growing Split In The Medical Marijuana Movement (Dick Cowan, Former Director Of NORML, Writes In 'Marijuananews.com' That 'Professionals' Backed By Deep Pockets Are Increasingly At Odds With 'Activists' - Sort Of Like Realists And Purists In European Green Movement - Trick Is To Keep Two Groups Working Together For Common Purpose, Like French Resistance And Allies)
• Drug-Dog Plan Under Fire ('San Jose Mercury News' Says, While Milpitas Unified School District Has One Of Lowest Drug-Related Incident Rates In California, Administrators Are Considering A Plan To Turn Drug-Sniffing Dogs Loose In Classrooms, Hallways, Parking Lots - Irate Students, Parents Vow To Fight It)
• Psychiatric Drug Prescriptions Soar ('Associated Press' Reports New Study In Wednesday's 'Journal Of The American Medical Association' About Doctors Prescribing Antidepressants And Stimulants At Soaring Rates In 10 Years Ending In 1994 - Among Psychiatric Drugs, Prescriptions For Antidepressants Increased From 30.4 Percent To 45.2 Percent While Tranquilizer Prescribing Fell From 51.7 Percent To 33 Percent Of Psychotropic Drugs)
• FBI Joins Crack Probe - Head Of City Fraternal Order Of Police Tells Officers Not To Submit To Lie-Detector Tests (Colorado 'Post-Gazette' Article About Crack Cocaine Missing From Pittsburgh Police Evidence Bin)
• Will Reno Be Indicted In Ibo-Scam? (Dana Beals Of New York's Cures Not Wars Says Miami Newsweekly 'New Times' Concluded University Of Miami Was Perpetrating An Outright Rip-Off Of Howard Lotsof's Ibogaine Cure For Drug Addiction - And Suggests US Attorney General Reno May Be Trying To Help Clinton Pay Off His Debts With Proceeds)
• Medical Marijuana Clubs Set Up Kitchener, Guelph Branches ('Kitchener-Waterloo Record' Says Medical Marijuana Clubs Of Ontario Wants To Establish Branches Across Ontario That Would Use Civil Disobedience To Help People Who Use Pot For Medical Reasons - Police Vow Arrests)
• Canadian Hemp To Be Planted This Year ('Ottawa Citizen' Notes Changes In Federal Regulations Expected Next Month Will Mean Companies Like Hempola, Of Port Severn, Ontario, Will Be More Widely Distributing Nutritious Hempseed Oil Later This Year)
• Rebagliati's Journey Home - CBC - The National Transcripts On Ross Rebagliati (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Television Newscast From Whistler, British Columbia)
• International Olympic Committee Medical Chief Wants To Get Tough On Marijuana ('Reuters' Says International Doping Chief Prince Alexandre de Merode Will Urge Olympic Leaders On Wednesday To Introduce Rules To Punish Athletes Who Take Social Drugs Such As Cannabis, Though They Are Not Believed To Be Performance-Enhancing)
• DrugSense Weekly, Number 34 (Summary Of Drug Policy News For Activists - Includes Original Commentary And Article, 'Hepatitis C (HCV) & Harm Reduction, Part Two, Public Awareness = Political Power - What We Must Do To Respond To The Unfunded Epidemic Of Hepatitis,' By Joey Tranchina And Dr. Tom O'Connell)
  Bytes: 83,000 Last updated: 5/22/98
  

  Wednesday, February 18, 1998:

• Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (Salem 'Statesman Journal' Says Ballot Initiative To Be Filed Today By Rick Bayer, Former Lake Oswego Doctor Who Anticipates Funding From George Soros - Stringent Language Would Require Patients To Register With State, Limit Patients To Three Flowering Plants, Four Vegetative Plants - Got Cancer? Sorry, No Market For Buyers - Happy Gardening - If You Can Find A Legal Source Of Seeds Or Clones)
• Not Just for Hippies Anymore ('Willamette Week' Comments On Oregon Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative Expected To Be Filed This Week By Oregonians For Medical Rights - Campaign To Be Run With Soros Money By Sugerman Group, Silverton-Based Consulting Firm That Successfully Organized Last Year's Death With Dignity Initiative Effort)
• Just Say No To Knock And Talk (Two Letters To Editor Of 'Willamette Week' In Response To Its 'Knock And Walk' Editorial Give Other Side To Story - First Letter, From Lawyer, Says Police Use Knock And Talks And Then Lie About Receiving Consent - Many Judges Willing To Believe Police Lies And Not Enforce Constitutional Protections - 'I Advise My Clients Not To Open The Door For The Police Unless The Police Have A Warrant And Show It' - But That's What Last Victim Of Portland Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In Did, And State Means To Kill Him For It - Maybe Wife Of 'Willamette Week' Publisher, Judge Ellen Rosenblum, Will Announce The Sentence?)
• Dons Arraigned On Additional Charges - Child Neglect And Drug Possession Charges Pile On (Newscast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate, On Target Of Marijuana Task Force Who Was Shot And Paralyzed By Portland Police During Warrantless Break-In)
• Moose Seeks Job As Chief In Capital ('Oregonian' Article About Portland Police Chief Whose Son Was Arrested With Crack Cocaine Recently)
• Drugs A Health Problem, Not Criminal Problem (Letter To Editor Of 'The Oregonian' By Dr. Richard Bayer, A Chief Petitioner For Oregonians For Medical Rights' New Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative)
• Lawyer Grilled On Pot Ring ('The Herald' Says Attorney Mark Mestel Of Everett, Washington, Took The Witness Stand In US District Court Tuesday, And Was Questioned For 90 Minutes Regarding His Knowledge Of A Large Marijuana-Growing Ring - Defendants Allege Federal Prosecutors Stepped Over Line When They Recruited Dale Fairbanks, Mestel's Private Investigator And 'Alter Ego' To Become A Government Informant, Supplying Investigators With Evidence)
• Ammiano Calls For Coordinated Policy In San Francisco On Implementing California Compassionate Use Act (Excerpt From 'San Francisco Examiner' On Push By Member Of San Francisco City And County Board Of Supervisors)
• Medical Marijuana - Legal, But How Long? ('USA Today' Notes State, Federal Governments Around The Country, Even In California, Are Still Doing All They Can To Keep Medicine Away From Sick People)
• Feds Say Arrests Break Green Bay Drug Ring - Nine Indicted On Charges Of Selling Cocaine As Gang Expanded From Chicago ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' On Federal Bust In Wisconsin)
• Tavern League Rejects Proposal On License Fee ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Says Tavern League Of Wisconsin Rejects Compromise Over New Law Requiring Municipalities To Charge $10,000 Fee For New Tavern Licenses)
• Owner Facing Trial Keeps Liquor License ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Says Utilities And Licenses Committee Recommends Milwaukee Grocer Keep Liquor License Pending Outcome Of Trial For 42 Cases Of Stolen Whiskey Found In Basement)
• Johnnie Mae Brown - Update (Adam J. Smith Of Drug Reform Coordination Network Asks Activists To Take 10 Minutes To Write Letter To Parole Board About Incarceration Of Woman In New Jersey For Fleeing Drug Treatment In 1972)
• Alternative To Drug Tip-Line (Letter To Editor Of 'The Aegis,' In Bel Air, Maryland, In Response To '1-888 To Help Bust Your Friends' Suggests Offering Middle And High School Students $1,000 For Each Friend They Turn In For Illegal Drugs Is Likely To Have Harmful Social Consequences)
• WHO Suppressed Report On Cannabis - Magazine ('Reuters' Quotes 'New Scientist' Saying US National Institute On Drug Abuse And UN International Drug Control Programme Suppressed Report Confirming Marijuana Less Harmful Than Tobacco, Alcohol, Saying It Would Play Into Hands Of Groups Campaigning To Legalise Marijuana)
• Going To Pot ('Cityview,' In Des Moines Says New Law Proposed By Republican Iowa State Representatives Jeff Lamberti, Joseph Kremer And G. Willard Jenkins Would Make A Third Conviction For Marijuana Possession A Crime Equivalent To Serious Assault Or Pedophilia)
• DrugWar! (Live Call-In World Wide Web Netcast Via RealAudio 5-6 PM Friday, February 20, Features Author Peter McWilliams)
• Second Athlete Tests Positive For Marijuana In Nagano ('Reuters' Says Unnamed Olympic Athlete Won't Face Sanctions - IOC's De Merode Says There Is Evidence Of Widespread Marijuana Use By Athletes - Four Positive Tests At Summer Olympics, One In Seoul In 1988, One In Barcelona In 1992 And Two In Atlanta In 1996, Though No Marijuana Positives At Previous Winter Games)
• IOC Divided Over Marijuana Issue ('Reuters' Quotes International Olympic Committee Leaders In Nagano, Japan, Saying They Are Determined To Push For Bans On 'Social' Drugs Such As Marijuana Despite Fears It Might Hamper Progress Of International Campaign Against Performance-Enhancing 'Doping')
• Rebagliati Warns Kids Against Marijuana ('Vancouver Sun' Quotes 26-Year-Old British Columbian Snowboarder Who Nearly Lost His Olympic Gold Medal After Traces Of Marijuana Were Found In His Urine, Saying He Won't Smoke Pot Again And Warning Children Against Same - Will Leave Issue Of Legalizing Pot Up To Politicians And Won't Tell Adults - Such As His Friends - Whether To Smoke Or Not)
• Re - Rebagliati Disgraces Medal (Letter To Editor Of 'Ottawa Sun' Expresses Disgust At Narrow-Minded, Ignorant Columnist Deeming Olympic Snowboarder Who Tested Positive For Pot A 'Shameless Yobbo In A Joke Sport')
• My Favourite Letter (List Subscriber Passes Along Letter From Ninth-Grade Student To 'Toronto Sun' Regarding Olympic Snowboarder And Cannabis Consumer Who Won Gold Medal)
• Rebagliati On Jay Leno (List Subscriber Posts Synopsis Of Appearances On 'Jay Leno' And "Conan O'Brien' Television Talk Shows By Olympic Snowboarder Whose Gold Medal Was Almost Stripped Due To Positive Urine Test For Cannabis)
• Howard Under Fire Over Plans For Police ('Canberra Times' Says Australian Prime Minister John Howard's Promise To Review Funding For Federal Police Is Too Slow For Critics, Who Want Immediate Action, Saying Federal Government Cut Funding For Law Enforcement By $110 Million, $44 Million In Last Budget, Reducing Spending On Drug Interdiction To Extent That Some Ports Have No Customs Presence At Night)
• Prime Minister's 'Expert' Plan Of Action For War On Drugs ('Sydney Morning Herald' Says Howard Announced Yesterday An 'Independent Expert' Will Examine Cash-Strapped Australian Federal Police - AFP - And Develop Plan To Equip It To Fight Booming Drug Trafficking And Global Crime Networks - Customs Will Not Be Part Of Review, Due To Large Funding Increases Last Year)
• Cannabis Campaign - Report Boost For Cannabis (Britain's 'Independent' Notes Battle To Reform Cannabis Laws Carried On By "Independent On Sunday' Has Been Helped By Latest Dutch Usage-Rates Statistics From Centre For Drug Research At The University Of Amsterdam, Showing Decriminalising Marijuana Does Not Lead To Use Of Harder Drugs And That Teenagers And Children Are More Likely To Experiment With Alcohol, Tobacco)
• Iranian Police Kill 35 Drug Smugglers ('Reuters' Notes Death Penalty For Drugs Gets Results - One In Sixty To 120 Iranians Said To Be An 'Addict')
  Bytes: 92,700 Last updated: 3/5/98
  

Next week's news index
Previous week's news index
Complete 1998 Daily News index (long)

to the Portland NORML news archive directory

This URL: http://www.pdxnorml.org/news98_index_0212.html