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DrugSense Weekly
August 1997 #009
http://www.drugsense.org


Table of Contents

* Breaking News (03/29/24)


* Feature Column Of The Week - Where Does the Slippery Slope of

Militarization Lead?
by Kevin B.  Zeese, President, Common Sense for Drug Policy

* Weekly News In Review

        Prison Reform 
                ~Abuse Videotape Raises Qualms Over Private Jails 
                ~Justice Department plans probe of private prison in West 
Texas
                ~Elected officials debate treatment of prisoners 
        Voter Initiatives 
                ~Marijuana Initiative Gets Funds Out Of State 
        Needle Exchange 
                ~Conservatives, AIDS activists debate needle exchange 
                ~Needle exchanges still stir debate 
        Adolescent Drug Use 
                ~DARE Fails Again 
                ~The Bellingham Herald on schools and drugs 
        Heroin 
                 ~Dutch church says will start selling heroin 
                 ~CBS on Swiss Heroin Trial 
                 ~Dutch to Follow Swiss on Heroin 
                 ~Australia Rejects Heroin Trial 
        Militarization of Drug War 
                 ~Mexican Drug Traffickers Hiring Former U.S. Soldiers 
                 ~Editorial Say No to Militarization of Drug War 
        Soros 
                 ~Soros Enters Drug War 

* Hot Off the Net - On Drugs This Week

by David Crosbie, ADCA's Chief Executive Officer

* Highlights From MAPTalk

        MAPpers Write The New York Time on Marijuana Article 
        article on marijuana 

* DrugSense Tip of the Week



FEATURE ARTICLE Of The WEEK


Where Does the Slippery Slope of Militarization Lead?

by Kevin B.  Zeese, President, Common Sense for Drug Policy

It wasn't long ago that it was a criminal offense, a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, for active duty military troops to be engaged in domestic law enforcement.  In fact, that was the rule for most of the history of the United States.  A series of drug war amendments to Posse Comitatus during the 1980s under Presidents Reagan and Bush, has changed that and placed Marines on patrol at home. 

A team of low ranking Marines, led by a Corporal, were on drug war patrol in Redford, Texas, on May 20.  On that day a fatal shot was fired by Corporal Banuelos and a young US citizen, Esequiel Hernandez, Jr.  was dead. Zeke was herding his goats, carrying an old single shot .22-caliber rifle passed down to him from his grandfather.  The Marines claim the high school sophomore fired two shots in their direction.  They followed him for 20 minutes, then, they claim he raised his rifle again and the fatal shot was fired from an M16.  The autopsy showed Zeke wasn't facing Corporal Banuelos when he was killed.  Zeke lay on the ground unattended for 20 minutes and bled to death. 

Redford citizens say they felt invaded, treated as if they were the enemy and had one of their best and brightest taken from them.  A grand jury was convened, but this made the injustice worse.  The grand jury was at best a mockery.  It included the Assistant Sector Chief of the Border Patrol who was part of the administration that asked the Marines to come to the border and one of the people responsible for their supervision.  It also included the wife of a Border Patrol officer, a Border Patrol retiree, and two Customs Officers.  The judge found no conflict of interest and District Attorney Valadez said it was good to have people on the jury who "knew how to get things done." The DA did not seek an indictment, he just presented the evidence.  Unfortunately, that did not include the Redford residents who heard the single shot from the Marines, not the multiple shots that the Marines claim occurred. 

Between the time of the fatal shooting and the no-bill by the grand jury this month the Department of Defense reacted strongly.  They were upset that their soldiers would be subjected to criminal prosecution for doing their duty.  On July 30, the first day of the grand jury, DoD spokesperson Navy Lt.  Cmdr. Scott Campbell told USA Today this was "not fair to the members of our armed forces."

As a result Defense Secretary William Cohen reportedly will ask the border states to sign agreements to provide immunity to local criminal laws, just as we have "status of forces agreements" with foreign governments.  This is protection that police officers in the United States do not have. 

In fact, the reaction should have been an apology for the tragic incident and a change in policy.  Secretary Cohen should have said it was a shame Zeke had to die in order for us to be reminded that military enforcement of civilian law is wrong.  Our soldiers are not trained to make arrests, Mirandize and bring to justice; they are trained to kill. 

The people of Redford are reacting with strength and forbearance.  They have gone back to their history books and re-read the Declaration of Independence.  Two of our grievances against King George were for using the British Army against us and "protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit.  . ." They see the refusal to indict as the beginning of the battle against militarization, not the end. 

The death of Zeke must be remembered.  Militarization of the drug war must be stopped.  If we do not act in his memory the slippery slope of militarization will pick up speed.  We have come a long way in less than two decades, from prohibition of military involvement to discussions of immunity for fatal shootings.  If we do not take action now, Zeke's death will become an excuse for greater militarization, not less. 


DrugSense hosts the website of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas which has a webpage on the shooting of Esequiel Hernandez.  If you want more information go to: http://www.mapinc.org/DPFT/hernandez/


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW     (Top)


Prison Reform


Subj:   Abuse Videotape Raises Qualms Over Private Jails
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n179.a05.html
Source:   San Francisco Chronicle
Contact:  
Pubdate:   Wed, 20 Aug 1997

Abuse Videotape Raises Qualms Over Private Jails

Used by states as prisons overflow

Houston (Reuters)

The videotaped abuse of convicts in southeast Texas has increased unease about allowing privately run facilities to ease overcrowding in US.  prisons, criminologists said yesterday. 

The dramatic tape-which shows one howling inmate being bitten by a police dog add another being prodded with an electronic stun gun-also raised the question whether states exporting in mates to private prisons are turning a blind eye to the potential for abuse, they said. 

"I think we are going to see more of this as more and more states look for ways to offload their prison problems," said Timothy Flanagan, dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. 


Subj:   Justice Department plans probe of private prison in West Texas
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n180.a03.html
Pubdate:   Thu, 21 Aug 1997
Source:   Houston Chronicle, page 30A
Contact:  

Justice Department plans probe of private prison in West Texas

By Mark Babineck, Associated Press

Spur -- Federal investigators have notified Dickens County officials of a pending investigation into unspecified allegations related to their private prison, officials said Wednesday. 

The U.S.  Justice Department's civil rights division sent County Judge Woody McArthur a letter last week revealing its plans, though it did not elaborate on the focus of the investigation. 


Subj:   TX, Elected officials debate treatment of prisoners
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n180.a04.html
Pubdate:   Thu, 21 Aug 1997
Source:   Houston Chronicle, page 14A
Contact:  

Elected officials debate treatment of prisoners

By Steve Olafson and Kathy Walt

Copyright 1997 Houston Chronicle

Allusions to Nazis and chicken slaughterhouses were thrown into the fray Wednesday as elected officials debated how the treatment of Missouri inmates at the Brazoria County Detention Center should be viewed. 

State Rep.  Ron Wilson, D-Houston, said in Austin that the behavior of sheriff's deputies in the Sept.  18, 1996, incident "was reminiscent of Hitler's Nazi camps."


Voter Initiatives


Subj:   WA, Marijuana Initiative Gets Funds Out Of State
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n179.a06.html
Pubdate:   8/13/97
Source:   The Statesman Journal

Marijuana Initiative Gets Funds Out of State

Two millionaires bankroll the drive to legalize marijuana use. 

AP Olympia, Wash.-- The campaign to legalize marijuana in Washington is being bankrolled so far not by hirsute ex-hippies but by two rich and rock-solid citizens from Arizona and Ohio.  John Sperling, a multimillionaire Phoenix businessman and founder of the University of Phoenix, has pumped $212,000 into a campaign for Initiative 685, state records showed tuesday.  Peter B. Lewis, of Cleveland, chairman of the Progressive Corp.  insurance company and a $10 million dollar donor and trustee of the Soloman R.Guggenheim Museum in New York, has contributed $50,000 to the campaign, the Public Disclosure Commission records show.  Between them, the two men, have contributed nearly all of the money raised so far by the campaign.  Much of the cash went to signature gatherers to get the measure on the Nov.  4 ballot. Reached by telephone, Sperling, 76, said he considers the nation's drug policies "nothing short of insane.  I can think of no redeeming quality.  We've been sending $50 billion a year to the drug lords, and we think we can stop drugs from coming into this country. 


Needle Exchange


Subj:   Conservatives, AIDS activists debate needle exchange
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n179.a09.html
Pubdate:   Wed, 20 Aug 1997

Conservatives, AIDS Activists Debate Needle Exchange By Maggie Fox, Health Correspondent

Washington, Aug 20 (Reuter) - Groups for and against needle exchange programs that aim to stem the spread of AIDS held dueling news conferences on Wednesday, but united to demand that the government act quickly to make its policy clear. 

While conservative policy groups maintained that needle exchange programs could cause more harm than good by encouraging drug use, AIDS activists and doctors working with such programs said they had already saved lives and urged the U.S.  government to end a ban on using federal funds for needle exchanges. 

"Our leaders have been unwilling to speak out," Chris Lanier, coordinator of the National Coalition to Save Lives Now, told one news conference.  "This hesitation has put tens of thousands of American men, women and children in danger."


Subj.:   Needle exchanges still stir debate
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n181.a01.html
Pubdate:   Thu, 21 Aug 1997 Page A3
Source:   USA Today
Contact:  

Needle exchanges still stir debate

Programs slow AIDS, but some say bad message is sent

By Gary Fields USA Today

Respected organizations such as the American Bar Association and American Medical Association have endorsed needle-exchange programs as a way to combat AIDS. 

But critics, including the Clinton administration, say such programs encourage drug abuse and send the wrong message to the nation's youth. 

In 29 states and the District of Columbia, 112 programs provide intravenous drugs users with clean syringes.  A soon-to-be-released report by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials says more than 14 million syringes were distributed in 1996. 


Adolescent Drug Use


Subj:   DARE's effectiveness gets poor grade again
ubdate: Mon, 18 Aug 1997
Source:   Houston Chronicle, page 11A
Contact:  

DARE's effectiveness gets poor grade again

Education isn't cutting drug use, study says

By Todd Ackerman Copyright 1997 Houston Chronicle

Chicago -- Another national study casts doubt on the effectiveness of a popular drug-resistance program already questioned by some Houston City Council members. 

A study released at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association here Sunday found that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or DARE, failed to lessen both male and female students' use of alcohol, cigarettes or marijuana six years later. 

"Over time, students lose faith in the message," UCLA psychologist Jodie Ullman wrote in the study.  "They identify DARE as part of their childhood, and by age 15, they actively disassociate themselves from virtually everything that is `kid stuff,' including DARE."

The study was the first to look at the longer-term effects of DARE.  Previous studies, which also found little or no effect, interviewed DARE graduates immediately after or three years after the program. 

.  . . .

The new study also found that DARE made no difference in a student's time spent on homework, number of classes skipped, educational aspirations or attitudes toward school or teachers.  Nor did it find differences between those who participated in the program and those who didn't in incidents of fighting, assault, theft, trespassing, curfew violation and gang membership. 


Subj:   The Bellingham Herald on schools and drugs
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n179.a02.html
Source:   The Herald, Everett, WA
Contact:  
Pubdate:   Wed, 20 Aug 1997

OPINION Other Views

The Bellingham Herald, Aug.  6, on schools and drugs: A proposal to require schools that receive federal drug- prevention funds to prove their anti-drug programs work deserves the full support of Congress. 

The government spends $500 million a year on such programs, but only 2 percent of them follow strategies proven in research, a recent study showed. 

That ought to alarm lawmakers, parents, police, school officials and taxpayers. 

With youth drug use on the rise nationally, we need to be equipping our children with the most effective anti-drug tools available. 


Heroin


Subj:   Dutch church says will start selling heroin
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n180.a10.html
Pubdate:   Wed, 20 Aug 1997
Source:   Reuter

Dutch church says will start selling heroin

Amsterdam, Netherlands (Reuter) - A Dutch church will begin selling cut-price heroin this autumn under a scheme organized by a Rotterdam cleric, local media reported Wednesday.  Hans Visser, a protestant minister in the port city, will work with local doctors and social workers to implement the project.  Initially his Pauluskerk church will supply a test group of 10 heroin addicts, judged to have no hope of kicking their habit.  ``It is the best (heroin) that's for sale, abroad as well,'' Visser told Dutch news agency ANP, emphasizing the project's health advantage.  He added he had already found several dealers who were willing to deliver heroin to the church at cost price.  Visser said he had decided to go it alone after a proposal for a similar national scheme became bogged down in party politics.  Rotterdam alderman Hans Simons described Visser's plan as ``incomprehensible.'' Health Minister Els Borst said she was referring the matter to the Justice Ministry.  ``If I ask permission it will not be granted.  I expect I will be having a chat with justice officials,'' Visser said. 


Subj:   CBS on Swiss Heroin Trial
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n183.a01.html
Pubdate:   8/21/97
Source:   CBS News transcript

Swiss Heroin maintenance experiment

(Harry Smith) - When it comes to having a drug problem there is nothing unique about Switzerland.  What is unique is what the Swiss are doing about it Switzerland is the first and so far the only country in the world to officially give heroin to addicts.  Tom Fenton checked out the results.

(Tom Fenton) - Ever since the government started this controversial program, of giving away heroin to hundreds of hard core addicts, the Zurich police have noticed an astonishing drop in drug related crime.  Marco who's been on heroin for half his life no longer has to steal and deal.  Three times a day he comes to this clinic pays a nominal fee of ten dollars, and gets a fix. 

(T.  F. speaking to camera) - "The heroin in this syringe is pure and sterile the addict inject himself with it, under supervision.  He's given pointer if he's not doing it right, and when he's finished he disposes of the syringe."

(Marco) - "I don't have to be a criminal anymore.  I'm starting to put my life together."



Subj:   Dutch follow Swiss in heroin research programs
Pubdate:   Sat, 16 Aug 1997

Hilversum, Netherlands, Aug 16 (AFP) - Dutch Health Minister Els Borst-Eilers said Saturday she favoured distributing heroin free to around 750 addicts on a trial basis.  Speaking on television, she said the most addicted heroin-takers should be given preference, but that the test should be carried out on a large scale.  "If the number of test subjects is too limited, we may not be able to detect the beneficial effects of the test," she said.  She suggested the ideal number would be around 750 addicts.  A commission which has advised the minister on the subject had suggested testing between 600 and 900 people.  If the Dutch parliament refuses to give the go-ahead for a test on such a large scale, she said, she would refuse to conduct a more limited experiment.  "That would just be throwing money down the drain," she said. 


Subj:   Australia quashes heroin trial
Pubdate:   Tue, 19 Aug 1997

Melbourne, Aug 19 (Reuter) - Australia's conservative government on Tuesday gave in to mounting public protests and quashed a controversial proposal to give addicts heroin -- only weeks after approving the plan. 

Prime Minister John Howard, elected last year partly on a family morals platform, said cabinet did not believe the benefits of the trial planned by Canberra's municipal government outweighed the costs. 

``It's not just a question of morality ...  everybody is deeply worried about the level of heroin addiction in Australia,'' he told reporters after the cabinet decision. 

The national government's support was vital to the limited trial because it was to provide money and its permission was needed to import the drug, which is illegal in Australia. 

``The decision is very disappointing,'' said a spokesman for Canberra government chief Kate Carnell. 

National, state and territory health ministers three weeks ago gave the go-ahead to the trial programme, under which Canberra's local government would give heroin to 40 addicts. 

Although Howard's health minister, Michael Wooldridge, voted for the trial at the ministerial summit, Howard was away from work at the time, hospitalised with pneumonia. 


Militarization of the Drug War


Subj:   Mexican Cartels Hiring; Green Berets Welcome
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n187.a07.ht
Pubdate:   Sun, 24 Aug 1997

Mexican Cartels Hiring; Green Berets Welcome

A US Congress member, Rep.  Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), charged during the week of Aug.  17 that former US soldiers are working as mercenaries for Mexican drug cartels.  Reyes, a former high-ranking US Border Patrol official, said that when he ran operations along the US border with Mexico, "we had a number of instances where we had intelligence and where we had actual verification that these types of individuals were in the employ of some of the drug cartels, especially in south Texas."

Other experts say the mercenaries get up to $500,000 a year, especially if they have been in the US Army Special Forces (Green Berets).  "The special ops guys as a group can do much besides teach marksmanship.  They know about burst transmissions, which are difficult to intercept, bugs and detecting bugs," an unnamed retired senior Army official told the Reuter news service. 


Subj:   Drug surveillance missions should be ended
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n188.a05.html
Pubdate:   20 Aug 1997
Source:   Colorado Springs Gazette

When troops fight crime at home, bystanders are bound to get hurt.  It might well be that Marine Cpl.  Clemente Banuelos was just doing his job on May 20.  The trouble was, it was a job he, as a military man, should not have
been doing. 


Subj:   OPED:Marines are trained to kill, not read people their rights
Pubdate:   Wed, 20 Aug 1997
Source:   Houston Chronicle, page 24A, editorial page
(http://www.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story/content/chronicle/editorial/ 97/08/20/border-shooting.0-1.html)
Contact:  

Border Shooting

Marines are trained to kill, not read people their rights

The young Marine who fatally shot 18-year-old Esequiel Hernandez Jr.  as he herded goats near his home on the Rio Grande border last May has been cleared by a Presidio County grand jury. 

.  . . .

The lesson here is that military personnel should not be assigned to civilian police duties.  They are trained to kill, not to make arrests. 


Subj:   Should the border be militarized?
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n188.a07.html
Pubdate:   Mon, 25 Aug 1997
Corpus Christi Caller-Times 8/20/97

Eighteen-year-old Esequiel Hernandez Jr.  was laid to rest months ago, but the controversy surrounding the high school student's killing by a Marine on a drug-surveillance mission along the border hasn't.  On Thursday, a Presidio County grand jury declined to indict Cpl.  Clemente Banuelos, concluding the Marine fired his M-16 in self-defense.  Yet the grand jury's decision does not answer the prime question: Should the border be militarized? The tragedy argues it shouldn't. 

Hernandez, who was herding his family's goats on a desolate bluff above the Rio Grande when he was shot May 20, is the first American killed since troops began assisting law enforcement agencies eight years ago with anti-drug efforts. 

The Defense Department's ongoing reassessment of the appropriateness of using the nation's armed forces on the border must weigh the gains against drug traffickers against the negatives of using forces trained to destroy military targets in civilian settings.  The Marine reconnaissance group involved in the shooting consisted of highly- trained troops designed for deep penetration of enemy territory, not the kind of police work in which the Border Patrol is engaged. 


Soros


Subj:   Soros Entering Drug War
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97.n188.a11.html
Pubdate:   Sun, 24 Aug 1997

The Associated Press

New York (AP) - Philanthropist George Soros says he's using his wealth to fight America's drug policies because politicians lack the courage to do it themselves.  ``Our drug policy is insane,'' he said in an interview in this week's Time magazine.  ``And no politician can stand up and say what I'm saying, because it's the third rail -
instant electrocution.'' The billionaire is giving $15 million over the next five years to groups opposing America's war on drugs.  He says the ``unintended consequences'' of the war, including the criminalization of a vast class of drug users, far outweigh the limited and costly success of interdiction.  ``I do want to weaken the
drug laws.  I think they are unnecessarily severe.'' The currency trader who supplied his native Hungary with photocopiers to fight censorship says he has turned his attention to the United States to stir debate on the role of its government.  In the issue that hits newsstands Monday, Soros says he has spent more than $90 million in recent years to promote less severe drug laws, needle exchange programs for addicts and research to reduce the number of people in jail.  Soros worries the U.S. government is relying too heavily on prisons and has abdicated its responsibility to help new immigrants get on their feet, treat drug addicts and help people die with dignity.  ``You must understand he thinks he's been anointed by God to solve insoluble problems,'' his friend Byron Wien, head U.S.  strategist at the investment house Morgan Stanley, told Time.  His work has provoked the ire of critics like Joseph Califano, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.  Califano has called him the ``Daddy Warbucks of drug legalization.'' Not all of his programs
are controversial, however. 



HOT OFF THE NET


On Drugs This Week is a weekly commentary by David Crosbie, ADCA's Chief Executive Officer, that seeks to promote discussion and debate of issues that may be important to the Australian alcohol and other drugs field.  To stay informed of what is occurring in Australia you can subscribe to
Update:   On Drugs This Week by contacting:

Australia is far ahead of the US on putting in place sensible policies.  Needle exchange is common and government funded, harm reduction is the stated national policy, marijuana decriminalization is reality in some jurisdictions. 
In the last week several years of effort toward a heroin maintenance trial ended (so far) when the Prime Minister overrode the Health Minister.  Yet, even in defeat the effort seems to stirred positive public debate and greater public support than expected. 

There are lessons US-reformers can learn from this experience which make this column well worth reading.  Below is an excerpt from Mr. Crosbie's commentary.


On Drugs This Week
by David Crosbie

What an amazing week! In all my limited time in this field, I can't remember a drug policy decision attracting as much political, community and media attention as the heroin trial has in the past seven days. 

We certainly saw examples of both the best and the worst of the media.  Like many people, I was moved by some of the stories, the rich human portrayals that emerged about personal tragedies.  There was some very good journalism and wonderful cartoons.  But there was also the bigotry of sensation seeking media, and the proclaimers of all things right.  The attitude and behaviour of the Daily Telegraph editorial staff and some radio shock jocks was astounding. 

I am a little cynical about the manipulation of information to sell newspapers, increase ratings or generally make money. 

So much of the debate was about perceptions.  Should governments conduct research to find the most effective ways of responding to drug problems - yes.  Should governments give up on trying to reduce drug use and become drug dealers providing free heroin and child care at tax payers expense to any addicted heroin user - no. 

One of the more surprising events of the week was the news poll result showing that almost 50% of the community supported the heroin trial proceeding.  In some population groups, particularly those with higher incomes and higher education, support for the heroin trial was well above 50%.  I don't believe that ten or even five years ago there would have been anywhere near that level of support. 

When it is all said and done, the fact remains that the Prime Minister has over-ridden his Health Minister and the MCDS in determining drug policy, and this will have a major impact on our field. 

Perhaps the most important consequence is that illicit drug policy is now very firmly on the national agenda, and I doubt it will go away.  If heroin related deaths continue or even increase, as it unfortunately appears they may, the Prime Minister and his government will need to be able to provide some answers to the community and the media. 

The heroin trial was not going to suddenly reduce opiate related deaths, but it was seen as a response, an important initiative to try and address a complex and tragic problem.  While trials of other drug substitutes may offer more potential in terms of treatment, it appears as though the community generally feels that little is being done to address heroin related overdoses. 

The Prime Minister's decision was not couched in positive terms and most people were left with the perception of inaction or more of the same.  Politically, this week seemed to be an ideal time to announce some relatively cheap bold new national initiative rather than trying to re-sell the other MCDS drug trials.  The Prime Minister could have done a lot more than 'just say no'. 

There was also some collateral political damage in the whole decision making process.  Internal differences within the government were highlighted and the substantial political fall-out of the decision making process will not be quickly forgotten. 

The pressure for a National Drug Summit will undoubtedly increase, and the media will maintain their interest, especially with the now vocal parents groups and others speaking more openly about the need for action. 

In the midst of all the interest and concern about drug issues, there will be more opportunities for everyone to advocate for a broad range of new programs and services.  It is important that people with knowledge and experience are at the forefront in taking these opportunities and turning them into actions that are effective in reducing drug-related harm. 

This week, a lot of positives came out of what I saw as a negative decision and a sensationalised debate. 

More importantly, this week the Prime Minister positioned himself and his government at the centre of drug policy decisions, a move I believe he will regret. 


HIGHLIGHTS FROM MAPTalk     (Top)


Congratulations to Michael Pollan for his accurate and un-biased reporting on the Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center and its struggle to provide medicine for those who need it.  Unfortunately, the editor has only chosen to publish letters that attempt to damage all the SCCMCC is trying to accomplish.  The people of San Jose know that this is not a hoax; we know the center is working legitimately to provide those who need it with their medicine. 

Even more damaging is the Times' influence on public policy that has obviously failed.  How many more years of war on the citizens and billions in public spending will the War on Drugs require if it has no progress in 17 years? The only reason the nonsense continues is the media's influence on public opinion.  When will we be able to deal with the drug problem in a manner that is less damaging to our fellow citizens and our pocketbooks? It is time the media works to publish more accurate and well-rounded reporting, like that of Michael Pollan. 

Joel W.  Johnson
San Jose, CA


The New York Times letters editor:

The New York Times Magazine is to be commended for running Michael Pollan's well written article on medical marijuana (7/20/97).  It is disgraceful, however, that drug war propaganda continues to inaccurately portray marijuana as a harmful, addictive drug that has no therapeutic benefit.  This myth is alive and well despite DEA administrative-law judge Francis Young's 1988 recommendation that marijuana be placed on Schedule II because it was safe and had a "currently accepted medical use in treatment." Although it is sometimes difficult to get beyond the political rhetoric that has fueled the war on drugs, it is encouraging that The Times is willing to openly air the complex issues involved in the medical use of marijuana. 

Dr.  Susan P. Robbins
University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work
Houston, TX


Thank you very much.  We found your article by Mr. Pollan on medical marijuana to be very informative and excellently written.  It's about time that people start recognizing just how serious a crime the drug war is and who's caught in the middle.  Drug war is nothing more than an updated form of monopoly, and in Cuomo's own words Sunday morning on This Week on ABC-TV, it has "failed miserably." That didn't stop him from endorsing another $350 million go into this economic blackhole. 

The drug war started in an attempt to monopolize the fiber and oil industries.  It succeeded admirably. It was used in the 1960s and since to discredit environmental organizations who saw the hemp plant as an environmental answer capable of replacing fossil fuels and fossil fuel fibers with an annually renewable resource.  The marijuana laws are how the fossil fuel industries maintained their monopolies. 

Now it has been categorically demonstrated that the marijuana plant, previously known as cannabis before Mr.  Hearst renamed it with his pulp sensationalism in the 1930s, is the safest medicine known to man for hundreds of different diseases, but a government that has used this special interest legislation as a budgetary tool to spend almost a trillion dollars of U.S.  resources does not want to hear that it helped some twelve year old with his chemotherapy treatments.  They don't want to hear that it used to be used to successfully treat tetanus, or that infantile paralysis, subsequently known as polio, did not flourish to epidemic proportions until after it was taken away as a children's medication. 

It's time to kill this budgetary "sacred cow" that gives no milk and merely encourages children to do drugs, like the D.A.R.E.  program which teaches them all the effects and side effects and methods of drug use, to maintain their big houses and fast cars. 

Forty million people in this country have to go to the blackmarket for drugs because they can't afford doctors and have no insurance.  We have a government that wants to put them in jail at taxpayer expense and/or execute them.  American health care at work!

Larry Monaghan, B.A./Communication
Arcadia, KS


DRUGSENSE TIP OF THE WEEK     (Top)


The American Journalism Review News Link site offers many search options to make finding the web sites of newspapers, magazines and broadcast media stations easy. 

If you need to find the web site of a newspaper in a hurry try http://www.newslink.org/news.html

For magazines the URL is:
http://www.newslink.org/mag.html

And for broadcast media try:
http://www.newslink.org/broad.html


DS Weekly is just another of the many free services DrugSense offers our members.  Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you.

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is compiled and edited by Tom Hawkins,

Senior Editor: Mark Greer,

We wish to thank each and every one of our contributors. 

                           

Mark Greer
Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc. 
d/b/a DrugSense

http://www.DrugSense.org/


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