| June 3,1998 #049 | ||||||||||||||
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A DrugSense publication | ||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||
DEA Moves Toward Use of Herbicides Within the US in Marijuana Eradication
Effort | ||||||||||||||
by Paul Armentano Director of Publications, The NORML Foundation | ||||||||||||||
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) completed a series of public
hearings this spring evaluating the environmental and health hazards
posed by the agency's use of herbicides in the federal Domestic
Cannabis Eradication Suppression Program. Public and written testimony
from the forums will be included in the agency's forthcoming document:
Cannabis Eradication in the Contiguous United States and Hawaii,
Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statements. The agency has not
conducted a review of their program since 1986. | ||||||||||||||
A pivotal issue for drug reform activists and environmentalists
regarding the DEA's eradication program lies in the potential safety
threat the program poses for humans and the environment. Of particular
concern are the dangers posed by the aerial application of the
herbicide glyphosate (aka Round Up) on patches of wild growing
ditchweed. | ||||||||||||||
Environmental journals have long criticized the aerial use of the
herbicide glyphosate in marijuana eradication efforts. A report in the
February 1993 issue of Global Pesticide Campaigner called the tactic
"unsuccessful" and highlighted the chemical's potential dangers.
"Reports from other countries where aerial spraying has been used in
anti-drug programs are not encouraging," it states. "International
health workers in Guatemala report acute poisonings in peasants living
in areas near eradication spraying, while farmers in these zones have
sustained serious damage to their crops."[1] | ||||||||||||||
Last year, a June 5 Reuters News article reaffirmed these dangers. "There is a high risk in aerial spraying [of the herbicide,[1]" Louis Eduardo Perra, senior researcher at Colombia's National Drug Council, told the news wire. "There is a risk to those who may be exposed on the ground. There is a risk of contamination in our rivers."[2] | ||||||||||||||
The winter 1995 edition of the Journal of Pesticide Reform reported
similar cases in the U.S. "In California, ... glyphosate was the third
most commonly reported pesticide illness among agricultural workers,"
the journal reported. "Among landscape maintenance workers, glyphosate
was the most commonly reported cause."[3] The author added that,
"Glyphosate exposure damages or reduces the population of many animals,
including beneficial insects, fish, birds, and earthworms, [and] in
some cases is directly toxic."[4] | ||||||||||||||
The journal also stated that aerial application of the drug poses an
even greater danger to the environment. "In general, movement of a
pesticide through unwanted drift is unavoidable; drift of glyphosate is
no exception." The article emphasized that glyphosate drift is a
"particularly significant problem ... [because] damage is likely to be
much more extensive and more persistent than with many other
herbicides."[5] | ||||||||||||||
Studies conducted regarding the aerial spraying of glyphosate in the
early 1990s demonstrated that between 41 and 82 percent of glyphosate
applied from helicopters moves off the target site.[6] In addition, two
studies conducted in Canada measured glyphosate residues more than 650
feet away from target areas following helicopter applications to forest
sites and a third study from California found glyphosate over 2,600
feet away following aerial application.[7] | ||||||||||||||
First hand experiences from Hawaii -- the only state where the DEA
regularly sprays glyphosate from aircraft -- illustrate the dangers
inherent to the agency's eradication efforts. According to area
physician, Patricia Bailey, M.D., who first contacted NORML in 1996,
the DEA's eradication program directly threatens the health of area
residents and poisons wildlife. At that time, Bailey collected incident
reports from some 40 persons, aged nine months to 84 years, who claim
that they have been adversely affected by the spray. She cited
generalized symptoms of eye and respiratory tract irritation. She
further noted that about 75 percent of respondents suffered from
diarrhea. | ||||||||||||||
This summer, Oklahoma law enforcement will begin routinely spraying
glyphosate from low flying aircraft in their DEA-sponsored marijuana
eradication activities. (Ninety-six percent of the total marijuana
plants eliminated annually in Oklahoma by the program are wild growing
hemp.[8]) Many drug reform activists fear that law enforcement in
several other mid-western states will also begin engaging in this
activity, therefore making the DEA's 1998 environmental review pivotal
to the health and safety of millions of Americans. | ||||||||||||||
According to the published literature and anecdotal reports from
Hawaii, glyphosate -- particularly when applied from low flying
aircraft -- poses a real threat to the health and safety of residents
and the environment. This herbicide's demonstrated threat to public
safety greatly overshadows any alleged problems ditchweed may pose for
law enforcement. Unfortunately, however, it appears unlikely that the
DEA will discontinue these practices despite growing evidence and
mounting public criticism. | ||||||||||||||
A final version of the DEA's Supplement to the Environmental Impact
Statement is due out in three to six months. | ||||||||||||||
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1 Elsa Nivia, et al. "Drug Control and Herbicide Spraying in Columbia,"
Global Pesticide Campaigner, February 1993. | ||||||||||||||
2 "Columbia expert warns on drug spraying," Reuters News Service, June
5, 1997. | ||||||||||||||
3 Caroline Cox, "Glyphosate, Part 2: Human Exposure and ecological
Effects," Journal of Pesticide Reform, 15, 1995. | ||||||||||||||
4 Ibid. | ||||||||||||||
5 Ibid. | ||||||||||||||
6 Ibid. | ||||||||||||||
7 Ibid. | ||||||||||||||
8 Office of the State Auditor, State Auditor's Report on the Domestic
Cannabis Eradication Suppression Program and the Edward Byrne Memorial
Grant (Montpelier, Vermont: January 16, 1998). | ||||||||||||||
Paul Armentano, 26, is the Director of Publications for The NORML
Foundation in Washington D.C. Armentano testified before the DEA on May
27, 1998, in opposition to the continued use of herbicides in the
federal Domestic Cannabis Eradication Suppression Program. (Copies of
Armentano's testimony are available upon request from The NORML
Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.) | ||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||
The April issue of Current History was entirely devoted to
"Narcopolitics," and contains several good articles. This one is a
detailed analysis of why criminal organizations have been so
consistently able to enlarge their illicit drug markets in the face of
intense law enforcement opposition. While the author doesn't come to
the conclusion that police are permanently overmatched, it's the only
one possible for an intelligent reader. | ||||||||||||||
The second article is from the same source and explains clearly
The policy behind many of the disturbing stories emanating from Latin
America and our border with Mexico. | ||||||||||||||
Mike Gray's "Drug Crazy," due in bookstores this week, opens with a
comparison modern Chicago's illegal drug market the criminal alcohol
market of seventy years ago. The numbers in the Chicago Tribune story
say it all- any illegal market which can risk that much product to
interdiction is thriving, no matter what claims of success the drug
czar might make. | ||||||||||||||
THE NATURE OF DRUG-TRAFFICKING NETWORKS | ||||||||||||||
There are many reasons why the war on drugs has failed. One of the most
important has been the inability of law enforcement efforts and
military interdiction to degrade, disrupt, or destroy the networks
trafficking drugs into the United States and Western Europe. This
inability stems from a failure to understand fully the structure of
these networks and their capacity to counter or circumvent law
enforcement and military interdiction. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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THE MILITARIZATION OF THE DRUG WAR IN LATIN AMERICA | ||||||||||||||
Despite the end of the cold war and the transitions toward more democratic societies in Latin America, the United States has launched a number of initiatives that strengthen the power of Latin American security forces, increase the resources available to them, and expand their role within society-precisely when struggling civilian elected governments are striving to keep them in check. Rather than encouraging Latin American militaries to limit their role to the defense of national borders, Washington has instead provided the training, resources, and doctrinal justification for militaries to move into the business of building roads and schools, offering veterinary and child inoculation services, and protecting the environment. Of greatest concern, however, is America's insistence that the region's armed forces - including the United States military itself - play a significant role in domestic counter narcotics operations, a law enforcement function reserved in most democracies for civilian police | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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RAIDERS NET MILLIONS, TON OF COCAINE | ||||||||||||||
Authorities said Wednesday they have seized more than 1 1/2 tons of
cocaine and several million dollars in cash by cracking a drug ring
that shipped narcotics to Chicago in 18-wheelers and used a West
Side produce company as a drop-off point. | ||||||||||||||
One suspect was caught red-handed carrying a large duffel bag
filled with cash outside his Southwest Side home, officials said.
Inside the residence, Drug Enforcement Administration agents said
they discovered some $5 million in mostly small bills. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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Prisons | ||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||
One of the great ironies of the drug war is the inability of prison
Administrations to prevent drug sales within their tightly controlled
domains; as attested to in news articles from 3 separate countries
during the past week. | ||||||||||||||
JAIL CHIEF TELLS OF DRUG SCAMS | ||||||||||||||
ABOUT a third of criminals in the State's toughest jail use drugs. | ||||||||||||||
And prison bosses admit they can only curb the flow inside - but never
stamp it out. | ||||||||||||||
Casuarina Prison deputy superintendent James Schilo admitted a
crackdown on prison visits - the main source of drugs - would have
disastrous consequences. | ||||||||||||||
"Casuarina is a $100 million asset. I believe if we were to have non-contact visits for all prisoners we would lose the prison within a matter of hours - they would burn it down," Mr Schilo said. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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ADDICTS AT THE MERCY OF JAIL'S 'DRUG SUPERMARKET' | ||||||||||||||
Dermot Fitzpatrick spent 18 years taking heroin and spent most of
that time in prison. He describes prison as being "like a drugs
supermarket". "You walk around for a while and you'll have four or
five people asking you what you're looking for. They're actually
selling drugs. | ||||||||||||||
"There are non-users sharing with addicts who are leaving syringes
and spikes all over the cells. People are going down to Portlaoise
and Shelton Abbey just to get away from it, and their families have
major difficulty in visiting them | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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DRUG DEALING IN MARION COUNTY JAILS UNDER INVESTIGATION | ||||||||||||||
INDIANAPOLIS -- Investigators are seeking the source of illegal drugs
in two Marion County jail facilities. | ||||||||||||||
The wife of one inmate under investigation testified she received
money orders at home from strangers. Another inmate tested positive
for cocaine after a three-day stay behind bars. | ||||||||||||||
The apparently unrelated incidents involve the six-month-old Marion
County Jail II, a privately run facility, and the Marion County
Lockup. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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Mexico | ||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||
Mexico continues to be a difficult arena for US law enforcement. A successful "sting" implicating leading Mexican banks reported triumphantly on the 21st became yet another embarrassing international incident when it turned out that it had been conducted entirely without notification of the Mexican government. Clinton's hasty apology on the 26th apparently did little to heal bruised feelings. | ||||||||||||||
BIG NIGHT OUT ENDED DRUG STING | ||||||||||||||
The dozen men appeared to be just another gathering of high-rolling,
well heeled business executives who had traveled by private jet to
discuss a major deal over dinner and drinks at a casino designed to
look like a set from a classic Bogart movie. | ||||||||||||||
After dinner, a convoy of limousines arrived to whisk the men from the Casablanca Casino Resort in Mesquite, Nevada, 75 miles ( 120 kilometers) across the desert for a night on the town in Las Vegas. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
The Saturday night limousine roundup on the outskirts of Las Vegas
---as described Tuesday by U.S. Customs authorities familiar with
the operation---was part of what law enforcement officials describe
as the largest drug-money laundering case in U.S. history, note
that for the first time tied Mexico's banking system directly to
the wholesale cleansing of illicit drug profits. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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CLINTON EXPRESSES REGRET OVER MEXICO DRUG STING | ||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- President Clinton, responding to a complaint by Mexico,
told President Ernesto Zedillo the United States should have informed
Mexican authorities about an undercover U.S. money-laundering sting in
that country, the White House said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||
"President Clinton expressed regret that better prior consultation had not been possible in this case," spokesman Mike McCurry said, confirming Clinton called Zedillo after the Mexican leader condemned the secret use of American undercover agents inside his country. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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ANTI-DRUG COOPERATION IN JEOPARDY, MEXICO TELLS U.S. | ||||||||||||||
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MEXICO CITY--Operation Casablanca, the biggest money-laundering
investigation in U.S. history, has so incensed Mexican officials that
they are now warning it will damage vital anti-drug cooperation with
the American government. The diplomatic row has cast a pall over an
operation that the Clinton administration hailed as a success earlier
this month. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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Medical Marijuana | ||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||
This week's update of the ongoing California struggle over Prop.215
sees the once seemingly invulnerable San Francisco club firmly closed
down. A well intentioned "summit" in Sacramento which could be called
"too little, too late, " might have been more helpful a year ago.
However, given the demonstrated antipathy of law enforcement, even
that's doubtful. | ||||||||||||||
That antipathy was exemplified by the shabby treatment of Peter Baez,
co-founder of the San Jose club, at the hands of the San Jose police,
as detailed in a local Silicon Valley newspaper. | ||||||||||||||
SUMMIT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISTRIBUTION | ||||||||||||||
Officials Suggest Ways to Distribute Medical Marijuana | ||||||||||||||
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SACRAMENTO--Faced with a federal crackdown on California's cannabis
clubs, local and state officials brainstormed Tuesday about alternative
ways to distribute medical marijuana to those with AIDS, cancer and
other diseases. | ||||||||||||||
At a hearing before a state Senate committee, the officials--joined by
dozens of medical marijuana advocates--agreed that the easiest answer
was to make marijuana available in pharmacies. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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CRUCIFYING ST. PETER | ||||||||||||||
While spouting rhetoric supporting the Compassionate Use Act, local officials launch an attack against the man they once called a hero | ||||||||||||||
'LUCY VALENZUELA" does not want to reveal her real name because she
is afraid of being seen as a criminal. To control her almost
constant pain, the 56-year-old San Jose woman, whose hands are
disfigured from diabetic nerve damage and who walks with crutches,
likes to smoke a bit of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
Until recently, Valenzuela believed the government--via the will of
the people--had agreed to allow her to do this in peace. Now she's
not so sure. | ||||||||||||||
Until last month, Valenzuela was a client of the Santa Clara County
Medical Cannabis Center. When San Jose police arrested founder
Peter Baez in March and seized its records, they decided that
Valenzuela was not a legitimate patient. Now she is known in court
documents as Buyer Number 5. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||
Another important article from April Current history, this offers a
useful overview of US drug prohibition policy in present day Latin
America. Since this area is a very likely source of destabilizing new
developments, it deserves our full attention. This is another article
which deserves to be read in its entirety. | ||||||||||||||
The Toronto Star piece describes social and political chaos in Colombia on the eve of national elections. It would be an exaggeration to claim that all that nation's problems stem from the illegal drug markets created by US policy, however, it's impossible to visualize a "solution" while those markets still exist. | ||||||||||||||
A DRUG TRADE PRIMER FOR THE LATE 1990S | ||||||||||||||
Since the late 1980s, drugs have become public enemy number one in the
West, embodying the "new lack of order" that characterizes the
post-cold war world. By advancing the theory of "the scourge of drugs,"
Western nations have above all sought to reemploy the geopolitical
tools that had been rusting under the influence of what was perhaps
hastily described as the "new world order." | ||||||||||||||
The drug system operates on a global scale that recognizes neither nationality nor borders. It is governed by the rules of supply and demand, dumping, and even bartering. As with the effective marketing of any product at the end of the twentieth century; the drug system involves strategies and tactics that bring radically different civilizations, attitudes, and principles into contact, affecting them in various ways depending on the drugs involved. Although an integral part of local and regional history; the system of producing and marketing drugs is nonetheless very different from that of any other product, whether legal or not. Everything connected with drugs is at the same time "modern" and "traditional," "international" and "local." In short, drugs are the barely distorted reflection of the problems involved in managing the world at the dawn of the third millennium. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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WAR? WHAT WAR? COLOMBIANS DON'T WANT TO KNOW | ||||||||||||||
Peace seems just an afterthought as a blood-soaked country gets ready
to vote | ||||||||||||||
Toronto Star Latin America Bureau | ||||||||||||||
SAN JOSE, Colombia | ||||||||||||||
THE WOMAN is belligerent. She is feeding her own children, as well as refugee kids, and has no time for questions from a Canadian reporter. | ||||||||||||||
``What good does it do to tell the world about the killings in
Colombia?'' asks Dora Maria, a respected teacher in this jungle village
in Antioquia province. | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
``Things are very complicated. But maybe until things get much more
complicated, nothing is going to get better in Colombia,'' says Maria
Teresa Ronderos, political commentator and editor of the magazine La
Nota Economica. | ||||||||||||||
``We are in a situation where the guerrillas and paramilitaries have become huge powers in Colombia. And, yet, I honestly don't believe the political and economic establishment is truly aware of that fact.'' | ||||||||||||||
It is a stunning statement. | ||||||||||||||
How can people not be aware? | ||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||
There will be a pro reform TV ad on CNN run 100+ times in the next four
days! It depicts Clinton voicing what he should "really" be saying at
the UN. It was put together by Common Sense for Drug Policy and is
great media winner during this important time. | ||||||||||||||
Thanks to Rolf Ernst at Legalize-USA for the quick assistance in
getting this available to all our on-line friends. It will only run in
DC and NY so it's good that all can view it. | ||||||||||||||
............... | ||||||||||||||
The ad is on-line at the following web page as a Realvideo: | ||||||||||||||
There also is an MPEG-1 version (7MB) at | ||||||||||||||
............... | ||||||||||||||
The outstanding ABC Special "Sex, Drugs, and Consenting Adults with John
Stossel is also now on-line at: | ||||||||||||||
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TIP OF THE WEEK | ||||||||||||||
Help and volunteerism is what we're about. If you have the abilities
and/or desire we need help in the following categories: | ||||||||||||||
1) Letter writers. Read the DrugSense weekly and select an article that
motivates you then write a letter using the email address usually
provided with the article. Alternately write a letter of response to
our weekly FOCUS Alert Subscribe to this by visiting: | ||||||||||||||
2) NewsHawks. Find news articles on drug policy issues and either scan or copy them and forward them to This can be done by monitoring any of hundreds of on-line newspapers or by scanning articles from you local paper. See: http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm | ||||||||||||||
3) Recruiters. Visit newsgroups, email chat lists, and other sources for large groups of reform minded people and encourage them to visit our web pages, subscribe to our DrugSense Weekly newsletter and t get involved. | ||||||||||||||
4) Fundraise. We are always short of funding either contribute or try
to find others to do so. | ||||||||||||||
5) Start a local reform group in your state or country. If you have 20
people who will help do the above types of activities we will provide a
free email list to coordinate your groups activities and provide
guidance to get you started. | ||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||
`The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws'
- Tacitus, Annals III 27 - | ||||||||||||||
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