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DrugSense Weekly
July 2, 1999 #104


Table of Contents

* Breaking News (03/29/24)


* Feature Article


A Harsh Civics Lesson / by Steven Silverman

* Weekly News in Review


Drug War Policy-

COMMENT: (1)
(1) Underage Drinking
COMMENT: (2-6)
(2) Lost War on Drugs
(3) Gov. Wants to Discuss Legalizing Drug Use
(4) Discussion is Overdue on U.S. Drug Problem
(5) Drug Control is a Bust
(6) OPED: Don't Legalize Those Drugs
COMMENT: (7)
(7) House Approves Measure That Would Curb Government's Authority to
       Seize Property

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

COMMENT: (8-9)
(8) When Justice Goes Unserved
(9) State is Locked Up in Prison Mentality
COMMENT: (10-11)
(10) NY Drug Laws Need Overhaul
(11) White House Drug Chief Critical of NY Laws
COMMENT: (12-13)
(12) US OK: Lawmakers Will Have One More Chance
(13) Democrat: Don't Move on Prison

Cannabis & Hemp-

COMMENT: (14-15)
(14) Editorial: Dazed and Confused - on Medical Marijuana
(15) Putting the Brakes on Federal Controls

International News- (Oh, Canada)

COMMENT: (16-18)
(16) Canada: Police Make Huge Heroin Bust
(17) Canada: Outlaw Biker War Looms on Local Horizon
(18) Canada: Prisons Desperate to Control Diseases

* Hot Off The 'Net


Kubby On Inside Edition Update
NM Governor Gary Johnson Web Page
CRRH posts Geraldo and other Drug War Specials in RealVideo



* Quote of the Week


Thomas Sowell


FEATURE ARTICLE    (Top)

A Harsh Civics Lesson
by Steven Silverman

As a recent college graduate and new to the ways of Washington, I was excited to attend my first congressional hearing on June 16th about the pros and cons of drug legalization.  Not only did I think that Congress might finally be willing to reconsider its lock-em-up spree and listen to other perspectives on dealing with drug abuse, I was also eager to observe our law makers in action.  I expected to find a group of intelligent, thoughtful, policy makers engaged in an open and rational discussion of these tough issues.  Wow, was I in for a surprise.

Presiding Chairman John Mica (R-FL) opened the hearing with the promising words that "an open and honest debate only serves the truth." But it was downhill from there on.  Many of the committee members showed up late, delivered sanctimonious tirades that denounced anyone who advocated any sort of drug policy reform, and then exited without listening to the testimony of a single panelist.  One of these part-time Representatives, Mark Souder (R-IN), scoffed at the notion of decriminalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, declaring such talk as tantamount to advocating the legalization of rape or murder.

Watching this scene from the gallery, it dawned on me how naive I was. This was not an open dialogue, but was a well-crafted congressional ambush of the drug policy reform movement.  That point was driven home when the drug reform panel finally got a chance to speak--after the committee heard from drug czar Barry McCaffrey, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Deputy Administrator of the DEA.  The blatant disrespect the committee members showed the drug reform experts, made my stomach turn.  Representative Bob Barr (R-GA) chatted on his cell phone while David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, and Ira Glasser, executive director of the ACLU, delivered thoughtful testimony about the consequences of prohibitionist drug policies.

By the end of the hearing I suffered from acute congressional-hearing stress syndrome, brought on by repressing my natural adrenaline rush of anger and frustration over the closed-mindedness of so many of the committee members and the charade of the whole process.  It was a harsh lesson in civics and one that deeply discourages me.  Democracy cannot be served when the same people whose job it is to create sound public policy are unwilling to listen to any other voices than their own.

NOTE:   The author's views are his alone and do not necessarily reflect
the views of any other individual or organization.


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW    (Top)


Domestic News- Policy


COMMENT: (1)    (Top)

Last week's issue noted criticism of ONDCP/PDFA for not including alcohol in their jointly financed anti-drug ad campaign.  This explanation from two high-ranking drug warriors: because they couldn't match the liquor lobby's ad budget, they shouldn't take on alcohol at all- struck most people as a likely story.

(1) UNDERAGE DRINKING    (Top)

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America wholeheartedly supports the concept of developing a national advertising campaign targeting underage drinking.  But your June 16 editorial misses the essence of our concerns regarding an amendment to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

You can target illegal drugs with advertising.  Backed by the proper research, you can do the same for underage drinking.  But you cannot do both effectively with the current federal appropriation.  That's the issue.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 23 Jun 1999
Source:   Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright:   1999 Los Angeles Times.
Contact:  
Fax:   (213) 237-4712
Website:   http://www.latimes.com/
Forum:   http://www.latimes.com/home/discuss/
Author:   Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Related:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n654.a08.html
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98/n000/a01.html
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n662.a03.html


COMMENT: (2-6)    (Top)

In a delayed comment on the Mica Subcommittee hearings, the Salt Lake Tribune delivered an unequivocal and devastating verdict; similar sentiments were expressed by the governor of New Mexico and endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal.

Later in the week, a Bay Area physician wrote an op-ed for the SF Chronicle which pinpointed the glaring policy failures of an earlier 10 year plan offered by an earlier drug czar and passed by Congress.

Clearly stung by the flood of criticism of federal policy, Barry McCaffrey took the highly unusual step of laying out the government's intellectual position on drug prohibition- couched, as always, within a sermon against legalization.  It's unclear whether the somewhat plaintive title was authored by McCaffrey or by a WP editor.

(2) LOST WAR ON DRUGS    (Top)

Even when a war is being lost and a reasonable leader decides it is time to make peace, there are others who will continue to prosecute it, either because they are too dull to know their cause is doomed or because they are too vain to admit failure.  Such is America's war on drugs.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 June 1999
Source:   Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright:   1999, The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact:  
Website:   http://utahonline.sltrib.com/
Forum:   http://utahonline.sltrib.com/tribtalk/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n669.a06.html


(3) GOV. WANTS TO DISCUSS LEGALIZING DRUG USE    (Top)

Gov.  Gary Johnson, never one to shy from controversy, wants the nation's drug problems and, possibly decriminalizing drug use, to be on the front burner of public debate.

"It needs to get talked about, and one of the things that's going to get talked about is decriminalization," Johnson said in an interview Wednesday.  "We really need to put all options on the table."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 24 June 1999
Source:   Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright:   1999 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  
Mail:   P.O.  Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103
Website:   http://www.abqjournal.com/
Author:   Loie Fecteau, and Michael Coleman, Journal Staff Writers
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n670.a06.html


(4) DISCUSSION IS OVERDUE ON U.S. DRUG PROBLEM    (Top)

Gov.  Gary Johnson has once again convincingly demonstrated that he's neither a politician nor someone stuck in conventional thinking.  In his inimitable fashion, he put out a call for honest talk about this country's war on drugs.

He points out that the so-called war on drugs has been a miserable failure.  And his suggestion that decriminalization of some drugs should be part of the discussion is also worth consideration.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 June 1999
Source:   Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright:   1999, The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact:  
Website:   http://utahonline.sltrib.com/
Forum:   http://utahonline.sltrib.com/tribtalk/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n669.a06.html


(5) DRUG CONTROL IS A BUST    (Top)

CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY CONTINUES COSTLY FAILED STRATEGIES

THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION unveiled earlier this year its 1999 National Drug Control Strategy, a continuation of an ambitious program initiated in 1989 to reduce illegal drug use in the United States.  Although most government officials will not admit it, the plan launched in 1989 has not only failed to meet most of its objectives, but it has also failed to stem disturbing trends, especially in the area of adolescent drug use.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 29 Jun 1999
Source:   San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright:   1999 San Francisco Chronicle
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Forum:   http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/
Author:   Stephen Sidney
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n682.a03.html


(6) OPED: DON'T LEGALIZE THOSE DRUGS    (Top)

Three-quarters of the U.S.  population opposes the legalization of psychoactive drugs such as heroin, cocaine, LSD, methamphetamine, and marijuana.  Therefore, the term "drug legalization" has rightfully acquired pejorative connotations.  Many supporters of this position have adopted the label "harm reduction" to soften the impact of an unpopular proposal that, if passed, would encourage greater availability and use of drugs -- especially among children.  The euphemism of "harm reduction" implies that legalizing dangerous substances would reduce the harm these substances cause.  In fact, condoning drugs would increase their use and hence their harm.

[snip]

Drug consumption damages the brain, which in turn produces other forms of destructive behavior.  U.S. law does not grant people the right to destroy themselves or others.  Addictive drugs were criminalized because they are harmful; they are not harmful because they were criminalized.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 29 June 1999
Source:   Washington Post (DC)
Copyright:   1999 The Washington Post Company
Address:   1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback:   http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website:   http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author:   Barry R.  McCaffrey
Note:   The writer is director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n680.a05.html


COMMENT: (7)    (Top)

For the second time in a few months, a measure billed as necessary to the drug war was resoundingly defeated in Congress, proving that issues dear to the middle class can trump 'tough on drugs.' Intrusive 'know your customer' bank legislation had never been enacted; however forfeiture, as resurrected by the Supreme Court, is becoming the darling of many police agencies- so the House vote flew in the face of both the Clinton Administration and a powerful lobby.

(7) HOUSE APPROVES MEASURE THAT WOULD CURB GOVERNMENT'S AUTHORITY TO    (Top)SEIZE PROPERTY

WASHINGTON -- An unusual coalition of liberals and conservatives persuaded the House of Representatives to approve legislation Thursday to make it much harder for Federal and state law enforcement authorities to confiscate property before they bring criminal charges in narcotics and other cases.

By an unexpectedly lopsided vote of 375 to 48, the House for the first time rolled back 30 years of criminal measures passed at the height of Government "wars" on drugs and terrorism.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 Jun 1999
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   1999 The New York Times Company
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum:   http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/
Author:   Stephen Labaton
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n669.a04.html


Law Enforcement & Prisons
---------

COMMENT: (8-9)    (Top)

A San Francisco Chronicle series trumpeted that an amazing total of 2.6 million arrest warrants for 680,000 separate individuals are unserved in California.

When one throws out the misdemeanors, it turns out that 1/3 of the 220,000 'felonies' represent drug cases.

Further south, the San Jose Mercury News took a more direct look at how drug arrests have impacted California's expanding prison (non) system.

(8) WHEN JUSTICE GOES UNSERVED    (Top)

Thousands Wanted On Outstanding Warrants -- But Law Enforcement Largely Ignores Them

California is swarming with fugitives, bail jumpers and scofflaws who roam the streets without fear of arrest -- despite the warrants hanging over their heads.

The numbers are staggering.  The state has a backlog of more than 2.5 million unserved warrants for felony and misdemeanor crimes.  Most are for minor offenses, but tens of thousands of those warrants are for people wanted for violent crimes, including more than 2,600 outstanding homicide warrants.

And in most cases, nobody is even looking for them.  Not the cops, not the sheriffs' deputies, not the highway patrol.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tuesday, June 22, 1999
Source:   San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Page:   A1 - Front Page
Copyright:   1999 San Francisco Chronicle
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Forum:   http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/
Author:   Kenneth Howe, Erin Hallissy, Chronicle Staff Writers
Note:   Chronicle staff writers Charlie Goodyear, Henry K.  Lee, Pamela J.
Podger, Jaxon Van Derbeken and Marshall Wilson contributed to this report.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n680.a05.html


(9) STATE IS LOCKED UP IN PRISON MENTALITY    (Top)

CALIFORNIA has amassed the biggest prison system in the Western world.

In two decades, the number of inmates has increased eight fold. They're housed, at $21,000 each per year, in the 21 new prisons that the state spent $5.3 billion constructing.

The cost of incarceration has outraced other areas of spending in the state budget, soaking up money that should have gone toward unchoking traffic, maintaining parks and raising public education spending.

[snip]

Inmates convicted of non-violent crimes constitute three-fifths of the prison population.  The majority of them -- some estimates are as high as 70 percent -- have a drug and alcohol addiction.  A quarter of the state's male inmates -- and more than a third of the women -- are in for drug offenses alone.  That compares with 7.5 percent -- one in 14 -- two decades ago.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 24 Jun 1999
Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright:   1999 Mercury Center
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.sjmercury.com/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n673.a06.html


COMMENT: (10-11)    (Top)

There's no shortage of people demanding reform of NY's harsh Rockefeller laws- only of people in power with the courage to actually change them.  Last week, further calls for reform were heard from two unlikely sources; one was a man who'd played a key role in their passage.

The other was the Drug Czar himself, picking up on the call from drug war scholar John DiIulio for less prison and more 'treatment.'

(10) NY DRUG LAWS NEED OVERHAUL    (Top)

When New York State enacted the Rockefeller Drug Laws in 1973, it was hoped that a tough, no-nonsense approach would stem the spiraling rate of illegal drug use and drive drug dealers from the streets.

I should know -- As a Republican state senator, I was a sponsor of the legislation.  I believed these laws would protect the public.

Instead, they've handcuffed our judges, contributed to filling our prisons to dangerously crowded levels and denied sufficient drug treatment to nonviolent addicted offenders.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 28 Jun 1999
Source:   New York Daily News (NY)
Copyright:   1999 Daily News, L.P.
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.nydailynews.com/
Forum:   http://townhall.mostnewyork.com/mb/index.html
Author:   John R.  Dunne
Note:   Dunne, a former assistant attorney general under President George
Bush, was chairman of the New York State Senate Prison Committee when the Rockefeller Drug Laws were enacted.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n677.a14.html


(11) WHITE HOUSE DRUG CHIEF CRITICAL OF N.Y. LAWS    (Top)

Gen.  Barry McCaffrey, the retired general who directs the White House's drug control policy, has added his voice to the criticism of the mandatory prison sentences required under New York's stringent drug laws.

In a speech scheduled for Tuesday before a conference on substance abuse and criminal justice in Albany, N.Y., McCaffrey, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, asserts that building more prisons, as New York is doing, will not solve the problem of drug-driven crime.

[snip]

McCaffrey notes a new study by John DiIulio, a Princeton University professor, reporting that one-fourth of recent admissions to prisons in New York involve felons whose only crimes have been low-level, nonviolent drug offenses.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 29 Jun 1999
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   1999 The New York Times Company
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum:   http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/
Author:   Christopher S.  Wren
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n683.a08.html


COMMENT: (12-13)    (Top)

Desperate political maneuvering within the legislature characterizes many states dealing with the vexing problem of rising prison populations; among the more interesting are Oklahoma, locked in a bitter battle between Democrats who are trying to moderate sentences ('truth in sentencing' legislation), and Republicans, who want to maintain prison growth.

In Wisconsin- caught between the rock of new prison construction and the hard place of shipping prisoners out of state- the battle has focused on a private prison built by- ironically enough- an Oklahoma company.

(12) US OK: LAWMAKERS WILL HAVE ONE MORE CHANCE    (Top)

To Resolve the Truth-In- Sentencing Issue Before the Law Takes Effect

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Legislators will meet Wednesday to continue a special session on truth in sentencing and take another stab at working out their differences on the controversial issue.

[snip]

But that isn't good enough for the lock- 'em-up-and-throw-away-the-key crowd.  The Oklahoma Sheriffs Association says it would allow violent and repeat offenders to avoid incarceration and get into the community-sentencing program.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 27 June 1999
Source:   Tulsa World (OK)
Copyright:   1999, World Publishing Co.
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.tulsaworld.com/
Author:   Chuck Ervin.  World Capitol Bureau
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n680.a09.html


(13) DEMOCRAT: DON'T MOVE ON PRISON    (Top)

State Should Keep Options Open for Now, Burke Says

Madison - The leading opponent of a proposal to buy or lease a private prison under construction in Stanley says Wisconsin likely will end up acquiring the prison.

But it's not a move the state should make now in the state budget, according to Sen.  Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee.

[snip]

"I'm disappointed," Jauch said.  "There is a sense of spite by many legislators and I believe by the administration about the manner in which the Dominion Group developed this prison.  There is anger about their arrogance.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 27 June 1999
Source:   Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Copyright:   1999, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Contact:  
Fax:   414-224-8280
Website:   http://www.jsonline.com/
Forum:   http://www.jsonline.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimate.cgi
Author:   Richard P.  Jones, of the Journal Sentinel staff
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n681.a03.html


Cannabis & Hemp


COMMENT: (14-15)    (Top)

The federal government clings stubbornly to prohibition of all Cannabis use, despite its absence of either dangerous or addictive properties, both of which are supposedly sine qua non for Schedule One designation.

In Florida, a state where there is a current movement to legalize 'medical marijuana,' the Miami Herald carried an editorial which raises questions still being asked in California- which passed its initiative two and a half years ago, but where patients are still being arrested by local police and sheriffs.

An article from California tells us how "experts" are still divided on just how the Supremes might apply their concepts of state sovereignty to the issue.  So much for certainty.

(14) EDITORIAL: DAZED AND CONFUSED - ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA    (Top)

A recent court ruling is welcome, but more change is needed.

You be the judge: Before you is an AIDS patient charged with posses-sing marijuana.  He pleads that the prescription drugs he takes to bolster his weakened immune system suppress his appetite and leave him chronically nauseous and underweight.

The defendant testifies that smoking pot is the only way he can tolerate the food that he needs to survive, and he cites a National Institute of Medicine study to back him up.  The two-year study released in March con-firms that smoking marijuana is effective in treating the pain, nausea and the severe weight loss common in cases of full-blown AIDS.

[snip]

Moreover, even if the dispute in Florida ultimately is resolved -- by the courts or the Legislature -- in favor of legalizing the use of medical marijuana with a doctor's prescription, the feds strongly oppose allowing the states any discretion in these matters.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 22 June 1999
Source:   Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright:   1999 The Miami Herald
Contact:  
Address:   One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693
Fax:   (305) 376-8950
Website:   http://www.herald.com/
Forum:   http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n665.a02.html


(15) PUTTING THE BRAKES ON FEDERAL CONTROLS    (Top)

A trio of related 5-4 decisions last week by the U.S.  Supreme Court could have implications for the broad power of state government vis-a-vis the national government, and for specific cases pending, including at least one involving California law.

[snip]

IMPACT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

We talked to Jonathan Emord, a Washington, D.C.  constitutional lawyer who wrote the brief for another case with special importance for Californians.  In Pearson v. McCaffrey, which the Washington, D.C. federal district court should decide soon, Mr.  Emord argues, on behalf of a coalition of scientists, doctors and patients, that the federal government cannot use federal law to invalidate state laws authorizing the medical use of medical marijuana if there is no evidence that furnishing marijuana to patients on the recommendation of licensed physicians will involve interstate commerce.

Pubdate:   Tuesday, June 29,1999
Source:   Orange County Register (CA)
Copyright:   1999 The Orange County Register
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.ocregister.com/
Section:   Metro, page 6
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n684.a06.html


International News-(Oh, Canada)


COMMENT: (16-18)    (Top)

Our rapidly growing archive of international news presents a problem in balanced selection of items to highlight.  The newsletter is conceived as a distillation of the news archive- which focuses on American drug policy, but also includes other nations- primarily English speaking countries, plus a few others where many news in English are available because of their close ties to the US.

It is recognized that this approach neglects large areas which are impacted by US policy; suggestions are welcome.

This week's international focus was prompted by a spate of news articles from Canada highlighting their crime problems which are associated with their (and our) illicit drug market.  Can anyone believe that these problems are at all controllable (let alone "soluble") by doing more of what created them in the first place?

(16) CANADA: POLICE MAKE HUGE HEROIN BUST    (Top)

A huge international heroin import-export conspiracy scheme extending from the jungles of the Golden Triangle in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand into Canada and south to the United States and Puerto Rico is being broken up by police.

``This is, in terms of magnitude, the largest heroin importing scheme alleged in Canadian history,'' Victoria Crown counsel Brian Jones said Tuesday in an interview.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 23 Jun 1999
Source:   Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada)
Contact:  
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n662.a05.html


(17) CANADA: OUTLAW BIKER WAR LOOMS ON LOCAL HORIZON    (Top)

Events that took place in Montreal last week and planned in Texas may have a violent effect on us, here, in British Columbia.

The outlaw motorcycle gang Rock Machine, which has been engaged in a violent war for control of the lucrative drug trade in Quebec with the Hells Angels, has been officially made a "Support Club" of the Bandidos, one of the so-called "Big Four" outlaw gangs in the world.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 21 Jun 1999
Source:   North Shore News (Canada)
Copyright:   1999 by the North Shore News
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.nsnews.com/
Author:   Leo Knight,
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n667.a03.html


(18) CANADA: PRISONS DESPERATE TO CONTROL DISEASES    (Top)

Providing Heroin, Tattoo Services Among Proposed Measures

The federal prison service is studying everything from prescription heroin to sanitary tattooing to help control serious drug and health problems behind bars, newly released documents indicate.

The ideas are among the options outlined in a draft strategy paper prepared by the Correctional Service of Canada to address the challenges of substance abuse and fast-spreading illness.

Pubdate:   Wed, 23 Jun 1999
Source:   Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
Copyright:   1999 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Author:   Jim Bronskill, The Ottawa Citizen
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n662.a12.html


HOT OFF THE 'NET    (Top)

KUBBY ON INSIDE EDITION - UPDATE

Good News! Steve Kubby's piece on Inside Edition was not bumped.  It was also an outstanding segment depicting Steve and Michele as the reasonable professional victims of a government gone mad that they are.

Bad news! At the last minute Inside Edition rescheduled the piece and it aired Thursday PM.

This means that most of you missed it unless you can catch a late night airing in your area.  While this is unfortunate we are attempting to get a URL that will have a RealVideo and perhaps a transcript of the segment.

If all else fails please take action anyway and write letters as described in our previous Focus Alert following the samples as guidelines provided.  This Focus Alert is reprinted below.

For all details and where to write see the Focus Alert banner at http://www.mapinc.org/

There is an developing update page which will explain the latest on the Inside Edition show at: http://www.kubby.org/inside.html

Kubby hopes to have a transcript or on-line viewable edition of the Inside Edition segment up today.


NM GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON WEB PAGE

Kevin Zeese informs us:

For those interested in more on NM Governor Gary Johnson you may want to visit his official web site.  http://www.governor.state.nm.us/ Johnson is the Governor who created the nationwide buzz when calling for hearings on drug legalization earlier this week.

See the news article at:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n670.a06.html


CRRH POSTS GERALDO AND OTHER DRUG WAR SPECIALS IN REALVIDEO

"Drug Bust: The Longest War," Geraldo Rivera Reports, NBC News; http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/docs_nbc699.html

"The 20th Century, with Mike Wallace"
http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/docs_20cent.html

CRRH is not only hosts the largest archive of streaming videos on drug policy on the Internet, CRRH is also leading the effort to end cannabis prohibition and regulate the sale of cannabis to adults.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK    (Top)

"What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it.  When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long." - Thomas Sowell


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