| June 23, 2000 #154 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MURDER IN CALIFORNIA THE CASE OF PETER MCWILLIAMS (1949-2000). | ||||||||||||||||||
From "The Nation" by Dan Mindus | ||||||||||||||||||
Ushering in outbreaks of hysteria, Peter McWilliams, best selling
author and medical marijuana activist, died on Wednesday. Some mostly
libertarians are freely tossing around the word "murder" to describe
the federal government's role in the 50 year old McWilliams' passing.
"What the federal government did is nothing less than cold blooded,
premeditated murder," charged Steve Dasbach, the national director of
the Libertarian Party. | ||||||||||||||||||
Before we consign such talk to the Vince Foster lunatic fringe, perhaps some background would be appropriate. Unless otherwise noted, the quotes that follow are selected from three columns on the deceased crusader by the hardly hysterical William F. Buckley Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||
"For his illness [AIDS and cancer] he smokes every day. But after you
do that for a few weeks you cease to get high. Marijuana becomes just
something that stops nausea, eases pain, reduces inter ocular pressure,
relaxes muscles, and takes the "bottom" out of a depression. So where
do we go from here? To jail?" | ||||||||||||||||||
Exactly. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Six thirty in the morning, nine DEA agents crash into McWilliams'
house finding him at work on his computer. They simultaneously tell him
he is not under arrest and handcuff him. They spend three hours going
over every piece of paper in his house (they find one ounce of
marijuana, which is within the California legal limit) and walk away
with his computer. That is the equivalent of entering the New York
Times and walking away with the printing machinery." | ||||||||||||||||||
How is this possible, given that California's Proposition 215 exempted
patients from criminal penalties for the cultivation or possession of
marijuana? "The feds take the position that the California proposition
is after all overridden by federal legislation." | ||||||||||||||||||
McWilliams is arrested and charged. "The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles intends to recommend that McWilliams spend the next 10 years in jail for violating federal drug laws.... The meltdown is therefore now scheduled.... One hopes that Peter McWilliams, something of a bird of paradise, is left alone to take proper care of himself." | ||||||||||||||||||
Sadly, this proved to be wishful thinking. The judge prohibited
McWilliams from mentioning that he had AIDS and cancer, thus denying
him the traditional common law defense that necessity, the need to
prevent greater harm, forced him to break the law. This despite the
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals's unanimous ruling in 1999 that
"medical necessity" can be a viable defense for people accused of
breaking federal marijuana laws. One would think such a ruling would
apply to McWilliams, who suffers from a not uncommon side effect of
antiviral AIDS drugs: nausea. Without marijuana, McWilliams simply
couldn't keep his meds down. | ||||||||||||||||||
The judge further prohibited McWilliams from mentioning Proposition
215, for this was a federal case. Facing the prospect of a ten year
mandatory minimum sentence, and no plausible defense, McWilliams pled
guilty. Bail was set at $250,000 and McWilliams' mother mortgaged the
family home. | ||||||||||||||||||
"One aspect of the bail regulation would have pleased George Orwell: He
has to submit to a daily urine test to establish that he has not taken
marijuana. If such a test were to prove positive, back he'd go to
jail, and the family house, presumably, to the auction block."
According to McWilliams, "The Federal prosecutor personally called my
mother to tell her that if I was found with even a trace of medical
marijuana, her house would be taken away." | ||||||||||||||||||
And so, the meltdown. Fearing foreclosure on his mother's house,
McWilliams stopped taking the marijuana that controlled his nausea. He
was found in his bathroom, having choked on his own vomit. One might
say that this is no more a murder than a plane crash, which can be
blamed on the airline or the FAA. But there's the crucial difference of
intent. Here, the prosecutors knowingly prevented McWilliams from
taking the medication marijuana that he claimed was saving his life.
Perhaps they didn't believe him, and perhaps they didn't know any
better, but these are the arguments of a defendant arguing that he is
only guilty of manslaughter in the second degree. | ||||||||||||||||||
Look in the papers tomorrow for more wisdom on the subject from Mr.
Buckley. | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy COMMENT: (1-2) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
McCzar's recent claim that we're "winning" the drug war was further
refuted when two respected dailies reported sharply increased heroin
use in their metropolitan areas. | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) REPORT - HEROIN TOPS COKE ON MASS. STREETS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite ambitious state and local campaigns to combat heroin addiction,
a new report shows that heroin, for the first time in more than a
decade, has surpassed cocaine as the drug of choice on the streets of
Boston and throughout Massachusetts. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) HEROIN TAKES DEADLY HOLD ON MD. COUNTY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Today, Kristi Ziemski will not speak of the time between March 15 and April 9 of last year. The feelings she has - about killing her mother... | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Doris Ziemski was killed with a butcher knife and left sprawled for days in her foyer in what Kristi's prosecutor calls a heroin-related slaying. But her mother's life is hardly the sole one... | ||||||||||||||||||
Seven of its (Carroll County's) young people have died of overdoses in
the last four years. Dozens of other residents in heroin's vise have
turned up in emergency rooms. The county of 152,000 people has
Maryland's first and only probation officer devoted solely to helping
heroin-addicted youths, and bright yellow-and-black "Heroin Kills"
billboards and bumper stickers have become common as residents fight
back. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (3-4) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The methamphetamine battle isn't going well either; two Western
reports highlight how unwise tactics have simply compounded an
environmental problem without reducing availability. | ||||||||||||||||||
The deferred environmental clean-up costs will ultimately be paid by
the entire nation; not just a rural Oregon county. | ||||||||||||||||||
(3) INCREASE IN SMALL DRUG LABS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law enforcement officials call them Beavis and Butt-head labs. That's
their grim private nickname tying the dim cartoon characters with a
growing crowd of people who are cooking up volatile batches of
homemade methamphetamine in their closets, kitchens and even
children's rooms. | ||||||||||||||||||
As officers on the Peninsula and all over the Bay Area stumble upon more and more of these amateur drug factories, they openly worry about explosions -- both of the chemicals used to make the drug and in the numbers of users of the powerful and addictive stimulant. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) EDITORIAL: METH LAB FUNDING A PROBLEM FOR ALL, NOT JUST SHERIFF (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Umatilla County Sheriff John Trumbo's frustration over a lack of money
to clean up methamphetamine labs is understandable, but his directive
to deputies that they put on blinders to these dangerous operations was
extreme. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Herald obtained a memo Trumbo wrote to his staff, noting that
Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality has no more money for
hazardous waste cleanup at meth labs, ... He told his deputies he
didn't want them to take any initiative in investigating
methamphetamine labs. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Thank your snitches for the information they are 'not giving you.'
Keep your eyes closed and pretend you have a cold. I don't want any 'I
found a meth lab' calls... " | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (5-6) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The San Diego Union-Tribune wasted no time in airing arguments
Californians will be hearing over and over from both sides on the drug
treatment initiative which just qualified for the November ballot.
Although not mentioned, it will also be a defining issue in the Senate
race. | ||||||||||||||||||
(5) EDITORIAL: JAIL TIME FOR ADDICTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Ballot Initiative Would Hamstring Drug Courts | ||||||||||||||||||
It's really sad that California's public debate over treatment for addicted criminals could be co-opted by a few multimillionaires like George Soros on one side and the corrections officers' union on the other. Neither knows much about the disease of addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||
But instead of the public and lawmakers learning from the exhaustive research on addiction treatment and then crafting sound policies, we're in for another divisive, superficial battle over a ballot initiative. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) IS IMPRISONING ADDICTS THE BEST POLICY? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
We were raised to believe that the laws that govern us were set up for
the greater good of the majority of our citizens. Somewhere along the
line, some of that has changed. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is incredible to realize that today most families know of someone
who has been incarcerated in a detention facility. Perhaps he or she is
an immediate family member, a friend, or a friend of a friend. Few of
us have been untouched by the prison growth of the past two decades.
Behind the United States as a whole, California now has the biggest
prison system in the western industrialized world, and we are the most
overcrowded system in the United State. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (7-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Beyond heroin and cocaine, the problem of ecstasy awaits our drug warriors. For those curious about E's history, the Austin Chronicle got most of it right- except for a premature obit on Sasha Shulgin. | ||||||||||||||||||
Two other deferred problems served notice that they will resurface:
George W's cocaine history and money for our military adventure in
Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||
(7) COUNTDOWN TO ECSTASY- PART ONE OF THREE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
I Feel Love I'm sitting in one of the myriad coffee shops on Congress Avenue -- slouching, actually; it's a sunshiney spring Saturday morning, and the previous night keeps doubling back on me.... | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"It was a life-changing experience. And I mean, like, for the
better." | ||||||||||||||||||
Thrills, Pills, and Bellyaches | ||||||||||||||||||
Those are heady words, ones that are repeated ad infinitum wherever people talk about Ecstasy. There are more grinny, happy X-tales floating around Austin than there are wannabe film makers. Sometimes it seems like everyone here, at one point or another, has tried Ecstasy, "X," "E," whatever you choose to call it, at least once. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) BUSH FLIES INTO AN AIR FORCE COCAINE CLOUD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THE Republican front-runner for the White House, George W. Bush, was
suspended from flying as a young pilot for failing to take a medical
examination that included a drug test. | ||||||||||||||||||
Documents obtained by The Sunday Times reveal that in August 1972, as
a 26 year-old subaltern in the Air National Guard, Bush was grounded
for failing to "accomplish" an annual medical that would have
indicated whether he was taking drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) GOP WANTS TO REVIVE STALLED SPENDING PACKAGE, MEASURE WOULD FINANCE (Top)KOSOVO, COLOMBIA EFFORTS | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Under Pentagon pressure, congressional leaders want to
revive and pass this month a stalled multibillion-dollar spending
package for Colombia, U.S. peacekeepers in Kosovo and domestic
disasters. | ||||||||||||||||||
The House approved a $13 billion measure two months ago. It has languished in the Senate because of Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., who said the bill was expensive and time-consuming... | ||||||||||||||||||
Now, Lott and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., would like to send
the money, in a still undetermined amount, to President Clinton by June
30, when lawmakers are to begin a week long Fourth of July recess, say
congressional aides from both parties. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Stories from Florida and Ohio demonstrate LA isn't the only place where rogue cops find drug and forfeiture laws to their liking. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet, as Clarence Page reminds us, we still need cops for society to
function. | ||||||||||||||||||
(10) CRIME, IN THE NAME OF THE LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal Court Testimony Reveals Corruption In The Delta Squad, An Elite Undercover Drug Team At The Manatee County Sheriff's Office. | ||||||||||||||||||
BRADENTON -- They prowled the streets of Manatee County, looking for the perfect victims -- poor, troubled people no one would believe. | ||||||||||||||||||
Then, they robbed them. Beat them. And even bragged about it. | ||||||||||||||||||
When it began to come apart, they hung together and conspired to keep
quiet. They saw themselves as above the law. | ||||||||||||||||||
After all, they were the law. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) EDITORIAL: CENTAC'S BLACK EYE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
County's drug task force needs to make changes if it is to justify its
existence and be an asset to justice | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert Tilton, the Stow police chief, scored an unintentional bulls-eye
with his assessment of CenTac, Summit County's Central Tactical Unit.
Said Tilton: ``I think that CenTac's record speaks for itself.''
Indeed, CenTac's record does. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In 1988, CenTac arrested brothers Albert and Thomas Thrower for a
marijuana trafficking operation. The Throwers made a deal and forfeited
in a plea bargain $3 million in cars, boats and rental properties. That
established a pattern that made CenTac financially independent and
virtually unaccountable as it moved beyond drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Sheriff Richard Warren, the nominal head of the CenTac governing board,
knew too few specifics during the recent escorts case to know that
CenTac agents were listening through motel walls while stakeout
subjects had sex and that informants were buying sex with CenTac
drug-buy money. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) CRITICS OF COPS STILL NEED THE COPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON- Here's a twist. The Rev. Al Sharpton is complaining that the New York City police have not acted aggressively enough. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yes, this is the same Rev. Al who has charged police from Poughkeepsie,
N.Y., to Riverside, Calif., with behaving too brutally. | ||||||||||||||||||
The shoe is on the other foot in the wake of the nationally publicized
assault on more than 40 women by roving mobs of grabbing, groping and
robbing hooligans in Central Park following the city's Puerto Rican Day
parade last week.... | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (13-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Kansas City Star's series showing that police are still
withholding seized assets from schools prompted the city to sue its
police. | ||||||||||||||||||
On the eastern side of Missouri, two police killings during a crack
bust followed a familiar pattern. Given the drug and the
circumstances, mentioning the victims' color would probably have been
redundant. | ||||||||||||||||||
(13) MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES KANSAS CITY POLICE BOARD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners is holding $3.4 million
in money and property that rightfully belongs to area county
governments and school districts, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon
contended in a lawsuit filed Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nixon filed the lawsuit in an attempt to require the board to distribute the money and property, which the Police Department has collected mainly from seized, abandoned and unclaimed cash and property. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) 2 MORE LAY DEAD, AS PROHIBITION-ERA THINKING RULES DAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Futile War On Drugs | ||||||||||||||||||
Police said Ronald Beasley, 36, was not a target in the investigation
but died mainly because he was near Earl Murray. Beasley's death, the
lieutenant said, "was unintended, not a mistake." | ||||||||||||||||||
This unintended death that was not a mistake occurred six days ago in the parking lot of a busy fast-food restaurant on North Hanley Road when members of an undercover drug unit attempted to arrest Earl Murray. According to the cops, Murray was a drug dealer. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
As usual, I'd like to give the cops a break. It's the war I want to
indict. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Of the many reactions to Peter's untimely death, none expressed the appropriate sense of loss and outrage better Richard Cowan. If you have yet to read this piece, click on the URL right now. | ||||||||||||||||||
(15) ANALYSIS: THE MURDER OF PETER McWILLIAMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An Indictment, Not an Obituary | ||||||||||||||||||
Peter McWilliams, 50, best selling author, poet, photographer,
publisher, libertarian crusader, medical marijuana activist, AIDS
patient and cancer survivor, was found dead on the floor of his
bathroom, apparently having choked to death after vomiting, for want of
medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
There will be an autopsy, but whatever the immediate cause of death may
have been, he was murdered by the United States Government as surely as
if they shot him. Indeed, it would have been much more humane if they
had just put a bullet in his head. No one should have to go through
what he suffered at the hands of his country. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (16-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Although hardly as outrageous, how an approved and funded medical
cannabis study was trashed by a craven Washington state bureaucracy
should at least incite some disgust. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking of craven: Ebert's inane "review" of 'Grass' qualifies; after
succinctly listing the many failings of U.S. drug policy, he puts down
the film for daring to imply change is needed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Indeed, Roger- what's YOUR point? | ||||||||||||||||||
(16) WAITING FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Antidrug Mafia Makes Sure Washington State Keeps Off The Grass. | ||||||||||||||||||
BACK IN 1996, an odd couple of state senators, Seattle liberal Democrat
Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Spokane conservative Republican Bob McCaslin,
introduced a bill allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana ...
Thebill didn't make it through both houses, but funding to explore the
feasibility of such a program did. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kohl-Welles,... was disappointed that her bill did not pass but satisfied that at least a start toward addressing the problem had been made. Four and a half years later, she is far from satisfied. Furious might be a better word to describe her feelings about the combination of bureaucratic inertia, academic fecklessness, and deliberate administrative obstructiveness that have rendered impotent the clearly expressed will of both the Legislature and the people of this state. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) FILM REVIEW: GRASS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It is agreed by reasonable people that one of the results of anti-drug
laws is to support the price of drugs and make their sale lucrative. If
drugs were legalized, the price would fall, and the motive to promote
them would fade away....Crime would go down ... and law enforcement
would benefit from the disappearance of drug-financed bribery, payoffs
and corruption. | ||||||||||||||||||
All of this is so obvious that the opposition to the legalization of drugs seems inexplicable--unless you ask who would be hurt the most by the repeal of drug laws. The international drug cartels would be put out of business. Drug enforcement agencies would be unnecessary. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The film is unlikely to tell many of its viewers anything they don't already know, and unlikely to change our national drug policy.... | ||||||||||||||||||
Am I in favor of drugs? Not at all. ...Have they given us the world's
largest prison population, cost us billions of dollars and helped
create the most violent society in the first world? Yes. From an
objective point of view--what's the point? | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (18-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
After all the outrage, a little comic relief from Europe was welcome;
the British soccer fans' placid acceptance of unexpected defeat was
noted by many- and it's fun to imagine McCzar's private thoughts on
the Queen's choice of a study to be funded. | ||||||||||||||||||
(18) GOING DUTCH: THE ANSWER TO THE SLIGHTEST WHIFF OF TROUBLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The grass that mattered wasn't on the pitch - instead it kept football
hooligans in check, writes Evan Fanning. | ||||||||||||||||||
THE reaction of the Dutch police officer said it all. ``They're doped up or dying or something,'' he muttered to his colleague as the masses of smiling English supporters strolled from the Philips stadium in Eindhoven despite having just watched their side snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Portugal. Wiser words have rarely been spoken. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) UK: JOINT VENTURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Alex Benady Meets The Woman Who Has Won A Scholarship To Develop Her
Interest In Cannabis | ||||||||||||||||||
As the heavy sweet smell in the corridor of any hall of residence will
testify, many students are more than happy to invest considerable
amounts of their own time and money in exhaustive private study of
hemp and its properties. | ||||||||||||||||||
Not so Louisa Wood, a freelance fabric weaver from Southampton, who last week persuaded the Queen Elizabeth trust to part with A33,000 in the form of a scholarship to finance a month-long trip to the Chinese province of Yunnan, where she plans to study hemp production first-hand. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
From Britain came a hint that a new approach to "drug treatment" may
soon be forthcoming. | ||||||||||||||||||
Also from Britain, the lethal infection felling heroin injectors was
finally identified as clostridial, but its source and point entry into
the illegal market remain a mystery- and, of necessity- the means to
remove it. | ||||||||||||||||||
(20) UK: EDITORIAL: NO QUICK FIX (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It Will Take More Than A Shot In The Arm To Wipe Out Addiction | ||||||||||||||||||
AT FIRST glance, vice vaccines look just great. These injections
promise to inactivate drugs such as cocaine, heroin, speed and
nicotine in the bloodstream before they reach the brain. Without the
"hit", people just won't come back for more (see p 22). | ||||||||||||||||||
It's true that these vaccines are still being developed, so their full
risks and benefits are not yet clear. But all the signs are that for
people who are in danger of overdosing, or for addicts who want to get
themselves clean but need some help to overcome their craving, the
vaccines will be immensely valuable. | ||||||||||||||||||
But like many new technologies, they also bring difficult choices. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) CONTAMINATED HEROIN MYSTIFIES AND SCARES BRITAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
GLASGOW -- They started showing up in hospitals here in the middle of April, gravely ill heroin addicts with huge, painful skin abscesses, skyrocketing white-blood-cell counts and dangerously low blood pressure. Since then, 63 similar cases have been identified, as far afield as Dublin, Liverpool and Manchester, and 32 people have died. | ||||||||||||||||||
The outbreak is most likely caused by bacteria in a contaminated batch
of heroin, experts said. Doctors said they did not know whether the
contaminated supply had been exhausted or whether there is more,
perhaps much more, to come. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (22-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As a prelude to the Senate debate of "plan Colombia," President
Pastrana pitched it to our European allies. Not to be outdone, Farc
also sought to tell its side to a similar audience- minus the US, of
course. | ||||||||||||||||||
(22) UK: TALKS IN LONDON TODAY ON COLOMBIAN AID PLAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials of the EU member-states, the European Commission,
Switzerland, Canada and Japan are meeting in London today with the
Colombian government to discuss President Andres Pastrana's appeal for
massive aid. Mr Pastrana is asking the European Community to contribute
$1 billion to his $7.5 billion development plan, known as "Plan
Colombia", to support Colombia's peace process and combat trafficking
in narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) COLOMBIA'S REBEL ARMY OPENS ITS LAIR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Turning point in civil war: International diplomats to gather under
plastic awning for talks with FARC | ||||||||||||||||||
VILLA NUEVA COLOMBIA, COLOMBIA - In the fly-blown "capital" of its own pseudo-state on the edge of the Amazon jungle, Colombia's largest rebel army is preparing to play host to the world's diplomats. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's ambassador to Colombia will join 23 other foreign dignitaries
and Colombian government officials at the unprecedented meeting with
the Marxist FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia --
which specializes in kidnappings and revolution, and controls a
section of the country the size of Switzerland. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An item of unknown significance at this point: McCzar's Chinese junket
pledging to cooperate in the oppression of junkies. | ||||||||||||||||||
(24) CHINA: US, MAINLAND TEAM UP TO FIGHT NARCOTICS TRADE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The mainland and the United States yesterday signed their first
agreement aimed at stopping the spread of illegal drugs, a move both
sides hailed as a breakthrough in fighting crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Today the United States and China signed a mutual legal assistance agreement allowing both China and the United States to begin sharing evidence and information relating to crime and drugs," US national drug policy tsar Barry McCaffrey said. "This is an important moment and is the first legal agreement between these two great countries." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Peter McWilliams, R.I.P. By Wm F. Buckley | ||||||||||||||||||
Too late for this weeks edition but a good addition for Hot off the 'Net Is William F. Buckley's column on the passing of Peter McWilliams | ||||||||||||||||||
Peter McWilliams Memorial Photos | ||||||||||||||||||
There are some pics of Peter on the website | ||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Doug McVay | ||||||||||||||||||
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Sanho Tree on the Air | ||||||||||||||||||
Sanho Tree appeared on the BBC World service chat show "Talking
Point." It's an international hour-long call-in show and you can hear it
with RealAudio at: | ||||||||||||||||||
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_785000/785351.stm | ||||||||||||||||||
More importantly, the BBC website is still accepting email comments and
thus far they are overwhelmingly against the US led drug war. Please
feel free to add your thoughts and read viewpoints from around the world.
The Beeb has done a good week-long series of stories on drug policy
(linked at the website). | ||||||||||||||||||
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"Grass" the Movie Dot Com | ||||||||||||||||||
A wonderful new documentary on the subject of marijuana criminalization, entitled "Grass" is now playing in the theaters. You can learn more about this film here: http://www.missliberty.com/FilmGrass.html. | ||||||||||||||||||
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VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Van Estes | ||||||||||||||||||
This month we recognize Van Estes also known as Doc-Hawk for his sustained support of the MAP editing/posting team and other volunteer work, both for MAP and the drug policy reform community. | ||||||||||||||||||
We asked Van a few questions: | ||||||||||||||||||
DS: When and why did you become involved in the drug policy area? | ||||||||||||||||||
Van: I really am honored to be chosen Volunteer of the Month. After
some of the previous VOL's, even more so. Many have been eloquent
writers who, like great artists, can paint a clear picture with words.
Unlike the artist, my scientific bent helps my with the more technical
tasks and eases the "mechanical" aspects of editing. That same logical
direction has made it clearer than ever that something needs to be done
about the way that users of drugs are treated in this country (and
indeed around the world.) | ||||||||||||||||||
I served a tour of duty in the Army overseas...Key West in the early
70s. As you can imagine, the atmosphere there was very open and
marijuana use was common. It became clear to me that many of the
"truths" about drugs told to me at the beginning if the "War on Drugs"
were in fact lies. As a personal note, occasional use did not stop me
from being rated the best in my field for the entire Army for 1974
and 1975. For many years following military service, I watched quietly,
thinking that the insanity of arresting marijuana smokers would be
ended soon. Obviously, that has not happened. | ||||||||||||||||||
What really pushed me over the edge was when my daughter, then a
teenager, started being harassed on a regular basis by the local
police. Here is a beautiful young lady driving a wreck of a car,
sometimes with a long-haired boyfriend. She was an easy target for
local law enforcement. No resistance, no danger for the cops....just
another notch toward promotion....and another victim of the drug war
gets to go through the revolving doors of injustice. | ||||||||||||||||||
I started reading as much as I could on the Internet about drug policy
reform. The first site that caught my eye was Dennis Peron's
http://www.marijuana.org . That quickly led to Richard Cowan's great
analysis at http://www.marijuananews.com . That led to DrugSense and
MAP. I was stunned at the amount of good information and the apparent
freedom from the customary censorship of the other media. I knew I had
to do something. | ||||||||||||||||||
Over twenty-five years sitting on the sidelines and hoping that reason
would prevail (while holding government or safety-related jobs) had to
end. MAP made it easy to do a little at a time. Newshawking a few
articles and writing a few letters was the start. About the same time, I
found an old LIFE magazine and posted the articles for its 30th
anniversary at http://www.WarOnSomeDrugs.com . Then a call went out for
editors and I knew that was a way I could make a difference from the
sidelines at home but on the front-line in cyberspace. | ||||||||||||||||||
DS: What do you consider the most significant story/issue of the past
months? | ||||||||||||||||||
Van: One of the most important stories recently has been the death of Peter McWilliams. If you have not read "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do", ( http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/books/aint/ ) by Peter, you really need to. If his speech to the Libertarian convention is still Online, it is certainly worth listening to. Here was the government's worst nightmare...a gay man with AIDS, who was at once popular, intelligent and vocal in his support for the medical use of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the end, the government got what it wanted, a death sentence, but
the good that Peter has done will be magnified by his passing and the
outrage that it has caused. | ||||||||||||||||||
DS: What are your favorite websites, besides the MAP/DrugSense sites? | ||||||||||||||||||
Van: Other than the MAP: DrugNews Index, my favorite site is
CannabisNews at http://www.cannabisnews.com/ . Martha does a great
job of posting relevant material and letting her viewers discuss the
ramifications of today's drug policy news. She also really helps
keep control if a troll pops up. Lately, time spent editing has
reduced me to a lurker at CannabisNews, but it is always worth a
visit. | ||||||||||||||||||
DS: How did you come by the handle 'Doc-Hawk'? | ||||||||||||||||||
Van: Doc-Hawk is a name I acquired years ago while working on the HAWK
anti-aircraft missile system. A small group of civilians got to fix all
the really tough problems and I was the computer guru. I wore a white
physicians smock and was soon called "Doc" by most of the GI's. HAWK
rhymed and was fitting so it was added and stuck. | ||||||||||||||||||
DS: Thank you, Van, for all that you are doing! Van's name will be
added to the list of honored volunteers at: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
`Whoever kindles the flames of intolerance in America is lighting a fire
underneath his own home.' - Harold E. Stassen, 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||
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