| February 16, 2001 #187 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
This Just In- (1) Four Key Topics That Define US-Mexico Agenda (2) Drug-Law Reform (3) Film Spurs Fight Against Drug Laws (4) DARE Drug-Resistance Campaign, Called Ineffective | ||||||||||||||||||
This Just In- | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) FOUR KEY TOPICS THAT DEFINE US-MEXICO AGENDA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The new presidents of Mexico and the United States are simultaneously beginning their administrations. It is worth noting that Mexican President Vicente Fox has a clear, popular mandate, while George W. Bush occupies the White House under a cloud of suspicion, having lost the popular vote but having won the election, thanks to five U.S. Supreme Court justices. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) DRUG-LAW REFORM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
...Mustn't Be Stalled By Prosecutors. Rockefeller Rules Distort Justice | ||||||||||||||||||
It is no surprise that the group most opposed to changes in the Rockefeller
drug laws are prosecutors. Reform would curtail their power, and no one
relinquishes power gladly. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) FILM SPURS FIGHT AGAINST DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic may be more than a good bet as an
Oscar winner. A new Internet campaign launched this week hopes to
use the movie as a starting point in a fresh discussion about narcotics
legislation in North America. | ||||||||||||||||||
With hopes of dealing the real dope on the war on drugs, the Lindesmith Center -- a U.S.-based organization fighting for the rationalization of drug laws -- created stopthewar.com, a Vancouver-built Web site that deals specifically with the film and its inherent message that the current "war on drugs" is an expensive exercise in futility. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) DARE DRUG-RESISTANCE CAMPAIGN, CALLED INEFFECTIVE, IS BEING RETOOLED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Studies Disparage National Program For Schoolchildren | ||||||||||||||||||
In a striking shift, leaders of the nation's most widely used program
to discourage drug use among schoolchildren have acknowledged that
their strategy has not had sufficient impact and say they are
developing a new approach to spreading their message. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
We're clearly at a drug policy watershed; demands for business as
usual are bumping into pleas for significant change; meanwhile, if
Dubya has either a plan or a drug czar in mind, he's keeping them to
himself. | ||||||||||||||||||
While Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times reviewed conflicting evidence of his intentions; veteran pundit Willaim Ratliffe, writing from Colombia for the LAT, urged consideration of heretofore unthinkable changes. | ||||||||||||||||||
A different opinion from newly confirmed AG Ashcroft, who used a Larry
King interview with him to call for an even more aggressive drug war.
Is he familiar with arrest figures under Clinton? | ||||||||||||||||||
Editorial writers in both Ashcroft's home state of Missouri- and the
president's home state of Texas- disagreed sharply; and reformer Kevin
Zeese speculated on the various possibilities in an interview with
White House Weekly. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) FRONTLINE REPORT - WE'RE STILL LOSING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In the movie "Traffic," Michael Douglas, portraying the new national drug czar, is met with stares and shrugs when he urges aides to "think outside the box." …"Let's have some new ideas, now," implores the impatient Douglas character. But there is no courage among his staff to acknowledge that victory is not at hand in this war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
For the last six weeks, the Sunday Sun-Times has published excerpts
from a special report examining the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ottawa Citizen editorial writer Dan Gardner paints a picture of a
well-intentioned effort--to keep Americans drug-free--that has spawned
a host of unwanted consequences, including fomentation of a $400
billion criminal industry, violence in some of our poorest communities
and official corruption. | ||||||||||||||||||
In an interview on CNN last week, Attorney General John Ashcroft listed
"reinvigorating the war on drugs" as one of his top priorities. If that
means devoting more resources solely to intercepting drugs, his plan
has been invalidated. More encouraging are President Bush's remarks
that indicate a willingness to re-examine certain aspects of the drug
war. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) COLOMBIA'S DRUG WAR MUST BE WON IN THE U.S. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Here in Colombia, the new U.S. film "Traffic" comes alive with a
vengeance. While the movie is based on the Mexican drug trade, the
corruption, kidnappings, terror and frustration of the U.S. war on
drugs are even greater here. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Even as U.S.-trained and supported Colombian military forces swept into
cocaine-producing areas guarded by so-called Marxist FARC guerrillas in
the south, President Andres Pastrana was trying to resuscitate stalled
peace negotiations by meeting the top guerrilla leader,… if time proves
otherwise, however Pastrana will likely become the Ehud Barak of South
Americathe reformer whose failures opened the door to more right-wing
forces. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a perverse way this nightmare will be good if it forces the new Bush
foreign policy team to step outside the psychological lock-box of
previous administrations. A comprehensive new policy on drugs in
particular is essential immediately. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) RELAXED ASHCROFT OUTLINES PRIORITIES ON `LARRY KING' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- In his first interview since being confirmed as attorney general, John Ashcroft called Wednesday for a new war on drugs and the aggressive prosecution of gun crimes and civil rights violations. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Ashcroft said one of his priorities would be cracking down on drug
crimes. Another is reversing what he said is a disturbing rise in drug
use. One way to do that is to involve parents in the problem of drug
abuse by youths, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I want to escalate the war on drugs," Ashcroft said. "We haven't done what we have to do. The war on drugs requires leadership." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) SYSTEM'S STANCE ON ILLEGAL DRUGS FILLING TEXAS PRISONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Before Texas lawmakers get too far down the road during this session
expanding our prison system and enacting tough new laws for drug
violations, they should consider the possibility that public opinion is
moving in another direction. | ||||||||||||||||||
In other parts of the country, America's commitment to zero tolerance
for drugs is unraveling. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
There's got to be a better way, and other states are taking the time to
look for it. | ||||||||||||||||||
Texas ranks No. 30 among the states in spending per pupil, and No. 36
in teacher salaries. Texas ranks No. 1 in total adults in the criminal
justice system and No. 2 in total number of prisoners. | ||||||||||||||||||
Let's hope Texas legislators are paying attention. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) A BRIGHT AND SHINING LIE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The War On Drugs | ||||||||||||||||||
The parallels between America's war in Vietnam and its war on drugs
become clearer every day. In both conflicts, political considerations
forced the adoption of a strategy that could not succeed. And in both,
politics and inertia prevented a reassessment of that strategy even as
evidence of failure mounted. | ||||||||||||||||||
This week, in his first interview since taking office, U.S. Attorney
General John D. Ashcroft said one of this top priorities would be to
"reinvigorate the war on drugs." Reconsidering it would be a better
idea. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The United States should treat drug addiction as a public health
problem, not a law-and-order problem. Spending money on prevention and
treatment works. Chasing down "drug kingpins" doesn't. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) CHOOSING THE NEW DRUG CZAR: THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The next U.S. drug czar won't be a general and will probably take his
orders from a host of Bush Cabinet members, including Attorney General
John Ashcroft and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy
Thompson. That's the expectation of Kevin B. Zeese, president of Common
Sense for Drug Policy, a Washington-based drug policy reform
organization. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In fact, President Bush has reduced the importance of the drug czar by making it a sub-Cabinet-level job. Drug-policy power will in the hands of the attorney general and the secretary of health and human services," said Zeese, whose group is affiliated with the George Soros-backed Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation in New York. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (11-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Even though there are no models of its long term success, " demand
reduction" has become the fashionable new drug policy buzzword. Be
that as it may, last week's news suggest that it may be unrealistic to
expect any spontaneous reduction in America's urge to self-medicate in
the near future. | ||||||||||||||||||
In addition to regional reports of the increasing diversion of Ritalin
and OxyContin to the illegal market, ecstasy continues to surge
despite dire "it rots your brain" warnings from NIDA. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) RITALIN HIGH ATTRACTS ADULTS IN WISCONSIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Tracking Abusers Difficult, Officials Say | ||||||||||||||||||
Ritalin was once considered a wonder drug for hyperactive children, but
there is growing evidence that adults are becoming hooked on its
caffeine-like jolt and breaking the law to obtain it. | ||||||||||||||||||
Take the case of Jennifer McNeil, a 33-year-old mother of two from
Ozaukee County who is suspected of robbing eight pharmacies to obtain
it. She described to authorities an addiction so out of control that
she fashioned toy weapons and hogtied clerks while apologetically
robbing pharmacies. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) CANCER DRUG SPAWNS ABUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Prescription Medicine Being Used Like Heroin Blamed For 59 Deaths In
Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||
Pikeville, Ky. --- The robber asked for only one thing when he walked
into a pharmacy with a mask on and an automatic rifle in his hands:
OxyContin. The prescription drug is meant to be a painkiller for
cancer patients but it is being abused throughout the East as users go
to great lengths to feed their addictions, authorities say. About 200
people in Kentucky were arrested on OxyContin charges this week in what
police say was the largest drug raid in state history. | ||||||||||||||||||
''They'll kick a bag of cocaine out of the way to get to 'Oxy,'''
Detective Roger Hall of the Harlan County sheriff's department in
Kentucky said this | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) WHO OWNS ECSTASY? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Studying MDMA Is Shaping Up To Be The Latest Battle In The Drug War | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. George Ricaurte's slides illustrating the effects of MDMA on the
brain look, well, psychedelic. Swirling green cross-sections of monkey
brains are followed by human PET scans, billowing shapes bathed in
purple and yellow. One brain burns bright orange with swirls of the
chemical analog for happiness, serotonin; another, serotonin-short, is
a muted, lava red. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
As sponsor of more than 85 percent of the world's research on the health effects of drug use, NIDA has funded only three research centers to test MDMA in humans, and none to look at therapeutic use of the drug or how the context in which it is used might change the risks. | ||||||||||||||||||
Like the government's DARE program, which claims to help kids with drug
decision making and then says the only choice is to "say no," NIDA's
Ecstasy research purports to be driven by science but offers an anemic
range of options. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The number of MDMA users in America--customs seizures, arrests, and scare campaigns notwithstanding--continues to rise. "Right now," says Grob, "the only ones being controlled are the researchers." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Sebastian Malaby of the Washington Post opines that despite the enormous social consequences attending the nation's new role as the world's leading incarcerator, change will be difficult, and- at least in the short term- the nation's prison rolls will probably increase. | ||||||||||||||||||
An example of the dynamic at work can be seen in the New York prosecutors' objections to even the mild reforms proposed by Pataki. | ||||||||||||||||||
Even though most agree that Robert Downey Jr. could be the poster boy
for incarceration's failure to rehabilitate drug users, don't expect
him to get off without more prison or jail time. | ||||||||||||||||||
As for the nation's police, it was business as usual. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) USA HAS GONE PRISON CRAZY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TWO million Americans will be locked up behind bars by the end of 2001:
the biggest civilian incarceration in history. | ||||||||||||||||||
This means that America, with 5 percent of the world's population, will
have 25 percent of its prisoners; its rate of incarceration will exceed
that of every other country that keeps statistics, with the possible
exception of miserable Russia. | ||||||||||||||||||
The question is whether the 2 million milestone will prompt the rethink
that America's penal policy deserves, or whether it will slip by
unnoticed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Even if the passing of the 2 million mark does cause the penal system
to break the surface of public debate in 2001, don't expect much
change. America has committed itself to a strange policy from which it
will be hard pressed to back down, however grim the consequences of its
continuation. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) THE DAs ARE WRONG (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Their Pleas To Retain The State's Harsh Drug Laws Do Not Stand Up
Under Scrutiny | ||||||||||||||||||
With the prospect of Rockefeller drug law reform more promising than
ever, the state's district attorneys are pleading with Gov. Pataki to
retain the status quo. But the governor should resist that plea. So
should Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, and Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan. The prosecutors simply have not
made a sound case for retaining these outdated and ineffective
statues. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) WILL ROBERT DOWNEY JR.'S CASE SPARK A CHANGE IN DRUG SENTENCING? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
After Years Of Treating Addicts Like Criminals, Reports Time.com's
Jessica Reaves, There's Increasing Public Pressure To Give Them
Treatment Rather Than Jail | ||||||||||||||||||
It's a familiar scene: A man in his mid-30s waits outside a courtroom,
his eyes dull, his posture slack. An attorney sits nearby, trying to
ignite some optimism in his client - maybe it won't be so bad - but the
man knows better. He knows because he's already tested the system so
many times | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
We should probably be grateful to Downey, - high-profile cases like his can serve only to heighten awareness of drug laws, directing a nation's focus on the inequities inherent in sentencing and parole procedures. Is addiction a criminal activity? Our laws say yes. Do our laws treat some addicts more equally than others? Certainly. Will those same addicts achieve useful lives without intensive treatment? Probably not. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) EX-COP A DRUG DEALER, JURY TOLD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Defense Counters - He Lived His Job In Anti-Gang Unit | ||||||||||||||||||
A federal prosecutor told a jury Tuesday that former Chicago policeman
Joseph Miedzianowski was "nothing but a drug dealer" and promised to
guide jurors into a world in which the ex-cop's close friends were gang
members with names like the Ghost and Baby Face Nelson. | ||||||||||||||||||
Assistant U.S. Atty. Brian Netols laid a broad framework in which he
said the government's evidence would prove that Miedzianowski used his
police powers to protect his drug ring, not just from rival drug
dealers, but also from legitimate law enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) CASUALTIES OF 'WAR' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ANNETTE GREEN was a casualty of the nation's "war" on drugs -- and her
own bad judgment in getting involved with them. | ||||||||||||||||||
When a nation fights a war on its streets and sends a small platoon of
heavily armed and armored officers into people's homes, there are going
to be casualties. In this week's shooting in Wellston, the casualty was
"Nette" Green, the 37-year-old mother of six boys. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Drugs are a serious problem in this country. They ruin lives and rob
people of their potential. But the literal mindset of "war" on drugs is
dangerous to both sides. Tuesday, a mother paid for her bad judgment
with her life. Police found a small amount of marijuana and crack, as
well as a number of weapons in her apartment. The question we have to
ask as a nation is whether it is worth it to use the tactics of war to
fight our own people. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As usual, medical use dominated the news; the Canadian government maintained both its glacial pace and its penchant for bizarre decisions (but hey, what right do Americans have to complain?). | ||||||||||||||||||
In Great Britain, the story was similar and the Guardian expressed a
frustration felt by many. | ||||||||||||||||||
Here in the U.S., the hot issue has become a DA recall campaign launched in California. On this subject, Eric Bailey of the LAT was the only mainstream writer to produce an accurate and unbiased report. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) SICK CANADIANS TO SMOKE 'SUB-STANDARD MARIJUANA' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Produced For Health Canada Five Times Less Potent Than Home-Grown
Health Canada will provide researchers with a weakened grade of medical
marijuana that could force test subjects to ingest more toxic smoke to
gain any benefit from the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But in tendering the contract, Health Canada specified an allowable
concentration of the active ingredient, THC, between five and six per
cent --lower than the concentration typically found in the home-grown
variety which can be more than five times as potent. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) FAST RESPONSE PROMISED ON MEDICINAL CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The government will move quickly to legalise cannabis for medical uses
such as relieving post-operative pain endured by multiple sclerosis
sufferers if it passes current clinical trials, the Home Office
minister, Charles Clarke, promised yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Clarke said: "If the clinical trials into cannabis are successful,
the government is clear that we are willing to amend the misuse of
drugs act to allow prescribing. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) WHY ARE THEY SO AFRAID? WISE ADVICE ON CANNABIS IS BEING IGNORED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Who says this is a populist government? Almost half the public believes
cannabis should not be illegal and 99% of us think it should have the
lowest policing priority. Yet pot continues to dominate the policing of
drugs: more than 90% of all offences are for possession, of which 75%
involve cannabis. It drives police stop and search operations - more
than 1 m in four years - with 90,000 people a year nicked for
possession of pot. And yet this week ministers have once again refused
to reclassify the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) MEDICAL MARIJUANA BACKERS TARGET DAs WITH RECALLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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SAN RAFAEL Paula Kamena would prefer to be a prosecutor, plain and
simple, tackling any crime that dares to rear its head in tony Marin
County. But these days, the district attorney of this famously liberal
Bay Area enclave is finding herself a target. | ||||||||||||||||||
Advocates of medical marijuana are irate over what they consider
Kamena's unsympathetic approach to patients on pot, and they want to
oust the first-term district attorney from office. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (23-26) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Australian press usually focuses on addiction and overdoses;
incarceration is rarely mentioned; that's exactly why this column
looking at the incarceration rates of indigenous people is so
interesting. | ||||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere, a UN official, speaking from Colombia, alluded to the fact
that the criminal markets created by drug prohibition as policy is
threatening political stability all over the world; now if someone
would only connect the dots…. | ||||||||||||||||||
As for Colombia, a short editorial in Newsday described that dilemma
as well as any; it also expressed an impatience to hear what Bush
plans. | ||||||||||||||||||
A similar impatience from the El Paso Times; who will be the new drug
czar? And what about the thorny issue of certification (the March 1
deadline is fast approaching)? | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) WHY 'LAW AND ORDER' IS A RACIAL ISSUE TOO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OF THE Australian states, Queensland and Western Australia have by far the highest rate of incarceration. And yet, despite the huge cost of keeping convicted criminals in prison, if the emphasis on law and order in the election campaigns in both states is any guide, the electorate's hunger for retribution is far from satiated in either state. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
So are Victorians more civilised than the rest of Australia? I fear not. The Productivity Commission's 2001 report on government services has a graph of indigenous and non-indigenous imprisonment rates, which shows a remarkably constant non-indigenous imprisonment rate of just under 100 per 100,000 adults. The large variation is in the indigenous rate, which varied from just under 1000 per 100,000 population in Victoria to about 1700 in Queensland and 3000 in Western Australia. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(24) UN SAYS PEACE NEEDED TO WAGE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Peace is needed to eradicate drugs in Colombia, according to Klaus
Nyholm, head of the UN Drug Control Program in Colombia and Ecuador. In
an interview with the Cali El Pais, he said alternative programs to
improve the lives of farmers are more effective in the fight against
drugs than fumigation and repression of coca crops. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The guerrillas here have what [others] in Central America do not have,
a way to finance themselves," Nyholm said. "It is no coincidence that
in the three countries where the greatest amount of illicit drugs are
cultivated in the world -- Colombia, Afghanistan and Burma [officially
known as Myanmar] -- there is also armed conflict." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(25) MIRED IN 'TRAFFIC' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As The Film Shows, The War On Foreign Drug Producers Is Becoming A
Quagmire For The U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
One of the thorniest foreign-policy quandaries President George W. Bush
must confront is the potential quagmire in Colombia he has inherited
from the Clinton administration. | ||||||||||||||||||
Colombia has become the foreign front line in the war on drugs that
this nation has waged for years with not much success. But it is also
the scene of a fierce civil conflict deeply tied to the drug trade.
With $1.3 billion in mainly military assistance last year, Colombia is
now the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. And though much of
the aid was predicated on fighting the war on drugs in the coca fields,
much of it is likely to go to fight quite another war-the widening
conflict between insurgent leftist guerrillas who finance themselves
through the drug trade and the embattled government of Colombian
President Andres Pastrana. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The question that Bush must ask himself is whether it's worth winning a
battle in the drug war but getting mired in a military debacle not of
his own making. And, as is shown in the powerful new movie "Traffic,"
the war on the production of drugs, with all its contradictions and
dilemmas, may not be won easily, if at all. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(26) BOTH SIDES SUGGEST CHANGES IN MEXICO DRUG CERTIFICATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With the U.S. drug certification of Mexico due March 1, officials from
both countries are calling for changes in the process that generates
bilateral tensions each year. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The United States should drop the ( certification ) process," said Jose
Garcia, director of the Latin America Studies Center at New Mexico State
University in Las Cruces. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the Bush administration needs to take a good look at the drug
issue before deciding what it wants to do next in the nation's "war on
drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense Launches 'Net Radio Station | ||||||||||||||||||
Tom and Jo-D Dunbar have been burning the midnight oil to prepare and
launch a drug policy related Internet-based radio station. It is a
great way to keep up on day-to-day drug policy news and covers the
"DrugSense Weekly Newsletter" highlights in RealAudio format as well.
Plans are to add interviews, a "stump speech" section and more as this
new feature develops. Check it out. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana Legislation by State with Contact Info | ||||||||||||||||||
The page below is an exhaustive list of all legislation currently
pending in every state's legislative body which deals principally with
marijuana laws. It also provides contact information for the
legislators involved with the laws so that citizens can make their
opinions known their representatives. | ||||||||||||||||||
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CBS News : 60 Minutes II | ||||||||||||||||||
Patton Of Pot | ||||||||||||||||||
Vicki Mabrey accompanies Sonya Barna on a search for the illegal
weed. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Students for Sensible Drug Policy Launches New Website | ||||||||||||||||||
Please check it out at http://www.ssdp.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||
Also, look for SSDP in the next two editions of Rolling Stone
magazine. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Ask Dr. Shuglin Online | ||||||||||||||||||
CALIFORNIA - Stating that the Government has abdicated its
responsibility to provide unbiased and accurate drug education and is
thereby increasing the individual and social harms that may be
associated with drug use, a nonprofit organization focused on 'cognitive
liberty' has unveiled a new online service aimed at providing real drug
education. | ||||||||||||||||||
A project of the Alchemind Society: The International Association for
Cognitive Liberty, ASK DR. SHULGIN ONLINE allows any person with
Internet access to ask word-famous chemist and writer Alexander Shulgin,
Ph.D. a question regarding psychoactive drugs such as mescaline, LSD,
and MDMA (Ecstasy). | ||||||||||||||||||
Read the current question and answer, browse the archive, or ask
your own question using a simple online form. Asking a question is free,
easy, and private. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A brief look at Heroin in Australia | ||||||||||||||||||
By Matt J Santangelo | ||||||||||||||||||
Australia's drug policy has, fortunately, moved forward from its'
previous "Zero Tolerance" standard and certain politicians continue to
press for further change in legislation, especially with regard to the
controversial "Heroin Trials" which began to gain ground, surprisingly
enough, with the previous Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett (a quite
conservative Liberal). The program however, which calls for controlled
heroin dosing of a limited number of "registered addicts", has not yet
been implemented in any state or territory. | ||||||||||||||||||
The churches have shown much interest recently in the growing drug
problem "on our streets", and have set up what are known as "Shooting
Galleries" in some of the more affected areas, where I.V. users can go
to inject their drugs, in a `safe' environment with clean needles and
health professionals present. | ||||||||||||||||||
Australia has a Needle Syringe Exchange Program, which, while stopping
short of condoning illicit I.V. drug use, has made a huge contribution
to stopping the spread of infectious diseases among drug using
communities; most notably HIV and Hepatitis C. | ||||||||||||||||||
Having worked for 12 months as an "Outreach Worker" for the N.S.E.P. in my home state of NSW, I was able to see first hand the benefits of this program, especially with regards to Hep. C. which had been a source of great worry to both the Health Department and users alike. | ||||||||||||||||||
I would like to add that as an Outreach worker I possessed a NSW Health
Dept. I.D. card which contained an authority for me to request that any
police personnel who found themselves in the vicinity of our mobile
unit, whilst being visited by users, should move away from the area
immediately, and that this power, which I had occasion to make use of
several times, was effective in that it enhanced the client's feeling
of security in our service, which was essential to the success of the
program. It was an unofficial understanding that known drug dealers
would not seek refuge around these areas - there is a limit to the
understanding and cooperation of the police! | ||||||||||||||||||
All these initiatives have encountered mixed public reactions, as is to
be expected, and often it is the intervention of Local Government,
through Municipal and Shire Councils, who prevent much expansion from
taking place. This was very apparent two years ago when a private
methadone clinic, run by two doctors and staffed by registered nurses
and a representative from a medical laboratory, was closed down by the
Wyong Shire Council in NSW, despite appeals from many quarters
including the Health Dept. itself; this was simply achieved by refusing
to renew the lease on the premises, which the Council had contrived to
purchase! | ||||||||||||||||||
The overstretched public system, which has a waiting list of 2 years in
many districts, was forced to assimilate the clients displaced by the
closure, which inevitably pushed people in the waiting list back by a
further indefinite period. I heard so many people who wished to stop
using around that time say, "They're basically telling us to go and rob
someone to get a fix!"(or similar), after being told they could not
enter the methadone program for "at least 2 years". | ||||||||||||||||||
The continued push for a "Heroin Trial" will hopefully bring results in the not too distant future, though in my opinion the outcome of such a trial will, in the beginning, be to spur the expansion of the current methadone program, inducing users to stop using illicit drugs rather than decriminalising their use. Time, as they say, will tell! | ||||||||||||||||||
Matt Santangelo is an author, poet, musician and songwriter, currently
working in Administration and Website Design in his home country,
Australia. More about Matt can be found at his personal website:
http://home.iprimus.com.au/magnet03/ or he can be contacted at
. | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation." - Thomas Brackett Reed | ||||||||||||||||||
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