| December 14, 2001 #230 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Listen On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) DRUG WAR RETREAT: ENGLAND MOVES TO DECRIMINALIZE NARCOTICS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
For British Prime Minister Tony Blair, there might never be a more
opportune moment to stand down from a war that has grown increasingly
unpopular at home. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It may only have been a matter of time, but Britain, which has
enthusiastically assumed a co-leadership role in the "first war of the
21st century," the War on Terror, has chosen this moment to quietly but
unmistakably begin a cessation of hostilities in the last and longest
war of the 20th: the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) SWITZERLAND: PARLIAMENT MOVES TOWARDS LEGALISING CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Senate Has Approved A Government Proposal To Allow The Consumption
Of Cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Pending approval by the House of Representatives, the production and
trade in hashish and marijuana could also become legal under certain
conditions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The amended law, which was accepted by 25 votes and no opposition in
the Senate, is aimed at catching up with present-day reality. More
than 700,000 people between the age of 15 and 30 have smoked cannabis
at least once in their lives. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While the consumption of hashish and marijuana would be legalised, the
cultivation and sale of cannabis would only be allowed under certain
conditions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) US WA: A UNIFIED CALL TO END WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Doctors, Pharmacists, Lawyers Say It Doesn't Work. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Doctors, lawyers and pharmacists joined yesterday in calling for an
end to the state's war on drugs, saying people should no longer be
jailed for simple possession of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Releasing a one-year study on illegal drug use, the leaders of five major professional organizations said imprisoning drug users is the most costly and least effective approach to ending drug abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Among conclusions of the report: | ||||||||||||||||||||
* Prevention programs in schools are largely ineffective, especially
the DARE program. | ||||||||||||||||||||
* Though drug use should be strongly discouraged, most teenagers
cannot be stopped from experimenting. But only a small percentage
develop addiction problems. | ||||||||||||||||||||
* Prevention programs should be focused on high-risk youths and should address underlying social and psychological factors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
* Drug prevention programs must include alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol use among teens is much more widespread than cocaine or heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
* Drug addiction treatment should be available on request to every Washington resident, though those who could afford it should pay. Relapse is common, so re-entry should be allowed. Currently, treatment is available to only about 20 percent who want or need it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
* Drug treatment and methadone programs should also be made available
to prison inmates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
* Needle exchange programs should be available statewide. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) SEX, DRUGS & TECHNO MUSIC (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Why The Rap Against Ecstasy Has A Familiar Ring To It | ||||||||||||||||||||
LAST SPRING, THE Chicago City Council decided to "crack down on wild rave
parties that lure youngsters into environments loaded with dangerous club
drugs, underage drinking and sometimes predatory sexual behavior," as the
Chicago Tribune put it. The newspaper described raves as "one-night-only
parties . . .often held in warehouses or secret locations where people pay
to dance, do drugs, play loud music, and engage in random sex acts." Taking
a dim view of such goings-on, the city council passed an ordinance
threatening to jail building owners or managers who allowed raves to be
held on their property. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sometimes the most interesting and significant news of the week does not draw the attention of the mainstream press. That happened this week after the libel suit against Al Giordano and his Narconews.com were dismissed in a New York courtroom. The major media ignored it - though there was some good Internet coverage, including a report from Wired linked in DrugSense Weekly's Hot Off The Net section. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere, the drug war rolled along, setting new precedents in law
enforcement absurdity. Residents of a small Utah town that
essentially decriminalized marijuana believe they are being targeted
for harassment by state police. A South Carolina man faces trial and
a possible prison sentence for selling "clean" human urine. While
government was abusing citizens for challenging drug war orthodoxy,
a study of an Arizona reform initiative showed the government could
be saving significant money through reform. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Instead of considering reform, the federal anti-drug propaganda
machine is trying to inflame the drug war. They want to embrace
Osama bin Laden as a symbol of drug trafficking, though the DEA
admits they don't have evidence that he's involved in drug
trafficking. And a report suggested that anxious Americans appear
more likely to seek treatment for drug and alcohol abuse after Sept.
11. Professional drug warrior Joe Califano warned of "a
self-medicating epidemic" caused by stress. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And, for those who think professional drug warriors are selfless saints foregoing the good things in life to pursue their dream of a drug-free America, a story out of Illinois may break the illusion. An anti-drug group complains that $700,000 was allegedly misused by a former executive director. State police are investigating, slowly, but they say they certainly aren't deterred by the executive director's relationship with Illinois Governor George Ryan's family. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) BIG WATER IS BOILING MAD OVER CITATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The mayor-elect of Big Water is accusing state and county police of
harassing residents after the Town Council passed an ordinance that
essentially decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of
marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mayor-elect Willie Marshall says Utah Highway Patrol officers and
Kane County sheriff's deputies began cracking down Wednesday on Main
Street and stopping drivers for minor violations just outside the
southern Utah town. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"They're ticketing everyone for everything," Marshall said. "It's
very clear that this is retaliation and harassment for the passing of
the [marijuana] ordinance. It's very scary." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marshall says a UHP officer asked town employees for a copy of the
ordinance after it passed two weeks ago, then warned them that "all
hell was going to break loose" because of the statute -- which calls
for $10 and $5 fines for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana
or of drug paraphernalia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) INTERNET URINE SALES CASE STARTS WEDNESDAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Greenville judge has ordered the trial of a man accused of selling
urine to help people pass drug tests to start Wednesday, making it
the first time the law banning such sales will be heard in criminal
court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kenneth Curtis, owner of Privacy Protection Services, formerly of
Marietta, faces charges that his company is against the law,
according to prosecutors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Curtis maintains he sells the urine kits because he does not believe
in random drug testing because it violates people's rights. It is
legal to sell urine in South Carolina but illegal to defraud a drug
screening test. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think this is a joke, but it is serious because I face jail time,"
he said. "Everyone understands why I do this. There should be no
question." Curtis faces a combined maximum sentence of eight years in
jail and a $15,000 fine if convicted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) STUDY FINDS ARIZONA DRUG LAW AVOIDS MILLIONS IN PRISON COSTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
PHOENIX (Associated Press) - Arizona avoided millions of dollars in
prison costs through a voter-approved 1996 law that requires that
some drug offenders be placed on probation and provided treatment
rather than locked up, a new study concludes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Arizona spent $1 million in 1999 to treat and supervise 390 inmates
kept out of prison by the 1996 law, while it would have cost $7.7
million to imprison them, the study said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) BIN LADEN TO BE POSTER BOY IN WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the 1980s first lady Nancy Reagan led the government effort to get
kids to "just say no" to illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Today, government officials want to use Osama bin Laden as a poster
boy in the war against drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other players in the drug war aim to link the terrorist mastermind and illicit drugs in a campaign targeted at kids. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The DEA has no direct evidence confirming that bin Laden himself is
involved in the drug trade. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE UP SINCE SEPT. 11 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK - Drug and alcohol abuse appears to be up in many parts of
the country since Sept. 11, especially in New York City and
Washington, a survey suggests. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"These are people who are self-medicating because of the stress they
feel," said Joseph Califano Jr., president of the Columbia University
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, which conducted the
survey. "I think we have the beginnings of a self-medicating
epidemic." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The conclusion that drug and alcohol abuse has increased was drawn
indirectly, based on reports of people seeking substance-abuse
treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Columbia center surveyed public agencies that monitor drug and
alcohol abuse, and received responses from 41 states and eight of the
nation's 10 largest cities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) HEAD OF CHARITY CRITICIZES PACE OF STATE'S INQUIRY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attorney General Defends Long Look | ||||||||||||||||||||
An investigation by Illinois Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan's office into alleged fiscal improprieties at an anti-drug charity has dragged on so long that it is pinching finances and services of the Elmhurst-based group, reformers who sought the probe say. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For more than a year, Ryan's office has been investigating
allegations of misappropriation of funds against David S. Noffs, the
fired executive director of the Life Education Center, by current
leaders of the organization. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a Nov. 8 letter to the attorney general, the group's executive
director, Susan Van Veen, blasted Ryan's office for moving slowly on
an investigation for which the charity presented evidence
"essentially gift-wrapped and tied with a bow." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials at the center say the investigation has made it difficult
to recoup $700,000 in funds they say Noffs spent improperly on
travel, veterinary bills and other things. Noffs counted among his
friends Lura Lynn Ryan, the wife of Gov. George Ryan, who is not
related to the attorney general. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
In 1995, a state audit criticized Life Education Center for "serious and significant" violations of state regulations. Noffs and his wife, Laurie, issued and signed checks to themselves. They sometimes paid themselves five times a month rather than two. Noffs took trips abroad on the charity's tab. Ignoring conflict-of-interest rules, the charity gave contracts to a board member, auditors found. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nevertheless, the state has showered it with $4.1 million in grants since July 1996. Life Education Center put [Illinois Governor George] Ryan's son,= George H. Ryan Jr., on the payroll for a year as assistant national director and later as the group's insurance broker. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a heartening bit of news this week, a sheriff who is a critic of the drug war was profiled in a Colorado newspaper. One reason his colleagues don't share his point of view was highlighted in a story from Lickdale, Pa., where police confiscated a quick $230,000 without arresting anyone, only weeks after a similar seizure. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Of course, on the downside, there is that pesky corruption problem
caused by drug prohibition, and more cops were sentenced in
Mississippi this week.= Another downside, the embarrassment of
losing control of 5,000 pounds of confiscated marijuana that
apparently found its way back to the black market. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) SHERIFF SCOFFS AT DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
San Miguel Lawman Calls Effort Waste Of Money | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOULDER -- Longtime San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters used to be a hard-charging warrior in the fight against drugs. He even got an award from the Drug Enforcement Agency for a job well done. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But now the state's only Libertarian lawman rides to his own tune. He
turns down federal grants for drug enforcement programs and contends
the nation would be better off if narcotics were legal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's a view Masters says state leaders, government officials and other sheriffs agree with, even though few take that stand in public. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It seems clear to me that our tactics have failed and we have made a
bunch of punks who could not run a garden hose fantastically
wealthy," Masters said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) DRUG DOG'S WHIFF WORTH $230,000 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LICKDALE -- State police seized more than $230,000 in cash that was hidden inside a concealed compartment in a station wagon they stopped yesterday morning on Interstate 81 just south of Lickdale. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It was the second time in two weeks that state police found a large amount of cash hidden in a car driven on I-81 in Lebanon County. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At about 8:40 a.m. yesterday, according to state police, a trooper pulled over the car carrying two Dominican men because there was no license plate, only a temporary paper tag, on the vehicle. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The trooper said the men were so calm when he stopped them that he
became curious. The trooper said his curiosity turned to suspicion
when his drug dog, Hammer, signaled interest in the car's passenger
door and left rear trunk area. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police said the dog was trained to sniff out drugs, not money, but
probably keyed on the cash because of drug residue on it. No drugs
were found in the car. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) EX-COPS GET HARSHEST SENTENCES IN PROTECTION CASES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former Officers Disgraced JPD, Judge Says | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two former Jackson police officers who accepted money to protect FBI
agents who were posing as drug dealers will spend more time in prison
than the other officers sentenced. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former Jackson Patrolman Tim Henderson, one of six former officers
charged together last year, was sentenced to eight years Thursday -
the most of all the officers convicted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Henderson, a Jackson Police Department officer for 17 years, earlier
pleaded guilty to accepting $500 to provide protection May 3, 2000,
and June 6, 2000, for a 5-kilogram shipment of cocaine at the
Greyhound Bus Station. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wallace Jones, a former detective, drew four years for accepting
$1,000 and providing security Aug. 25, 2000, for a shipment of
cocaine to the bus station. He was indicted in a separate sting
investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) SUIT CLAIMS COVER-UP IN CHATHAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
PITTSBORO - Documents filed Wednesday in Chatham County Superior
Court allege that top sheriff's officials tried to conceal the theft
of 5,000 pounds of marijuana from the department in September 2000
and later fired a sergeant who helped notify the FBI. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In November 2000, Dan Phillips took an informant to Asheboro to tell
FBI officials about the missing marijuana, sparking a federal
investigation. Phillips was fired two months later. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In his lawsuit, Phillips alleges that Ike Gray waited until he was
appointed Chatham County sheriff a year ago to tell county
commissioners about the marijuana, which had been missing for at
least four months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
According to the lawsuit, "In one conversation, Lt. Keck told the
informant that the informant should not worry about the marijuana
that had been dug up because 'we had put something on it that would
make people sick.' The informant told Lt. Keck, 'It ain't made nobody
sick yet.' " | ||||||||||||||||||||
Five days later, Phillips and Officer Robert Lefler of the state
Division of Motor Vehicles took the informant to meet with FBI agents
in Asheboro. The informant told federal officials that the marijuana
had been removed from the landfill and was being sold in Chatham
County. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
As a harm-reduction activist, some weeks the news buoys my spirits
and leads me to believe that we are making serious inroads in our
battle against unfair, unscientific laws. At other times, the news
can be totally demoralizing, serving only to show how little
progress has been made against harmful policies and ignorant,
insensitive governments. This week I would like to dedicate this
section of the DSW to Andreas Wichstrom, a 17 year old Long Beach,
California high school senior who committed suicide with a shotgun a
few hours after police charged him with possession of a small amount
of cannabis, which was found in his car by a campus police officer.
My heart goes out to his friends and family. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In somewhat better news, BC Provincial Judge Dan Moon ordered police to return 315 gr. of cannabis seized during a November 9th raid on medical marijuana user and activist Jim Wakeford's home in Sechelt, BC. It is the 4th time this year that Mr. Wakeford, an AIDS sufferer, has been charged with cannabis related crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
On December 4th, organized protests against the DEA ban of edible
products containing hemp began with a national "Day of Action".
Students and hemp industry business leaders gathered at various
actions around the country with the hope of overturning the DEA's
Oct. 9th ban of hemp edibles. Enforcement of the ban is set to
begin in early February. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two cannabis related lawsuits made the news this week. Long-time US legal medical marijuana user Irven Rosenfeld is suing Delta Airlines for kicking him off a plane last March. Rosenfeld, who suffers from a rare and painful bone disease, was denied access to the flight because he admitted to carrying federally approved medical cannabis. In unrelated news, Glenn Miller, a medical cannabis user from Montebello, California, is suing Sav-On Drugs for turning over copies of pictures of two pot plants he was growing in his yard to local police after he dropped them off at the drugstore for development. Miller claims that this was a violation of his right to privacy. I can just feel Polaroid sales climbing as I write this. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) CALIFORNIA STUDENT SHOOTS HIMSELF AFTER ARREST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LONG BEACH - A Poly High School senior who played bass in the school
orchestra took his life after being booked on marijuana possession
charges, police said Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A police officer at Poly was notified at about 2 p.m. Wednesday that
a bag of what appeared to be marijuana was visible in Andreas
Wickstrom's car, parked in a campus parking lot, said Officer Jana
Blair, a police spokeswoman. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 17-year-old student was taken to the Police Department's Youth
Services Facility when he returned to his car after school let out.
He was booked there at 3 p.m. on the marijuana charge, for showing
false or altered identification and possession of items used in
smoking marijuana, she said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) RETURN POT TO OWNER, BC JUDGE ORDERS POLICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sechelt, B.C. -- A Provincial Court judge has ordered police to
return 315 grams of top-quality marijuana they seized from one of the
first Canadians granted a medical exemption to smoke pot for
medicinal purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Judge Dan Moon ordered that the marijuana be returned to Jim
Wakeford, 57, within 30 days. The order was made Tuesday after Mr.
Wakeford applied to the court to have his marijuana, grow light,
computer and paper files returned to him. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police seized those items, along with an additional 1,000 grams of
marijuana and 28 marijuana plants, during a raid that took place at
Mr. Wakeford's home on Nov. 9. Mr. Wakeford, a long-time social
activist who was diagnosed with AIDS 10 years ago, was one of the
first two people granted a medical exemption to Canada's drug laws in
1999. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) U.S. PROTESTERS SAY HEMP IS FOOD NOT DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
OAKLAND -- About 20 activists, many from Berkeley, gathered outside
the Federal Building Tuesday afternoon to protest an Oct. 9 ruling by
the federal government's Drug Enforcement Agency that declared all
foods made with hemp illegal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The protest was part of a national "day of action," with protests
across the country, organized by Vote Hemp and Students for Sensible
Drug Policy, a pair of advocacy groups. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) FLORIDA MEDICINAL MARIJUANA USER SUES DELTA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
FORT LAUDERDALE - A man who legally uses marijuana for medicinal
purposes is suing Delta Air Lines for kicking him off a plane in
March. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Irvin Rosenfeld, a stockbroker from Boca Raton in neighboring Palm Beach County, filed his lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale under the federal Air Carriers Access Act of 1986. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rosenfeld, 48, suffers from a rare and painful bone disease and finds
relief in smoking marijuana, which is prescribed by a doctor and
grown for the government. He says he is one of seven people in the
United States permitted to smoke marijuana. Every day, he smokes up
to 12 marijuana cigarettes, about two every two hours, to fight
tumors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) CALIFORNIA MAN SUES OVER MARIJUANA PHOTOS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MONTEBELLO -- Four days after a Whittier man was arrested when a drug
store developed his photographs of his backyard marijuana crop and
turned them in to police, a Montebello man had the same thing happen
to him. | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, while Joseph Lee Louis Thompson, 26, of Whittier has been charged with simple misdemeanor possession, Glenn Randall Miller, 42, of Montebello is now facing three felony counts that could put him away for life if convicted, his attorneys said Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is an issue of privacy," said Joseph L. Lisoni, Miller's
attorney. "He is dying and the marijuana was simply to relieve him
of his pain and get his appetite back." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials for Sav-On had no comment on the suit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Heroin smuggling on the US-Mexican border is growing, according to a
recent investigation. The report, undertaken by the U.S. and Mexican
governments, also noted that the purity of Mexican heroin was
increasing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Canadian Supreme Court ruled last week that strip searches are
presumed to be unjust, and are "a significant invasion of privacy."
The ruling is expected to help curb some of the more glaring police
abuses of strip searching. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A U.S. Congressman, William Delahunt, asserted that the Provisional
IRA is linked to FARC, a Colombian guerrilla group. FARC is accused of
involvement with cocaine and heroin production. Delahunt denied that
US or Irish government pressure was the reason congressional
investigations were held in secret. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Irish government intends to target drivers for having traces of
cannabis in their blood or urine. An earlier government report
claimed that 37 percent of drivers tested in Ireland were "positive
for illegal drugs, most commonly cannabis." | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the UK, the Association of Chief Police Officers (APCO) has suggested a new policy where heroin addicts would be given the drug in government "shooting galleries." The shift would let police resources be concentrated on the big dealers, said APCO members. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) MEXICAN HEROIN ON THE RISE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's Replacing Cocaine As The Choice Of Smugglers, Border Authorities | ||||||||||||||||||||
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MEXICO CITY - Heroin is a growing concern along the porous
U.S.-Mexico border, where cocaine has been dominant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Authorities say they are discovering larger and larger shipments - a trend indicating that Mexican drug cartels are increasingly confident of their ability to get the highly priced heroin past border points. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We've seized more. Does that mean more is coming across? Probably.
But what is clear is the loads are larger from Mexico and the
traffickers are pretty bold," said Dean Boyd, a spokesman at Customs
Service headquarters in Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) STRIPPED UNREASONABLY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It was a frightening anachronism, and now it is gone. The era of the
routine strip search is over in Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police typically cited a concern about hidden weapons or evidence,
but they did not need to show why a simple pat-down search or frisk
was insufficient in a particular case. As long as there were no
abuses, such as violence or mockery of the suspect's nakedness, they
were on solid legal ground. | ||||||||||||||||||||
No more. The Supreme Court of Canada said this week that strip
searches, defined as the removal of clothes from private body parts,
are dehumanizing by their very nature. "In our view it is
unquestionable that they represent a significant invasion of privacy
and are often a humiliating, degrading and traumatic experience for
individuals subject to them." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) 'NEW PROOF' LINKS IRA TO DRUG TERROR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
New evidence has been uncovered to link the Provisional IRA with a
terrorist group involved in the Colombian drugs trade, according to a
leading figure in the United States Congress. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Democrat William Delahunt, who heads the congressional investigation
into the role of the IRA in Colombia, has also revealed that the CIA
is to be asked to give evidence about the republicans' connection
with Farc, the Marxist guerrilla group involved in producing cocaine
and heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Three Irishmen - two of them convicted IRA members, the other a Sinn
Fein activist - were arrested in Bogota while trying to leave
Colombia on 11 August. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Delahunt denied that committee members had come under pressure from
the US State Department or the Irish government not to hold the
inquiry in public and allow it to be televised. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) DRIVERS TO BE TARGETED FOR ILLEGAL DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The state is to crack down on drivers using drugs after research
showed nearly 40pc of blood and urine samples contain traces of
illegal substances, in particular cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(24) POLICE WANT HEROIN PRESCRIBED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A radical scheme to prescribe and administer heroin to addicts in strictly controlled "shooting galleries" could be put to the test as early as next year to break the cycle of drug-induced crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) will announce a fundamental shift in policy next month and propose a trial period for the project. Acpo members argue that the move would allow law enforcement agencies to focus on finding the prime movers behind the multibillion-pound criminal industry rather than individual addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The proposal stems from research in 1999 by Cleveland Police. The
findings of that inquiry, led by Chief Constable Barry Shaw,
advocated a fresh approach to the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NarcoNews Court Victory | ||||||||||||||||||||
A case against Al Giordano and his Narconews.com was dismissed in a
New York courtroom this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0%2C1283%2C48996%2C00.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Second Johnson/Hutchinson Debate Online | ||||||||||||||||||||
Asa Hutchinson, administrator for the Drug Enforcement | ||||||||||||||||||||
This debate is now available as a Realvideo (tm) file at
http://www.soros.org:8080/ramgen/tlc/YaleLawDebate.rm | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Dean Becker | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Governor Johnson's Visit To The NYT Drug Policy Forum | ||||||||||||||||||||
A transcript. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense Chat with Marc-Boris St-Maurice | ||||||||||||||||||||
Join us this Sunday when our special guest will be Marc-Boris
St-Maurice, Montreal artist, militant and member of the music
band Grim Skunk, Mr. St-Maurice ran as the leader of the Canadian
Marijuana Party in the last federal election and nearly hit a
statue of Emily Murphy with a pie! | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Canadian Senate Committee Looks At Dutch Drugs Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Transcripts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
AM Session: http://www.drugsense.org/sscid/nethera.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||
PM Session: http://www.drugsense.org/sscid/netherp.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTERS OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
This week, it's a two-way tie for first. | ||||||||||||||||||||
EDUCATING THE POOR IN PRISON | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Tom O'Connell, M.D. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Editor -- Your editorial "Educating prisoners" (Nov. 26) points out the crushing cost of using the prison system to compensate for our state's failure to educate its poor. Twenty-one new prisons since 1981 were paid for by systematically neglecting both educational and health-care infrastructures. As you point out, it now costs as much annually to maintain our prisons as it did to construct the new ones. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Those prisons were filled by the war on drugs. Arrests for possession
and use, street crime bred by illegal markets and greatly inflated
prices for illegal drugs all contributed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The problem is intensified by inadequate education of the most
disadvantaged pupils. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although blacks and whites use drugs at about the same rates, the drug war is waged primarily in urban inner city neighborhoods dogged by poverty, broken homes and unemployment. That's also where access to prescription drugs is minimal, public schools have been most shamefully neglected and citizens' rights are ignored with impunity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attempting to finally educate our poor as felons in prison, while laudatory, seems the least efficient way to address the problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tom O'Connell, M.D., | ||||||||||||||||||||
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THE (DRUG) WAR WE'VE ALREADY LOST | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Ethan Nadelmann | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bill Bennett and John Walters may very well be the last two men in
America who still believe we can arrest and spend our way out of the
drug problem. While even President Bush has said that it's time to
re-examine mandatory minimum sentences, Messrs. Bennett and Walters
still cling to the disturbing view that imprisoning nonviolent drug
offenders for long sentences is a good use of taxpayer money and
scarce law-enforcement resources. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After decades of the kinds of draconian policies that Messrs. Bennett and Walters favor, drugs are cheaper, purer and more prevalent than ever, and the harms associated with drug abuse are as bad as ever. It is obvious that the war on drugs has failed, and 75% of Americans recognize this fact. State legislatures from Louisiana to Indiana to New York are beginning to reform their drug sentencing laws and devote more resources to drug treatment. Voters continue to approve one drug reform ballot measure after another (17 since 1996). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Public sentiment is rapidly shifting away from a criminal justice
approach to drug abuse towards a smarter, cheaper, and more effective
public health approach. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For Messrs. Bennett and Walters, however, the war on drugs has never
been about science or public health, it's always been about waging
cultural warfare and punishing sinners, even at the expense of civil
liberties, fiscal conservatism and public health. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ethan Nadelmann, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
DRUG TRADE, NOT USE, HIGH IN POOR U.S. AREAS: STUDY | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK - Although residents of the poorest U.S. neighborhoods are
likely to see illegal drug sales in plain view, they are no more
likely to abuse drugs than people in more affluent neighborhoods,
researchers report. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Their study of 41 U.S. communities showed that people living in the
most disadvantaged neighborhoods were about six times as likely as
those in better-off neighborhoods to witness drug sales. Yet drug use
in these poorest areas was only slightly higher. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This finding indicates that conflating drug sales with use, so that poor and minority areas are assumed to be the focus of the problem of drug use, is plainly wrong," Dr. Leonard Saxe and his colleagues conclude in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health, journal of the American Public Health Association. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The researchers looked at 41 sites--encompassing more than 2,100 neighborhoods--that had more African Americans and were more urban and poorer than the U.S. as a whole. They labeled neighborhoods as more-or less-disadvantaged based on factors such as rates of unemployment and the number of residents on public assistance. | ||||||||||||||||||||
More than 40% of residents in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods
reported frequently seeing drug deals, while only about 3% of those
in the "least disadvantaged" neighborhoods did. However, there were
no significant neighborhood differences in drug use, which ranged
from just below 13% to 15% across neighborhood types. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Still, the far more common occurrence of visible drug selling in the poorest neighborhoods is concerning, according to Saxe, a researcher at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and his colleagues. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The visibility of drug transactions creates the actuality as well as the perception of greater drug-related individual and social problems," the authors write, noting that young blacks are far more likely than young whites to be arrested on drug trafficking charges. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A highly conspicuous drug trade can also make it particularly
difficult for recovering drug addicts living in these neighborhoods
to succeed, the report indicates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Only with sustained effort to rebuild the social capital of such
neighborhoods can residents acquire the wherewithal to eliminate
drug markets," Saxe and colleagues conclude. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And, they add, any efforts to cut the demand for drugs in the U.S.
"must reach all of the market's far-flung consumers." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"You think I'm going to let all this great legal training I received
as a pro se defendant in this case go to waste? Yes, I think I'll be
seeing those greedy billionaire swine in court again, but with the
tables turned." | ||||||||||||||||||||
-Narconews.com publisher Al Giordano, Interview, 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analyses by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Phillipe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||||
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