| March 1, 2002 #240 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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) STRAIGHT DOPE - TREATING DRUGS WITH DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Goodbye Muddah, goodbye Faddah | ||||||||||||||||||
Tough love kills, as the parents of Anthony Haynes found out when their
14-year-old son died last summer in a boot-camp-style drug-treatment
program outside of Phoenix, Ariz. | ||||||||||||||||||
Camp director Charles Long II was busted earlier this month and charged
with second-degree murder, according to a Feb. 16 Associated Press
story. And if Long were looking for mitigating circumstances to endear
him to the authorities, the quarter-pound of pot found in his bedroom
closet and the account of his pulling a knife on another camper didn't
help matters much. | ||||||||||||||||||
The medical examiner's verdict was that Haynes "died of complications
from dehydration and near-drowning." While those may sound
contradictory, tragically they are not. | ||||||||||||||||||
Voicing his desire to leave the camp, on the day of his death Haynes
was forced to eat mud and stand in 116-degree heat "for being a
quitter." His stint in the sun was upwards of five hours long. And if
that were not sufficient torture, after nearly dying from the heat,
Haynes was taken to a motel and dropped in a bathtub to cool off –
that's where he almost drowned. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) CLICKING FOR A FIX: DRUGS ONLINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.N. fears the Internet is providing a haven for drug dealers. But
how easy is it, really, to find narcotics on the Web? | ||||||||||||||||||
How easy is it to buy illegal drugs on the internet? | ||||||||||||||||||
Pretty darn easy, according to a new study by the United Nation's
International Narcotics Control Board. The report, issued Wednesday,
warns that drug traffickers are finding myriad ways to conduct their
illegal transactions in cyberspace -- leaving law enforcement officers
struggling to keep up. | ||||||||||||||||||
The INCB study details the ways traffickers communicate with each other
and with their clients, often commandeering unrelated chat rooms to set
up deals, or using Web courier services to transport their contraband
packages. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) U.S. PROGRAM FAILING TO HALT DRUG CROPS, REPORT CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The U.S.-backed drug war in Colombia is looking bleak,
partly because officials are having trouble getting impoverished
farmers to stop planting illegal crops in territory controlled by
Marxist rebels, a government report says. | ||||||||||||||||||
As a result, Congress should stop future funding for alternative
development programs in Colombia until U.S. officials can show that
they're working, says the report by the General Accounting Office, or
GAO, the investigative arm of Congress. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) UN RAPS EU COUNTRIES OVER CANNABIS LET-UP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
VIENNA, Austria -- Some European Union countries are "undermining international law" by relaxing rules against cannabis, the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said today. | ||||||||||||||||||
INCB officials rapped Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain for decriminalising the cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use, in the board's annual report published in Vienna today. | ||||||||||||||||||
And it slammed the Netherlands, where cannabis is on sale for
recreational use in coffee-shops, as well as draft Swiss legislation,
which it sees as a move towards legalising cannabis, for breaching UN
conventions. | ||||||||||||||||||
The trend towards a more liberal attitude to cannabis and its
legislation "undermines international law", INCB President Hamid Ghodse
told a press conference. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Prohibitionists and drug policy reformers fought for the arena of
public perception last week. The Libertarian Party's ads criticizing
the drug war received some press attention, including top billing at
the popular conservative web site WorldNetDaily. While the
libertarians had to collect funds for several days from supporters
to purchase two ads, federal drug warriors have enough cash that
they don't care about being overcharged by a prominent advertising
firm. | ||||||||||||||||||
Legal drug companies clearly understand the importance of
advertising and public relations. The maker of OxyContin started a
new ad campaign that attempts to counter the negative publicity
showered on the drug. Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company which
produces a product that is used in the illicit production of
methamphetamine, gave money to Arkansas for "drug education"=
efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Reformers generally don't have such resources to purchase good will, but some members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy used the most of their limited resources last week as they confronted the legislator most responsible for the Higher Education Act, which denies financial aid to students with drug convictions. | ||||||||||||||||||
This shows students are smart - but drug warriors like Joe Califano
just doesn't get it. Califano's organization released another
dubious study of youth drug use last week, this time focusing on
alcohol. Such studies are released frequently - typically it
wouldn't generate much interest at DrugSense Weekly. But there was
one remarkable aspect of the AP story about the study - Califano all
but admits his organization fudged its numbers. He went on to
justify the action by saying the original data is poor. It's a
perfect symbol for information from prohibitionists: bad data
tortured for not being bad enough. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) DRUG CZAR ACCUSED OF SUPPORTING TERROR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Libertarian Party Ad Parodies Feds' Super Bowl Commercials | ||||||||||||||||||
A full-page ad appearing in two major newspapers and sponsored by
the Libertarian Party accuses the U.S. Office of National Drug
Control Policy of supporting terrorism by fighting its "war on
drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
According to party spokesman George Getz, the ad - which is
scheduled to appear in today's editions of USA Today and The
Washington Times - "is a parody of the ads placed in 293 papers"
beginning last month by the drug control policy office. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"The ONDCP's strategy is clear: It's trying to take the Sept. 11-inspired hatred of terrorists and use it to bolster the failing war on drugs," said Ron Crickenberger, the party's political director, in an e-mail to members. "And, by implication, it's suggesting that if you oppose the war on drugs, you help terrorists. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Well, we hate terrorists, too. In fact, we hate them so much we'd
like to squeeze their funding down to almost ZERO," Crickenberger
said. "We'd like to see the $40 million the U.S. government says the
Taliban raised from heroin dwindle down to a few pennies. We'd like
to see the $300 million that Colombian rebels raised from cocaine
shrink down to a handful of pesos." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) U.S. ANTI-DRUG AGENCY RECONSIDERS AD ACCOUNT WITH OGILVY & MATHER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The recent overbilling scandal involving Madison Avenue ad agency
Ogilvy & Mather is neither gone nor forgotten. | ||||||||||||||||||
The powerhouse agency, a unit of WPP Group of London, earlier this
month agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle charges that it
overbilled the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the White
House agency behind the prestigious and controversial advertising
campaign linking drug use to terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||
But in New York, a criminal probe into whether employees at Ogilvy altered time sheets on the antidrug account is gaining steam, according to people familiar with the situation. And Tuesday, Washington lawmakers asked the nation's new drug czar whether the venerable advertising agency should continue to work on the account. | ||||||||||||||||||
At a congressional-subcommittee hearing to enlist support for the
National Youth Antidrug Media Campaign, the drug czar, John P.
Walters, touted the commercials created by Ogilvy. The controversial
advertising effort helped raise awareness of the dangers of drug
abuse among young people, he argued, citing the recent broadcast of
two of the antidrug commercials during the Super Bowl, one of
television's most widely watched events. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) DRUG FIRM KICKS OFF AD BLITZ (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OxyContin Maker's Efforts To Fight Abuse Highlighted | ||||||||||||||||||
As a leading West Virginia lawmaker attempts to ban the main ingredient in OxyContin, the maker of the painkiller today kicked off an advertising campaign in newspapers nationwide to highlight its efforts to combat abuse of the powerful prescription drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
Purdue Pharma spokeswoman Robin Hogen said there has been too little
recognition in the media for what the pharmaceutical company has
tried to accomplish. | ||||||||||||||||||
OxyContin is the nation's top-selling narcotic painkiller and
generates more than $1 billion in annual sales. It is widely
prescribed for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain resulting
from arthritis, back trouble or cancer. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) PFIZER GIVES FUNDS FOR DRUG EDUCATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
HARRISBURG -- For the first time in its existence, a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical giant has donated funds earmarked for drug education in Arkansas, a company official said recently. | ||||||||||||||||||
Pfizer, Inc., manufacturer of over-the-counter cold medicines that
contain pseudoephedrine, a chemical instrumental in the clandestine
production of methamphetamine, donated $100,000 to the Criminal
Justice Institute and the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences, said Leo Houser, Pfizer regional manager for government
relations. | ||||||||||||||||||
The funds were made available so that meetings targeted at early intervention and increasing public awareness about meth and so-called "rave drugs" like Ecstasy and GHB, could continue, said Vickie Critcher, wife of state Sen. Jack Critcher of Grubbs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) STUDENTS GRILL SOUDER ON DRUG POLICY HE WROTE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Rep. Mark Souder briefly argued Saturday with students who
approached him outside the University of St. Francis, protesting a
drug policy he drafted. | ||||||||||||||||||
Souder, R-4th, appeared at a Sallie Mae Fund financial aid seminar
and left Gunderson Auditorium quickly as Shawn Heller, national
director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, stood up to ask him
about the 1998 Higher Education Act. Heller and four other members
from the group followed Souder outside, asking him about provisions
in the act which can cut financial aid eligibility for 12 months for
a first conviction of drug possession, two years for a second and
indefinitely for a third conviction. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Matt Atwood, 22, a student at Loyola University in Chicago, said the law is an injustice and constitutes double jeopardy. "We don't believe denying people an education will solve drug problems." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) GROUP - TEENS ADMIT TO BINGE DRINKING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Califano's group also asserted that young people between the ages of
12 and 20 accounted for 25 percent of all alcoholic beverages
consumed in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
That contention prompted the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, the government agency that conducted the
1998 survey cited by Califano's group, to issue a statement saying
underage drinkers account for 11.4 percent of U.S. alcohol
consumption. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
While the 12-20 age group represented 38 percent of those surveyed,
they account for about only 13 percent of the total U.S. population,
according to 2000 Census Bureau figures. The government says it
weighted its survey results to account for the age discrepancy
between its survey sample and the total population. | ||||||||||||||||||
Califano, in an interview Tuesday, defended his group's decision not
to make that adjustment. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The household survey is taken by going into a home and asking
parents if you can talk to their children. If parents are in the
living room and you (the surveyor and the teen) are in the kitchen,
the odds of getting a really solid answer are slim. So there's a
tremendous underestimate in reporting," Califano said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11 -14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A drug raid in North Carolina left many in a community feeling
assaulted. While officers in that raid seemed to demonstrate the
worst of zero tolerance, such a standard won't be applied to police
applicants in Virginia. Hard drug use is no longer an automatic
disqualifies candidates for the state police force. | ||||||||||||||||||
A former police commander's corruption trial in New York shows that
drug abuse shouldn't be as big a concern as prohibition abuse. And
federal drug warriors are giving local police forces high-tech
anti-drug equipment at no charge - unless one considers the role of
American taxpayers in the transaction. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) RESIDENTS OF DURHAM APARTMENTS CALL RAID EXCESSIVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DURHAM - A two-night police raid last weekend that netted 25 arrests
at an apartment complex in eastern Durham was called Operation TAPS,
for "The Aggressive Police Strategy." | ||||||||||||||||||
Residents say it was too aggressive. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officers tackled a sixth-grader and pointed guns at his head for no
reason, the boy and his mother said. Police searched vacant units
without permission, other residents claim. | ||||||||||||||||||
And authorities coerced their way past nervous renters to conduct
lengthy searches, the residents contended in interviews Friday and
in written statements sent to police. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) CANDIDATES WHO HAVE TRIED DRUGS NO LONGER AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
RICHMOND, Va. -- Prospective troopers no longer have to have a
spotless record to join the Virginia State Police. | ||||||||||||||||||
The policy change means people who say they have tried heroin and
cocaine or have a drunken driving conviction are no longer
automatically disqualified from employment. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials insist the change is not a lowering of standards. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's the right thing to do in some situations," said Lt. Col.
Donald R. Martin, the agency's deputy superintendent. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) DRUG CORRUPTION TRIAL BEGINS FOR FORMER POLICE COMMANDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Nine months after a fast-rising police commander became one of the
highest-ranking officials ever indicted in a drug corruption case,
prosecutors argued in court yesterday that he had conspired with a
drug dealer and a fellow officer to steal $60,000 from a drug
supplier in the Bronx. | ||||||||||||||||||
The defendant, Dennis M. Sindone, a deputy inspector at the time of
his arrest last spring, is charged with one count of violating the
drug supplier's civil rights in connection with the robbery, in July
1996. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Sindone, 39, sat impassively in federal District Court in
Manhattan yesterday, occasionally shaking his head as Robert Noyer,
a former subordinate, testified against him. Mr. Noyer said that he
and Mr. Sindone plotted to fake an arrest of one of Mr. Noyer's
drug-dealer friends just as the dealer was delivering cash to a
supplier. The three men then split the proceeds, Mr. Noyer said. At
the time, Mr. Sindone was the commander of the 60th Precinct in
Brooklyn. Mr. Noyer had just joined a special robbery task force at
the 44th Precinct. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) WHITE HOUSE OFFERS MARYLAND POLICE FEDERAL DRUG-FIGHTING FREEBIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
FREDERICK - It was the kind of pitch usually heard only on
late-night television. | ||||||||||||||||||
White House officials demonstrated high-tech drug-fighting gear to
about 35 Maryland state and local police officers Feb. 15, touting
the gear as the same models used by federal drug enforcement
agencies. | ||||||||||||||||||
And it's free, said staffers from the Office of National Drug
Control Policy, who also threw in travel costs, per diem and
delivery. But unlike late-night TV, this offer was as good as it
sounds. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Technology Transfer Program provides drug interdiction
equipment, training and installation to local police departments
that otherwise could not afford it. The program is funded at $22
million for fiscal 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As this week's stories show, the U.S. truly leads the world in drug
war persecution. In Oregon, Dr. Phillip Leveque was accused of
unprofessional conduct by a medical review board for signing medical
marijuana consent forms without conducting a full physical
examination on patients. The review board filed a formal complaint
against Dr. Leveque; this could result in the suspension or
revocation of the osteopath's medical license. He plans to appeal
his case to a hearings board. | ||||||||||||||||||
The recent medical marijuana busts in California could result in Ken
Hayes, Director of San Francisco's Harm Reduction Center, seeking
asylum in British Columbia Canada, where he now resides with his
wife and young child. Hayes has stated that he would seek asylum
rather than face federal trafficking charges that could result in up
to 40 years in prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
A recommendation to the San Diego City Council by the citizen-led Medical Cannabis Task Force has led to the approval of local medical marijuana ID cards. The cards would allow those with a doctor's recommendation for cannabis to carry up to one ounce of their medicine without fear of arrest. And finally, Chris Hill, founder of Chills Pipes, has been charged with distribution of drug paraphernalia by federal prosecutors in Iowa. The distributor of plastic and glass smoking implements and rolling papers faces up to 20 years in prison. Yikes!! That'll give you the chills, alright. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) MEDICAL BOARD TARGETS MOLALLA DOCTOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The state Board of Medical Examiners has filed a formal complaint
against Oregon's most prolific endorser of medical marijuana
applications, alleging he engaged in unprofessional conduct by
signing them without first examining patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
The four-page complaint follows the board's unanimous vote last
month to discipline Dr. Phillip Leveque, a Molalla osteopath. By his
own estimate, he's signed for some 1,800 patients in the last two
years - more than 40 percent of all applications signed since the
law went into effect in 1999. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In an interview, Leveque said he has done nothing wrong and has
requested a hearing before an independent hearings officer to
contest the charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If I don't request a hearing they will automatically revoke my
license," he said. "I was doing everything according to the
regulations of the (state) medical marijuana office, right down from
the word go." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) ASYLUM IN CANADA COULD BE SOUGHT IN CALIFORNIA POT CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Petaluma man facing federal charges that his medical marijuana
club is a front for drug dealing said Wednesday he will seek
political asylum in Canada if the United States tries to extradite
him. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking from Vancouver, British Columbia, Kenneth E. Hayes
characterized prosecution of medical marijuana activists as
"vindictive" and, invoking Benjamin Franklin, said: "Wherever
liberty dwells, there be my country." | ||||||||||||||||||
Hayes, who was acquitted last year in a similar case in Sonoma
County, called the federal charges "crazy." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) SAN DIEGO COUNCIL APPROVES POT ID CARDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The City Council approved a plan that will allow sick people who use
marijuana to obtain identification cards to protect them from
possible arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||
Council members approved the measure 7-2 on Tuesday. Cardholders can
carry up to one ounce of marijuana under the plan, which was
conceived by a citizens Medical Cannabis Task Force. The program
also will include a 24-hour hotline that police can call to verify
the cardholders' identification. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) SARASOTA PIPE MAKER FACES DRUG PARAPHERNALIA CHARGES IN IOWA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps Chris Hill got too high-profile for his business -
manufacturing the glass and plastic pipes marijuana smokers commonly
use. | ||||||||||||||||||
He was listed among Inc Magazines's 500 fastest growing private
companies in 1999 and he had his brand name, Chills, stamped on the
personalized license plate on his Porsche. | ||||||||||||||||||
But now the Sarasota businessman is facing up to 20 years in prison, charged by federal prosecutors in Iowa with distributing drug paraphernalia. Federal agents say they found his pipes when they raided three Iowa smoke shops. His trial has not been scheduled. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Philippine congress this week was "well on the way" to passing
laws ratcheting up penalties for drug use. Punishments include the
death penalty for "possession of a mere five grams of marijuana
resin." Death or life imprisonment is also meted out for cannabis
growers, as well as anyone keeping a "den, dive or resort where any
dangerous drug is used in any form." | ||||||||||||||||||
Although Mr. Bush this week said Afghanistan "failed" to curtail the
flow of opium and heroin, the U.S. president nevertheless announced
that the struggling nation would continue to receive US aid.
Meanwhile, recent government estimates predict this year's opium
crop could be the largest in years. | ||||||||||||||||||
After Colombian rebels were accused of hijacking a plane and,
separately, kidnapping a presidential candidate, President Pastrana
ordered the Colombian Army to retake land formerly ceded to FARC.
The U.S. government declared it would begin a plan of sharing
additional intelligence information with the Colombian Army. U.S.
Officials also said they would speed the delivery of replacement
parts for UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-1H Huey transport helicopters
already given to the Colombian government. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) OLD DRUG LAW GETS NEW TEETH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CONGRESS is well on the way to replacing the 30-year-old Dangerous Drugs Act with a far more stringent measure whose penalties against offenders include the death penalty for possession of a mere five grams of marijuana resin and other drugs deemed to be illegal. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Those found in possession of five grams or more of opium, morphine, methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, heroin, marijuana resin oil, cocaine and drugs with no therapeutic value, or 200 grams or more of marijuana will face the maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death and a fine ranging from 500,000 pesos to 10 million pesos. | ||||||||||||||||||
The maximum penalty is to be imposed also on those found importing,
selling, administering, delivering, distributing, transporting and
manufacturing dangerous drugs as well as maintaining a "den, dive or
resort where any dangerous drug is used in any form." | ||||||||||||||||||
It imposes the same maximum penalty on those who plant, cultivate or
culture marijuana, the opium poppy or any other plants classified as
dangerous drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) AFGHANISTAN DID NOT COOPERATE, BUT AID WILL CONTINUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- President Bush said today that Afghanistan "failed
demonstrably" in 2001 to cooperate in anti-narcotics efforts but
that the country nonetheless is entitled to receive U.S. assistance
because of vital American interests. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bush made the announcement in a brief statement in which he
evaluated the performance of 23 countries involved in drug
trafficking as producers, transit points or both. | ||||||||||||||||||
For years, Afghanistan had been disqualified from U.S. assistance
because it did not fully comply with international drug control
standards. The period of the administration's review ended at about
the time the Taliban militia was forced from office in December and
replaced by a pro-Western interim government. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Of the 23 nations reviewed, all were found to be meeting
international anti-narcotics standards except Afghanistan, Myanmar
and Haiti. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) U.S. TAKES AIM AT AFGHAN OPIUM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Worries Grow About Bumper Crop | ||||||||||||||||||
With the harvest due to begin next month, preliminary estimates are
that Afghanistan is about to produce a "substantial amount" of opium
poppy, perhaps approaching the near-record levels immediately before
the Taliban government banned cultivation 18 months ago, a U.S.
official said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The challenges are enormous," said Rand Beers, assistant secretary
of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs.
With little time left, he said, the United States is considering
providing financial and other incentives to farmers to plow under
their fields before harvest, an admittedly difficult undertaking
since much of the cultivation is in the most lawless parts of
Afghanistan. | ||||||||||||||||||
Stopping the cultivation of poppy and production of raw opium, the
basic ingredient of heroin, is a principal goal of U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) COLOMBIA SEEKS MORE U.S. AID FOR A BROADER WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
As part of a renewed lobbying campaign for additional U.S.
assistance to press his fight beyond the former haven, Pastrana has
talked with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld about allowing the military component of a $1.3
billion U.S. aid package to be used directly against the guerrillas.
Under current rules, the aid can be used only in anti-drug
operations. | ||||||||||||||||||
On Friday, in a gesture of support, U.S. officials announced that
they would begin a broader intelligence-sharing plan with the
government and expedite the shipment of replacement parts for the
roughly 50 UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-1H Huey transport helicopters
arriving as part of the aid package. | ||||||||||||||||||
The United States has already begun providing satellite photography of the zone, according to a senior Colombian army officer. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) COLOMBIAN REBELS SABOTAGE PEACE HOPES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia --- Just a month ago, there was a
breakthrough in troubled peace talks here between the rebels and the
government. But in the last week, the rebels hijacked a plane and
kidnapped a senator, prompting President Andres Pastrana to take
back a big block of land granted to the rebels as a kind of fief
free of army intervention. | ||||||||||||||||||
On Saturday, the very day that the president visited this formerly
rebel-held town to demonstrate the government's authority, the
rebels struck again, kidnapping a high-profile presidential
candidate. | ||||||||||||||||||
These events, Colombians are well aware, mean an intensification of
the 38-year civil war. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
IT'S A BOY! | ||||||||||||||||||
Congratulations to Renee Boje and Chris Bennett on the birth of a
baby boy, February 28th at 5:15 a.m. Details are sketchy, but we
understand "Shiva Sun Bennett" is about 6.5 pounds and that both
he and his mother are doing fine. | ||||||||||||||||||
A picture of Shiva is online at: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
NEW AD BLASTS BUSH ADMINISTRATION | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug War, Not Youth, Supports Terrorism, Group Says | ||||||||||||||||||
A noted drug reform group has placed an advertisement that parodies
the Bush administration's linking of buying illegal drugs to
supporting terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||
The New York-based Drug Policy Alliance's ad, which was placed in
yesterday's issue of Roll Call, Capitol Hill's daily newspaper,
seeks to "point out that while the Bush administration is blaming
American youth for terrorism, it is actually the drug war that
creates the illegal markets that help fund terrorism." | ||||||||||||||||||
The DPA ad features a full-page photo of President Bush, overlaid
by these words: "This month, I watched the Super Bowl, wasted 10
million taxpayer dollars on a deceptive ad campaign and shamelessly
exploited the war on terrorism to prop up the failed war on drugs.
- C'mon, it was just politics." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
SSDP Takes on HEA Author Mark Souder in his Home District | ||||||||||||||||||
With TV cameras rolling SSDPers confronted Souder over the Higher
Education Act, which denies financial aid for students with drug
convictions. See it all at this realvideo link! | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Testing and the Olympics: Bad for Health, Bad for Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
Pat O'Hare, Drug Policy Alliance | ||||||||||||||||||
" The rationale by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is that
doping in sport is cheating, dishonest and unethical. But does
current policy really encourage fairness and promote the health of
athletes?" | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Control: A New GAO Report | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Control: Efforts to Develop Alternatives to Cultivating Illicit
Crops in Colombia Have Made Little Progress and Face Serious
Obstacles. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
The UN's International Narcotics Control Board Releases 2001 Report | ||||||||||||||||||
The UN's International Narcotics Control Board has issued its report
for 2001, http://www.incb.org/e/ind_ar.htm | ||||||||||||||||||
The press kit for the report is at: http://www.incb.org/e/ind_pres.htm | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Study Shows Pot's Therapeutic Benefits, Few Adverse Effects | ||||||||||||||||||
Long-term use of standardized doses of cannabis demonstrated
clinical effectiveness in a cohort of legal medical marijuana
patients and failed to produce significant physical or cognitive
impairment, according to results of a study published in the current
issue of The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Crimes of Compassion | ||||||||||||||||||
Running Time: 55 min | ||||||||||||||||||
Crimes of Compassion by Jennifer Pickford, which aired on Global TV, is
an excellent look at the Medical Marijuana issue in BC. Excellent
interviews with former Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock, Marijuana
Party President and Pot TV Producer Marc Emery, American refugee Renee
Boje, Phil Lucas of Vics and a number of patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense Chat With Dana Beal of http://www.cures-not-wars.org | ||||||||||||||||||
Sun. Mar. 3, 2002 8:00 EDT | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK | ||||||||||||||||||
It's a tie this week! | ||||||||||||||||||
Nazi-Like Ban On Drugs Is Calculated | ||||||||||||||||||
By Alan Randell | ||||||||||||||||||
Regarding "DEA czar hears pleas for help," Feb. 19: Why does the
government prohibit certain drugs? | ||||||||||||||||||
Is it to protect users from harm? No, that can't be the reason,
because users suffer more (adulterated drugs and jail time) when
a drug is banned as compared to when it is legally available,
and besides, the most dangerous drugs of all - alcohol and
tobacco - are legal. | ||||||||||||||||||
Is it to reduce the crime associated with illegal drugs? No, that
can't be the reason, because banning a drug always gives rise to
more crime (drug cartels, petty thefts by users as prohibition
makes drug prices much higher, violent disputes between dealers)
than when the drug is legally available. | ||||||||||||||||||
Is it to distract our attention from more important issues (and
to provide bigger budgets and free drugs for our police officers)
by conducting a brutal, Hitler-like pogram against the innocent
few who ingest or sell certain drugs? | ||||||||||||||||||
Bingo! | ||||||||||||||||||
Hitler's armies may have lost the war but, sadly, his ideas seem to have found ready acceptance all across the "civilized" world. | ||||||||||||||||||
Alan Randell, | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Tell Kids The Truth | ||||||||||||||||||
By John Chase | ||||||||||||||||||
It is good policy to teach kids things they later find are true.
Otherwise, the word spreads and the "teachers" earn disrespect.
Kids' respect for official anti-drug policy was destroyed years
ago by teaching kids that smoking pot leads to hard drugs -i.e.,
the "gateway effect." | ||||||||||||||||||
Today, the only kids who say they believe that would never try
pot anyhow or are just telling their elders what the kids think
they want to hear. Now our "teachers" are telling us that drug
offenses are the gateway to international terrorism; that if
you smoke pot, you are helping terrorists. | ||||||||||||||||||
I suggest we try to regain some credibility, stop insulting kids'
intelligence and teach them the truth, warts and all. Tell them
the government knows that 90 percent of illegal drug tonnage
is consumed by addicts, that no addict is going to quit because
of a Super Bowl ad and that half of all addicts seeking treatment
are turned away because they have no money. Then tell them the
government cuts funding for drug treatment and uses part of
the savings for a Super Bowl ad. | ||||||||||||||||||
John Chase, | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Chemical Bigotry | ||||||||||||||||||
By Mary Jane Borden | ||||||||||||||||||
I'd like to introduce a new term into drug policy vernacular:
chemical bigotry. I've read MAP and its lists for more two years,
and I've seen various threads concerning drug war injustice weave
through them. However, I have as yet to see a term that summarizes
this injustice. | ||||||||||||||||||
Webster's Dictionary defines bigot as one who is obstinately or
intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.
Bigotry is a bigot in action. Doesn't this sum up those who view
prohibition as the only acceptable policy with regard to chemical
substances? | ||||||||||||||||||
What is chemical bigotry? It is the application of obstinate
opinions, prejudices, and intolerance to those whose chemical
profile appears one way versus those whose chemical profile appears
another way. Essentially, drug testing is this chemical profile made
physical. | ||||||||||||||||||
Consider the parallels of chemical bigotry with bigotry based on race, sex, national origin, or sexual orientation. For example, great myths arose around those of different races, these myths transforming into stereotypes. These myths and stereotypes then influenced the passage of Jim Crow laws and segregation. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a similar vein, great myths grew up surrounding the users of some
drugs as if everyone would turn out like Cheech and Chong. Crack
babies are a proven myth. Through these myths came stereotypes and
from the stereotypes came bad policy. The roots of both racial
discrimination and chemical discrimination are the same: bigotry
that is born of stereotypes and myths. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bigotry has a long and costly history. At its worst, bigotry
produced slavery and Nazi Germany. Because of some outward factor,
groups of people became stigmatized and stereotyped resulting in
disastrous social policy that begot war and death. In a similar
vein, chemical bigotry as manifest through the War on Drugs has
produced disastrous social policy: bloated prisons, crime, police
brutality, civil war, loss of rights, and terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some might say that chemical bigotry is different than other bigotry
- and thus justifiable - because people chose to use drugs and thus
alter their chemical profile. Remember, this same argument has been
applied time and again to religion and sexual orientation in order
to justify legal, social, and cultural sanctions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some might argue that a chemical-free human body is pure and
virtuous, something worth striving for. The problem here is that we
are all by our very nature a chemical composition. We can never be
chemically-free. When we look at ourselves as a chemical spectrum,
we can begin to see that we are making judgment calls of good or bad
based simply on what we add to our baseline body chemistry. Someone
who adds marijuana - bad. Someone who adds aspirin - good. It
doesn't matter that, in terms of death rate, aspirin is more
dangerous than marijuana. Chemical bigotry is at work. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some might contend that chemical bigotry is justifiable because
drugs themselves cause death and destruction. This might have a
slight ring of truth if drug policies were evenly applied. But as a
result of chemical bigotry, a substance like marijuana that is
comparatively benign is banned while a substance like alcohol that
is fairly dangerous is aggressively advertised. Further, since a
regulated market approach to the distribution of what are now
illegal drugs has never been tried, perhaps much of the death and
destruction attributable to drugs actually finds its roots in drug
prohibition. Bigotry will always try to prevent the introduction of
new social policies. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some might insist that eliminating chemical bigotry would induce social chaos. Everyone would be running around stoned conducting mayhem. Fearmongers said much the same about freeing the slaves or giving women the right to vote. Whether under the influence of drugs, too little sleep, or manic depression, bad behavior is simply bad behavior. Violence is still violence regardless of whether the perpetrator is black, gay, or Irish. Truly bad behavior which hurts others certainly deserves sanction. But, taking that extra leap to suggest that ingesting certain chemicals and not others, for example, engenders terrorism reveals the spirit of a bigot. Bigotry itself introduces far more social chaos than does its elimination. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lest one sit back in his easy chair and say chemical bigotry doesn't apply to me, at some level this bigotry applies to all of us. All of us can become its victim. Those who use cannabis for whatever reason know chemical bigotry first hand. Likewise, patients who need more powerful pain relievers feel the stigma of chemical bigotry, as do those trying to kick opiates with methadone and hopes of heroin maintenance. Chemical bigotry extends outward beyond what are now illegal drugs. It stigmatizes the responsible social drinker and tobacco smoker. It isolates the problem drug or alcohol user forcing them to hide their problem and shun help. It compels users of legal drugs to reveal their private medical history, endure debilitating side effects, and even avoid helpful medications, lest chemical bigotry spotlight them. It touches all these individuals and their families and communities as well. Essentially, we are no longer defined by the content of our character and what we accomplish in life, but by our chemical composition at any particular time. | ||||||||||||||||||
How do we fight chemical bigotry? Organizations like DrugSense/MAP,
the Simon Wiesenthal Center, or the Southern Poverty Law Center, for
example, fight bigotry by shedding light on it. MAP, in particular,
does this by collecting articles on drug policy, identifying
incidences of chemical bigotry, and promoting the composition of
LTEs to bring it out in the open. As I see it, DrugSense/MAP and
other organizations focused on drug policy reform are to chemical
bigotry what the Simon Wiesenthal Center is to anti-semitism or the
Southern Poverty Law Center is to racism. | ||||||||||||||||||
The point is that we need to understand that what we really do in
drug policy reform is fight bigotry. In doing so, we can develop
better strategies and tactics to enable change. We may also find we
have much in common with others who have fought in so many other
ways to remove its shackles. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mary Jane Borden is a writer, artist, and activist from Ohio. She is cofounder of the Ohio Patient Network (http://www.ohiopatient.net) and serves on the staff of DrugSense as Business Administrator. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while
bad people will find a way around the laws." -- Plato | ||||||||||||||||||
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