| March 8, 2002 #241 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Listen On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||
THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) WITNESS: DRUG WAR SPRAYING COLOMBIA TO DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Jena Matzen has a carousel of slides from her trip to Colombia, and
she's giving slide shows throughout the Triangle. These are not your
standard shots of smiling couples standing in front of national
landmarks. | ||||||||||||||||
One image shows a farmer at the center of his 12-acre field, a former
corn crop now utterly decimated. Another shows a white flag raised
over a black pepper crop, as a signal to airplanes that this is a
legal crop. | ||||||||||||||||
According to Matzen, a Hillsborough resident, the white flag did not
have the desired effect; the pepper crop was destroyed nevertheless,
by planes dropping enormous quantities of an herbicide called
glyphosate -- marketed by Monsanto in this country under the brand
name Round-Up -- as part of the U.S. war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(2) COCA CULTIVATION IN COLOMBIA INCREASED 25% LAST YEAR, US SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Report, Based On Satellite Imagery, Contradicts Colombian Estimates. | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Contradicting Colombian estimates, the Bush administration
said Thursday that coca production in that country increased by 25
percent last year. | ||||||||||||||||
The increase came despite increased U.S. counternarcotics assistance
to Colombia in recent years, including the $1.3 billion Plan Colombia
package approved in 2000, providing helicopters and training for anti-
narcotics brigades. | ||||||||||||||||
Based on satellite imagery, the coca crop was reported to be 417,430
acres last year, 82,992 more than in 2000, the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy said in a statement. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(3) UK: GOVERNMENT TAKES SOFT LINE ON DRUGS IN CLUBS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NEW Government guidelines for the nightclub drugs scene have abandoned a
hardline stance in favour of advising club owners on how to minimise the
effects of inevitable drug abuse. | ||||||||||||||||
The Safer Clubbing booklet marks a shift in Home Office policy by
putting such heavy emphasis on "managing" the use of illegal substances
like ecstasy. | ||||||||||||||||
The new direction may even contradict the Government's own legislation,
which makes it illegal for owners to tolerate drug use on their
premises. | ||||||||||||||||
Launching the new guide at a nightclub in London's West End, drugs
minister Bob Ainsworth said: "If we cannot stop them from taking drugs
then we must be prepared to take steps to reduce the harm that they may
cause themselves." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(4) SOCIAL HYPOCHONDRIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
OUR PROBLEM IS OUR OBSESSION WITH PROBLEMS | ||||||||||||||||
Something called the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
put out a study last week noting with alarm that a quarter of all the
alcohol sold in America is consumed by teenagers. | ||||||||||||||||
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the study was "wrong"
because it "had not applied the standard statistical techniques in
deriving that number." This makes it sound like the error was arcane
and maybe a matter of interpretation, but the Times writer, Tamar
Lewin, goes on to explain it quite clearly: Forty percent of the
survey sample was teenagers, but teenagers are less than 20 percent
of the general population. Correcting for this flat-out mistake
produces a figure more like 11 percent of alcohol consumption that is
by teenagers. | ||||||||||||||||
But this raises other questions -- or it ought to, but didn't among
news organizations that publicized the original number. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Is the drug war really saving kids? According to stories published last week, it is actually harming young people. A study indicated banning drug-using mothers from receiving welfare benefits has hurt children. While the justice system is busy punishing small-time marijuana growers, it's offering minimal punishment to child sex offenders, as two cases in Colorado illustrate. Drug laws are also being used to aggravate a family tragedy in Tennessee, where a teen under the influence of LSD died after jumping in to traffic. His sister is being charged with murder because she gave him the drug. | ||||||||||||||||
Prohibition aggravates other problems as well, as it helps to spread
hepatitis C in Colorado prisons. While lots of people are being
harmed by drug laws, those laws aren't stopping innovative
smugglers, as another tunnel from Mexico to the United States was
discovered in California. | ||||||||||||||||
In more positive news, the Hawaiian legislature continues to display
an open-minded attitude toward drug policy reform. The state senate
last week moved on a measure that would ask voters if first-time
drug offenders should receive treatment instead of jail. And the
Supreme Court of New Jersey placed limits on "voluntary" car
searches by police. The court ruled the searches should be more
consensual, and less coercive. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(5) SEEKING A WELFARE RULE'S REPEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Report Says Ban on Aid to Drug Users 'Devastates' Children. | ||||||||||||||||
A lifetime ban on welfare benefits for women convicted of drug
crimes is having "devastating consequences" for poor women and their
children and should be repealed immediately, according to a study
released yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||
The study by the Washington-based Sentencing Project found that the ban, which took effect in 1996 as part of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, affects more than 92,000 women and 135,000 children. Nearly half of those affected are African American or Hispanic. | ||||||||||||||||
The Welfare Reform Act allows the denial of financial assistance,
including food stamps, to anyone convicted of felony drug use or
selling drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(6) TWO SENTENCES FOR POT, ASSAULT CREATE DEBATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
One Durango man sexually assaulted three children. Another cultivated and distributed marijuana. The drug cultivator got three years in prison; the child molester got 90 days in jail. | ||||||||||||||||
"How is it that a man who fondles ... three small children receives
a 90-day jail sentence, and a man who is found with marijuana plants
receives a three-year jail sentence?" asked Casey Eberle, a 28-year-
old Fort Lewis College mass communications student, in a letter to
The Durango Herald editor. | ||||||||||||||||
"This sends the message that destroying the souls of several small
children is less offensive in the eyes of the court than cultivating
plants," she wrote. | ||||||||||||||||
Several others have expressed the same sentiment about the two court
cases that ended last month. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(7) OLDER SISTER OF DEAD TEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
FRANKLIN -- A young Franklin woman is facing second-degree murder
charges for giving her brother LSD hours before he jumped into
traffic on Interstate 40 in Nashville. | ||||||||||||||||
Williamson County Sheriff deputies yesterday arrested Brandi Gussow,
18, of 615 Liberty Pike, in connection with the Feb. 4, 2001, death
of her brother Shawn Gussow, 15. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Mark Gussow, father of Brandi and Shawn, said his daughter's arrest
is just another blow to an already devastated family. | ||||||||||||||||
"If it was something that she intended to do, or if she meant harm to my son or her brother, I wouldn't think it was harsh," he said. "But under the circumstances, she's been through enough already." | ||||||||||||||||
According to prosecutors, intent does not matter in this case. The law says only that prosecutors must prove that the defendant provided the victim with the drugs that led to the victim's death. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(8) LAWYER: INFECTED INMATES NOT TREATED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Thousands Have Hepatitis C; State Defends Medical Regimen | ||||||||||||||||
State inmates infected with hepatitis C are being routinely refused
medical treatment, says a lawyer who is considering suing the state
to force medication. | ||||||||||||||||
David Lane, who represents a death row inmate with the disease, said
he is considering suing the state to prompt medication of infected
prisoners. | ||||||||||||||||
But Dr. Bob McGarry, chief medical officer for the state prison
system, said prisoners are getting the right treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
At least 17,000 prisoners are infected, Lane said. The cost of drugs
would be about $25,000 a year for each infected inmate. | ||||||||||||||||
About 17 percent of inmates are sick with hepatitis C when they
enter state prisons, McGarry said. More catch the blood-borne viral
infection in prison. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(9) BILLIONS IN DRUGS MOVED VIA TUNNEL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Lucrative Drug-Smuggling Mechanism Discovered | ||||||||||||||||
TIERRA DEL SOL, Calif. - Down the dust-blown driveway, past a
chain-link fence and the Keep Out sign, past the beefy Rottweiler
and the tire swing, in a closet under the staircase in a little
two-story bungalow, Mexico's most violent drug lords kept a secret
at Johnson's pig farm. | ||||||||||||||||
WHEN U.S. DRUG AGENTS busted into the closet on Wednesday, they found a large safe. They opened it and found nothing. Then they spotted the false floor. And when they pried it up, they found the entrance to a 1,200-foot tunnel - complete with electric lights, ventilation ducts and wooden walls - that ended in a fireplace in a house just beyond the metal wall that separates the United States from Mexico. | ||||||||||||||||
Investigators are calling the tunnel in this remote section of rocky
border scrubland, 70 miles east of San Diego near a small town
called Tecate, one of most lucrative drug-smuggling mechanisms ever
discovered along the U.S.-Mexico frontier. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(10) SENATE CONSIDERS BALLOT MEASURE ON DRUG TREATMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a proposed constitutional
amendment that would mandate drug treatment for first-time
nonviolent drug offenders. | ||||||||||||||||
Senate Bill 883 , now headed to the Senate floor, gained approval
even though no one testified in favor of it. | ||||||||||||||||
But Judiciary Chairman Brian Kanno (D, Makakilo) said the measure is
intended to let the public weigh in on the issue. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(11) HIGH COURT IN NEW JERSEY STRICTLY LIMITS AUTO SEARCHES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
TRENTON, March 4 -- The New Jersey Supreme Court imposed strict limits today on the consensual auto searches that have been at the heart of the furor over racial profiling by the state police. | ||||||||||||||||
The ruling, expected to affect police practices throughout the
state, comes after repeated calls by civil rights advocates and
legislators to abolish "consent searches," in which officers are
free to search the cars of motorists they stop so long as the
motorist agrees. But legislation to limit searches has been opposed
by two governors and has made little progress. | ||||||||||||||||
The court held today that before asking a driver's permission to
search, an officer must have "reasonable and articulable suspicion"
of criminal activity -- a standard adopted by only one other state,
Hawaii. The court ruled on the basis of the New Jersey Constitution,
as it often does in civil liberties cases. | ||||||||||||||||
While prosecutors have stressed that motorists are given consent
forms to sign before a search, defense lawyers have expressed doubts
that such searches can be truly consensual. | ||||||||||||||||
The decision today means that police officers "can't harass you and
badger you into agreeing to a search," said Edward J. Crisonino, the
defendant's lawyer in the case. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (12-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Narcs in Dallas may bust people with fake drugs, but at least they're making more of an effort than DEA agents in Puerto Rico. This week DEA head Asa "Hemp" Hutchinson acknowledged that agents in Puerto Rico took credit for drug operations in which they did not participate. Another reminder to double check the alleged success stories of drug warriors came from a Florida sheriff. He convinced county commissioners to purchase a speed boat for police, and then attributed massively inflated drug seizure figures to the boat. | ||||||||||||||||
Squabbling over diminishing funds and changing priorities seems to be affecting different law enforcement agencies in different ways. U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft announced last week that less federal money would be available to hire local police officers, but a city in Mississippi is getting U.S. attorneys to prosecute local drug and gun offenses. In Iowa, a $2 million grant is going to start a new multi-agency drug task force. A similar task force in Virginia was targeted for drastic spending cuts. Drug war logic prevails again. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(12) DEA CHIEF SAYS AGENTS INFLATED ARREST FIGURES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Asa
Hutchinson confirmed Wednesday that agents in the DEA's office in
San Juan, Puerto Rico, had claimed credit for hundreds of arrests in
which they played no role. | ||||||||||||||||
"There is absolutely no excuse for that kind of reporting,"
Hutchinson said of the inflated statistics. Citing privacy concerns,
he would not spell out disciplinary action against the agents,
saying only that it ranged from a 14-day suspension to a letter of
reprimand. | ||||||||||||||||
The DEA's top official was responding to a new report from the
General Accounting Office, auditors for Congress. It confirmed a
February 2001 report that the DEA's Caribbean division, based in San
Juan, had inflated drug seizure and arrest figures to attest to its
success. | ||||||||||||||||
The San Juan DEA office's figures included hundreds of routine
street busts for marijuana made by Jamaican police without DEA
participation, Jamaican authorities have said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(13) SHERIFF'S 'GO-FAST BOAT' BOASTS NOT BACKED BY REPORTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Sheriff Ed Bieluch's claims that his expensive "go-fast" boat has
$38 million in drug busts to its credit does not appear to be
supported by drug seizure reports. | ||||||||||||||||
The oceangoing boat apparently was not crucial to the seizures,
which occurred in shallow waters of the Intracoastal Waterway,
according to the reports. | ||||||||||||||||
Bieluch's purchase of the high-speed undercover boat last June for
$158,000 raised the eyebrows of some Palm Beach County commissioners
who questioned why it was needed. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
In response to a public records request from The Palm Beach Post,
the sheriff's office produced reports showing the boat has
participated in three drug busts. | ||||||||||||||||
The wholesale value of the drugs was $2.2 million, according to the
reports. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(14) ASHCROFT DEFENDS CUT IN POLICE PROGRAMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Funds needed to fight terror, panel told | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General John Ashcroft defended to skeptical
senators Tuesday the Bush administration's plans to reduce federal
money for state and local police as it shifts its budget to pursuing
terrorists and preventing new attacks. | ||||||||||||||||
Even while praising one Clinton-era grants program as among the
Justice Department's most successful, Ashcroft told a Senate
appropriations panel that money to hire more local police officers
was needed elsewhere. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(15) U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO HELP WITH DRUG, GUN CONVICTIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In an effort to more effectively prosecute gun and drug crimes, the U.S. attorney's office has "adopted" the city of Clarksdale. | ||||||||||||||||
The city has agreed to turn over prosecution of drug and gun crimes
to the U.S. attorney's office. | ||||||||||||||||
"Our goal is to have an immediate effect on the crime rate," said
Police Chief Steve Bingham. "We are going to target pistol-packing,
drug-toting bad guys." The joint effort is part of a nationwide
program called Project Safe Neighborhoods, with an aim to combat gun
violence. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(16) DRUG TASK FORCE LAUNCHED WITH $2 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A drug task force formed recently in the 17-county area in South
Central Iowa was given a boost Saturday when Senator Tom Harkin (D-
Iowa) announced that $2 million in federal money has been made
available for South Central Iowa Methamphetamine Clandestine Lab
Task Force. | ||||||||||||||||
At a press conference at the Iowa State Highway Patrol office near
Osceola, law enforcement officers from the 17 counties gathered to
hear the announcement and inspect the new van fully equipped for
methamphetamine lab investigations. The task force will be made up
of 17 law enforcement personnel from South Central Iowa. Five
members of the task force will be working full time and 12 more
members will be working part-time. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(17) WARNER SAYS DRUG FUNDS DIVERTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
RICHMOND - Gov. Mark R. Warner is criticizing Republican lawmakers'
focus on the war on terrorism, saying their efforts are diverting
millions of dollars from the war on drugs. Top Stories | ||||||||||||||||
"Simply taking away some dollars that were already in public safety
and calling it now homeland security, that doesn't help those first-
line responders [to drug crimes]," Mr. Warner, a Democrat, said
recently. "That does raise some concerns." | ||||||||||||||||
In its $50 billion budget for 2003-04, the House of Delegates would divert 60 Virginia State Police troopers from drug-enforcement programs to homeland security. It also would cut $18.4 million from the Substance Abuse Reduction and Enforcement (Sabre) program for the treatment of people convicted of drug-related crimes. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Good news for some sick Vermonters this week. By a vote of 5-4, the
House Judiciary Committee passed a new medical marijuana bill
allowing those with certain critical and chronic conditions and a
doctor's support to use, cultivate, and possess cannabis. In
California, the 4 men charged as a result of the raid of the San
Francisco's Harm Reduction Center, including pot-auteur Ed Rosenthal
were indicted on new charges of conspiring to cultivate more than
1000 plants. | ||||||||||||||||
On the international scene, the UN's International Narcotics Control
Board (INCB) criticized Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain for
decriminalizing the personal cultivation and use of cannabis last
week. The INCB also slammed the Netherlands and Switzerland for
breaching UN conventions in regards to marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
In Israel, Dr. David Fink of Pharmos Pharmaceuticals announced the
discovery of bicyclic extrocannabinoic compounds. These chemicals
mimic some of the effects of cannabinoids found in marijuana, but
since they bound almost exclusively to CB2 receptors, they
circumvent some of the herb's psychotropic effects. Scientists
worldwide have expressed interest in the medicinal potential of
these compounds. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(18) VERMONT JUDICIARY PANEL PASSES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MONTPELIER - A House committee has approved a bill that would
decriminalize growing, possessing and using marijuana for patients
suffering from certain medical conditions if they obtain a doctor's
note. | ||||||||||||||||
By a 5-4 vote, the House Judiciary Committee Friday passed H645, which allows marijuana use under strictly regulated conditions. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is a tremendous victory for patients suffering from serious
illnesses," said Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, the bill's
chief supporter. "We're one step closer to ensuring that patients
won't face arrest and imprisonment for the simple act of taking
their medicine." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) NEW MARIJUANA CHARGES FOR FOUR FROM CALIFORNIA POT CLUB ARRESTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO -- Four men arrested in a Bay Area marijuana sweep
last month have been indicted on additional charges by a federal
grand jury in San Francisco. | ||||||||||||||||
Three defendants -- Kenneth Hayes of Petaluma, Richard Watts of San
Francisco and Edward Rosenthal of Oakland -- are allegedly
associated with the Harm Reduction Center, a medical marijuana club
in San Francisco. | ||||||||||||||||
They were indicted Thursday on a new charge of conspiring to
cultivate more than 1,000 marijuana plants in addition to counts of
marijuana cultivation. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) 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] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(21) ANOTHER CANNABIS DRUG SANS BUZZ (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Jerusalem -- Hey man, wanna score some cannabinoids? An Israeli
pharmaceutical company is working on a drug mimicking cannabis'
chemical constituents -- cannabinoids -- to offer marijuana's
therapeutic benefits without the buzz. | ||||||||||||||||
The new type of synthetic cannabinoid is "equivalent to ... the
best-quality marijuana," says Dr. George Fink, vice president of
research at Pharmos, which presented its new bicyclic | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
However, getting stoned is not what the pharmaceutical industry
wants for its clients. Pharmos' synthetic cannabinoid shuns CB1 to
bind almost exclusively to CB2. So, unfortunately for some, there's
no getting wasted. "I wouldn't call the 'high' an adverse side
effect," Fink says. "The serious side effects are those which
prevent people getting on with their normal work." | ||||||||||||||||
What you get instead is CB2, with its own box of tricks: CB2 is
expressed by immune and inflammatory cells and acts as an
anti-inflammatory. "It shows very good activity in animal models for
multiple sclerosis, and also seems to be a good analgesic for pain
... as well as being effective in inflammatory bowel diseases," Fink | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A report from the U.N. International Narcotics Control Board
declared that the Internet was used by traffickers to exchange
information. Dealers, the report proclaimed, were using e-mail and
private chat rooms to aid the distribution and making of illegal
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Colombian authorities last week resumed counterdrug spraying operations in territory formerly occupied by FARC rebels. Playing on the official drugs-terror theme, the chief of Colombian anti-drug police General Gustavo Socha stated guerillas "have been fortifying themselves and financing themselves with drug trafficking money." However, the impact such anti-drug spraying had was disputed when a U.S. CIA report said coca production was still rising in Colombia, even as official Colombia government figures claimed the opposite. | ||||||||||||||||
And in Scotland last week, the deputy justice minister publicly
admitted that the "war on drugs", the "just say no" campaign, and
shock strategies "failed to have an impact." Instead, measures aimed
at reducing the harms of drug use would be introduced. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(22) MORE DRUG TRAFFICKERS TURN TO NET, REPORT SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Dealers are using the Internet "to move large sums electronically
around the world with speed, ease and secrecy -- ideal attributes
for launderers of illicit drug funds," said the Narcotics Control
Board, which was set up by the United Nations to monitor compliance
with international drug treaties. | ||||||||||||||||
Other agencies are noticing the same trends. | ||||||||||||||||
The Internet has become the most widely used medium for expanding
production of synthetic drugs in some Central and South American
countries, the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission said in
a recent report. | ||||||||||||||||
Interpol says more than 1,000 Web sites worldwide -- most based in
Switzerland and the Netherlands -- sell marijuana, Ecstasy and other
illicit drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
A patchwork of laws that vary widely between countries gives
traffickers an opportunity to use the Internet "to trail their
activities across several jurisdictions to minimize law enforcement
risks and maximize profit," the Narcotics Control Board said,
calling for a U.N. convention on cybercrime. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(23) COLOMBIAN POLICE SPRAY DRUG CROPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
EL SILENCIO, Colombia -- After three years, Colombian police
restarted U.S.-backed counterdrug operations in a former rebel safe
haven Sunday, spraying a field of heroin poppies high in the Andean
mountains. | ||||||||||||||||
Colombian authorities claim the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, had allowed drug crops to multiply in the zone,
which the government ceded to the leftist rebels to boost peace
talks three years ago. But President Andres Pastrana ended the talks
and on Feb. 20 ordered the military to retake the territory twice
the size of New Jersey. | ||||||||||||||||
Sunday's spraying was the first since the FARC lost control of the
zone. Such anti-drug operations had continued in other parts of
Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||
Before the demilitarized zone was created, 125 acres in the region
were devoted to heroin poppies. Today, 875 acres inside the zone and
another 175 on the outskirts are planted in poppies, Gen. Gustavo
Socha chief of the anti-drug police said. The area devoted to coca,
the base for cocaine, has doubled to 37,500 acres. | ||||||||||||||||
"They have been fortifying themselves and financing themselves with
drug trafficking money," Socha said standing amid the bright red
flowers that produce a gum that's used to make heroin. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(24) COLOMBIA DRUG WAR GAINS DISPUTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"The reduction in the areas under cultivation is a clear
demonstration of the success of the eradication program," Justice
Minister Romulo Gonzalez said in a meeting with reporters here
Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But a CIA analysis, expected to be released today, will show the
opposite of the Colombian figures, sources said: a massive increase
in the amount of coca cultivated between 2000 and 2001. | ||||||||||||||||
The CIA numbers are expected to show that Colombia's coca growth jumped for the seventh straight time, from 336,000 acres in 2000 to 417,000 acres in 2001--enough to produce 800 tons of cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
Colombian drug officials dismissed the reports of the increase and
said they were prepared to defend their estimates. | ||||||||||||||||
"Our figures correspond to the truth," Gonzalez said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(25) EXECUTIVE TURNS DRUGS FIGHT AWAY FROM COSTLY 'JUST SAY NO' (Top)CAMPAIGN | ||||||||||||||||
The Scottish executive admitted yesterday that the high-profile war
on drugs is over. | ||||||||||||||||
Instead of advocating the "just say no" message, resources will be
pumped into a new front providing information on the risks involved
in drug-taking and introducing measures to combat their harmful
consequences. | ||||||||||||||||
The zero-tolerance strategy in Scotland is estimated to have cost
around UKP5 million. | ||||||||||||||||
Dr Richard Simpson, the deputy justice minister, revealed the step-change in drug policy, conceding that the "just say no" campaign and shock tactics had failed to have an impact. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Despite the new approach, the executive says there will be "no
let-up" in its drug enforcement policy. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Top MAP Letter Writers Ranked | ||||||||||||||||
New feature lists 100 writers with most published letters in MAP
archives. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Context | ||||||||||||||||
Cognitive impairments are associated with long-term cannabis use, but the parameters of use that contribute to impairments and the nature and endurance of cognitive dysfunction remain uncertain. | ||||||||||||||||
Objective | ||||||||||||||||
To examine the effects of duration of cannabis use on specific
areas of cognitive functioning among users seeking treatment
for cannabis dependence. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
In this issue of THE JOURNAL, Solowij and colleagues [1] report
a variety of neuropsychological deficits in long-term cannabis
users who were tested a median of 17 hours after their last
reported cannabis intake. Their findings of impairments in
memory and attention are not surprising since several large
and well-controlled studies have found similar deficits on
neuropsychological tests administered to long-term cannabis
users after 12 to 72 hours of abstinence. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
NORML Rebuttal | ||||||||||||||||
Science Challenges JAMA Report Linking Pot To Cognitive Decline
Cognition Unaffected by Long-Term Marijuana Use, Previous Studies
Show | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Full-Page Medical Marijuana Ad Runs In New York Times | ||||||||||||||||
The Coalition for Compassionate Access placed a full-page ad in the Wednesday, March 6, edition of The New York Times (page A9), calling on the Bush administration to implement the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences that -- in its landmark 1999 report -- urged the federal government to give seriously ill people immediate legal access to medical marijuana on a case-by-case basis. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
OPEN LETTER TO THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE COMMISSION | ||||||||||||||||
Vienna, 11 March, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
Dear ladies and gentlemen: | ||||||||||||||||
Our Coalition, composed by 114 NGOs from 28 countries across the world, represents, among others, millions of citizens who experience the day-to-day reality of the drug problem, and failing drug control policies, in their own lives. We propose policies that are based on public health, science, sustainable development and human rights. With this letter, we wish to make some recommendations related with the topic of Alternative Development, which occupies a central place in the current meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
INTERNATIONAL COALITION OF NGOS FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Links to a good five part series from The Sunday Herald in the UK. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
48 Hours: Is It A Crime? | ||||||||||||||||
Should Debbie be allowed to keep giving her 8-year-old son
medical marijuana? | ||||||||||||||||
FINAL RESULTS: | ||||||||||||||||
Yes: 89% | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/04/48hours/main502787.shtml | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
POLICY FOR BUSTING DOORS NEEDS A CHANGE | ||||||||||||||||
By Clifford A. Schaffer | ||||||||||||||||
I recently had the good fortune to attend a meeting of law enforcement
officers where the chief of police of San Jose, California spoke. He
said that he would not allow a SWAT team or other similar tactical
unit ever to be used in surprise raids on any house, for any drug
offense, under any circumstances. | ||||||||||||||||
The reasons he gave were simple enough-it's unnecessary and, as West
Milwaukee and the Milwaukee County sheriff has adequately demonstrated
["A Shot in the Dark," Jan. 31], it puts both officers and innocent
citizens at great risk. | ||||||||||||||||
He stated that it is always possible to avoid the situation just by
watching the house and waiting until the (supposed) guilty parties
leave and then simply surrounding them and arresting them on the
street. Then, the search of the house-if required-can be done later.
That, he said, is far safer than trying to burst into houses with
flak jackets and machine guns. | ||||||||||||||||
Just to remind everyone, West Milwaukee isn't the only place where
this has happened. All over the country, SWAT teams have gotten the
wrong address and shot up the wrong house or gotten the right
address and shot people who weren't involved. This wasn't the first
time, and it certainly won't be the last. As always, the defense for
the officer who pulled the trigger is that he was just following
policy. Then, no one reexaminse the policy to see if there isn't a
safer way to do it. | ||||||||||||||||
Clifford A. Schaffer, | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Honorable Mention Letters of the Week | ||||||||||||||||
DECLARE ARREST FREE ZONESWARS (TIE) | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
TOO MANY WARS | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
PUBLISHED LETTER TO THE EDITOR WRITER OF THE MONTH - FEBRUARY | ||||||||||||||||
This month we recognize Alan Randell. During Feburary we archived 16
published letters by Alan, bringing his total in our published
letter archives to 119. You can review his superb letters at
http://www.mapinc.org/writer/Randell+Alan | ||||||||||||||||
Alan and Eleanor Randell were featured in the Dan Gardner series
"Losing The War On Drugs" at | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Book Review: "Barry & 'the boys,'" | ||||||||||||||||
Reviewed by Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||
"Barry & 'the boys': The CIA, The Mob and America's Secret History,"
by Daniel Hopsicker, Mad Cow Press, 2001, 518 pages | ||||||||||||||||
The drug war causes corruption. Few people reading this newsletter
would take issue with such an obvious statement of fact. But "Barry
& 'the boys'" makes the statement seems too slight. | ||||||||||||||||
The depths of the corruption described in Daniel Hopsicker's book
might shock even the most cynical anti-prohibitionist. | ||||||||||||||||
Judging the book by its cover - a photo of an alleged CIA
assassination squad as they party in Mexico City - it might not seem
readily apparent that this book concerns the drug war. "Barry & 'the
boys'" is actually about quite a bit more than the drug war, but the
illicit drug trade is never too far in the background. The author
dedicates the book, in part, to "the victims of the longest War ever
fought for profit, the Drug War." | ||||||||||||||||
"Barry" is the late Barry Seal, described by author Hopsicker as "the biggest drug smuggler in American history, who died in a hail of bullets with George Bush's private phone number in his wallet." Seal was also a CIA agent and a shadow working behind the scenes in a number of infamous American scandals, according to Hopsicker. | ||||||||||||||||
Hopsicker, who has previously documented drug corruption in video
projects like "In Search of the American Drug Lords," presents
evidence suggesting that Seal played a part in the Kennedy
assassination, the Watergate cover-up and the Iran-Contra scandal.
The eyes of skeptical readers are likely now rolling, while others
impatient with "conspiracy theory" may be releasing a tired groan.
But the author builds an intriguing case augmented by nearly 60
pages of documentary evidence at the end of the book. | ||||||||||||||||
Regardless of the surface credibility of its most astonishing
assertions, this book is a very useful guide to the dark
intersections where organized crime, big business and elite
government merge. Huge illegal drug operations seem to prosper
around those same intersections. | ||||||||||||||||
"What he began to learn," Hopsicker writes of one drug smuggler/DEA
informant, "was that the U.S. government did not really want to
catch the major drug kingpins. Instead the goal was to control the
traffic and protect certain dealers. He claims it was the CIA's way
of maintaining political control over Central and South American
countries..." | ||||||||||||||||
Hopsicker names names - including some very recognizable names from
the world of politics and commerce - of people who have staked their
claim in the drug trade and other shady operations. | ||||||||||||||||
Using Seal's mind-boggling rise and violent fall as a narrative backbone, Hopsicker explores several startling incidents of espionage and intrigue. In the course of his reporting, the author makes some sense of an area that is very deliberately obscured. Determining what's real in a house of mirrors is no easy task, but Hopsicker serves as a lucid and frequently entertaining guide. | ||||||||||||||||
This book, like Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance," and Mara Leveritt's
"The Boys on the Tracks," offers a generally accessible entrance
into dark recesses of drug corruption, recesses consistently ignored
by the mainstream media. Like Webb, Leveritt and others, Hopsicker
does not provide a definitive "smoking gun" that completely settles
all the questions surrounding government involvement with drug
trafficking. But, also like his colleagues, Hopsicker provides
enough sources, details and documentary evidence to paint a damning
portrait. | ||||||||||||||||
That portrait should remind readers that describing the drug war as
a failure is far too generous. Calling it a monumental swindle comes
closer to the mark. It's easy to understand why those who benefit
from prohibition are eager to maintain a system that offers such
handsome rewards. As the book shows, corruption isn't just a
byproduct of prohibition - corruption forms the fundamental core of
prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"Drug addicts going into prison and coming back out again is a waste
of public money. It neither addresses their offending behaviour nor
does it cut crime. It's purposeless ... We have our priorities
wrong." - Dr. Richard Simpson, Scotland's Deputy Justice Minister
and Drug Minister, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: | ||||||||||||||||
Please utilize the following URLs | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE | ||||||||||||||||
-OR- | ||||||||||||||||
Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to: | ||||||||||||||||
The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. |
 | current issue | this issue |