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DrugSense Weekly
May 10, 2002 #249

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Table of Contents

* Breaking News (03/28/24)


* This Just In


(1) Dying For A Smoke
(2) CN BC: Owen Says Safe Injection Sites 'a Done Deal'
(3) Afghanistan: Drugs Funding Warlords: Expert
(4) Portion Of U.S. Aid To Colombia Disappears

* Weekly News in Review


Drug Policy-

COMMENT: (5-10)
(5) LAPD Agrees To Shrink DARE Program
(6) Gov. Foster Makes Big Mistake
(7) U.S. Certifies Colombian 'Progress' On Rights
(8) Embassy Documents Say Hastert Belittled Rights Concerns In Colombia
(9) U.S. Will Revive Policy To Down Narcotics Planes
(10) U.S. OKs Test for Detecting Marijuana in Hair

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

COMMENT: (11-14)
(11) High Court Debates Plea Deals
(12) New Drug Tunnel Found At Border
(13) Bunker Hill Police Chief Nurtures Seized Marijuana Crop
(14) Man Says Son Suspended From Lawrence County For Not Joining Drug Sting

Cannabis & Hemp-

COMMENT: (15-19)
(15) Prohibition Has Little Effect On Pot-Smoking: Canadian Senate Report
(16) Marching On High
(17) Federal Judge Dismisses California Cannabis Program
(18) Vermont Senate Panel OKs Marijuana Measure
(19) Washington House Of Representative Pages Dismissed Over Marijuana

International News-

COMMENT: (20-23)
(20) Germany: Drug Deaths Decline
(21) Stop Vigilante Killings In Southern Mindanao
(22) Bicam Mulls Death Penalty For 2nd Time Drug Offenders
(23) Colombia Shoots Down Copter That Aided Paramilitary Fighters

* Hot Off The 'Net


    Marijuana Info
    Cannabis  Report  From  Senate  Sub-Committee  on  Illegal  Drugs
    Guerrillas, Drugs and Human Rights in U.S.-Colombia Policy, 1988-2002
    Disease Plays Better Than Needle Exchange In Peoria
    DrugSense Chat with Michael Krawitz

* Letter Of The Week


    The Problem Is Pot Prohibition / By Keith Stroup and Paul Armentano

* Letter Writer of the Month


    Stephen Heath

* Feature Article


    Drug War Beast Fed First In Illinois / By Stephen Young

* Quote of the Week


    Ovidius


THIS JUST IN    (Top)

(1) DYING FOR A SMOKE    (Top)

Cannabis Hunger Striker Faces A Grim Choice

Robin Prosser is a 45-year-old Missoula woman who has been on a hunger strike since April 20 protesting her inability to secure legal, medicinal marijuana in Montana to treat her diagnosed immunosuppressive disorder.  The Independent sat down with Prosser earlier this week to discuss the circumstances that would lead a disabled, middle-aged mother to entertain thoughts of making the ultimate sacrifice.

Missoula Independent: How long have you been medicating yourself with marijuana?

Robin Prosser: Well, I've had 17 years of attempting to treat this through conventional methods.  I've had biopsies, steroid treatments, cortisone injections, and every kind of pain reliever,
anti-inflammatory, anti-nausea, narcotic, anti-depressants, and anti-seizure drugs you can name.  I've been using marijuana as medicine for the last seven years, but I've only been open about it for the last four.  I told my GP, "Nothing's working, and I have to tell you that I'm finding that cannabis is very effective, and helps my pain and helps all these symptoms without all these horrible side effects." And he just got irate, and up and walked out on me.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 09 May 2002
Source:   Missoula Independent (MT)
Copyright:   2002 Missoula Independent
Website:   http://www.everyweek.com/
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/1534
Author:   Nick Davis
Bookmark:   http://www.cannabisnow.org/home.html (Starving for Medicine)
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n889.a09.html


(2) CN BC: OWEN SAYS SAFE INJECTION SITES 'A DONE DEAL'    (Top)

City council may have reiterated its support last Thursday for supervised drug injection sites, but the plan still has a few bureaucratic hoops to jump through before it becomes reality.

Mayor Philip Owen, however, says he's not worried about the need for approval from the provincial government, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the police, not to mention a Health Canada review of the national pilot project.

The province, health authority and police board are on record as approving the mayor's four-pillar approach to drug problems in the city, including setting up supervised injection sites, he said, adding Liberal MPs Alan Rock and Anne McLellan also support the idea. "It's a done deal."

Owen predicts Vancouver could be home to an injection site or sites by late this year or early next year-after he's retired and a new council has been sworn in.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 08 May 2002
Source:   Vancouver Courier (CN BC)
Copyright:   2002 Vancouver Courier
Website:   http://www.vancourier.com/
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/474
Author:   Mike Howell
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?131 (Heroin Maintenance)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n888.a05.html


(3) AFGHANISTAN: DRUGS FUNDING WARLORDS: EXPERT    (Top)

Money earned from the opium and heroin trade in Afghanistan is what is allowing pro-US warlords in the country to operate, a high-profile Washington lawyer and expert in international financial crime said today.

"The revenue of poppies is essential for the warlords supporting the United States," Jack Blum told a House panel focusing on international corruption.

The country's largest domestic product, Blum explained, was heroin, and without the profit from the drug trade any government would be hard-pressed to provide for its people and support the war on terrorism.

"It's a terrible, terrible dilemma, because it is the only source of revenue the state has," he said, adding the problem was being debated by governments trying to stop the drug trafficking.

"It's possibly one of the most complicated, atrocious problems any one could understand," said Blum.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 10 May 2002
Source:   Agence France-Presses (France Wire)
Copyright:   2002 Agence France-Presse
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n889.a10.html


(4) PORTION OF U.S. AID TO COLOMBIA DISAPPEARS    (Top)

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - The United States has partially suspended aid for Colombia's war on drugs after a ''significant amount of money'' destined for the anti-narcotics police disappeared, a U.S.  Embassy official said on Thursday.

The head of the anti-narcotics police in the world's biggest cocaine producer, Gen.  Gustavo Socha, confirmed an investigation was under way, and said he had fired six officers.  Socha said he did not know how much U.S.  aid was missing, but denied local media reports it was $2 million.

The funds were taken from an account earmarked to help offset administrative expenses of the police.  The United States has only frozen aid that would normally enter this account -- a relatively small proportion of the hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S.  funds for Colombia's anti-drug fight.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 08 May 2002
Source:   Reuters (Wire)
Copyright:   2002 Reuters Limited
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n888.a06.html


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW    (Top)


Domestic News- Policy


COMMENT: (5-10)    (Top)

The DARE program took a huge blow this week, as police agreed to scale back the program in Los Angeles, DARE's birthplace.  If that wasn't difficult enough for the professional hucksters at DARE, in Louisiana, the governor has proposed pulling all state funds from the DARE program, much to the chagrin of uninformed columnists and other busybodies.

It's hard to tell exactly what the Bush administration's priorities are in Colombia these days, but human rights certainly isn't one of them.  U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell certified the Colombian government's efforts to improve human rights, despite evidence that abuses continue.  And it appears human rights have never been a priority for Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S.  House of Representatives.  Newly uncovered documents illustrate Hastert's contempt for human rights efforts back when Plan Colombia was still on the drawing board.  And just to make sure the horror gets spread throughout Latin American, Bush administration officials seem to be moving toward resumption of shooting down suspected drug airplanes and asking questions later in Peru.

Finally, hold onto to your hair follicles - the FDA has approved a new test for marijuana use, even though critics have said the process is fraught with potential problems.


(5) LAPD AGREES TO SHRINK DARE PROGRAM    (Top)

Compromise:   Police Commission Approves A Plan To Shift Officers To Gang
And Narcotics Units.

The LAPD's longtime drug-abuse prevention program DARE will be reduced in size but not eliminated under a compromise struck between police officials and the Police Commission.

Commission President Rick Caruso had said last week he was prepared to essentially scrap DARE to free up more officers to combat gangs and narcotics-related crime.

But on Tuesday, a last-ditch effort by police officials to save the high-profile DARE program proved successful.  The commission agreed to allow DARE to keep 44 officers--enough to continue its elementary school programs.  Junior high and high school programs will be cut, except at a few magnet schools.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 08 May 2002
Source:   Los Angeles Times (CA)
Webpage:   http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000032600may08.story
Copyright:   2002 Los Angeles Times
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author:   Jill Leovy, Times Staff Writer
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)


(6) GOV. FOSTER MAKES BIG MISTAKE    (Top)

There is an old saying that goes "it takes a village to raise a child." If that is true, and I personally believe it is, then the state of Louisiana is about to drop the ball - big time.

Last year the state budgeted $3.9 million for the DARE program to be used from August 31 through May 1.

As of this May the funding had been cut back to zero.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 03 May 2002
Source:   Minden Press-Herald (LA)
Copyright:   2002 Minden Press-Herald.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/1803
Author:   Theresa Gardner
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n847/a01.html


(7) U.S. CERTIFIES COLOMBIAN 'PROGRESS' ON RIGHTS    (Top)

Secretary of State Colin L.  Powell certified yesterday that the Colombian armed forces have met the congressionally mandated requirements to suspend and prosecute alleged human rights violators and to sever their ties with right-wing paramilitary forces accused of civilian massacres and other rights abuses.

Certification was required before the Bush administration could spend any of the $104 million approved for the Colombian military in the 2002 budget.  U.S. and Colombian officials had warned in recent weeks that they were curtailing counter-narcotics activities in the southern part of the country because no money was available.

A State Department statement said that "both we and the Government of Colombia recognize that the protection of human rights in Colombia needs improvement." Certification had been held up since early this year, officials said, while U.S.  officials worked with civilian judicial authorities in Colombia and pressured the government to take more substantive action.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 02 May 2002
Source:   Washington Post (DC)
Page:   A20
Copyright:   2002 The Washington Post Company
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author:   Karen DeYoung
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n849/a04.html


(8) EMBASSY DOCUMENTS SAY HASTERT BELITTLED RIGHTS CONCERNS IN COLOMBIA    (Top)

WASHINGTON - Before becoming House speaker, Rep.  Dennis Hastert told Colombian military officers that he was "sick and tired" of human rights considerations controlling U.S.  anti-drug aid, according to a newly declassified government document.

At the time, the Clinton administration was pushing Colombia to improve its human rights performance as a condition of receiving U.S.  aid.

Leading a May 1997 congressional delegation to Colombia, Hastert also encouraged Colombian military and police to bypass the White House and deal directly with Congress, according to a cable signed by then-Ambassador Myles Frechette.

John Feehery, Hastert's spokesman, said the speaker strongly supports human rights efforts in Colombia and that the language in the cable likely reflected that Hastert "did not have a particularly strong relationship" with Frechette.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 03 May 2002
Source:   Associated Press (Wire)
Copyright:   2002 Associated Press
Author:   Ken Guggenheim, Associated Press
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n865/a07.html


(9) U.S. WILL REVIVE POLICY TO DOWN NARCOTICS PLANES    (Top)

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will revive a policy to help Peru and Colombia shoot down suspected narcotics planes in the Andean region within six months but is edging the CIA out of any involvement.

The shoot-down program was suspended a year ago after a CIA spotter aircraft helped Peruvian warplanes mistakenly pursue and fire on a U.S.  missionary plane over the Amazon River, killing an American mother and her infant.

Renewal still needs final White House approval, and Congress must be formally notified.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat, 04 May 2002
Source:   Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright:   2002 The Miami Herald
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author:   Tim Johnson
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?172 (Peruvian Aircraft Shooting)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n864/a02.html


(10) U.S. OKS TEST FOR DETECTING MARIJUANA IN HAIR    (Top)

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A new test that detects marijuana's active ingredient in human hair has won clearance from the U.S.  Food and Drug Administration(FDA), the test's manufacturer,
Cambridge,Massachusetts-based Psychemedics Corp., said on Monday.

Psychemedics is a publicly traded testing laboratory, whose clients include more than 2,200 corporations, as well as five of the nation's largest police departments and a number of schools and Federal Reserve banks, the company said.

[snip]

Psychemedics Senior Vice President William Thistle told Reuters Health that the laboratory has been performing a "home brew" version of the test for the last 12 to 14 years, but that the FDA clearance is expected to increase acceptance of the product.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 7 May 2002
Source:   Reuters (Wire)
Copyright:   2002 Reuters Limited
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n880/a07.html


Law Enforcement & Prisons


COMMENT: (11-14)    (Top)

A U.S.  Supreme Court case is bringing new scrutiny to plea agreements in drug cases.  An appeals court ruled that defendants have a right to see evidence against them before making a plea; the Bush administration disagrees.

Whatever the ruling, it seems unlikely to stop smugglers from constructing those pesky tunnels between the U.S.-Mexican border. Another tunnel was uncovered last week.

An Illinois police chief suspected marijuana was being grown in a local school, so he confiscated the plants and cultivated them in his own office.  No word on whether he will be prosecuted on drug manufacture charges.  And, in Alabama, the parent of a high school student is complaining that his son was suspended from classes because he wouldn't participate in an undercover drug sting.


(11) HIGH COURT DEBATES PLEA DEALS    (Top)

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court debated Wednesday whether people pleading guilty deserve to see more of the case against them first - a requirement the Bush administration warned could cause bottlenecks in the courts.

Prosecutors must turn over evidence to defendants who plead innocent and go on trial.

Justices are considering whether anyone contemplating a guilty plea has a constitutional right to see information collected by prosecutors that could help them.  An appeals court has said they do.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 3 May 2002
Source:   Daily Camera (CO)
Copyright:   2002 The Daily Camera.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/103
Author:   Gina Holland
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n859/a02.html


(12) NEW DRUG TUNNEL FOUND AT BORDER    (Top)

Mexican federal agents discovered a drug tunnel near the beach between Tijuana and San Diego, Mexico's federal attorney general's office said Saturday.

The tunnel, which appeared to run under the metal fence dividing the two countries, was discovered Friday, attorney general spokesman Abraham Sarabia said.  It was originally built near Tijuana's beach to get rid of extra water from a nearby and now unused water treatment plant.

The 80-foot-long tunnel contained recent handprints and cart tracks, indicating it was likely used to sneak drugs or possibly illegal immigrants to the United States, Sarabia said.  However, most border tunnels are used only to move drugs.  Sarabia said the tunnel was near a residential area along Mexico's Pacific coast and was more than 3 feet wide and 30 inches tall.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 05 May 2002
Source:   Los Angeles Times (CA)
Webpage:   http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000031946may05.story
Copyright:   2002 Los Angeles Times
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/248


(13) BUNKER HILL POLICE CHIEF NURTURES SEIZED MARIJUANA CROP    (Top)

BUNKER HILL, Ill.- Police Chief Jesse Cunningham nurtured a crop of tiny plants in his office for a month, watering them every 36 hours, keeping a light on them and even setting the plants near a window for others to see.

On Thursday, Cunningham delivered his harvest to the Illinois State Police crime laboratory.  He expects the results to confirm what he already suspects: He has been growing marijuana.

"The (Macoupin County) state's attorney said to me, 'I've never heard of a police chief growing his own evidence,' " Cunningham said with a chuckle.

The Police Department seized 50 to 60 of the plants March 25 from the greenhouse at Bunker Hill High School, where an agriculture student had apparently planted the seeds under the guise of growing tomatoes.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 3 May 2002
Source:   Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Copyright:   2002, Denver Publishing Co.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n858/a10.html


(14) MAN SAYS SON SUSPENDED FROM LAWRENCE COUNTY FOR NOT JOINING DRUG STING    (Top)

MOULTON -- The father of a Lawrence County High School student said the school's principal suspended his son because he refused to participate in a Drug Task Force sting.

Officials are mum about the issue because the student is a 17-year-old juvenile.  Principal Ricky Nichols did say that it is "a very good possibility" that he found what he thinks is marijuana in a student's vehicle.

Jim McAbee, chief of the Lawrence County Drug Task Force, said his agents questioned students at the school last week.

He said the questioning is in connection with an ongoing operation at the school.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 05 May 2002
Source:   Decatur Daily (AL)
Copyright:   2002 The Decatur Daily
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/696
Author:   Clyde L.  Stancil
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n863/a11.html


Cannabis & Hemp-


COMMENT: (15-19)    (Top)

An honest and informative report on the realities of cannabis use in Canada was released last week by the Senate Sub-Committee on Illegal Drugs, http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/iddi/ The discussion paper, which debunks many marijuana myths (such as suggestions that cannabis is a gateway drug) is a precursor to the Sub-Committee's final report and recommendations, expected in August.  The timing couldn't have been better for cannabis enthusiasts and activists, for last Saturday marked the date of the fifth annual Million Marijuana March.  The international event, which began in New York in 1998, was celebrated in hundreds of cities worldwide.  At this date, New York City reported the most arrests, at 148.

Bad legal news for California medical users: A federal judge ruled last week that the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative has no constitutional basis to supply cannabis to legal medical users. Judge Breyer declined to lift an order barring the club from distributing cannabis.  Robert Raich, the club's attorney, plans to appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal.  In slightly better news from the east coast, The Vermont Senate Judiciary Panel approved a modest medical marijuana measure giving defendants the right to use a medical necessity defense in court.  The measure still needs the full approval of the Senate and Governor to pass into law.

And an interesting story from Washington, D.C., 11 teenage House of Representative pages were dismissed because of marijuana use.  Too bad they weren't working for the Canadian Senate.  Finally, please don't miss this week's Letter of the Week by the always informative Keith Stroup, Founder/Director of NORML, and Paul Armentano, senior policy analyst for NORML.


(15) PROHIBITION HAS LITTLE EFFECT ON POT-SMOKING: CANADIAN SENATE REPORT    (Top)

OTTAWA (CP) - Efforts to prevent marijuana use are having little impact, and young Canadians are smoking up in greater numbers than ever, a Senate report says.  An estimated 30 to 50 per cent of people 15 to 24 years old have used cannabis despite its illegality, the report, released Thursday by the Senate committee on illegal drugs, says.

[snip]

After studying the pros and cons of pot use for 14 months, the committee also concludes that scientific evidence suggests marijuana isn't a so-called gateway drug that leads to the use of harder drugs.

The discussion paper, intended to guide public consultation on the marijuana issues, indicates that millions of dollars in public money being spent to combat pot is wasted.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 03 May 2002
Source:   Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright:   2002 The Toronto Star
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author:   Dennis Bueckert, Canadian Press
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n844.a04.html


(16) MARCHING ON HIGH    (Top)

For thousands of Montrealers and millions worldwide, the Million Marijuana March is both a fundamental right and a fun-filled rite of spring.

From its beginning in May 1998, when activists faced down then-New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani in a U.S.  federal court and won their right to march for marijuana down New York's famed 5th Avenue, the first Saturday in May has since become an internationally-recognized day of pro-marijuana marches and festivals.  Under the stewardship of the provincial Bloc Pot and federal Marijuana Party, Montreal was one of the original participating cities.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 02 May 2002
Source:   Hour Magazine (CN QU)
Copyright:   2002, Communications Voir Inc.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/971
Author:   Charlie McKenzie
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n858.a07.html


(17) FEDERAL JUDGE DISMISSES CALIFORNIA CANNABIS PROGRAM    (Top)

A federal judge ruled Friday that a California medicinal marijuana distributor has no constitutional right to dole out cannabis to the sick.

The decision was another blow to the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the group had no right to sell marijuana to the sick under California's 1996 voter-approved medicinal marijuana law, which requires the sick to have a doctor's recommendation.

[snip]

Robert Raich, the club's attorney, said he would appeal the decision to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S.  Circuit Court of Appeals.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat, 04 May 2002
Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright:   2002 San Jose Mercury News
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author:   Associated Press
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/ocbc.htm (Oakland Cannabis Court Case)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n864.a05.html


(18) VERMONT SENATE PANEL OKS MARIJUANA MEASURE    (Top)

A proposal to provide some legal protections to seriously ill patients who use marijuana won the support of a Senate committee Thursday, but advocates of legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes argued the measure doesn't go far enough.

[snip]

The language provides patients who possess up to an ounce of the drug a so-called affirmative defense in court if they were to be prosecuted.  An affirmative defense does not make it legal to possess the drug.  Instead, it would provide patients with a defense they could mount before a judge or jury.

"There's a lot of good ideas here, but we don't have time to deal with all the good ideas.  I look at this as an interim step," said Sen.  Richard Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the committee. "We've come up with a modest proposal ...  that has some form of protection."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 02 May 2002
Source:   Rutland Herald (VT)
Copyright:   2002 Rutland Herald
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/892
Author:   Tracy Schmaler, Vermont Press Bureau
Continues:   //www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n859.a06.html


(19) WASHINGTON HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE PAGES DISMISSED OVER MARIJUANA    (Top)

Eleven teen-age House pages have been dismissed from the program after at least one of them brought marijuana to their Capitol Hill dormitory, congressional sources said Wednesday.

None of those involved were identified.

The incident, first reported Wednesday by the online version of the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, occurred after a female page who has family in the Washington, D.C., invited fellow pages to the residence, where marijuana was used and the teenagers were unsupervised.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 1 May 2002
Source:   Associated Press (Wire)
Copyright:   2002 Associated Press
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n837.a09.html


International News


COMMENT: (20-23)    (Top)

The German Health Ministry reported drug-related deaths dropped nearly 10 percent in 2001, as compared to the previous year. Officials credited the establishment of government-run rooms where addicts can take drugs in a supervised setting.

In the Philippines, human rights authorities urged that "vigilante" killings of suspected drug users stop, as at least 40 children were reported killed there since 1999.  The Manilla Times reported last week that the Philippine national legislature, "bent on adopting a provision imposing the death penalty to second-time offenders" for possession of five grams of illegal drugs, is close to passing a compromise bill reconciling differences between the house and senate.

And in Colombia last week near the Atrato River, described as a "hotly contested artery for cocaine and weapons" into Panama, the Colombian government shot down and destroyed a helicopter which was believed to be providing support to rightist paramilitary units.  The paramilitaries, vying for control of the Atrato region, were fighting leftist rebels.


(20) GERMANY: DRUG DEATHS DECLINE    (Top)

The introduction of state-run rooms where addicts can use drugs helped cut the number of drug-related deaths in 2001 by 9.6 percent from the previous year, a Health Ministry report said.  The decline, to 1,835 deaths, was the first in four years.  There are about 20 drug consumption rooms in Germany, run by state authorities.  In March, seven cities began "heroin-supported therapy" in which addicts get heroin under medical supervision.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 07 May 2002
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   2002 The New York Times Company
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author:   Victor Homola
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?131 (Heroin Maintenance)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n874/a06.html


(21) STOP VIGILANTE KILLINGS IN SOUTHERN MINDANAO    (Top)

DAVAO CITY -- Human Rights Commissioner Dominador Calamba II dared local government officials in certain parts of Southern Mindanao to stop vigilante killings of suspected drug pushers and gang leaders.

[snip]

Calamba, who hails from this city, said it is impossible for local government officials not to know the perpetrators of these killings which they apparently have tolerated.

"I even believe that these killers are paid to execute their missions," he said.

Calamba urged local officials concerned to use their intelligence funds to gather information on who could be behind the summary executions.

At least 40 minors were reported to have been victims of vigilante killings in the region since 1999.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 5 May 2002
Source:   Philippine Star (Philippines)
Copyright:   PhilSTAR Daily Inc.  2002
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/622
Author:   Edith Regalado
http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Philippines
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n864/a06.html


(22) BICAM MULLS DEATH PENALTY FOR 2ND TIME DRUG OFFENDERS    (Top)

The bicameral committee reviewing Republic Act 6425 ( the Dangerous Drugs Law ) is bent on adopting a provision imposing the death penalty to second-time offenders found possessing at least five grams of illegal drugs.

Rep.  Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said the bicameral committee is inclined to penalize first-time offenders who yield at least 10 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, popularly known as shabu, with a maximum sentence of 12 years imprisonment.

The House version originally imposed the death penalty to anyone found to possessing 10 grams of the illegal substance.

Pubdate:   Sun, 5 May 2002
Source:   Manila Times (Philippines)
Copyright:   The Manila Times 2000
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/921
Author:   Marian Trinidad
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n864/a03.html


(23) COLOMBIA SHOOTS DOWN COPTER THAT AIDED PARAMILITARY FIGHTERS    (Top)

BOGOTA, Colombia, May 6 (Reuters) - Colombia's air force said today that it had shot down a helicopter providing air support to outlawed paramilitary gunmen who last week battled leftist rebels in a fight that killed at least 108 people, among them 45 children.  The air force said the Bell-202 helicopter was hit in the tail as it tried to escape toward Panama after apparently scouting targets.  The damage forced the craft to land, and the air force later destroyed

[snip]

The army believes that as many as 600 paramilitary fighters were engaged in combat last week with about 1,000 leftist rebels.  The villages are on the Atrato River, a hotly contested artery for cocaine and weapons smuggling across the porous jungle border with Panama.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 07 May 2002
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   2002 The New York Times Company
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n875/a07.html


HOT OFF THE 'NET    (Top)

Marijuana Info

The Site presents, in a non-partisan Pro/Con format, the conflicting views and opinions of different sides of the medical marijuana debate, showing how individuals and organizations actively involved in the debate respond to: "Should smoked marijuana be a medical option now?" and our related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

http://marijuanainfo.org/


Cannabis Report From Senate Sub-Committee on Illegal Drugs

An honest and informative report on the realities of cannabis use in Canada by the Senate Sub-Committee on Illegal Drugs

http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/iddi/


Guerrillas, Drugs and Human Rights in U.S.-Colombia Policy, 1988-2002

From the National Security Archive

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB69/


Disease Plays Better Than Needle Exchange In Peoria

A MAP Focus Alert

http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0240.html


Michael Krawitz will be our special guest in the DrugSense Chat Room, Sunday, May 12, 2002 8 pm EDT, 5 pm Pacific time.

http//www.mapinc.org/chat/

Mike is the founder of The Cannabis Museum,
http://www.cannabismuseum.org - Listmaster/Moderator and Chair, Marijuana Legalization Committee, Virginians Against Drug Violence, http://www.drugsense.org/DPFVA - Advisor to Patient's Out of Time, http://www.medicalcannabis.com and a Regional Leader for the The November Coalition http://www.november.org


LETTER OF THE WEEK    (Top)

The Problem Is Pot Prohibition

By Keith Stroup and Paul Armentano

Contrary to John Walters's allegations ["The Myth of 'Harmless' Marijuana," op-ed, May 1], marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco.  About 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning.  Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking.  By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose.

According to the U.S.  Institute of Medicine, fewer than one in 10 marijuana smokers become regular users of the drug, and most voluntarily cease their use after 34 years of age.  By comparison, 15 percent of alcohol consumers and 32 percent of tobacco smokers exhibit symptoms of drug dependence.

U.S.  government-sponsored population studies conducted in Jamaica, Greece and Costa Rica found no significant cognitive differences between long-term marijuana smokers and nonsmokers.  Similarly, a 1999 study of 1,300 volunteers published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis" over a 15- year period.  Most recently, a meta-analysis of neuropsychological studies of long-term marijuana smokers by the U.S.  National Institute on Drug Abuse reaffirmed this conclusion.

Perhaps the most offensive aspersions are those Walters casts toward the medical use of marijuana by the seriously ill.  The drug czar cynically asks, "Is the American health care system .  . . really being hobbled by a lack of smoked medicines?" He'd be better off asking our nation's doctors.

According to a 2001 national survey of U.S.  physicians conducted for the American Society of Addiction Medicine, nearly half of all doctors with opinions support legalizing marijuana as a medicine. Moreover, no fewer than 80 state and national health care organizations -- including the American Public Health Association and the New England Journal of Medicine -- support immediate, legal patient access to medical cannabis.

Walters is correct in suggesting that marijuana, like other drugs, is not for kids.  We permit adults to do many activities that we forbid children to do, such as motorcycle riding, skydiving, signing contracts, getting married, drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco. But we do not condone arresting adults who responsibly engage in these activities in order to dissuade our children from doing so. Nor can we justify arresting adult marijuana smokers at the pace of some 734,000 per year on the grounds of sending a message to children.

More than 76 million Americans, roughly one-third of the adult population, have smoked marijuana, and 18 million to 20 million admit having done so in the past year.  Most of these people are upstanding, hardworking and productive citizens.  They do not deserve to be treated like criminals.

Neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself constitutes a legitimate danger to public safety.  Pot prohibition is a failed public policy that wastes billions of dollars of law enforcement resources and that destroys the lives and careers of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens each year.  That's why 61 percent of Americans oppose arresting and jailing marijuana smokers. Indeed, if there exists any true "myth" regarding marijuana, it is that pot is more damaging to society than pot prohibition.

Keith Stroup and Paul Armentano

Stroup is founder and executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and Armentano is its senior policy analyst.

Date:   04/05/2002
Source:   Washington Post (DC)
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/491http://www.mapinc.org/media/491


LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - April    (Top)

Stephen Heath gets the nod for having four published letters during April, with a career total of 69, all of which can be reviewed at:

http://www.mapinc.org/writers/Stephen+Heath

Stephen Heath is the Public Relations Director for The Drug Policy Forum of Florida ( www.drugsense.org/dpffl ) and a resident of Clearwater.  He is also an Editor and Focus Alert Specialist for the Media Awareness Project.  His first published OPED - a response to the John Walters, Drug Czar, OPED "Marijuana is Far From Harmless" was printed in the St.  Petersburg Times last Monday.

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n867/a05.html

Each month MAP recognizes a person who has had the most published letters during the previous month.  Once recognized the person is not eligible for consideration for twelve months.


FEATURE ARTICLE    (Top)

Drug War Beast Fed First In Illinois

By Stephen Young

Like a weed that thrives in drought, the drug war continues to grow in Illinois.

The state is facing a $1.2 billion budget deficit, but legislators are supporting increased funding for drug prohibition.

This week, State Senate members approved a measure to increase penalties for possession of small amounts of heroin.  The legislation calls for felony possession of a single gram of heroin to be punished with up to 15 years in prison.  House members had already approved the bill, so now it goes to the governor.

A single senator voted against the bill, citing concerns about prison crowding, already a problem in the state.

Other legislators think it's a good idea.  The logic is impeccable. Just ask Sen.  David Sullivan, the sponsor of the plan.

"We are trying to take away the tactical advantage of selling heroin," Sullivan said.  "This is a logical step of bringing penalties for heroin in line with cocaine."

After decades of drug war, one might think that Sen.  Sullivan could understand that new pools of dealers and drugs always fill any tiny hole that might be caused by tougher penalties.  But when the state's just a little over a billion in the red, why consider the actual effects of legislation? Maybe Sullivan will do just that when there's a real budget crisis - say a $2 billion deficit.

That same principle must have been at play last month when the House approved a bill that would limit time for good behavior for some convicted marijuana growers.  The cost of the bill was estimated at $3.3 million per year.  Could there be a better place in the state budget for a few million dollars?

Gov.  George Ryan recently recognized that punishing non-violent drug offenders may not be the most fiscally wise policy.  Ryan proposed the early release of some non-violent prisoners, in hopes of reducing prison costs.  Of course, former pharmacist Ryan is a lame duck.  Perpetually hounded by allegations of corruption, he dared not run for a second term.  Now Ryan has little to lose by occasionally stating the obvious.  It wasn't always so.

Back when he was still theoretically viable for a second term, Ryan vetoed not one, but two bills that would have allowed the study of hemp as a crop in Illinois.  Of course, now that Ryan's actually talking some sense on drug policy, other politicians don't want to hear it.  Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine called Ryan's early release plan "reprehensible."

What's really reprehensible is what the drug war has done to Illinois and its prison system.  In the Land of Lincoln,
African-Americans comprise 90 percent of drug offenders admitted into prison.  A black man is 57 times more likely to be sent to prison on drug charges than a white man, despite similar rates of use between races.  Similar racial disparities exist in other state prison systems, but according to Human Rights Watch, Illinois leads the nation in rates of disparity.  The recent heroin legislation can only make the gap wider.

The budget crisis offers a perfect chance for legislators to quietly back away from decades of terrible prohibitionist policy.  It's a shame lawmakers don't seem to recognize their opportunity.

To describe the Illinois drug war as a drought-resistant weed actually understates the case.  Prohibition is more like the mutant plant in "Little Shop of Horrors" - constantly growing, and ready to devour any resources within reach.

It's time to stop the feeding beast with money we don't have, and lives we can't afford to waste.

Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly, the author of "Maximizing Harm: Losers and Winners in the Drug War,"
http://maximizingharm.com/, and a member of the Drug Policy Forum of Illinois.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK    (Top)

"One who is allowed to sin, sins less." -- Ovidius, Amores


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CREDITS:  

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 ()

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