| Oct. 25, 2002 #273 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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) HEMPSTERS GO TO WASHINGTON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Promoting The Industrial Weed To A War-Addled Congress | ||||||||||||||||||
I am standing at the gate in SFO waiting to board an 8am flight to
Washington, D.C., when I spy a mousy-looking brunette in a black suit
making her way through the crowd. "Why, it's our own Senator
Feinstein," I say as I pull out my video camera and zoom in while
calling out, "Senator Feinstein!" | ||||||||||||||||||
She whips around, and the crowd comes alive with well-wishers who say,
"We'll see you there!" Seeing the senator in Washington is my hope
too, since my mission on this trip is to lobby my representatives on
behalf of industrial hemp and to educate them about what hemp is. What
it isn't is a drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
Low-THC industrial hemp is grown in 31 countries. The United States
remains the only developed nation to prohibit its cultivation. While
both marijuana and hemp come from the same plant species--Cannabis
sativa--hemp is to pot as a terrier is to a pit bull. Both are dogs,
albeit with very different bites, but they are nonetheless seen by the
same veterinarian. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) SPEAKERS BRING MARIJUANA DEBATE TO UF (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A stoner and a narc were pitted against each other in a "Great Debate"
over the legalization of marijuana on the University of Florida campus
Wednesday night. | ||||||||||||||||||
More than 1,000 people - mostly students, and judging from applause
and outbursts, mostly pro-legalization - turned out for the debate.
Scores had to sit on the carpeted floor of the Reitz Union ballroom
and many more had to stand outside the doors. | ||||||||||||||||||
Steve Hager, editor of the counterculture magazine High Times, said
marijuana should be legal to grow and to use because "it's good
medicine" that drug makers want to keep illegal so they can keep
selling overpriced synthetic drugs such as Ritalin. He also suggested
that if marijuana was legal, the use of alcohol and tobacco would
decrease because people would get the same effect without the hangover
or headache. | ||||||||||||||||||
Retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent Robert Stutman countered
that while the chemicals that reside in the plant may one day be
proven to be useful medically, smoking marijuana has always been shown
to be harmful. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) IN CHICAGO, KILLING KEEPS UP A RAPID PACE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CHICAGO, Oct. 23 - Though it may lose its title as the nation's most murderous city to Los Angeles this year, Chicago is still on a pace that almost matches the number of homicides it logged last year. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last year, 72 of the city's 666 homicides - the most in the nation - occurred in the Harrison precinct, making it the city's deadliest police district. So far this year, according to police figures, Harrison has had 51 homicides, about 10 percent of the 519 killings reported as of Tuesday in the city's 25 police districts. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) DRUG CZAR DEFENDS CAMPAIGN TO STOP MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
On his first visit to Chicago as the nation's latest drug czar, John
Walters sounded an alarm Tuesday about marijuana use by millions of
Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||
His visit comes as states including Arizona and Nevada consider ballot
initiatives that would loosen laws restricting marijuana use and after
others have passed laws allowing the medicinal use of the psychoactive
drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Though conceding that drug prevention, treatment and enforcement
programs are best left up to the states, he defended recent trips to
Nevada and other states to stump against ballot questions that would
decriminalize marijuana use. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I made the decision to go into the states I went into reluctantly,"
he said. "I certainly understand the dangers of federal officials, a
White House official, coming to a state and talking about a state
ballot issue. We didn't use to do this. But I was contacted repeatedly
by people in these states who are working in prevention who said they
are being drowned out by misrepresentations by people who have a lot
of money and who have millions of dollars to spend on these
campaigns." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Another institution involved in the drug war is showing signs of
retreat. It was widely reported this week that the U.S. military
wants to reduce the amount of resources it is using to fight illegal
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The state of Michigan will likely use more of its resources to fight
the drug war as a federal court decided that the state can legally
test welfare recipients for drugs. A more welcome ruling came from a
federal appeals court examining a drug testing case in South
Carolina. The court recognized that some pregnant women at a
hospital had been tested for drugs without their explicit agreement
before giving birth. Results from those tests were shared with
police, who arrested some of the new mothers. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Ohio, it was reported that financial backers of a state
initiative mandating treatment for some drug offenders have decided
to spend money on advertising for the initiative. Last week reports
suggested the money would be used to run ads against the incumbent
governor. | ||||||||||||||||||
Questions were raised in a prominent trade publication about the
newspaper industry about the New York Times and its advocacy of
marijuana propaganda. And, another tragedy on the front lines took
place. A woman and her five children were killed in a fire allegedly
started by a drug dealing neighbor who had been confronted by the
woman. Sadly, instead of looking at the way the prohibition enables
and encourages thugs, some community leaders are demanding a tougher
fight against drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) U.S. MILITARY SCALES BACK WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Pentagon is scaling back its role in the "war on drugs" in what
amounts to a tacit admission of failure in countering the narcotics
trade. Senior military officials claim they must cut back drugs
operations to concentrate on the war on terror. | ||||||||||||||||||
The move is likely to face opposition from politicians. The military
currently spends about $1bn on counter-drug operations and training,
mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean. The armed forces were
required to take on the anti-drug role in 1988 but domestic
opponents of the move say such work should be carried out by U.S.
customs and the law enforcement agencies. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the Pentagon is
scaling back its anti-drug work, saying it can no longer afford the
same level of commitment. | ||||||||||||||||||
Andre Hollis, the Pentagon's counter-drugs chief, said that all
elements of the military's anti-drug activities are now being
examined to see what can be dropped. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) COURT OKS DRUG TESTS FOR WELFARE RECIPIENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Michigan can resume testing welfare recipients for drugs, a federal court said Friday in a ruling that could have an impact nationwide. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. John Engler will work with the Family Independence Agency on a
program that will provide treatment to anyone who tests positive and
could deny benefits to those who refuse, said Maureen Sorbet, FIA
spokeswoman. | ||||||||||||||||||
A pilot program in 1999 tested new welfare recipients for cocaine, heroin and marijuana use, but a judge stopped it. A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Friday reversed that injunction. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We believe it's the right thing to do because substance abuse is a
barrier to employment," Sorbet said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) APPEALS COURT: PREGNANT S.C. WOMEN DID NOT AGREE TO DRUG TESTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
RICHMOND, Va. -- Most of the pregnant women who sued a South
Carolina hospital for giving them drug tests and handing the results
over to police had not agreed to be tested, a federal appeals court
ruled Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston adopted the drug-testing policy in 1989 to stop the crack baby epidemic. | ||||||||||||||||||
After complaints that some women were arrested from their beds
shortly after giving birth, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the
tests violated constitutional protections against unreasonable
searches. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court sent back to the appeals court the question of
whether the women actually consented to the tests. | ||||||||||||||||||
The three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
2-1 that eight of the 10 women who sued did not know they were being
tested for cocaine and did not consent to the testing. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) ISSUE 1 ADS TO START RUNNING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
COLUMBUS - Backers of Issue 1, who had considered pulling the plug
on their campaign, said on Saturday that they will begin airing
television commercials promoting the drug-treatment ballot
initiative. | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision means that the Ohio Campaign for New Drug Policies,
which is behind the Nov. 5 ballot issue, won't run commercials that
undercut Gov. Bob Taft. | ||||||||||||||||||
The campaign threatened to run "issue advocacy" ads against Mr. Taft, a Republican whom it has accused of corrupting the ballot-initiative process, after polls showed support for the Issue 1 was lacking. Mr. Taft's team has denied that accusation. | ||||||||||||||||||
His Democratic opponent, Tim Hagan, said last week that he would not support Issue 1 running ads in the governor's race even though Mr. Hagan does not have enough money for his own TV commercials. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) 'NY TIMES' TAKES HIT ON MARIJUANA BOOKLET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK -- A Washington, D.C.-based group working to ease marijuana
laws is criticizing The New York Times for creating and distributing
a handbook with the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy that the group claims is full of distortions and | ||||||||||||||||||
The Marijuana Policy Project, in an Oct. 17 letter to Times
publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., obtained by E&P, called the
85-page booklet on marijuana distributed through the Times'
Newspaper in Education program "a succession of distortions,
exaggerations and strategic omission of relevant data." The
non-profit group also complained that the timing of the handbook,
released on Oct. 15, is improper because it occurred just weeks
before Election Day, when marijuana ballot measures will go before
voters in several states. | ||||||||||||||||||
Times officials declined to address the allegation that the booklet distorted facts. But, in a statement sent to E&P Friday, the paper defended its practice of providing such educational materials, which are used in conjunction with the daily paper. "Our main goal ... is to foster development of critical thinking skills through newspaper reading," the statement read. "We are able to do this in part by helping teachers to integrate newspapers into their curriculum." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) ASHES AND TEARS IN LOST BATTLE OF DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BALTIMORE, Oct. 17 - Inside the blackened shell of a home at 1401 East Preston Street is one of the saddest stories a city can tell. | ||||||||||||||||||
It begins with Angela Dawson, a neighborhood crusader and mother of
six, taking a stand against drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
It ends with Mrs. Dawson and her five youngest children burning to
death in an engulfed bedroom and a young man from down the street in
jail. | ||||||||||||||||||
For her work fighting crime and tipping off the police, Mrs. Dawson,
36, and her family were killed Wednesday morning by a drug pusher
who set their home on fire, the authorities said. Mrs. Dawson's
husband narrowly escaped, at least for now. The Dawsons had been
threatened many times, and two weeks ago a firebomb was tossed
through their window. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The lack of justice in the drug war was glaringly obvious again this week. In Wisconsin, a family is considering a suit against the state after a member of the family died while serving time in a boot-camp style program. He was there because of marijuana violations. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the wake of a state court ruling, Louisiana residents could be
convicted of drug crimes just for being in the proximity of drugs. A
woman's conviction was upheld after she was found at the scene of a
drug dealer's arrest merely sitting near a table with two rocks of
crack cocaine on it. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Pennsylvania, a man who thought he served his time on a cocaine
charge 13 years ago will likely be separated from his wife and
children again because he was never told his appeal was denied while
he was out on bond. | ||||||||||||||||||
And be careful how many cold tablets you bring into Oklahoma - you
could get sued by the cops. Law enforcement officials plan to use
civil - not criminal - courts to file suit against large scale
suppliers of the legal drug pseudoephedrine because cops believe
sales are being diverted to the illegal meth market. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) STATE FACING LAWSUIT OVER INMATE'S DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The mother of a prison inmate who died at a New Richmond
penitentiary in June has filed a wrongful-death civil suit against
the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kimberly Gray of Sun Prairie filed the suit, alleging her son
Franklin D. Homesly died of an asthma attack after being forced to
participate in physical training, collapsing during an evening run
in 93-degree weather. | ||||||||||||||||||
Homesly, 30, suffered an asthma attack and had difficulty breathing
for 30 minutes before being transported by ambulance to Holy Family
Hospital in New Richmond, approximately 65 miles west of Eau Claire,
where efforts to resuscitate him failed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Homesly was placed on probation in April earlier this year after
February convictions for resisting arrest and possession of
marijuana, his third drug offense. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) COURT UPHOLDS DRUG CONVICTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A closely divided Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the
cocaine-possession conviction of a New Orleans woman arrested inside
someone else's home, where police found a small amount of the drug
on a coffee table near where she sat. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 4-3 ruling, the court reinstated the conviction of Mary Toups,
arrested in 1999 when police found her chatting with a suspected
drug dealer at his New Orleans home in front of a coffee table where
two pieces of crack cocaine, three crack pipes and a razor blade
were in plain view. | ||||||||||||||||||
The justices split over whether a defendant's being where illegal
drugs are located or associating with someone who possesses such
drugs proves what the law calls "constructive" possession -- that
is, dominion or control -- of the contraband. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal in May had thrown out Toups'
conviction, saying the evidence against her was insufficient. The
Supreme Court majority, led by Associate Justice Jeffrey Victory,
said there was plenty to convince "a rational trier of fact" beyond
a reasonable doubt that Toups exercised possession of the crack
cocaine on the coffee table. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) SMITHTON MAN RETURNED TO JAIL IN 13-YEAR-OLD CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Sheldon West's long legal odyssey -- more than a decade in the
making -- won't end soon. | ||||||||||||||||||
Due to inaction on the part of two judges and state bureaucratic
indifference, West, 44, of Smothton, never learned he was a wanted
man for nearly 10 years, and that he still must serve at least two
more years to satisfy an old debt to society. | ||||||||||||||||||
West was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1989. He was release
from prison three years later after posting bond while appealing the
conviction. He continued living in the same home and working the
same asphalt-laying job for a decade. | ||||||||||||||||||
And he never learned his appeal was denied. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) LAWSUIT SEEKS TO CUT METH INGREDIENT SUPPLY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Oklahoma's top law enforcement officials are turning to the state's
civil court system in an attempt to stem the state's methamphetamine
problem. Malcom Atwood, director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics
and Dangerous Drugs Control, and Attorney General Drew Edmondson on
Wednesday announced a civil lawsuit against six Oklahoma County
companies and two individuals alleged to be major suppliers of
pseudoephedrine, one of the key ingredients in the manufacture of
meth. | ||||||||||||||||||
The lawsuit is the first of its kind in Oklahoma and possibly the
first state civil suit in the nation, Edmondson said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"While the attorney general does not have the direct prosecution
authority of our district attorneys, we can pursue the raw
ingredient suppliers for creating a public nuisance and under the
Corrupt Organizations Prevention Act," he said. "When OBN brought us
the evidence against these companies, we carefully examined the
statutes to determine the legal mechanics involved." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Real gamblers love a close race and even odds, and that's exactly what Nevadans are getting with Question 9. Polls suggest that support for the legalization initiative has been growing over the last few weeks, and the debate appears to keep heating up. Following two visits to Nevada by drug Czar John Walters, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has backed Question 9, stating that the federal government was using invasive scare tactics to influence Nevada voters. However the state's Attorney General Sue Del Papa, has come out against the initiative, citing worries of cancer-related lawsuits should Nevada make cannabis more legally available. | ||||||||||||||||||
And just so that we don't forget that there are other voter
initiatives coming up in November, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has
outlined some of the other important U.S. cannabis and hemp
questions being voted on over the next few weeks. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Canada, a lawsuit against the federal government's medical
marijuana program initiated by critically and chronically ill
cannabis users finished its proceedings late last week. Justice
Department lawyers urged the judge not to throw out the current
regulatory system, for fear that patients rather than doctors would
end up controlling access to the herb. The patients have argued that
the government and doctors have placed too many restrictions to
legal access to cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally, a rally sponsored by the Ohio Cannabis Society took place in Dayton on Saturday. The purpose was to criticize the current federal laws against marijuana use, as well as to protest the death of Clayton J. Helriggle, who was shot in the chest during a botched drug raid that netted less than one ounce of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) LAS VEGAS NEWSPAPER SUPPORTS POT LAW REFORM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
National drug czar John Walters' vocal opposition to a Nevada
referendum that would legalize possession of modest amounts of
marijuana attracted criticism from the Las Vegas Review Journal
Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The newspaper's editorial writers chided Walters for making two
personal appearances in the state to urge opposition to Question 9,
a ballot measure that would allow adults in the Silver State to
possess up to three ounces of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Nevadans are capable of acting like grown-ups and deciding whether we wish to maintain the current, Draconian set of penalties against the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana," the newspaper said. "We need no help from our 'betters' in Washington, D.C." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) NEVADA ATTORNEY GENERAL OPPOSES QUESTION ON MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Ending months of silence on the issue, Attorney General Frankie Sue
Del Papa announced Thursday that her office opposes the ballot
question to legalize marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Del Papa said if Question 9 receives voter approval, more Nevada
children would gain access to marijuana and the state would be in
conflict with federal anti-marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Rogers said for Del Papa's office to suggest Nevada would incur
civil liability for sale of marijuana is ludicrous. He said the
state "never has had to pay a penny in damages for licensing
7-Elevens and other retail stores to sell cigarettes." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) MARIJUANA QUESTIONS ALSO ON BALLOT ELSEWHERE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Nevada isn't the only state where citizens on Nov. 5 will be
preoccupied with marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Arizona voters also decide whether to decriminalize pot use; South
Dakotans determine whether to legalize industrial hemp, and San
Franciscans decide if their city should grow pot for medical
patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) DON'T THROW OUT FEDERAL POT LAWS, LAWYER WARNS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Throwing out Ottawa's regulations on medical use of marijuana would
lead to a tidal wave of demand to treat "everything from warts to
hemorrhoids," a Justice Department lawyer warned in Ontario Superior
Court yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Fighting a court bid by patients who want easier access to a drug
they say helps them, lawyer Harvey Frankel said the regulations
ensure that doctors, not patients, decide who gets an exemption from
federal laws banning marijuana possession. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The regulations were the government's response to an Ontario Court
of Appeal ruling in 2000 that found the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act discriminated against sick people who benefit from
marijuana use. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) MARIJUANA ADVOCATES PAN LAWS ON POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
What do a college student, a candidate for the Ohio House of
Representatives and an Ohio farmer have in common? | ||||||||||||||||||
They want pot legalized. They came to Dayton on Saturday to make
their case. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Ohio Cannabis Society organized a rally at Dave Hall Plaza
downtown and a post-rally march to the Montgomery County Courts
Building. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Mexico, after detaining and possibly torturing 600 soldiers in the
army, the Mexican government announced this week that they had
arrested 25 infiltrators who were tipping off cartels. Those arrested
include retired soldiers and police, Defense Ministry officials, and
five officials in the attorney general's office. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Preliminary assessments" some UN officials give have placed this
year's large Afghan opium harvest at about 2,500 tons. Other sources
last week revealed that the UN drug agency responsible for
officially announcing the UN Afghan harvest figures -- the UNODCCP
-- has "embargoed" the report. Worse, it appears that once again,
money given by western governments intended for Afghan farmers was
diverted to al-Qaeda, in a scheme unveiled in the Scotsman last
week. In a Byzantine series of links, British money distributed in
Jalalabad to encourage farmers to stop growing poppies, ended up in
al-Qaeda coffers via a Pakistani front company. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hepatitis C infections in Australia have hit a record high of 16,000 new cases a year, according to findings presented at a conference on HIV Medicine held in Sydney. Within the next 20 years, said scientists, as many as 836,000 Australians could become infected with the virus. Most hepatitis C infections are occur through use of shared drug injection needles. On the other hand, according to government-sponsored findings presented at the conference, Australia's needle-exchange programs have prevented some 25,000 new HIV infections and 21,000 hepatitis C infections in the past ten years. Within the next ten years needle-exchange programs are estimated to prevent 4,500 AIDS-related deaths, resulting in a savings of about $2.4 billion Australian taxpayer dollars. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) MEXICANS ARREST 25 TO STOP RING THAT WORKED FOR DRUG CARTELS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY, Oct. 21 - Mexican officials said today that they had
arrested 25 people who infiltrated the army, the federal police and the
attorney general's office on behalf of some of the nation's most
powerful drug kingpins. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The attorney general, Rafael Macedo de la Concha, said "corrupt
public servants" were at the heart of a network that had been
stealing secrets from the government and selling them to the cartels
since 1996. | ||||||||||||||||||
"These unscrupulous people infiltrated and betrayed the government,
and of course the citizenry, by sabotaging operations against drug
trafficking," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the ring included retired soldiers and law enforcement
officers, as well as five midlevel officials in the attorney
general's office, the Defense Ministry and the federal police. Each
member was paid thousands of dollars a month, he said, and about
$2.3 million in drug money used for bribes was seized in the
investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) AFGHANISTAN CHURNED OUT 2,500 TONS OF OPIUM POPPY (Top)THIS YEAR | ||||||||||||||||||
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan secured its place among the world's
top producers of opium this year, churning out about 2,500 tons of
opium poppy despite a government ban on the crop, the U.N. special
representative to Afghanistan said Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lakhdar Brahimi said putting a stop to production was a difficult
task made harder by the fact that many farmers rely on sales of
opium to feed their families. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"Preliminary assessments have projected this year's opium poppy crop
at around 2,500 tons," Brahimi said at the start of an anti-drug
conference in Kabul. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) WAR ON DRUGS THAT MAY BE FUELLING TERROR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
This week, the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention
(UNODCCP) has again embargoed a report detailing how many tonnes of
resin was produced in this year's harvest. However a UN | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But now even more damaging facts about the compensation scheme have
come to light as it seems that British money could have been
diverted directly to al-Qaeda. | ||||||||||||||||||
For in Jalalabad the British sub-contracted the surveying of land
(land was used used as the basis of compensation) to a Pakistani
based non-governmental organisation called the Welfare and Relief
Committee (WRC). | ||||||||||||||||||
The man heading the survey for the WRC is known as Wuli Wullah. His cousin, Haji Rohullah, was arrested by the US military in August and is being held at Kandahar, for his alleged connections to al-Qaeda. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) HEP C INFECTIONS HIT RECORD HIGH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
New hepatitis C infections in Australia have hit an all-time high of
16,000 a year, or one new infection every 32 minutes, prompting
experts to predict a trebling of the number of people requiring
liver transplants. At present there are 210,000 Australians with
hepatitis C, with 91 percent of new infections occurring through
shared injection drug equipment. In the next 18 years this figure
could jump to anywhere from 321,000 to 836,000, according to Dr.
Greg Dore of the National Center of HIV Epidemiology and Clinical
Research. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The only realistic possibility of keeping the number of infections
below that upper range is if a vaccine becomes available, if HCV
transmission among injection drug users is markedly reduced, or if
treatments improve," said Dore. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The hepatitis C crisis is being discussed at the 14th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine in Sydney. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(24) NEEDLE SCHEMES STOP THOUSANDS OF HIV CASES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Australia's pioneering syringe exchange programs have prevented
25,000 new HIV infections and 21,000 hepatitis C infections in just
10 years, according to the Return on Investment in Needle Exchange
and Syringe Programs Report released today at the HIV Medicine
conference in Sydney. By 2010, it is projected that needle exchange
will have prevented 4,500 AIDS-related deaths throughout Australia,
saving an estimated $2.4 billion (US $1.3 billion) in public health
funding. | ||||||||||||||||||
The research, commissioned by the Commonwealth, analyzed 778 years of
data from 103 cities worldwide, comparing HIV and hepatitis C infection
among injecting drug users in countries with and without needle and
syringe programs (NSPs). These data were then used to calculate the
return on investment from NSPs in Australia from 1991 to 2000,
providing potent, measurable evidence of the benefits of one of
Australia's most controversial public health policies. The report's
findings include: | ||||||||||||||||||
* Cities with NSPs had an average annual 18.6 percent decrease in
HIV prevalence compared with an average annual 8.1 percent increase
in cities that did not introduce NSPs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
* By 2010, NSPs will have prevented 90 deaths from hepatitis C. For HIV, this was calculated on the 25,000 avoided cases, an average lifespan of 24 years after infection, and treatment cost of nearly $14,000 (US $7,700) for each year of life after diagnosis. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DRUG WARRIORS CRUSADE AGAINST REFORM INITIATIVES | ||||||||||||||||||
By Daniel Forbes, AlterNet, October 24, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
On drug policy, the voting public has proven ready to lead spaniel-like
politicians by the nose, voting for one liberalization measure after
another. But government, state and local officials have begun a crusade
to scuttle reform initiatives around the nation. | ||||||||||||||||||
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STUDY QUESTIONS IMPACT OF ANTI-DRUG COALITIONS ON DRUG USE | ||||||||||||||||||
10/24/2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
The authors of a new study assert that community-based coalitions may
not be effective in reducing alcohol and other drug use, UPI reported
Oct. 21. | ||||||||||||||||||
Researchers at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in
Chapel Hill, N.C., found that while specific anti-drug programs are
beneficial, broad-based coalitions are not inherently effective in
cutting drug use on a community-wide basis. | ||||||||||||||||||
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CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
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Comments from Noam Chomsky about the Drug War, War of Terror Comedy Playhouse, NEWS, music, listener callins at 713-526-5738, interaction with Drugsense Activists via http://www.drugsense.org/chat | ||||||||||||||||||
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JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE IN CONNECTICUT | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.journeyforjustice.org/photopages/NewHavenForum.html | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.journeyforjustice.org/photopages/Weslayen-NewHaven.html | ||||||||||||||||||
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CANNABIS HEALTH - THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA JOURNAL | ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis Health Journal is owned by the Cannabis Health Foundation, a
registered non-profit society. The hard copy Journal is fully
integrated with the cannabishealth.com web site. The site offers
information, shopping and more in depth reporting than we have room
for in print. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
THC-FOUNDATION | ||||||||||||||||||
Working to educate the public about the truth concerning hemp and
cannabis, and helping medical marijuana patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
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SALVIA DIVINORUM LEGAL STATUS INFORMATION | ||||||||||||||||||
Follow the action in the wake of a federal bill that would outlaw
the plant. | ||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Nevada Drug Initiative Is On Target / By Kevin M. Hebert | ||||||||||||||||||
John Hughes's Oct.16 Opinion column "Nevada's unfortunate drug
initiative," does not consider the fact that the proposal could end the
lucrative black market created by illegal marijuana. Sale of marijuana
in regulated shops would provide revenue to the state coffers, also
making it harder for minors to purchase it. Actual use could decrease,
as was the case in Holland. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war is a waste of law-enforcement resources. The Nevada
marijuana initiative does not endorse drug use, it is intended to
restore freedom to responsible adult marijuana users and to eliminate
the marijuana black market. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kevin M. Hebert, | ||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MARY JANE'S ARMY RAISING AWARENESS | ||||||||||||||||||
By Tait Simpson | ||||||||||||||||||
Editor's note: This column was originally published in The Gazette,
the daily newspaper of the University of Western Ontario, on Oct.
18. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gazette readers, for all of their virtues, are a fairly contained
group. Most students, some professors and a few alumni comprise the
small list of people who get the distinct pleasure of reading our
little publication four times a week. I say little, because, in the
grand scheme of media and influence, The Gazette is a small fish in a
much larger pond. | ||||||||||||||||||
With this in mind, I was more then a little surprised when I received letters last week from across North America. From California and Colorado, New Jersey and Illinois, the letters filled my inbox, asking to have their 300 words printed in our small paper. What topic inspired grown people to send their letters across four time zones in the hopes of having them printed? Surely, we must have done something outrageously wrong if people from two countries were taking notice! | ||||||||||||||||||
No, it was our third page story entitled "Free Mary Jane," about the
recent Canadian Senate report on decriminalizing marijuana that
solicited all the letters. | ||||||||||||||||||
You see, unlike most public policy issues, there is an established
portion of the population that feel fairly strongly about the issue of
decriminalization or depenalization of marijuana. Unlike outdated
stereotypes about pro-marijuana forces -- protesters passing their bong
and beating drums at small rallies -- these citizens have decided to
take the high road of civic engagement. | ||||||||||||||||||
Understanding that their cause had enough merit to warrant an examination from the Canadian Senate Committee (if that's saying anything), some pro-legalization forces have applied the methods used by other interest groups who are trying to change government policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
Following the path of these letters, the writers clearly found our
article on a number of drug Web sites that pull down drug news of any
kind. Interested parties can then read the drug stories to see how
issues are developing internationally. The sites offer tips on how to
write successful letters to the editor so that surfers of such sites
can attempt to bring their own message to others. | ||||||||||||||||||
I received one letter from a Mr. Robert Sharpe, M.P.A. at the Drug
Policy Alliance in Washington D.C.. His letter, indicative of most of
the others, was intelligently written in the hopes of making readers
see that marijuana users were not lawless, inarticulate outcasts, but
tax paying, law abiding citizens who felt this was the second
prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
Whatever your position is on the marijuana issue, its time as a fringe
issue has come and gone. It's now coming to the national and
international forefront, in no small part because of people like Alan
and Eleanor Randell who wrote all the way from Victoria, B.C. to say
that you can't overdose on THC. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's Friday at Western. Before the day is through, I'm sure more than a few students will be in agreement with the Randell's sentiments. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.mapinc.org/writers/Alan+Randell 201 letters published that we know of. Robert's tips on Letter To the Editor writing are at http://www.mapinc.org/resource/tips.htm | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"The function of the true State is to impose the minimum restrictions
and safeguard the maximum liberties of the people, and it never regards
the person as a thing." | ||||||||||||||||||
- Immanuel Kant | ||||||||||||||||||
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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. | ||||||||||||||||||
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