| November 29, 2002 #278 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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) DOUBLE JEOPARDY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Long-Ago Bust Gets a City Staffer Fired and Raises Questions About
Drug Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
In March, just two months after he was hired, Ryan Blum-Kryzstal was
fired from his job at the St. John's Library and Community Center -
because he rolled a joint in a parking lot on South Padre Island seven
years ago. Since his job involved working with children, he was
subject to a criminal background investigation; when the CBI was
eventually done, it found that Blum-Kryzstal had pled no contest (nolo
contendere) in 1995 to a misdemeanor marijuana charge, and the city
disqualified him from his position at St. John's. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After months of trying to get his job back, recently Blum-Kryzstal's
fate turned for the better -- sort of. Upon re-examining the city's
approach to CBIs, City Manager Toby Futrell disagreed with staff's
conclusion that "nolo contendere" equals "guilty," and on Nov. 7
offered Blum-Kryzstal his old job back in a personal letter. "I think
we did not do justice to this gentleman," she told the Chronicle.
"Everything that could have gone wrong, did. ... We made a mistake in
interpreting policy." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Blum-Kryzstal thinks his story exemplifies a problem not even Toby
Futrell can fix: the nation's obsession with crime and punishment,
with making war on drugs, and with punitive employment policies
wielded against workers and applicants despite their performance or
promise. He says of his experience, "This is a symptom of a greater
disease." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) PARLIAMENTARY REPORT WILL RECOMMEND THAT POT BE DECRIMINALIZED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAINT JOHN, N.B. - A special parliamentary committee will recommend
that growing pot for personal use should not be a crime, the New
Brunswick Telegraph-Journal reports. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The newspaper reported yesterday that sources familiar with the work of
the committee on the non-medical use of drugs say the move to
decriminalize marijuana would still leave the possession of pot
illegal, but the punishment would be a fine rather than a criminal
record. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"If you're going to decriminalize marijuana, where is a person supposed to get it?" said one well-placed source who confirmed that the committee is in favour of letting Canadians grow their own pot. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Decriminalizing marijuana isn't the only recommendation likely to raise
eyebrows, the newspaper reported. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The committee is apparently also in favour of safe-injection sites and controversial heroin treatment that would involve prescribing the drug to addicts rather than having them buy it on the street. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) RETURN POT TO AILING B.C. MAN, RCMP TOLD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- A B.C. provincial judge has ordered the Mounties to return
a batch of home-grown marijuana to American refugee claimant Steve
Kubby, a cancer patient who smokes up to 12 joints a day to ease his
symptoms. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the latest twist to a bizarre, cross-border legal drama that began
when Mr. Kubby fled California, a federal Crown prosecutor has dropped
drug charges against the Sechelt man, who says he will die if he
doesn't light up each day. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last spring, the RCMP arrived at Mr. Kubby's home about two hours north of Vancouver, seized dozens of plants and charged him with cultivating marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Since then, Health Canada has granted Mr. Kubby a medical exemption that allows him to use and grow pot. His exemption -- the largest in Canada -- allows him to possess up to 59 marijuana plants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With that waiver, a federal Crown prosecutor on Monday dropped the drug
charges and Judge Dan Moon ordered police to return Mr. Kubby's pot and
growing equipment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday, at another hearing to deal with the logistics of the
transfer, the RCMP suggested Mr. Kubby pick up the equipment and pot
himself. Mr. Kubby declined and another meeting has been scheduled for
Dec. 23. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) EDITORIAL: RELEASING PRISONERS A KNEE-JERK REACTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's been nearly five years since Gov. Paul Patton, joined by
Republicans and Democrats alike, signed a new comprehensive criminal
justice package that was the state's first major piece of crime
legislation in 25 years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Not a single dissenting vote was cast in either the Senate or the
House, and pledges were made about tougher laws, longer sentences and
more prisons, all of which would lead to making Kentucky a better,
safer place to live. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's amazing what a few years -- and a budget deficit in the hundreds of millions -- can do to change the legislative atmosphere. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Patton told the Lexington Herald-Leader last week that the state may
have to release thousands of prisoners from jail because it simply
can't afford to house them anymore. This isn't just a Patton idea -- it
seems to have at least some bipartisan support. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The fiery rhetoric of locking up the bad guys and throwing away the key
has been replaced with backtracking assurances that those released
would not be "a threat to the community," as Senate Majority Leader Dan
Kelly, a Springfield Republican, has said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
In reality, such an idea is merely an extension of government passing the buck. State lawmakers will justify releasing prisoners by saying it will help balance the budget, and thus avoid the need for any tax increases. But the first to be let out would come from the pool of about 3,200 felons being housed in county jails. The state pays a fee to local entities to house the low-level offenders, and thus local governments depend on this money to operate their jails. | ||||||||||||||||||||
When all the promises about tougher laws and more prisons were being thrown around, the state encouraged counties to build bigger jails to help out. Now that many have done so, including Daviess County, the state wants to pull inmates, and the funding that comes with them. The result will be local governments will have to pick up the slack. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sometimes it seems as if law enforcement feels entitled to do whatever it wants in the drug war. Stories from the past week add to that perception. City officials in Oxnard, Ca. insist one of its police officers was just doing his job when he shot and maimed an unarmed suspect, handcuffed him and then tormented him for any sort of confession during a long ambulance ride. The wounded man had simply interrupted a drug interrogation that produced no drugs. Now going to the U.S. Supreme Court, the case could redefine Miranda rights, which compels police to allow arrestees to remain silent. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a court case taking place in New York, a DEA agent who shot and killed an unarmed drug suspect wants to be tried in federal court, not in a local court where he would be subject to a local jury. Attorneys for the DEA agent suggests he shot the suspect in the back as self-defense. Also in New York, a federal judge ruled that police should not arrest needle-exchange patrons based on residue left in returned. The judge had to explain to police that such arrests would defeat the purpose of the state-approved needle exchange program. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At one border check point in Texas, x-rays are out and gamma rays. A
new detection machine which supposedly measures the chemical
composition of items within sealed containers is undergoing a test
run at a cost of $15 million for six months. Also last week, the
superb Canadian journalist Dan Gardner debunked popular efforts at
"drug education." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) HIGH COURT TO HEAR MIRANDA CHALLENGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
OXNARD -- Maybe you don't have a right to remain silent after all. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court in its landmark Miranda opinion ruled that police
must respect the rights of people who are held for questioning.
Officers must warn them of their right to remain silent, and,
equally important, honor their refusal to talk further. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But that widely known rule is about to be reconsidered in the high
court in the case of a farm worker here who was shot five times
after a brief encounter with police. Legal experts say the case has
the potential to reshape the law governing everyday encounters
between police and the public. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While the farm worker lay gravely wounded, a police supervisor
pressed him to talk, to explain his version of the events. He
survived, paralyzed and blinded, and sued the police for, among
other things, coercive interrogation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Oxnard police assert that the Miranda ruling does not include a "constitutional right to be free of coercive interrogation," but only a right not to have forced confessions used at trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bush administration lawyers have sided with the police in the case. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) DEFENSE SEEKS VENUE CHANGE IN CASE AGAINST DRUG AGENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lawyers for a federal drug agent who is facing manslaughter charges
in Brooklyn asked a federal court to take the case away from the New
York courts yesterday in an unusual move that may expose a bitter
division over the case between federal and state law enforcement
officials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Jude Tanella, shot an unarmed drug suspect in the back, killing him, after a wild chase and violent struggle in East Flatbush in May. The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, took the case to a grand jury after as many as a dozen civilian witnesses described the shooting. Mr. Tanella was indicted on manslaughter charges on Oct. 29. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The case has drawn attention because of a series of twists,
including assertions by the family of the victim, Egbert David
Dewgard, that he worked so hard at his Brooklyn print shop that he
would not have had the time to be a high-ranking member of a drug
crew, as has been claimed by drug investigators. Mr. Dewgard was 31
and the father of three. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The filing yesterday relied on a rarely used federal law that allows
federal officers to move state charges against them to federal
court, where the court can review claims that a federal agent is
immune from state charges because he acted in the performance of his
duties. The filing yesterday asserted that Mr. Tanella, 39, acted in
self-defense. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) JUDGE BACKS DRUG USERS IN NEEDLE-EXCHANGE PLANS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Wednesday that the police
department may not arrest drug addicts who are carrying syringes
containing drug residue if the addicts are participating in a needle
exchange program. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit that accused
police of wrongly arresting program participants, while confiscating
and destroying the cards they were carrying to identify them as
members of a needle exchange program. In defending the suit, the
city said that police had legitimate reasons for making the arrests,
and it denied wrongdoing by the officers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Advocates who say the programs have become a crucial means of reducing HIV among addicts hailed the ruling. The city was considering what action it might take in light of the ruling. | ||||||||||||||||||||
New York, like other states, had carved out an exception to its drug
paraphernalia laws to allow addicts registered with the programs to
carry syringes without being arrested. "It would be bizarre,"
District Judge Robert W. Sweet wrote, "to conclude that the
legislative intent was to permit the creation of needle exchange
programs in order to remove dirty needles, while at the same time
frustrating that goal by making the essential steps of participation
criminal." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DEVICE MAY DO X-RAYS ONE BETTER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
EL PASO - A new type of detector that can identify the chemical
composition of loads inside trucks and alert inspectors to
suspicious materials will be in place next summer at a southeast El
Paso international bridge. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It's an exciting concept," said P.T. Wright, operations chief for the U.S. Customs Service in El Paso. "For 5,000 years, customs inspectors had to see it, touch it and feel it, but this enables them to inspect something without ever having to open a container." | ||||||||||||||||||||
El Paso is the only city along the U.S.-Mexico border that will test
the system. After a six-month, $15 million trial is complete, the
system's success will be evaluated and Congress will decide whether
to continue funding the program. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Unlike the existing X-ray systems, which only indicate whether a
container is empty or has a load, the new technology uses gamma
rays, subatomic particles, that can read the chemical composition of
its contents. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) WHY DRUG EDUCATION DOESN'T WORK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Anti-Drug Programs Makes Adults Feel Good, But All They're Doing Is
Digging A Giant Credibility Hole | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marsha Rosenbaum says it was "a nice Jewish girl, just like me" who
showed her what's wrong with trying to scare kids away from illegal
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At the time, 25 years ago, Rosenbaum was interviewing women addicted
to heroin for her doctoral dissertation. She met the nice Jewish
girl in jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"She was just the straightest-looking, middle-class woman," Rosenbaum recalls. "But our lives had taken such different turns." | ||||||||||||||||||||
"What happened?" Rosenbaum asked. "And she said, 'We had these
so-called drug education classes and they said if you smoke
marijuana you'll get addicted to it. And they also said if we used
heroin we'd get addicted to it. Well, most of us tried pot and
nothing happened. So when heroin came along, I figured the whole
message must be b.s. so I went ahead and tried it. And here I am,
strung out and in jail.' " | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Strange things were happening in Clendenin, W.V. last week. The local police chief announced he hired a secret drug agent who he could not identify, and then the agent, who is also a full-time National Guardsman, showed up to a city council meeting with camouflage dress and make-up while carrying an assault rifle. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A police officer who was convicted of selling illegal drugs in North
Carolina has now admitted he also planted drugs on at least one
innocent suspect. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While the week's news has been full of negative stories about police
and the drug war, there was a reminder that police also pay a
terrible price for the drug war. In Baltimore, police officers are
being killed, one allegedly in retaliation for testifying against
powerful drug dealers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, officials in Racine, Wisc., where hundreds of people were
given $1,000 ticket for allegedly attending a rave recently, have
decided to scale back the fines to $100. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) CLENDENIN HIRES 'SECRET' OFFICER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In an effort to combat an increasing drug problem, Clendenin Police
Chief D.A. Crowder has added a military man with counter-drug
experience to his force. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Crowder and Mayor Kenneth Payne hired Sgt. James Wilson, 29, a full-time West Virginia Army National Guardsman with the Guard's Drug Demand Reduction unit. Wilson has been conducting drug reconnaissance and surveillance as a part-time police officer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Crowder said Saturday he could not reveal the man's name because of
his "top secret" clearance status with the military. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Secrecy surrounding Wilson's identity and role caused a stir among
some Clendenin residents when Crowder introduced him at the town
council's Nov. 11 meeting. | ||||||||||||||||||||
When Crowder called out to him, Wilson entered the room wearing full
camouflage military fatigues, camouflage paint on his face and
carrying a scoped assault rifle. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"If there were any kids in there, he would have scared the hell out
of them," said Henry T. Shafer, editor of the Clendenin Herald
newspaper. "I thought I had seen just about everything, but this was
bizarre. He said "I've seen you; have you seen me?'" | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) DRUG WAS PLANTED, FORMER DEPUTY SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Greensboro - More than 30 drug defendants have had charges dismissed
or convictions overturned since the officers investigating their
cases were charged in December with distributing drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But a request by Terrence Maurice Barriet breaks new ground in the case of the former Davidson County narcotics officers. Included with the motion is an affidavit from one of the officers, admitting that the crack cocaine used as evidence against Barriet was planted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) SHOOTINGS PLAGUE POLICE IN BALTIMORE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The execution-style slaying of an off-duty Baltimore police
detective this past weekend rattled a police force that has become
the target for a new breed of violent thugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley said the fatal attack was yet
another blow to the city's embattled police department. "This has
been a really rough stretch for us," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It was the third incident in eight days in which Baltimore police
have been hit by gunfire; five were wounded. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It seems like lately it has been more dangerous for us," said Sgt. Mike Lear of the Baltimore Police Department homicide unit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Years ago, it seemed like there was more respect for policemen. But
it's a different generation now," he said. "They are becoming more
brazen - it's drugs. It's mostly drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) FINES FOR RAVE TO BE REDUCED TO $100 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
RACINE -- People cited for participating in an alleged rave earlier this month will have their $968 tickets cut to $100 if they plead guilty or no contest in municipal court, city officials said Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The adjusted fines were meant as both a deal to the 445 people fined
on Nov. 2 for participating in the dance party, and an admission by
the city that it couldn't prosecute all of the cases, said Racine
City Attorney Daniel Wright. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We simply don't have the capacity to try 445 cases," Wright said. "All in all, we believe this is a reasonable agreement." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lower fines will be given to people who appear in court. Party-goers
who do not attend their hearings, which are scheduled to begin on
Dec. 2, will have their fines reduced to between $250 and $300,
Wright said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In this week's truly international hemp/cannabis section, we begin
with the release of a seven-year Australian study of 1600 teenagers
which links early cannabis use to an increased risk of developing
depression later in life. This may be a serious concern, since our
second story reports a 50% increase in cannabis use by British teens
since 1999. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some better news from the Czech Republic. Last week the city of
Prague was host to the 7th International Congress of Parkinson's and
Movement Disorders, which reported that according to a survey,
nearly one half of Parkinson's Disease patients who tried cannabis
experienced relief of their symptoms. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And from B.C., U.S. Drug Czar John Walters' visit to Vancouver last
week received criticism from the local mayor and the new mayor
elect, both of whom support harm reduction strategies such as safe
injection sites. While Walters attacks on Vancouver's plan to open
safe injection cites were denounced by local officials, it was his
unsupported criticisms regarding medicinal cannabis use and
marijuana addiction that got him in trouble with local activists
(your faithful author was among these) who shouted him down with
cries of "lies!" throughout the luncheon speech organized by the
Vancouver Board of Trade. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally, back to the U.S., where Irvin Rosenfeld has been receiving medical cannabis from the federal government for exactly 20 years last Wednesday. The Florida stockbroker, who smokes 12 joints daily to help him cope with the symptoms of a rare disease which causes tumors to grow on his long bones, appears to contradict everything that the Drug Czar and U.S. government has been saying about cannabis use, medical or otherwise. Let's hope that the next 20 years will see the millions more who could benefit from its therapeutic use do so without fear of criminal sanctions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) AUSTRALIAN STUDY FINDS CANNABIS LINK TO BLUES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
POWERFUL new evidence that regular cannabis smoking by teenagers
causes depression in young adulthood has prompted a call for it to
be taken as seriously as heroin and amphetamines in government
drug-control efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
George Patton, leader of a seven-year Australian study of 1600
teenagers, said doctors already accepted that cannabis use and
depression often went together, but "we haven't known what is the
chicken and what is the egg". | ||||||||||||||||||||
"(Now) we're able to say cannabis use predisposes towards later
depression," said the Professor of Adolescent Health at Melbourne's
Murdoch Children's Research Institute. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) CANNABIS SMOKING BY TEENAGERS SURGES BY 50 PER CENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A growing number of teenagers are using cannabis, a survey showed
yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The proportion of 14- and 15-year-old boys who said they had tried
the drug jumped from 19 per cent in 1999 to 29 per cent in 2001,
according to the Schools Health Education Unit, an independent
research group. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis, which is being downgraded from a Class B to a Class C
drug, was the only illegal drug not considered to be "always unsafe"
by older children, the unit found. Reclassifying the drug will mean
that being caught in possession by police will not automatically
lead to arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nearly half of Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients who have tried
marijuana have experienced therapeutic relief from it, according to
the results of a survey presented this week at the Movement
Disorders Society's Seventh International Congress of Parkinson's
and Movement Disorders in Prague. | ||||||||||||||||||||
According to the study's findings, among those patients using marijuana, 46 percent said pot provided symptomatic relief. Forty five percent said that marijuana relieved symptoms of bradykinesia (slowness of movement), 38 percent said pot relieved muscle rigidity, and 31 percent reported that it relieved their tremors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) U.S. DRUG CHIEF WARNS VANCOUVER AGAINST INJECTION SITES FOR ADDICTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. drug czar John Walters warned yesterday that supervised centres
for addicts to inject heroin may save some lives but also may lead to
more drug users and casualties. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite a private meeting with the U.S. drug czar, outgoing Vancouver
Mayor Philip Owen said he remained convinced that supervised injection
centres should be available in the city. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
His speech was interrupted repeatedly by marijuana activists at the luncheon, who booed and shouted. Speaking over the protesters, he said he did not support legalizing marijuana for medical purposes because scientific research has not shown that the drug is effective. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) FLORIDA STOCKBROKER USING UNCLE SAM'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR 20 YEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A breeze billows the pungent smoke from the marijuana cigarette around
his face, and Irvin Rosenfeld immediately feels better. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A stock broker, Rosenfeld deals with millions of dollars while smoking
up to 12 joints daily - marijuana he gets from the federal government
to treat a rare bone ailment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It has made my life much easier to live and kept my condition in
check," Rosenfeld said Wednesday, 20 years to the day he received his
first marijuana shipment from the government under a program which
today has only six other members. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There are hundreds of thousands of people who want marijuana to
feel better, not to get high," said Rosenfeld. "People who are using
it for medicine are being put in jail." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Colombian Rear Adm. Rodrigo Quinones resigned from the post of military attache to Israel last week after U.S. authorities accused him of trafficking drugs. The U.S. had earlier revoked his visa. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After trying, unsuccessfully, to keep former Cali cartel chief
Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela in jail past his legally mandated jail
term, the Colombian government arrested his son, Fernando Rodriguez
Mondragon. Authorities claimed Mondragon possessed heroin at the
time of his arrest last week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
According to the Chicago Tribune, prohibitionists may give thanks
for at least some small success in the never-ending battle to
prevent Americans from using some drugs. The Tribune reported last
week that drug warriors hell-bent on destroying Colombian
agriculture by aerial spraying, may cheer upon hearing they are
"finally making a dent," by leaving "the once-lush countryside
devastated." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Also in Colombia last week, president Alvaro Uribe suggested that European and U.S. citizens be made to "submit to a drug test." The Colombian president declared that U.S. and European corporate executives, especially, should be tested "to help us conquer drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nineteen British citizens from a single flight were arrested in
Jamaica last week for attempting to sneak back some 1,800 lbs of
cannabis into the UK. Authorities claimed drug dogs found the ganja in
luggage owned by those detained. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, another zero-tolerance tragedy, this time in Canada. While hard-core drug warriors dismiss their casualties as merely collateral damage in their great crusade to scapegoat potheads, a young man in British Columbia (an only child), was mourned by loved ones. After the lad was caught smoking marijuana, school authorities -- no doubt anxious to 'send a message' and wanting to be seen getting 'tough on drugs,' -- threatened to suspend the boy. The result? The kid hung himself. The child will never again take drugs; for this victory zero-tolerance prohibitionists may also be thankful. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(19) COLOMBIAN ADMIRAL RESIGNS AFTER U.S. DRUG ACCUSATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA ( AP )--Colombian Rear Adm. Rodrigo Quinones, who serves as
the country's military attache to Israel, resigned Tuesday after
U.S. officials accused him of drug trafficking, the defense minister
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Quinones is the highest-ranking military official in recent memory
to be implicated in drug trafficking in Colombia, which produces
most of the world's cocaine and most of the heroin used in the
United States. Quinones has also been accused of failing to protect
villagers who were massacred in northern Colombia last year by
right-wing paramilitary gunmen, when Quinones was stationed in the
region. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. State Department last week announced it had revoked
Quinones' U.S. visa because of his alleged involvement in drug
trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||
(20) COLOMBIA ARRESTS EX-DRUG KING'S SON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia - The son of the former head of the Cali drug cartel
was arrested on charges of possession of about 4 1/2 pounds of heroin,
police said Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fernando Rodriguez Mondragon is the son of Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela,
a former leader of the Cali drug cartel. The elder Rodriguez was
released from prison this month after serving half of a drug
trafficking sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fernando Rodriguez was arrested Saturday in an apartment in Bogota,
judicial police Col. Mario Gutierrez said. It was his first drug
trafficking arrest, Gutierrez said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(21) U.S. - `WE CAN SPRAY FASTER THAN THEY CAN PLANT' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAN ANDRES, Colombia -- After years of failure, a controversial
U.S.-funded anti-narcotics program is finally making a dent in
Colombia's coca crop, which accounts for 90 percent of the cocaine
reaching the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nearly four months of intensive aerial spraying has destroyed tens
of thousands of acres of coca in a key growing region and left the
once-lush countryside devastated. Hillsides have been denuded by the
herbicide. Coca farmers have fled, leaving roadsides lined with
abandoned houses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. government is continuing some development projects but is
concentrating its efforts on fumigation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(22) COLOMBIAN PRES URGES DRUG TESTING OF US, EUROPEAN EXECS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA ( AP )--Colombian president Alvaro Uribe urged the people of
the U.S. and Europe to submit to drug testing in an effort to reduce
the use of the illegal drugs which fund insurgents waging a
decades-old civil war here. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We need more serious promises from the consumer countries," Uribe
told reporters at a conference of Spanish and Latin American
attorneys general Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He said that he wanted "the people in the United States and Europe
to submit to a drug test to help us conquer drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Uribe singled out U.S. and European executives for his proposed drug
testing, reviving the traditional conflict between drug producing
countries and drug consuming countries. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Even though consumption is legal in Colombia, the levels of drug use
are low compared to the U.S. and Europe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(23) 19 BRITONS HELD AFTER DRUGS FIND IN JAMAICA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nineteen Britons have been arrested at an airport in Jamaica
allegedly trying to smuggle nearly 800kg ( 1,800lbs ) of marijuana
back to the UK on a charter flight. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The group, including eight women, were stopped as they tried to board an Air 2000 flight to Gatwick and Manchester at Montego Bay. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug dogs found the marijuana in 37 suitcases which are alleged to
have been checked in by the group. If convicted, the Britons face
several years in jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(24) MINOR HOCKEY MOURNS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
After the exhibition game Saturday, two Kelowna players were caught
smoking marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The teens were sent back to their hotel room and threatened with
suspension. Around midnight, one of the boys went into the hotel
room washroom. When he didn't come out his teammate grew worried and
went to get the coach. | ||||||||||||||||||||
When the coach broke down the bathroom door, he discovered that the
teen had hanged himself. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The boys were to face a disciplinary meeting with their coach, the
league and their parents this week. That meeting has since been
cancelled. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The player involved was said to be an only child. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BRITISH LUNG FOUNDATION CONS MEDIA | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Richard Cowan, published at MarijuanaNews.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FROM GRIEF TO ACTION | ||||||||||||||||||||
FGTA is a non-profit advocacy society based in Vancouver, B.C. working
to improve the lives of drug users, their families and friends, since
1999. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Their site provides links to resources on the World Wide Web along
with FGTA information to provide support for families and friends
of drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Excerpts from a documentary on the formation and activities
of FTGA. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HARM REDUCTION COALITION'S 4TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE | ||||||||||||||||||||
TAKING DRUG USERS SERIOUSLY | ||||||||||||||||||||
DATE, TIME AND PLACE: | ||||||||||||||||||||
December 1—4, 2002 (Pre-Conference Institute, November 30)
Sheraton Seattle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS FOR DRUG POLICY REFORM (UUDPR) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2001-2002 Annual Report | ||||||||||||||||||||
Download the Annual Report in Portable Document Format. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW HOSTS NORA CALLAHAN | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nora Callahan, Director of November Coalition; publisher "Razorwire";
leader of ongoing "Journey For Justice" that seeks the end of the drug
war and the freeing of thousands of prisoners sentenced to mandatory
minimums. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
RETIRED COP HOWARD WOODRIDGE RIDES FOR CANNABIS LEGALIZATION | ||||||||||||||||||||
WSMV News, Nashville, Tenn - Nov 21/02/li | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some Possible Effects Of Hempfield Testing Plan | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Robert E. Field | ||||||||||||||||||||
To The Editor: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Concerning "Hempfield to explore student drug screening", when the
school board studies whether it should implement a random-drug
testing policy for students involved in extracurricular activities,
it should consider the following questions and facts: | ||||||||||||||||||||
1) Since marijuana remains detectable for as long as a month (while alcohol, heroin and cocaine are detectable for only a day or two), testing will encourage students to switch to more dangerous drugs, both legal and illegal. Can there be a more disastrous outcome? | ||||||||||||||||||||
2) Studies show the most effective method of preventing adolescent
drug use is keeping kids active and learning after school when many
parents are working and youngsters are not supervised. What sense
does it make to put up barriers to kids participating in
after-school activities? | ||||||||||||||||||||
3) The most effective schools put in place a student assistance
program that allows youngsters to anonymously seek or be referred to
counseling if they show signs of problems. Shouldn't student
perceive school administrators as their mentors rather than an
extension of the police? | ||||||||||||||||||||
4) Based on the 9% of schools that have some form of drug testing,
the National Research Council reports: "There is no scientific
evidence regarding the effects of these programs, either on drug use
or on the learning environment." | ||||||||||||||||||||
5) One school system rejected testing when it found it would cost
$106 per student tested. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Let's keep our kids constructively busy, monitor their performances
and, above all else, communicate with them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Robert E. Field, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SO WHERE'S THE BENEFIT? | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Audrey Goodson | ||||||||||||||||||||
Every day, thousands of teen-agers pack up their books and walk
through the doors of their high school, completely unaware that they
were just forced to choose between getting an education or defending
their Fourth Amendment rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The War on Drugs in our schools seems to have assumed a dangerous precedent: It's OK to ignore the Constitution when safety is concerned. In fact, this seems to be standard as more and more cases infringe on the rights of students for their "protection." Certainly, this isn't a message to teach to future citizens. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the most recent example of disregard for students' rights , the
Supreme Court voted that required drug testing for students involved
in extra-curricular activities is not a violation of their Fourth
Amendment rights because students "volunteer" to give up these
rights upon signing up. Unfortunately, these and other strong-arm
tactics are forcing students to submit to 4th Amendment violations
or sacrifice a better education. Not quite what they're teaching us
in civics, huh? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Many school administrators and drug prevention agencies see these
violations as a "necessary evil" for stopping drug use. In fact, the
Supreme Court used this justification to help determine their
ruling. When it comes to students, apparently it's acceptable to
interpret the greater good instead of the Constitution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But not only do these new requirements infringe on our rights, here's the kicker: They are also counterproductive and ineffective. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and Students For Sensible
Drug Policy are against drug testing since it "can't reduce the
harms caused by drug and alcohol use." Not to mention the fact that
"after-school programs are the best way to keep kids off drugs and
off the street" says the National Director of Students for Sensible
Drug Policy. In fact, federal guidelines for the "Safe and Drug Free
Schools" program encourages administrators to emphasize | ||||||||||||||||||||
Unfortunately, with the implementation of school drug testing, high-risk students will now be discouraged away from positive activities. In effect, drug testing will alienate those students who need extra-curricular activities the most, and will test the students who aren't doing drugs. So where's the benefit? | ||||||||||||||||||||
There doesn't seem to be one. Drug testing is expensive (about $15
per student) and gives false positives quite often. Even worse,
traces of marijuana can be detected longer than other, harder drugs,
giving students an incentive to switch to cocaine, speed, or heroin.
Administrators who support the ruling say it will keep drug users
away from the school. But shouldn't administrators be focused on
keeping drug users away from drugs? Not in this era of style over
substance where cutting down on drug use seems to have taken a
backseat to "looking tough on drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sadly, this isn't the only case in which the rights of students have
been overlooked. Keeping up with the "war" mentality, schools are
searching lockers, scavenging belongings and calling in the dogs.
Once again, the courts have ruled out the Fourth Amendment,
requiring that administrators need only "reasonable cause" to search
all students on campus. I guess I missed that clause in the
Constitution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the simple fact is that adults, from parents to politicians, are
more concerned with appearances than results. Training for a drug
dog in Augusta, Ga., costs taxpayers $10,000 and another $20,900 for
the Ford Explorer outfitted for carrying him. Yet, no drugs turned
up in the first 29 times the dog searched the schools, according to
an article in the Augusta Chronicle. In fact, a member of that very
same police force quoted statistics that cite drug dogs finding
drugs once every 400 searches. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most experts would agree that students who do bring drugs to school
carry it on their person, in their underclothes or the soles of
their shoes. Fortunately, the court has upheld that it is definitely
unconstitutional to search a student's person. I'm glad we can
expect privacy in our underwear, at least. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But it's looking like more rights to privacy might be slipping away
for students. After the high court ruling, some said that the
justices seemed amenable to drug testing for entire student bodies.
Even more foreboding is the fact that the Bush Justice Department
declared that drug testing all students - regardless of their
extracurricular duties - would be constitutional. In fact, the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy has begun distributing
a guide supporting drug testing in schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Apparently, students give up Fourth Amendment rights by walking into
the very place where we are taught about the Constitution and the
Revolutionary War - the war in which many teen-agers fought for the
very rights we're being manipulated into giving up. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Audrey Goodson is a senior at Baldwin High School and editor of the
school newspaper, Smoke Signals. Published Nov. 19, 2002 in the
Macon Telegraph (GA). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I want the whole city locked down like this." | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Sylvester Johnson, Police Chief of Philadelphia, on the "Safe Streets" program, which provides police officers at notorious drug corners 24 hours a day. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n2159/a07.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
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