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DrugSense Weekly
Aug. 1, 2003 #311


Table of Contents

* Breaking News (03/28/24)


* This Just In


(1) High Times In Rome
(2) Friend-of-court Brief Filed In Stillbirth Case
(3) Swisher Commission Turns Down McEachern Request
(4) Mississippi Sheriff Accused Of Extortion

* Weekly News in Review


Drug Policy-

COMMENT: (5-9)
(5) Court Throws Out Law Used To Ban Weedstock
(6) Gardner Commission Weighs Televising Marijuana Programs
(7) As Anti-Drug Tax Vote Nears, Officials Debate Effectiveness
(8) Boston Health Agency Says Drug Deaths Rise 76 Percent
(9) Needle Purchases Legal In Illinois Without Prescription

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

COMMENT: (10-14)
(10) Study Finds 2.6% Increase in U.S. Prison Population
(11) Colo. Prison Population Among Fastest-Growing
(12) Oklahoma County Jail Rates Highest For Drugs
(13) Agents Warn Of Pot Sprayed With Weed Killer
(14) Dallas Cops Killed A Drug Suspect At His Clothing Store

Cannabis & Hemp-

COMMENT: (15-19)
(15) Canadian Pot Laws May Go Up In Smoke
(16) Medicinal Cannabis A Step Closer In New Zealand
(17) Insurance Covers Pot Theft In Hawaii
(18) UK Head Injury Trial For Cannabis-Type Drug
(19) Marc Emery Busted Again

International News-

COMMENT: (20-23)
(20) Colombia Paramilitary Chief Admits Crimes
(21) Needle Use Down; Methadone Clinic Praised
(22) Pusher Street Dealers Face Up To The Shove
(23) Chemists Urge Cannabis Trial

* Hot Off The 'Net


     Educate USA Today About Meth Epidemic
     Mitch Earleywine Survey
     Cultural Baggage Radio Show
     MAP Drugnews Archive Enhancements
     Chat With Dr. Ethan Russo

* Letter Of The Week


     I'm The Proof / By Alison Myrden

* Feature Article


     A New Way to Help Promote Sensible Drug Policies
     / By DrugSense and MAP

* Quote of the Week


     Bertrand Russell


THIS JUST IN    (Top)

(1) HIGH TIMES IN ROME    (Top)

Pop into the Italian capital's first "smart shop" to get your 100% natural - and totally legal - buzz

Are you experienced?" guitar legend Jimi Hendrix's loaded question helped define the mind-altering LSD culture of the late-1960s youth scene.  In early 21st century Italy, there's a different query on the lips of young people: "Have you gotten smart?" No, they're not talking about university courses.  And they're not talking about drugs, either. Well, not exactly.

The D word is carefully avoided by the nine friends who recently opened the PuraVida Shop in downtown Rome, even though most customers refer to their merchandise as "smart drugs." The store, along with similar "smart shops" recently opened in Milan and Bologna, gives Italy its first sniff of a quietly burgeoning Europe-wide market for all-natural, mostly herb-based substances that advertise an out-of-the-ordinary physical sensation without the ugly side effects of synthetic drugs.  Both scientists and customers say it is a much softer experience than Jimi's acid trips.  But what really makes it smart is the fact that it's 100% legal: none of the psychoactive ingredients show up on the Interior Ministry's list of banned ingestible substances.

[snip]

Source:   Time Magazine (Europe)
Pubdate:   Thu, 04 Aug 2003
Issue:   Vol.  162, No. 5
Author:   Jeff Israely
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n000/a236.html


(2) FRIEND-OF-COURT BRIEF FILED IN STILLBIRTH CASE    (Top)

Group:   Addicts need help, not jail

COLUMBIA - A group that supports alternatives to prison for drug offenders has filed a brief with the U.S.  Supreme Court on behalf on a Conway woman convicted of homicide by child abuse after her stillborn child tested positive for cocaine.

The Drug Policy Alliance filed the friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 26 public health, medical and social organizations Tuesday.

Regina McKnight was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2001.  Her conviction was upheld by the state Supreme Court in January, sending her lawyers appealing to the U.S.  high court.

Prosecutors have said McKnight is responsible for her daughter's death because she took crack cocaine even though she knew it could kill her fetus.

[snip]

In their brief, the Drug Policy Alliance says the state Supreme Court took "a dangerous and unprecedented departure from law, science and established medical practice" with its ruling.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 30 Jul 2003
Source:   Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Copyright:   2003 Sun Publishing Co.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/987
Author:   Associated Press
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1151.a09.html


(3) SWISHER COMMISSION TURNS DOWN MCEACHERN REQUEST    (Top)

TULIA - Embattled district attorney Terry McEachern asked the Swisher County commission for help fighting a State Bar of Texas grievance Thursday, but county officials said they had to turn him down.

Swisher County Judge Harold Keeter said McEachern requested a special session Thursday to ask the commission to help pay for the legal cost of fighting a grievance based on McEachern's role in the controversial 1999 Tulia drug sting.  The board voted unanimously to deny the request.

[snip]

McEachern was the prosecutor on all of the cases filed against 46 people, 39 of them black, who were arrested in 1999 after an 18-month investigation conducted by undercover agent Tom Coleman.

[snip]

The findings of fact allege McEachern committed the following questionable acts:

* The state knew or should have known at the time of the trials Coleman "had a reputation for dishonesty, for disobeying the law, and for abdicating his duties and responsibilities as a peace officer in multiple communities."

* The state "did not disclose to defense counsel that Coleman committed crimes of dishonesty in Cochran County, namely theft and abuse of official capacity."

* McEachern in several trials made statements about Coleman's record to the jury that would tend to bolster the agent's credibility when McEachern knew Coleman had been indicted on charges from Cochran County.

* At the trial of William Cash Love, McEachern said he was willing to sign an affidavit that he did not know about Coleman's charges prior to that trial.  McEachern then said in an affidavit preceding the findings of fact he knew about Coleman's arrest before any of the arrests happened in 1999.

Pubdate:   Fri, 1 Aug 2003
Source:   Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
Copyright:   2003 Amarillo Globe-News
Website:   http://amarillonet.com/
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/13
Author:   Greg Cunningham
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/tulia.htm (Tulia, Texas)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1158.a09.html


(4) MISSISSIPPI SHERIFF ACCUSED OF EXTORTION    (Top)

JACKSON, Miss.  - A northern Mississippi sheriff was arrested Wednesday on federal charges of using his office to secure kickbacks from stolen drug money and from a bail bond business wanting to operate in his county.

Tunica County Sheriff Jerry Ellington was taken into custody by federal agents on extortion and bribery charges, said U.S.  Attorney Jim Greenlee and FBI Special Agent in Charge Edwin Worthington.

A four-count indictment was returned Monday.

"We have been investigating this for a long time," Greenlee said.

According to the indictment, from June 2002 to January Ellington took kickbacks of more than $5,000 after promoting a Tunica County deputy to a narcotics position, where the deputy could steal money from drug dealers and split it with Ellington.

Ellington, 45, also allegedly took payoffs of more than $5,000 from a bail bondsman from May to July.  Ellington would take cash payments plus 30 percent of the premium on every bond written in exchange for allowing the bondsman to operate in the county, the indictment charges.  Ellington would also allegedly refer people arrested by the sheriff's office to the bondsman.

[snip]

Ellington, who is in his first term, took office after his elected predecessor in the largely rural county pleaded guilty to extortion. He faces four opponents in the Aug.  5 Democratic Party primary.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 30 Jul 2003
Source:   Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Copyright:   2003 Sun Publishing Co.
Website:   http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/987
Note:   apparent 150 word limit on LTEs
Author:   Associated Press
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1155.a08.html


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW    (Top)


Domestic News- Policy


COMMENT: (5-9)    (Top)

The First Amendment of the U.S.  Constitution applies to Weedstock, according to an appeals court in Wisconsin.  The ruling means local officials were wrong to craft an ordinance that essentially criminalized activist Ben Masel's gathering, and that Masel should be able to avoid criminal charges and forfeiture proceedings that had been started against him.

The First Amendment may also apply to a video about marijuana that activists would like to broadcast on a local Massachusetts cable access channel.  The issue is still being debated by officials in the town of Gardner.

Will residents of Jackson County, Missouri vote to extend a special tax used to support the county's drug war? The answer will come next week, but while there's been little debate, the tax has both supporters and critics.  Critics say the tax supports a lot more law enforcement than treatment.  In Boston, as drug treatment budgets are cut deeper, the number of drug-related deaths seems to be rising.

And the State of Illinois makes a move to stop the spread of disease by drug injection by allowing the over the counter sale of syringes.


(5) COURT THROWS OUT LAW USED TO BAN WEEDSTOCK    (Top)

4th District Court Of Appeals Decides Sauk County's Open Air Assembly Law Violates The First Amendment.

A state appeals court Thursday struck down Sauk County's open air assembly ordinance because it violates free speech by allowing the county an unreasonably long time to process permit applications.

The decision by the 4th District Court of Appeals found the ordinance violated the First Amendment rights of the organizers of Weedstock, a pro-marijuana festival that was held in Sauk County in 1995, 1998 and 1999.  In 2000, the event was broken up by police after its organizer, Ben Masel of Madison, failed to get a permit for Weedstock under the ordinance.

The ordinance was adapted in 1999 from an existing county ordinance in response to local concerns about Weedstock.  In 2000, after learning Masel would hold Weedstock without a permit, Sauk County obtained a court order blocking Weedstock, and Masel filed a counterclaim alleging that the ordinance was unconstitutional.

Under the ruling, said Masel's attorney, Jeff Scott Olson, Masel is entitled to damages and attorney fees from Sauk County.  It also frees him from forfeitures being sought by the county and could end criminal charges against Masel that resulted from the 2000 Weedstock.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 Jul 2003
Source:   Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
Copyright:   2003 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/506
Author:   Ed Treleven
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1132/a10.html


(6) GARDNER COMMISSION WEIGHS TELEVISING MARIJUANA PROGRAMS    (Top)

GARDNER- A representative from the American Civil Liberties Union, a photographer from the Boston Phoenix newspaper, a local
pro-marijuana activist and a Framingham man who makes a
cable-television show turned out yesterday for a meeting of the city's Cable Commission.

Marijuana brought them all together in the mayor's office.

A controversy is brewing at the Cable Commission over whether to televise four tapes, part of a series of shows by Jim Pillsbury of Framingham.

The tapes concern state budget savings from decriminalizing marijuana, medicinal marijuana, the first live hemp-clothing pageant ever on television, and the politics of pot, according to a flier.

Steve Drury, an activist from Templeton, asked the city a couple of months ago to televise the tapes, sparking an ongoing discussion. The ACLU has joined supporters of the tapes to pressure the commission into agreeing to let them be televised.

City Solicitor Scott Graves has written that the commission cannot deny access to this producer and program unless a court determines the program is obscene or defamatory or violates a law, such as copyright infringement or hate crime laws.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 24 Jul 2003
Source:   Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright:   2003 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/509
Note:   only publishes letters from state residents.
Author:   Mary Jo Hill
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1118/a06.html


(7) AS ANTI-DRUG TAX VOTE NEARS, OFFICIALS DEBATE EFFECTIVENESS,    (Top)SPENDING

The debate over renewing Jackson County's anti-drug tax has focused on whether the effort has gotten drugs off the streets and how the tax money is spent.

Voters will decide Aug.  5 whether to renew the quarter-cent sales tax for seven more years.  The Community-Backed Anti-Drug Tax, first approved in 1989, expires in March 2004.

The tax is expected to generate about $19.8 million this year for law enforcement, drug prevention and drug treatment agencies.

Supporters credit COMBAT with closing drug houses, reforming drug addicts and reducing teen narcotics use.

But critics say the continuing prevalence of drugs demonstrates the program's failure.  They also question the allocation of money, saying COMBAT spends too much on law enforcement and too little on treatment and prevention.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 27 Jul 2003
Source:   Kansas City Star (MO)
Copyright:   2003 The Kansas City Star
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/221
Author:   Benita Y.  Williams, The Kansas City Star
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1145/a09.html


(8) BOSTON HEALTH AGENCY SAYS DRUG DEATHS RISE 76 PERCENT    (Top)

Deaths from heroin and other narcotics in Boston rose by 76 percent from 1998 to 2001 because of an influx of cheaper and deadlier heroin, according to the city's annual health report, which is being released today.

Public health officials say the disturbing trend is continuing, as budget cuts eliminate substance-abuse treatment options.

''We fear but expect that drug-related deaths will dramatically increase in 2003, and we're already seeing some indication of that,'' said John M.  Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

The commission reported that 88 people, a large majority of them white men, died from drug overdoses or drug-related suicides in 2001, compared to 50 in 1998.  Also, more women died in 2001, with 21 deaths that year, compared to 15 in 1998.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 Jul 2003
Source:   Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright:   2003 Globe Newspaper Company
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author:   Katherine Lutz
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1124/a11.html


(9) NEEDLE PURCHASES LEGAL IN ILLINOIS WITHOUT PRESCRIPTION    (Top)

Springfield -- Illinois addicts needing clean needles need go no farther than their corner pharmacy, thanks to a bill signed Friday by Gov.  Rod Blagojevich.

Patients previously needed a prescription from a doctor to buy a hypodermic needle.  Now pharmacists can sell needles to anyone older than 18 who wants them.

Opponents fear the new law will increase the numbers of improperly discarded needles on the street.

Supporters contend that it will make needle sharing less likely. Needle sharing contributes to the spread of AIDS and other blood-borne diseases.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 29 Jul 2003
Source:   The Rock Island Argus (IL)
Copyright:   2003 Moline Dispatch Publishing Company, L.L.C
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/1392
Author:   Scott Reeder, Dispatch/Argus Springfield Bureau
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1149/a04.html


Law Enforcement & Prisons


COMMENT: (10-14)    (Top)

Despite projections to the contrary, the U.S.  Prison population continues to rise.  The increase in federal inmates can be directly attributed to drug cases, but local increases have more to do with violence.  However, the report does not indicate how many violent episodes are related to drug prohibition.

The report explaining the increase in the prison population offers insights about state and local prison populations.  The numbers are increasing significantly in Colorado, where the portion of the state budget related to prison has risen from 2.5 percent in the early 80s to nearly nine percent today.  The report also indicates one Oklahoma County has a very high number new inmates testing for marijuana. That's strange, since the state is also aggressively spraying the state for marijuana plants.  Well, it's actually not that strange, since most of the sprayed plants are really wild hemp that won't get anyone high anyway.  The herbicide contains poison that could sicken users who try to smoke the weeds.

And in Texas, another deadly police shooting of a drug suspect. Police say the suspect carried a gun; witnesses report otherwise.


(10) STUDY FINDS 2.6% INCREASE IN U.S. PRISON POPULATION    (Top)

The nation's prison population grew 2.6 percent last year, the largest increase since 1999, according to a study by the Justice Department.

The jump came despite a small decline in serious crime in 2002.  It also came when a growing number of states facing large budget deficits have begun trying to reduce prison costs by easing tough sentencing laws passed in the 1990's, thereby decreasing the number of inmates.

"The key finding in the report is this growth, which is somewhat surprising in its size after several years of relative stability in the prison population," said Allen J.  Beck, an author of the report. Mr.  Beck is the chief prison demographer for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the statistical arm of the Justice Department, which releases an annual study of the number of people incarcerated in the United States.

[snip]

Although many advocates of prison change have blamed drug arrests for the significant growth in the prison population, the report found violent crimes responsible for 64 percent of the increase in the number of men in state prisons from 1995 to 2001.  Violent crimes also accounted for 49 percent of the increase in the number of women in state prisons in those years.  Professor Blumstein said that figure was unusual because women have generally been convicted of drug and property crimes.

In total, 49 percent of inmates in state prisons last year were serving time for violent crimes, the report said.  Twenty percent were serving time for drug offenses, 19 percent for property crimes, and 11 percent for public-order offenses, like drunken driving, parole violations and contempt of court.

But in the federal prison system, which with 163,528 inmates is now larger than any state system, 48 percent of the growth in the number of prisoners from 1995 to 2001 was accounted for by drug crimes and only 9 percent by violent crimes.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 27 Jul 2003
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   2003 The New York Times Company
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author:   Fox Butterfield
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1138/a07.html


(11) COLO. PRISON POPULATION AMONG FASTEST-GROWING    (Top)

Colorado's prison population is one of the fastest-growing in the United States at a time when critics say the state cannot afford the expansion.

A report due today from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that Colorado ranks behind only Maine and Rhode Island and is tied with Connecticut and Minnesota for rate of incarceration growth, said Stephen Raher, co-director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

Maine's prison population grew at 11.5 percent in 2002 while Rhode Island's grew at 8.6 percent.  Prison populations in Colorado, Connecticut and Minnesota expanded at a rate of 7.9 percent, Raher said.

[snip]

Democratic state Sen.  Ken Gordon, who has fought for sentencing reforms to slow the rate of prison growth, said he was dismayed, but not surprised, by the numbers.

"Everyone agrees that violent criminals need to be locked up," said Gordon of Denver.  "The hard question is, 'Are you helping the state if you use education dollars to lock up thieves and people who possess small amounts of drugs?"'

Gordon said spending on prisons was 2.5 percent of the total budget in the early 1980s.  Today, it is close to 9 percent.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 27 Jul 2003
Source:   Denver Post (CO)
Copyright:   2003 The Denver Post Corp
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author:   Julia C.  Martinez, Denver Post Capitol Bureau
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1135/a01.html


(12) OKLAHOMA COUNTY JAIL RATES HIGHEST FOR DRUGS    (Top)

A U.S.  Justice Department study shows the Oklahoma County jail has the nation's highest percentage of new inmates testing positive for marijuana.  High rankings also were noted in positive tests of methamphetamine and phencyclidine, or PCP, according to the study.

The Justice Department-funded study shows about 60 percent of male inmates and 53 percent of female inmates who are tested during the booking process for this year's first quarter show marijuana in their system, while the national average is less than 43 percent.

In 2000, the most recent period nationwide numbers are available, the jail ranked No.  1 with 57 percent of inmates testing positive for marijuana.

Oklahoma and Tulsa county inmates also ranked higher than the national average for testing positive for at least one drug.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat, 26 Jul 2003
Source:   Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright:   2003 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author:   Chad Previch
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1133/a04.html


(13) AGENTS WARN OF POT SPRAYED WITH WEED KILLER    (Top)

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma narcotics agents are spreading the word: Don't smoke red dope.

Since the end of June, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control agents have been spraying fields of wild-growing marijuana with weed killer laced with red dye.

Spraying is a much faster technique to permanently kill the marijuana.  The red dye is to warn the public the plants have been sprayed with weed killer, said Mark Woodward, OBN spokesman.

The northwest part of the state has an abundance of wild-growing marijuana because farmers in the area used to grow marijuana for the production of hemp.

''Because the plant reproduces itself, there are fields and fields of the stuff and it's just a nuisance,'' Woodward said.

During two weeks in June, an estimated 9.5 million plants were destroyed in Blaine, Custer, Ellis, Grant and Woodward counties.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 24 Jul 2003
Source:   Daily Ardmoreite, The (OK)
Copyright:   2003 Daily Ardmoreite
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/1574
Author:   Judi Boland
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1119/a02.html


(14) DALLAS COPS KILLED A DRUG SUSPECT AT HIS CLOTHING STORE    (Top)

Witnesses Say Tony Vernon Had No Gun.  The Cops Say He Had A Gun.

Dallas officers working an undercover narcotics case fatally shot a clothing store owner, although it's unclear whether the man fired first at officers before he was killed Thursday afternoon in southeast Dallas.  Tony Vernon, 38, of Rowlett died at 12:28 p.m. at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.  He was shot in the parking lot of his business, Designer's Hip Hop Clothing, 7728 S. Loop 12.

Police said the shooting occurred after officers in two undercover cars drove in behind Mr.  Vernon's pickup, intending to arrest him as part of a narcotics investigation.  But when Mr. Vernon got out of his truck, police officials said he began shooting at the plainclothes police officers.

"They returned fire, fearing for their lives," said Sgt.  Hollis Edwards, police spokesman.

John Perkins, who was at a gas station next door, said that Mr. Vernon displayed no gun.

"When he got out of his truck, officers shot him," said Mr.  Perkins, who added that he heard about 20 shots.  "He was gunned down for no apparent reason."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 Jul 2003
Source:   Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright:   2003 The Dallas Morning News
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author:   Jason Trahan
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1132/a02.html


Cannabis & Hemp-


COMMENT: (15-19)    (Top)

Still far from becoming Amsterdam North, Canada is currently trying to find its way through the legal smoke and mirrors of the federal government's confusing cannabis prohibition policy.  This week Ontario courts will hear federal appeals of the Rogin and Hitzig decisions; both of which found the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations unconstitutional and therefore illegal.  Our first story looks at these ground-breaking cases and their possible impact on the future of recreational and therapeutic cannabis prohibition in Canada.  Next we go to New Zealand, where a Parliamentary Health Committee that has been examining cannabis policy is expected to follow Holland and Canada in recommending the legalization of cannabis for therapeutic use.

Our third story takes us to Hawaii, where a 57 year-old glaucoma patient and state registered medicinal cannabis user named Tammy VanBuskirk has just received a $2000 payment from her insurance company for the loss of marijuana plants which were stolen from her backyard.  Our fourth story takes us to the U.K., where the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh has just started a clinical trial for a cannabis-derivative drug called Dexanabinol in the treatment of severe head injury.

And lastly, back to Canada where we catch up with uber-activist Marc Emery in St.  John's, Newfoundland, where he has just been arrested for the fourth time of his Summer Legalization Tour.  Marc has been bravely challenging the current status of cannabis prohibition in light of the recent Rogin decision by smoking up in front of police stations in major Metropolitan areas.  So far he has been arrested in Moncton, Winnipeg, and Regina as well.


(15) CANADIAN POT LAWS MAY GO UP IN SMOKE    (Top)

Pot smokers are in legal limbo and for the moment it doesn't matter if the joint they're lighting up is for medical or purely recreational purposes.

Two cases before the Ontario Court of Appeal and a trio of challenges in the Supreme Court of Canada, however, could clear up confusion about whether it's illegal to possess a little marijuana.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 28 Jul 2003
Source:   Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Copyright:   The Hamilton Spectator 2003
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author:   Barbara Brown
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1139.a07.html


(16) MEDICINAL CANNABIS A STEP CLOSER IN NEW ZEALAND    (Top)

Parliament's health committee is expected to recommend the medicinal use of cannabis.

However, the select committee is expected to dodge the question of whether cannabis should be decriminalised but to keep the issue alive by recommending that another committee inquire into that issue.

It appears likely the health committee will note that the evidence presented to it suggests moderate use of cannabis is not particularly dangerous to people's health and to recommend medicinal use of the drug be legal, if it is prescribed.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 Jul 2003
Source:   New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
Copyright:   2003 New Zealand Herald
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/300
Author:   Ruth Berry, and Rebecca Walsh
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1120.a06.html


(17) INSURANCE COVERS POT THEFT IN HAWAII    (Top)

A medical marijuana cardholder received a $2,000 check from her insurance company this month, after making a claim for her stolen marijuana plants.

Tammy VanBuskirk, 57, holds a state Department of Public Safety - issued card to grow up to seven marijuana plants and possess three ounces of dried marijuana buds to treat her glaucoma.

On two occasions in May, VanBuskirk's "queen" strain plants were stolen from the backyard of her Hilo home, which is in the same subdivision as the mayor's home.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 25 Jul 2003
Source:   West Hawaii Today (HI)
Copyright:   2003 West Hawaii Today
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/644
Author:   Tiffany Edwards, West Hawaii Today
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1124.a03.html


(18) UK HEAD INJURY TRIAL FOR CANNABIS-TYPE DRUG    (Top)

PATIENTS with major head injuries are being given a cannabis-type drug to discover if it can limit brain damage.

Doctors at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh are taking part in international tests of new drug dexanabinol.

Based on chemicals found in cannabis, it is hoped it can improve the outcome for victims of road accidents and assaults.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 28 Jul 2003
Source:   Daily Record (UK)
Copyright:   2003 Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/111
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1143.a03.html


(19) MARC EMERY BUSTED AGAIN    (Top)

Marc Emery added another arrest for smoking marijuana to his growing list when he lit up outside a police headquarters in Newfoundland on Saturday.

The pot activist was read his rights just seconds after he sparked up a large water pipe.

The stop in St.  John's was the latest for Emery, a Vancouver resident, on his cross-country tour to protest Canada's pot laws.

He has also been arrested in Moncton, Winnipeg and Regina.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 28 Jul 2003
Source:   Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright:   2003, Canoe Limited Partnership
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author:   Canadian Press
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1138.a10.html


International News


COMMENT: (20-23)    (Top)

The leader of a Colombia right-wing paramilitary army last week admitted that his group committed (among other crimes) "massacres" as well as "resorted to the finances of drug trafficking." US-backed Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, elected in 2002, rode into office on a wave of support from Colombia's right-wing paramilitary groups.

A Canadian methadone clinic was lauded for slowing needle use in central Alberta.  Before the Central Alberta Methadone Program started operations, some 8,000 needles were distributed monthly on average.  After the methadone clinic was opened, only some 5,000 needles were handed out monthly, according to Phil Rauch, executive director of the Central Alberta AIDS Network.  While such numbers appear encouraging, experts see a substitution effect: "both the methadone clinic and ADDAC officials say more people are turning to them for help for cocaine addiction," reported an Alberta paper.

The "center-right" government of Denmark has decided that tossing Christiania on the bonfire would make a splendid show of righteous resolve.  Christiania, a Copenhagen suburb and an enclave of freedom from cannabis laws in Denmark, is about to be invaded by military-style "police" at the behest of a government bent on grabbing attention by sacrificing the hated hash-smoking Christiania hippies.  "Christiania's days as a hotbed for hashish are numbered," boasted party "law and order" mouthpiece Helge Adam Moeller.

An Australian pharmacists' association last week proposed patients get cannabis medications on prescription.  The Pharmacy Guild of Australia told Federal Health Minister Kay Patterson the guild was interested to determine "if cannabis treated effectively symptoms of MS, cancer, AIDS, pain and chemotherapy side-effects," the West Australian reported last week.  The announcement follows the Australian state of New South Wales' consideration of a proposal to move forward with limited trials of medical cannabis.


(20) COLOMBIA PARAMILITARY CHIEF ADMITS CRIMES    (Top)

Says Group Killed Civilians, Dealt Drugs

BOGOTA, Colombia -(AP)- Carlos Castano, chief of the paramilitaries that battled Colombia's rebel armies, has acknowledged his forces massacred civilians, extorted money and dealt drugs, but he claimed those acts were "inevitable excesses" in a war to save the nation.

[snip]

Castano said that during the AUC's campaign, "massacres were committed, we resorted to the finances of drug trafficking, we resorted to extortion, we practiced some acts of pillage and corruption."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 29 Jul 2003
Source:   Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright:   2003 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
Division, Hearst
Newspaper
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Author:   Associated Press
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/colombia.htm
Continues:  
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1146.a04.html


(21) NEEDLE USE DOWN; METHADONE CLINIC PRAISED    (Top)

Demand for needle exchange has been cut in half.

The local program director attributes the change in drug habits to the opening of a methadone clinic in Red Deer.

Phil Rauch, executive director of the Central Alberta AIDS Network, said the number of free needles distributed to drug users to reduce the spread of diseases reached a peak of 10,000 a month last year and averaged 8,000 a month.

But in November when Central Alberta Methadone Program opened its doors, the number of needles handed out dropped to 5,000 a month.

In the last three months, it has averaged 4,000 a
month.

"I didn't expect quite the results we got," Rauch said.  "It's been an upward curve for over three years." Rauch said the only possible explanation is a reduction in morphine use, which has been the drug of choice on Red Deer streets.

[snip]

Craig Staniforth, area supervisor at the Red Deer
office of the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Commission, said Red Deer's methadone clinic has had a
positive affect on the community.

"The methadone clinic has had a significant impact on opiate addiction in Red Deer.  We're very encouraged," Staniforth said.

[snip]

Some morphine users may not be ready for treatment or life without a drug high and could be turning to non-injection drugs like crack cocaine or crystal meth, Rauch said.

Unfortunately both the methadone clinic and ADDAC officials say more people are turning to them for help for cocaine addiction.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 29 Jul 2003
Source:   Red Deer Advocate (CN AB)
Copyright:   2003 Red Deer Advocate
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/2492
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
Continues:  
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1147.a02.html


(22) PUSHER STREET DEALERS FACE UP TO THE SHOVE    (Top)

Denmark's new centre-right government has decided to clean up Christiania, for 30 years a hippy haven

Walking through the totem pole-style gateway into Christiania, a familiar smell hangs in the air.  The pungent, earthy, unmistakable scent of marijuana thickens along the leafy path to Pusher Street, where everyone, including the local dog flat out in the middle of the road, seems to be affected by the fumes.

Pusher Street, in the heart of this Copenhagen suburb, is Scandinavia's largest open soft-drug market, a cobbled lane lined with about 15 stands where dealers display lumps of top quality Moroccan hashish, bags of skunk and masterfully rolled "super joints", all neatly labelled with handwritten price tags like cakes at a summer fair.

"We have some of the best stuff you can get in Europe here.  People come from all over to buy here," said one.

[snip]

But all is not quite as chilled out as it seems.  By a fence near the entrance a young Christianite stands guard, walkie-talkie in one hand, spliff in the other, watching for approaching police.  The sale of drugs, however soft, is illegal in Denmark and the new centre-right government has a mission to shut down the hash market and clean up the area.

Narcotics police, backed by riot forces, have raided Pusher Street several times in recent months, arresting any of the dealers who do not pack up and run fast enough when the walkie-talkie alert goes out.  They say they are afraid there would be riots if they tried to close down the whole street.

[snip]

Each resident contributes to the communal running costs of Christiania's own postal service, rubbish collection and children's nurseries.  The community has its own newspaper and radio station, cinema, rock bands, cafes and bars.

The Copenhagen police are not welcome, and in their absence, criminals are tried by the community and punished by eviction.

But the new government says Christiania is an eyesore, a security hazard and an unruly community which must be made to step into line with the rest of the country.  That has become one of its priorities.

It plans to close down the hash market, destroy 98 illegal buildings and build or upgrade hundreds of others, to "give the area a lift".

"Christiania's days as a hotbed for hashish are numbered," the Conservative party law and order spokesman, Helge Adam Moeller, said.

Ulrik Kragh, a deputy in the centre-right party Venstre, said: "Graffiti is destroying everything there.  We cannot turn a blind eye any more to this dirty and dangerous area.  It's like hanging out your dirty laundry for all to see."

Pubdate:   Sat, 26 Jul 2003
Source:   Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright:   2003 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author:   Sophie Arie
Continues:  
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1131.a03.html


(23) CHEMISTS URGE CANNABIS TRIAL    (Top)

PATIENTS would get medicinal cannabis on prescription from chemists under a Pharmacy Guild of Australia proposal.

NSW wants to trial medicinal cannabis, probably in tablet or spray form, and the Federal Government is considering the idea.

[snip]

The guild told Federal Health Minister Kay Patterson it welcomed new moves to improve life for patients.  It was interested to see if cannabis treated effectively symptoms of MS, cancer, AIDS, pain and chemotherapy side-effects.

It said its members could dispense the drug for the trial in the same way it dispensed other restricted drugs, such as morphine and methadone.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 29 Jul 2003
Source:   West Australian (Australia)
Copyright:   2003 West Australian Newspapers Limited
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/495
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1150.a08.html


HOT OFF THE 'NET    (Top)

EDUCATE USA TODAY ABOUT METH EPIDEMIC

A MAP Focus Alert.

http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0269.html


MITCH EARLEYWINE CANNABIS SURVEY

I was complaining about how all the studies of marijuana involve people in substance abuse treatment, so I thought I'd do something about it.

Here's a survey I'm conducting to combat some of the stereotypes, misconceptions, and outright lies about cannabis.

If we could get a whole range of people to fill this out, from folks who have never used cannabis to daily users, it could really help this literature and may change policy and lives.

If you'd click on this link and spend 10-15 minutes answering questions, it would be a huge help.

Thanks,

Mitch Earleywine

Here is a link to the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=12799705E9313


CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW

Guest:   Nadelmann Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance

As head of America's preeminent drug reform organization, Ethan brings us a complete picture of the harms of this drug war and what solutions lie in store.

Audio:   http://www.cultural-baggage.com/ethan.ram

Next Up, Tuesday Aug 5, 6:30 PM, CDT

Cliff Schaffer - The creator of druglibrary.org


MAP DRUGNEWS ARCHIVE ENHANCEMENTS

The MAP Drugnews advanced search engine can now find clippings that do NOT contain certain keywords.  For example, you can now search for articles about chronic pain that do not mention cannabis.

http://www.mapinc.org/find?232

Readers may also rate the overall quality and ideological orientation of editorials, opeds, columns and letters.  This will enable MAP to rate authors, papers and areas and track changes over time.  Just click the "Rate" link at the bottom of any opinion piece.

http://mapinc.org/opinion.htm


CHAT WITH DR.  ETHAN RUSSO

Please join Dr.  Russo at Ohio Patient Network's Patient Monthly Forum. This is an internet audio conference open to all interested persons (even if they do not live in Ohio).  OPN holds monthly patient forum on the 1st thursday of each month.

Who: Dr.  Ethan Russo, MD, neurologist
What:   Interactive discussion entitled, "Marijuana and Migraines," at
the monthly Ohio Patient Network Patient Forum.
Where:   Online.  Please visit
http://www.ohiopatient.net/Paltalk_Instructions
for information on how to set up Paltalk on your computer.
When:   Thursday, August 7, 2003, 7:30 pm EDT

The Ohio Patient Network is a non-profit coalition of patients, caregivers, medical professionals, concerned citizens, and organizations who support the compassionate use of cannabis for various medicinal purposes.  Information about OPN can be found at http://www.ohiopatient.net/

Contact:   John Precup, President, Ohio Patient Network
(419) 524-3804,


LETTER OF THE WEEK    (Top)

I'm The Proof

By Alison Myrden

RE: 'A Case Against Smoking Marijuana' (July 25).

I have just finished a second perusal of Dr.  Andrea Barthwell's synopsis of the medicinal utility of cannabis.  As a young woman living with chronic progressive MS, and as a legal medical marijuana patient in Canada, I am truly thankful that Barthwell -- deputy director at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and a past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine -- is not in my country.

As far as I am concerned, Barthwell is in the same category as Health Minister Anne McLellan -- misinformed.  Barthwell doesn't frighten me.  It will just take a little longer to educate her.

She argues that the proof of medicine is in the patient's getting better, not just feeling better.  Well, I am her proof.

Ten years ago, I couldn't get out of a wheelchair and could not stop shaking violently when I tried to cross a room.  I was taking more than 32 pills plus 600 to 2,000 mg of morphine a day.  I lost full control of my bladder and bowel.  Next came the worst pain known to medicine that was also incurable -- Tic Douloureux.

Before too long and many, many doctors later, I was introduced to marijuana.  The results were instantaneous.

Over the last four years, I have halved my prescription medications that were my life for more than 10 years.  I am also out of a wheelchair more often and not using my walker at all.  Would Barthwell believe I could do this if I weren't improving?

I am one of hundred of thousands of Canadians who have shown the Canadian government just how much our quality of life has improved. My health is better now than it ever has been.  I am walking every day of my life now with a cane, I have everything under control when I have the proper strain of cannabis and things could not be better.

I feel sorry, not only for Barthwell because one day she may need this incredible plant, but for her patients who will obviously be denied an indisputable service while she cages the suffering innocents of her country.  Shame on her.

Alison Myrden,
Burlington

Date:   07/26/2003
Source:   Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Referenced:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1126/a10.html


FEATURE ARTICLE    (Top)

A New Way to Help Promote Sensible Drug Policies

By DrugSense and MAP

With the debate on drug policy reform heating up at all levels, DrugSense is happy to announce a new way for YOU to promote an end to the costly and failed "war on drugs".

DrugSense is pleased to present the new MAP/DrugSense Online Store!

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For a list of more than 125 reform organizations ranging from leading to promising that DrugSense and MAP help to support please see: http://www.drugsense.org/sitemap.htm

So take a minute, browse our shop, and take a step positive towards a rational, science-based drug policy by buying something for yourself (or pick out a gift for a friend!).

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Thank you for making a difference,

The Media Awareness Project and DrugSense


QUOTE OF THE WEEK    (Top)

"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty.  To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom, in the pursuit of truth as in the endeavor after a worthy manner of life." - Bertrand Russell


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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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