| March 12, 2004 #341 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) CITY PAYS FOR JUSTICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The road has spanned five years and countless miles, but the 46 people
arrested in the controversial 1999 Tulia drug sting took a major step
Thursday toward the end of their journey. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The news that the city of Amarillo would settle with the Tulia defendants for $5 million and the dissolution of the task force that conducted the sting was met with a combination of joy and introspection by people finally nearing their objective - justice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I'm feeling great," said Michelle Williams, who missed three years of her children's lives while in prison. "I'm kind of excited. I guess you could say I'm glad and proud that it's over with. This can't make up for all they took from us, but it's something to be proud of." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Elation was tempered for many with a recognition that what happened
Thursday was a truly significant event that could have far-reaching
consequences. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think we got to see the wheels of justice turn at their fullest to get to this point, and right here's the last step of it," said Billy Wafer, who also was arrested in the sting. "I look at the real picture, and I hope America sits back and looks at the real picture." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) BILL WOULD PENALIZE PEOPLE FOR BEING HIGH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sponsors say that they want to close a "loophole" in current drug
laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Missourians under the influence of drugs could be arrested for being
high if a proposed House bill is passed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Reps. Brian Baker, R-Belton, and Therese Sander, R-Moberly, proposed
House Bill No. 983, which would make it a Class A misdemeanor to be
under the influence of a controlled substance. Current law prohibits
only the possession, purchase, distribution or manufacturing of a
controlled substance. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rep. THERESE SANDER, R-Moberly Baker said drug laws contain a
"loophole" that prohibits police from charging someone with a drug
violation without physical evidence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Under the proposed legislation, for example, police could arrest someone for being under the influence of cocaine even without physical evidence that the person was in possession of the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Baker said the bill is a protective measure to keep people from
engaging in drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This closes that loophole," Baker said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Capt. Mike Martin, investigative commander for the Columbia Police
Department, said the bill would help strengthen laws against driving
while under the influence of drugs, which can be just as dangerous as
drunken driving. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But he predicted no change in the department's investigative
procedures if the bill were to pass. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think we would continue to do the things that we're doing," Martin
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) THE IMPACT OF '3 STRIKES' LAWS A DECADE LATER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Supporters Cite a Drop in Crime and Cost Savings, While Critics Note
Other Expenses and the Law's Harsh Nature. | ||||||||||||||||||||
California's "three strikes and you're out" law - the toughest
criminal-justice statute in the country - turns 10 years old this
month. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The verdict on its impact remains mixed, at best. But one thing is
clear: The law that initially prompted international outrage by
locking up people for life for such seemingly petty crimes as stealing
a spare tire, forging a check, and making off with a handful of videos
is not expected to be repealed. And although there's a strong petition
drive under way to get a referendum on November's ballot to amend the
law to apply only to violent offenders, some doubt even that will
pass. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The reason is that prosecutors, like Los Angeles's District Attorney Steve Cooley, simply aren't implementing the law as it was written, but are applying it instead as they believe it was intended. "The public was not enamored of some of these bizarre, draconian sentences," he says. "So I established a very clear policy that presumes if an offense is violent or serious, we will pursue three strikes. If the new offense is not serious or not violent, we won't." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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But critics note that crime has come down across the country over the
past decade, whether or not a state has a three-strikes law. In fact,
states without such laws, like New York, have had significantly
greater drops in violent crime over the past decade and lower growth
rates in their prison systems than California. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That pattern is consistent within California as well. A study done by the Justice Policy Institute (JPI), a criminal-justice-reform think tank in Washington, found that of California's largest 12 counties, those that used three strikes the least had far greater declines in violent crime - than counties using three strikes the most. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The study also found that almost 60 percent of the third-strikers were
in for nonviolent offenses, most of them drug possession. In fact,
there are 10 times as many third-strikers serving time for drug
possession as for second-degree murder. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) DRUG CZAR CRITICAL OF MARIJUANA INITIATIVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
John Walters Calls Measure Foolhardy
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The nation's drug czar described as foolhardy Thursday the latest Nevada initiative to legalize marijuana. John Walters, in Las Vegas to push for a crackdown on the abuse of prescriptions drugs, said legalizing marijuana is "not an area for legitimate debate." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Walters, who oversees all federal anti-drug programs and spending, said studies have shown that 60 percent of the 7 million Americans who need treatment for addiction are dependent on marijuana. Walters also said people are killing each other by driving under the influence of the drug, which is smoked or chewed for its euphoric effect. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Legalizing any marijuana possession for consumption is fundamentally
detrimental," he said. The Committee to Regulate and Control
Marijuana, established in Nevada this year by the national Marijuana
Policy Project, will try to make Nevada the first state in the nation
to legalize possession of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, contended people seeking treatment for marijuana addiction were forced into it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"They were arrested for possession and offered treatment or jail," he
said. "It's Orwellian to the point of being creepy, and it's
misleading to the public."
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[snip]
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http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Mar-12-Fri-2004/news/23418222.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Week after week, liberties and rights expected by Americans are
chipped away by drug prohibition. This week we look at several
seemingly minor efforts to deny freedom, all allegedly in the name
of fighting a more effective drug war. In Nevada, a U.S. congressman
announced legislation that would force all 50 states to adopt
"drugged driving" laws or face losing federal highway funds. The
congressman did not mention that laws and the tests used to enforce
them in Nevada are being challenged in the courts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Virginia, officials are warning landlords that they may be liable for arrest if they don't evict tenants arrested for drug violations. Law enforcement officials say it's no big deal, but a lawyer representing the landlords has a different view. In Illinois, it could soon be a crime to use products designed to alter drug test results, even though most of those products don't work. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While these policies are always sold as ways to make citizens safer,
it takes years to determine just how negatively these "get tough"
policies impact society. For example, the San Francisco Chronicle
editorialized about the disaster of the "three strikes" law in
California, which in ten years has succeeded in locking away minor
drug convicts than truly violent criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) PORTER TO PUSH FOR ALL STATES TO PUNISH DRUG DUIS
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Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., announced Monday he will push legislation
requiring each state to set penalties for people who drive under the
influence of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While all states have laws on the books to punish drunken drivers, only nine states, including Nevada, have laws that specifically address driving under the influence of drugs, Porter said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Amid a backdrop of 147 trees planted at Sunset Park for people who have been killed by impaired drivers, Sandy Heverly, executive director of Stop DUI Nevada, said an estimated 8 million people drove under the influence of drugs in 2001 in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||
She said drug-impaired drivers are responsible for too many
tragedies and too much "sorrow and grief that our neighbors go
through."
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Porter's bill would give states until 2006 to enact a law
prohibiting people from driving under the influence of an illegal
drug and setting a mandatory minimum penalty for people caught
driving while high on illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
States that don't comply would receive up to 50 percent less money
for highway funds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The Nevada law is under fire in court, however, with the accuracy
and appropriateness of its approach being questioned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) LETTER UNSETTLES AREA LANDLORDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The plan is to recruit Richmond's landlords into the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Michelle Welch said she has found
most landlords willing participants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Richmond attorney Nancy Ann Rogers, who often represents
landlords in Richmond General District Court, found the recruiting
pitch a bit heavy-handed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Landlords came to her with a letter on the stationery of Richmond
Police Chief Andre Parker. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The source of the letter was unsettling enough, Rogers said, but what the landlords gleaned from a quick reading was even more disturbing: Someone has been arrested for illegal drugs on your property, and you can be arrested unless you evict that person. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That interpretation was oversimplified, Rogers said, but it was
scary enough to bring the landlords to her for advice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) HOUSE PANEL OKS BILL TO PUNISH DRUG TEST FRAUD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - State lawmakers are considering a crackdown on people who use or sell products designed to help avoid positive drug tests that can cost drug users jobs or put them behind bars. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A House judiciary committee voted 13-0 Thursday for a measure that
would make it a Class 4 felony to use, sell or make products that
can provide false urine samples. Violators would also be fined
$1,000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The bill now heads to the full House. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Supporters say some companies are profiting by blatantly helping
people fix drug tests under the guise that the tests are unfair and
give unpredictable results. The Internet has made the products even
more popular and easily available, said Rep. Roger Eddy, a
Hutsonville Republican sponsoring the measure. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) EDITORIAL: COST OF 'THREE STRIKES' LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
IT HAS been 10 years since California voters approved the "three
strikes" law in an effort to get tough on crime, propelled in part
by the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma
by parolee Richard Allen Davis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The law was supposed to sweep career criminals off the street by
mandating sentences of 25 years to life, without possibility of
parole, for anyone with two "strikes" -- serious or violent felony
convictions -- convicted of any new felony. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But studies by criminal-justice experts show the law to be unduly
costly, overly punitive, racially discriminatory -- and failing its
primary mission to curb crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With 57 percent of the third strikes being nonviolent offenses, typically drug violations or burglary, the law largely hasn't necessarily targeted the most dangerous criminals. Third strikes are 10 times more likely to be for a drug offense than for second-degree murder. In fact, third-strikers sent to prison on a drug offense outnumber the combined total whose offense was assault, rape and second-degree murder, according to the Justice Policy Institute, a research and public policy group that has been critical of the law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Continuing a theme from the drug policy section, the overkill goes
on. There's more proposed legislative overkill in Tennessee, where a
push for mandatory jail for all methamphetamine users is moving
along. In Louisiana, police seemed to be using overkill when a local
woman who had criticized them died. And, a Canadian lawyer is
warning young Canadians not to enter the U.S. with marijuana,
because of the harsh overkill with which the U.S. now treats such
offenses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, a Kentucky police officer who allegedly shot a fleeing
suspect in the back during a botched drug raid has been charged with
murder. Local supporters of the police predictably view the charge
as overkill. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) GIBSON CO. MULLS MANDATORY JAIL FOR METH USERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dorsie Crawley remembers the heartbreaking Mother's Day she picked
up her newspaper to see a front-page story about her son's arrest on
charges of making metham-phetamine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It was this Madisonville mother who first turned him in. She said
she turned down the back seat of an antique car in his yard to
discover a rolling meth lab in the trunk, though he wasn't convicted
in that case. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Crawley called the drug task force. She recalled telling an agent
that she didn't raise her son that way. His response: "Then, do
something."
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"I've been at it ever since," Crawley said. "I haven't stopped." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Crawley initiated a resolution seeking mandatory jail time for those
found guilty of the manufacturing, possession and sale of meth. It
is being circulated by the Tennessee Association of County Mayors
and will be considered by the Gibson County Commission on Monday.
Thirteen of 95 counties, including Madison County, have approved the
resolution. The resolution asks state lawmakers to pass legislation
addressing sentences for meth. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(10) ARRESTS BLAMED ON VENDETTA AFTER MOTHER'S DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tensions Flared While Police Searched House
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In life, Cynthia Franklin did everything she could to protect her three sons from what she perceived as a vendetta by overzealous police officers. She blasted the authorities who prosecuted her oldest son, Percy Franklin, and sent him to prison for 20 years for his involvement in the notorious 7th Ward Soldiers drug gang. She stormed the New Orleans Police Department with complaints every time her younger sons -- 20-year-old fraternal twins Brandon and Randon Robinson -- were stopped on the street and searched for drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After her death, little changed. In fact, her seemingly peaceful
passing seemed to aggravate the long-running conflict between her
family and police. | ||||||||||||||||||||
On Jan. 24, Franklin didn't wake up. Her death appeared to be from natural causes, but after police arrived, the house was declared a crime scene, neighbors nearly rioted , and Brandon and Randon were arrested on gun and drug charges. Several witnesses said some officers used profanity to address grieving family members. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At one point, after the house was sealed off for a search by
narcotics detectives, Franklin's sister Connie said she asked to see
the body and was told, "What do you think this is? A f -- ing
funeral home?"
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[snip]
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(11) MARIJUANA-CARRYING TRAVELLERS TO U.S. RECEIVE DIRE WARNING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Seattle criminal lawyer who specializes in drug cases warns
Canadians against smuggling marijuana into Washington state
following new U.S. efforts to keep Canadian drug suspects in jail
pending trial for fear they will skip bail. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"These Canadian kids, they don't realize the American government has
gone completely berserk about marijuana," Jeffrey Steinborn said in
an interview Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"They treat you as though you were smuggling chemical/biological
weapons or nukes or something. They get that excited about it. Don't
come. Don't bring pot down here because you don't realize how
extreme the consequences are."
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Marijuana smugglers face a minimum five-year sentence in the U.S. A
person could shorten that sentence by 53 days per year after the
first year served for good behaviour, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"You don't get out of jail, you get a huge amount of prison time,
and the government has started denying people their right to
prisoner transfer under our treaty with Canada."
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[snip]
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(12) OFFICER CHARGED WITH MURDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accused Of Shooting Fleeing Man In Back When Drug Arrest Went Bad In
Louisville 'Nobody Is Above The Law' Says Prosecutor. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Louisville Metro Police detective who shot and killed a fleeing 19-year-old suspect in January was indicted yesterday by a Jefferson County grand jury on charges of murder and wanton endangerment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After meeting for more than five hours to hear witnesses and
deliberate, the grand jury followed the recommendations of
Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel, deciding enough evidence
exists to have Detective McKenzie G. Mattingly stand trial for
killing Michael Newby and allegedly endangering the lives of five
people who were nearby when he fired his weapon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
This election year is turning out to be about more than wartime
records and gay marriage: canna-politics is hot in 2004. In
Connecticut, a medicinal cannabis bill has just been approved by the
powerful House Judiciary Committee, pleasing and surprising many
supporters. Proponents of the bill - which would allow medicinal
users with a physicians recommendation to grow up to 5 plants
without fear of arrest - are now optimistic that the measure will be
approved by both the House and Senate before the end of the current
legislative session. Meanwhile from Canada, the interesting tale of
2 summits: one - Green Tide - organized by the Ontario Association
of Police Chiefs inviting representatives from banking, real estate,
law enforcement, insurance companies and public utilities to find
better ways to combat the supposed rise in marijuana grow-ops; the
other - Green Truth - organized by Canadians for Safe Access
included activists, medicinal users and progressive politicians and
policy makers in an effort to counter the prohibitionist propaganda
expounded by the police, and to propose alternatives to the war on
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our third story this week reports on the unfortunate suspension of
Oregon's Dr. Leveque by the State Board of Medical Examiners. The
suspension - Dr. Leveque's 2nd in 3 years - is tied to the 80 year
old osteopaths many medicinal cannabis recommendations, which now
number over 4000. As a counter-point, our fourth story examines the
good work of a few Orange County physicians who continue to risk
their reputations as well as their medical licenses by issuing
medicinal cannabis recommendations. Lastly, in what may be the final
chapter in the sad saga of the Hayward Hempery - one of the nation's
oldest medicinal cannabis dispensaries - a $40,000 warrant has been
issued for the arrest of Hempery Director Cheryl Adams after ! she
failed to appear before court for a second time in regards to a
December possession arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) MEDICAL POT ADVOCATES PREDICT LEGALIZATION WIN IN CONNECTICUT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Supporters of legalized marijuana for medical purposes predicted
Monday that legislation will advance this year, possibly succeeding
in both the House and Senate and landing on Gov. John G. Rowland's
desk. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last year the controversial legislation won approval in the powerful
Judiciary Committee, but fell 15 votes short in the House of
Representatives. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But more doctors seem to be supportive of the measure this year,
combined with a widening range of lawmakers who believe that the
smoked form of the drug has more therapeutic benefits than legally
prescribed chemical compounds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) GROWING POT WAR FOCUS OF ONTARIO SUMMITS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
One Aims at Co-Ordinated Strategy
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The Other Ridicules the Effort
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Heavy hitters in law enforcement, government, banking, real estate,
insurance and public utilities are participating in a two-day
"Green-Tide Summit" to find ways to combat the explosion of indoor
marijuana grow operations in Ontario. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Down the street a shadow summit called the "Green Truth Summit," was
taking place yesterday comprised of a small group of marijuana
advocates who were also setting strategies to fight what they call
the "destructive" and ultimately futile attempts to stamp out
marijuana grow operations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) STATE SUSPENDS OREGON 'MARIJUANA DOCTOR' LEVEQUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The state Board of Medical Examiners suspended the medical license
of Dr. Phillip Leveque on Thursday, marking the second time in three
years the state has come down on Oregon's most prolific endorser of
medical marijuana applications. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Leveque said he and his attorneys met with the board's investigative
committee for nearly two hours in the morning. At 1:15 p.m., he was
notified that his license had been placed on emergency suspension
pending an investigation by the full board, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Somebody in Oregon doesn't want Oregon to be known as the medical
marijuana state," Leveque said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) AFTER THIS, TOMATOES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a Better World, Dr. Philip A. Denney Wouldn't Have to Dedicate
His Practice to Pot. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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"I do this work because morally it's the right thing," says Denney.
He's 55, a USC medical school graduate, with silver hair and
beard-slap 50 pounds around his middle and he'd make a credible
Santa Claus. "Cannabis has been used medically for thousands of
years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For 60 years, our government has been lying to us about it, and
patients are being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.
It's unconscionable."
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After years as a Northern California family practitioner and ER doc,
Denney went into a cannabis-approval practice in 1999 because "I was
intrigued by the politics and science-mostly the science." Cannabis,
unpatented, easily grown, a people's remedy if ever there was one,
has been shown in studies to reduce eye pressure! in glaucoma
patients, ease chemotherapy induced nausea, improve appetite,
relieve some multiple sclerosis symptoms, and relieve pain. Nobody's
yet reported a death from overdose. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(17) ARREST WARRANT COULD MARK END OF HAYWARD HEMPERY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Dennis McLaughlin has issued a
$40,000 warrant for the arrest of Hayward Hempery owner Cheryl Adams
after she skipped out on a court proceeding in a felony
drug-possession case against her. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"She's in the wind," said Deputy District Attorney Steve Corral,
adding that this is the second time she's failed to appear in the
case. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The warrant could be the final nail in the coffin for The Hempery,
which apparently has been closed for about a month. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prohibitionists like to crow that drugs are illegal to save children
from harm. But when a substance is prohibited, government gives up
more control than it can ever snatch back through armies of
gun-toting police. In a regulated market, government may at least
license sellers and establish standards for purity and dosage. But
in uncontrolled black markets, as for prohibited drugs, there are no
standards for purity or dosage. For dangerous drugs like GHB,
overdoses are not infrequent. Our first article this week is a
report from Australia on a rash of GHB overdoses at dance festivals.
Scores of people have overdosed on GHB at festivals near Sydney and
Melbourne over the past weeks, with 30 people admitted to area
hospitals last weekend, and another 11 people hospitalized in a
single night this week for the drug. Officials say that GHB is
cheaper to manufacture than other drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report issued
last week rebuked the government of New Zealand because youth there
are abusing cannabis. The 2003 UN INCB report urged the government
of New Zealand to increase the harshness of the cannabis laws, in an
effort to protect youth from cannabis. Statistics showing greater
arrests for cannabis were not seen as evidence of the effectiveness
of cannabis prohibition. Rather, the greater numbers of people
arrested for cannabis, asserted authorities, was all the more reason
to review (meaning, ratchet up the harshness of) cannabis laws to
sweep more people into police dragnets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. and North Korea traded harsh words about drugs last week,
after the U.S. State Department issued a report condemning North
Korea as drug trafficking nation. In the report, North Korea was
accused of manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine and heroin.
Accusing North Korea of exporting drugs "for profit as state policy,"
the report cited recent seizures of North Korean vessels laden with
heroin and methamphetamines as proof. The North Korean foreign
ministry denied the charges, labeling them "mud-slinging," and just
an effort to isolate the hard-line communist regime. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And from British Columbia, Canada, another industrial-sized cannabis
growing operation was uncovered by police last week. A two-story
barn was converted to a large marijuana grow; police found 48
workers harvesting some 3,000 cannabis plants. Police said that the
arrested workers were unsure of their location: workers were brought
to the grow operation in the back of a cube van and brought home
after work. And last week in Toronto, yet another large grow-op was
found spread over eight apartment units in two buildings. Police
report some 850 plants were seized in that bust. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(18) 12 OVERDOSES AS DRUG HITS DANCE FESTIVALS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Health authorities have warned about the dangers of the party drug
GHB after a spate of overdoses at dance festivals in Melbourne and
Sydney in the past few days. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Metropolitan Ambulance Service said 11 people were taken to
hospital after overdosing on GHB, or Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, at the
Two Tribes dance party at Rod Laver Arena between 1am and 10am
yesterday. Later yesterday, a woman attending the Earthcore dance
party at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl was also taken to hospital after
taking the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The incidents came after more than 30 people were admitted to a
Sydney hospital at the weekend suffering the effects of GHB, also
known as liquid ecstasy or fantasy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Australian Drug Foundation said there was "a very fine line"
between the amount of GHB required to achieve the desired effect and
the amount that leads to coma. As there was usually no way of
knowing the strength of the drug, the risk of overdosing was high,
the foundation said. Combining GHB with other drugs increased the
danger. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Police said there were up to eight GHB overdoses last month in St
Kilda, with some of the victims treated by paramedics. There had not
been an overdose resulting in death in Victoria, but Mr Holman said
one of the men taken to The Alfred from the Two Tribes event had
"come close". Future Entertainment, the company that promotes Two
Tribes, did not return calls from The Age yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Inspector Steve James, of the Victoria Police drug and alcohol
strategy unit, said he believed the majority of the GHB was made in
Melbourne. "We know that we get a lot of cooks here in relation to
clandestine laboratories of a range of chemicals, GHB being one of
those," he said. "It is a relatively cheap drug."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(19) U.N. URGES N.Z. TO TURN YOUNGSTERS OFF CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The United Nations has urged the Government to crack down on heavy
cannabis abuse by young Kiwis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In its 2003 annual report issued this week, the UN's International Narcotics Control Board calls on the Government to develop policies that reverse the trend of heavy abuse of cannabis by people aged 18 to 24, and its increasing abuse among youths aged 15 to 17. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A parliamentary committee noted last year that more youths were being apprehended for cannabis offences, and recommended that the Government review cannabis laws to prevent young people from using it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Though the UN report mentions a tightening of controls over precursor substances for making the drug P and the Government's "methamphetamine action plan", it also notes there are areas of New Zealand where cannabis abuse is being surpassed by the abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants, and that manufacture of such drugs has increased. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(20) NORTH KOREA DENOUNCES U.S. DRUG TRAFFICKING REPORT
| ||||||||||||||||||||
SEOUL (AP)--North Korea lashed out Friday at a new U.S. State
Department report accusing the communist regime in the strongest terms
to date of state-sponsored drug trafficking, denouncing it as a
"mud-slinging" smear campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released
Monday in Washington, painted North Korea as an increasingly bold
trafficker in methamphetamine and heroin and said Pyongyang was
likely backing it "for profit as state policy."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
It cited recent drug seizures throughout East Asia and testimony
from defectors who say North Korea has large-scale poppy cultivation
for opium production. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It appears doubtful that large quantities of illicit narcotics
could be produced in and/or trafficked through North Korea without
high-level party and/or government involvement, if not state
support," the report concluded. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed the allegations Friday, saying his government "bans by law the use, transaction and production of drug which renders people mentally deformed." | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This mud-slinging is a product of the U.S. policy of isolating and
stifling DPRK," he told the North's official KCNA news agency. DPRK
stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's
official name. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
That changed after the North Korean cargo ship Pong Su was caught
off the coast of Australia last April with 125 kilograms of heroin
in its hold. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The stash was worth US$154 million. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The State Department's report cited that incident along with a June
2003 seizure of 50 kilograms of methamphetamine in the South Korean
port of Busan. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At the time, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the shipment
had an estimated street value of $250 million. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||
(21) INDUSTRIAL-SCALE GROW OP BUSTED IN B.C.; 49 ARRESTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police Find Pot Farms In Two Toronto Highrises
| ||||||||||||||||||||
MISSION, B.C. - RCMP interrupted an industrial-sized marijuana harvest
in a raid on a Fraser Valley farm. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Inside a two-storey barn they found 48 workers on Friday in the middle
of cutting down more than 3,000 marijuana plants. One person in the
house also was arrested. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The high-tech hydro bypass ran 12 industrial-sized air conditioners
and hundreds of thousand-watt grow lights. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Power said most of those arrested didn't know where they were. The
workers - -- all from the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley -- were
brought to the marijuana factory in the back of a cube van and
returned after their shift. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile in Toronto, police have uncovered an elaborate hydroponic
marijuana-growing operation, believed to be linked to organized
crime, that was housed in eight apartments in two high-rise
residential buildings in the city's west end. Police said 850 plants
were seized with a street value of about $400,000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
About $50,000 worth of equipment and the complexity of the operation
led police to believe it was being run by an organized criminal
organization. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BEWITCHED, BEDEVILLED, POSSESSED, ADDICTED BY PETER COHEN
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Dissecting historic constructions of suffering and exorcism. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Presentation held at the London UKHR Conference, March 4-5, 2004. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
RICHARD COWAN ON THE INCB REPORT
| ||||||||||||||||||||
"Despite having draconian punishments that give Canadian narks a
terrible case of penal envy, DEAland produces ten times as much
cannabis as Canada, and then imports at least five times Canada's
total production from Mexico."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
| ||||||||||||||||||||
03/09/04
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Al Anders, Dr. Mitch Earleywine and Attorney Bill Satterberg. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Discussion of the forthcoming vote on full Legalization of Marijuana
in Alaska this August. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
3/16/04
| ||||||||||||||||||||
4 of Houston's top musical groups
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Join us as we discuss the front lines of drug use, abuse and
addiction. (We might even play a bit of music, but "Be careful or you
just might learn something".) | ||||||||||||||||||||
7:30 to 8 PM EDT, 6:30 to 7 PM CDT and 4:30 to 5 PM PDT. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Listen, live at http://www.kpft.org/
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH - SPECIAL ON RACIAL BIAS
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Featuring Tulia Defense Attorney, Jeff Blackburn, Michael Blain of
the Drug Policy Alliance, Cliff Thornton of efficacy-online.org and
addictions counselor Mary Barr. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
ONE WEIRD SCENE, MAN
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Stuck in the maw of the anti-drug monster, I wonder if cops will ever
make peace with potheads. | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Matthew Mernagh, NOW Magazine
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
GREEN PRIDE VS. GREEN TIDE
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Discussion with Canadians For Safe Access on Ontario's "12 Billion
Dollar" industry, The Green Tide Summit and Bill C-10 with John
Hunter and phone-in questions and answers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug Prohibition's Awful Consequences
| ||||||||||||||||||||
By Alan M. Perlman
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Your prohibitionist Feb. 27 editorial "TV, the Anti-Drug"
contradicts the point you're making: It has been education via TV
and not prohibition that reduced drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
You also say "proponents of legalization like to claim that drug use
is an intractable problem, so we might as well learn to live with
it." This is straw-man reasoning -- no rational proponent of
legalization maintains such a thing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
On the contrary, we have a host of alternatives to reduce harm,
protect children, treat abuse and foster personal responsibility.
Such alternatives are so much better than prohibition's awful
consequences -- diversion of law-enforcement resources from
terrorism and other violent crimes; overcrowding of courts and
prisons (with violent criminals released to make room for drug
offenders); corruption of law enforcement officers and agencies;
criminalization of consensual behavior, and personal responsibility;
and a frightening escalation of crime and violence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There is also the trampling of constitutional rights via such insults to liberty as asset forfeiture (seizing property on mere suspicion of a crime); threats to free speech (such as the government's threat to arrest any doctor who even mentioned medical marijuana to a patient); and gross violations of privacy, including the very kind of "unwarranted search and seizure" tactics (e.g., breaking down doors and entering violently without warning or evidence of a crime) that drove our Founders to revolution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alan M. Perlman,
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LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - FEBRUARY
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Bruce Mirken, director of communications with the
Marijuana Policy Project, for having five letters to the editor
published during February. This brings his total letters published
that we are aware of up to 68. You may review his published letters at
http://www.mapinc.org/writers/Bruce+Mirken
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Theater Review: The Marijuanalogues
| ||||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Marijuanalogues is based on stereotypes, and it doesn't take marijuana prohibition very seriously, but it's still quite funny. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The three guys who created and perform the live stage show clearly
have a fondness for cannabis and the culture that surrounds it. Last
night's audience at the Lakeshore Theater in Chicago apparently
shared that fondness, as well as the show's sense of humor if the
amount of laughter was any guage. Caricatures of marijuana users
might be offensive in other hands, but performers Doug Benson, Arj
Barker and Tony Camin aren't afraid to have fun at their own
expense. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We at The Marijuanalogues pledge that over 80 percent of the proceeds from this show will go towards marijuana," Barker states with mock conviction at one point. That line loses some of its punch in print, but with Barker's manic intensity, it really worked. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The show features the trio simply sitting on stools and delivering
several short monologues about pot and the people who love it. No
props and no formal set, just the three guys. You can learn more
about the show and see a clip from the group's appearance on Bill
Maher's cable talk show at www.potshow.com
| ||||||||||||||||||||
All of the performers have a background in stand-up comedy, and they
know how to draw a reaction out of an audience. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Maher clip includes the first few minutes of the Marijanalogues, which opens with the actors repeatedly saying the word "marijuana." | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We say the word because we want to feel comfortable saying it, not ashamed and guilty," says an earnest-looking Camin. "We worry about marijuana. We worry about what people think about marijuana and marijuana users." A simple gesture toward Maher and the audience draws some chuckles before the set-up for a bigger punch-line. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We worry about getting caught with marijuana," he adds, "but mostly
we worry about getting more marijuana."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The show continues in that vein: stoned musings punctuated with
subtle twists, as well as absurd extremes. An factual-sounding
exposition about hemp veers into a fantasy about using one's
wardrobe for a quick buzz. When a character learns about the
legality of medical marijuana in some places, he declares that he
suddenly isn't feeling that well. A mention of all the people
arrested for marijuana never leads to a firm number, just silly
hyperbole. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For those of us interested in drug policy reform, these are serious issues. It's difficult not to feel a little ambivalence when you know that roughly 700,000 Americans have been arrested in each of the last five years for cannabis offenses. How many people in the audience would have been surprised by that number, and not just amused by a character's inability to put his finger one it? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Of course the Marijuanalogues group isn't promoted as education or
advocacy, though there are some pointed criticisms of the federal
government's taxpayer supported propaganda program, and some other
references to the stupidity of prohibition. It's supposed to be
entertainment and it functions admirably as such. | ||||||||||||||||||||
I doubt it's going to help bring about the end of marijuana
prohibition, but it allows the audience and performers to express
some joy together about a subject which the drug warriors insist
should be solely associated with misery. For me, that's enough to
make the show worthwhile. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and author of
Maximizing Harm www.maximizingharm.com
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It was as if the massed forces of Eliot Ness had busted one of Al
Capone's speakeasies and confiscated the little umbrellas that went
in the tropical cocktails." - The Star-News of North Carolina in an
editorial titled "Busting Retailers: Far Out"
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
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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 ()
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