| Aug. 13, 2004 #362 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) STUDIES FIND RATS CAN GET HOOKED ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Rats can become drug addicts. That's important to know, scientists say, and has taken a long time to prove. Now two studies by French and British researchers show the animals exhibit the same compulsive drive for cocaine as people do once they're truly hooked. | ||||||||||||||||||
Only through experiments with addicted animals can scientists eventually learn what makes some people particularly vulnerable to addiction while others can quit at will, addiction specialists say. | ||||||||||||||||||
Addicted rats also could help uncover new anti-drug therapies. | ||||||||||||||||||
Until now, scientists have been able to prove that rats will take drugs, even eagerly, but not that they're actually addicted. The new research was published Thursday in the journal Science. | ||||||||||||||||||
"What confers susceptibility to experimenting and trying drugs may be
quite different than what changes your brain and leads to addiction,"
explained Terry E. Robinson, a University of Michigan neuroscientist.
"These articles provide us the approaches and the techniques to ask
the latter."
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[snip]
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(2) DEA, DOCTORS AGREE ON NEW GUIDELINES FOR PAINKILLERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Doctors cannot be arrested for properly prescribing
narcotic painkillers that are the best treatment for millions of
suffering patients, according to new guidelines from pain specialists
and the Drug Enforcement Administration. | ||||||||||||||||||
The guidelines, written by leading pain specialists and the DEA, come because many doctors hesitate to prescribe the powerful drugs, which are heavily regulated because they can be abused by addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||
The new document for the first time spells out the exact steps doctors
should take to ensure their patients get appropriate medical care
without attracting DEA scrutiny. The idea is to get better pain
treatment for Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||
"There are many misconceptions about DEA's role... that lead to
unwarranted fear that doctors who treat pain aggressively are singled
out," said Patricia Good, chief of the DEA's drug diversion control
program. | ||||||||||||||||||
The guidelines, being distributed yesterday to DEA agents and
physicians alike, should help eliminate "this aura of fear," Good
added. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) WHERE'S ALL THE CANNABIS, POLICE ASK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
After a mass drug sweep of Christiania's famed Pusher Street, police
expected a new illegal cannabis market would emerge
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Four months after the police shutdown of Pusher Street, Christiania's
main drag for drugs, Copenhagen Police say they're baffled that no new
cannabis markets have popped up elsewhere in the city. | ||||||||||||||||||
'We've been wondering for quite some time just what's going on in the
drug scene. We've had various indications that the market had
rebounded somehow, but we haven't been able to confirm anything
geographically or in any specific milieu. There's no doubt that the
Christiania cannabis market was so lucrative that some sort of
replacement market was bound to show up sooner or later. Surprisingly,
we haven't seen it yet, and it's a little hard to make out,' said
Copenhagen Police deputy inspector Rene Hallin, vice chief of the
narcotics division. | ||||||||||||||||||
Vesterbro, Norrebro, Amager and Christianhavn Square have been tipped
as areas with rising illegal cannabis sales, but internal surveillance
of these neighbourhoods has revealed no significant increase in drug
dealing since Pusher Street was razed. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) LET'S GIVE PEACE DEPARTMENT IDEA A CHANCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With this nation embroiled in what threatens to be an interminable
"War on Terrorism," an idea put forward last year by Ohio Congressman
Dennis Kucinich has, for me, considerable appeal. Kucinich, who was
the one candidate in the Democratic primaries to unfailingly promote
the party's traditional Franklin Roosevelt liberalism, proposed the
establishment of a Department of Peace. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now he has introduced in the House HR 2459, a bill that would
establish a Peace Department, adding a new Cabinet post to the
executive branch of government. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Department of Peace would "advise the secretary of defense and the
secretary of state on all matters relating to national security,
including the protection of human rights and the prevention of,
amelioration of, and de-escalation of unarmed and armed international
conflict."
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[snip]
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It might well come up with some new strategies for turning around our losing war on drugs, and it might also lobby Congress to put an end to the cruel and unusual punishment of small-time drug offenders called "mandatory sentencing." It would also advise the attorney general on matters of civil rights and labor law. But its primary importance, it seems to me, would be in international affairs, demonstrating to the rest of the world, to borrow the old motto of the Strategic Air Command, that "peace is our profession." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Tools designed for the war on terror are being used to fight the
drug war,= even when there's no terror connection. Last week,
members of group alleged to have smuggled marijuana from Canada to
the U.S. were charged under the U.S. Patriot Act. At the same time
in Florida, Homeland Security may not be catching terrorists, but it
is catching alleged drug smugglers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Also last week, the city of New Orleans bans the processing of a common flower, and Walter Cronkite demonstrates why he's still a trusted newsman:= he's willing to take a hard look at the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) ACCUSED B.C. BUD SMUGGLERS CHARGED UNDER TERRORISM ACT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Five Canadians accused of smuggling B.C.-grown marijuana into the U.S. in exchange for more than $3.4 million U.S. in cash have been charged under a controversial American law targeting terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||
The five are each charged with one count of "bulk cash smuggling," a
provision of the U.S. Patriot Act, which was passed after the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ten others, residents of Washington state, are also charged under
the new law. | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Attorney's office, rejecting calls that the act should be
limited to cases involving terrorism, admits that none of the
accused are believed to be terrorists. | ||||||||||||||||||
But it says that in addition to attacking the international
financing of terrorism, the provision regarding bulk cash smuggling
grew out of a desire by Congress to target drug cartels and
organized crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) HOMELAND SECURITY CREDITED WITH CAPTURE OF DRUG FUGITIVE WITH (Top)MIAMI TIES | ||||||||||||||||||
MINEOLA, N.Y. -- A fingerprint screening system started in January
by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has led to the arrest of
an Ecuadoran fugitive wanted in New York on cocaine charges since
1979, a prosecutor said Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Patricio R. Salazar, 53, traveled numerous times between the U.S.
and Ecuador over the past 25 years, raising a son _ an American
citizen who is now 18 _ with his longtime girlfriend in Miami, his
attorney said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He was arrested June 16, when he arrived in Miami on an American
Airlines flight from Quito, said Nassau County Assistant District
Attorney Roxanne Paquette. He was ordered held without bail at his
arraignment Friday in Nassau County Court after waiving extradition
from Florida. | ||||||||||||||||||
Salazar, who allegedly used variations of his name as aliases to
obtain travel visas over the past quarter-century, was apparently
quite comfortable traveling between the countries despite his
fugitive status, and didn't balk when he was asked to comply this
spring with the new Homeland Security fingerprinting requirement,
Paquette said. | ||||||||||||||||||
When Salazar's fingerprints matched police records on Long Island
from his 1979 arrest, officials from the Drug Enforcement
Administration and U.S. Marshal's Service put the suspect under
surveillance and he was granted a visa to travel to Miami. Agents
watched him board the plane in Quito and counterparts were waiting
for him in Miami. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) N.O. BANS FLOWER BREW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Angel's Trumpet Teas Abused By Teens
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Responding to recent reports of young people abusing hallucinogenic
substances derived from the popular garden plant known as angel's
trumpet, the New Orleans City Council has passed a law banning the
manufacture or sale of compounds made from the plant. | ||||||||||||||||||
The law does not make it illegal to grow the tropical plant, which
is known for its spectacular tubular flowers and is found in gardens
throughout the New Orleans area. | ||||||||||||||||||
The ordinance, introduced by council President Eddie Sapir and
passed unanimously at Thursday's council meeting, makes it illegal
to "knowingly or intentionally combine, produce, manufacture or
distribute any compound containing the plant material known as
angel's trumpet, also known as brugmansia arborea, for human
consumption or with the intent to sell, distribute or dispense same
for human consumption."
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[snip]
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(8) WAR ON DRUGS ESCALATES TO WAR ON FAMILIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In the midst of the soaring rhetoric of the recent Democratic
National Convention, more than one speaker quoted Abraham Lincoln's
first inaugural address, invoking "the better angels of our nature."
Well, there is an especially appropriate task awaiting those
heavenly creatures - a long-overdue reform of our disastrous war on
drugs. We should begin by recognizing its costly and inhumane
dimensions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Much of the nation, in one way or another, is victimized by this
failure - including, most notably, the innocents, whose exposure to
drugs is greater than ever. | ||||||||||||||||||
This despite the fact that there are, housed in federal and state
prisons and local jails on drug offenses, more than 500,000 persons
- half a million people! Clearly, no punishment could be too severe
for that portion of them who were kingpins of the drug trade and who
ruined so many lives. But by far, the majority of these prisoners
are guilty of only minor offenses, such as possessing small amounts
of marijuana. That includes people who used it only for medicinal
purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
The cost to maintain this great horde of prisoners is more than $10
billion annually. And that's just part of the cost of this war on
drugs: The federal, state and local drug-control budgets last year
added up to almost $40 billion. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug-related asset forfeiture is so important in Connecticut that federal prosecutors are hiring a full-time prosecutor to seek out property for seizure. Meanwhile, when DARE needed money in Flint, Michigan, it went straight to the people. The people said yes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Analysis on tough prison sentences in Virginia show how they don't
do too much, and in Mississippi drug arrests have increased 39
percent in the first half of this year. Instead of being troubled,
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says, "That's the right kind of
start."
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(9) CONNECTICUT TARGETING DRUG DEALERS' ASSETS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Federal prosecutors are stepping up their efforts to seize the assets of drug dealers by hiring an investigator whose sole task will be to identify ill-gotten gains that can be seized. | ||||||||||||||||||
The move is expected to lead to more forfeiture money being turned
over to police around the state. | ||||||||||||||||||
Connecticut U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor announced the new
position Wednesday while turning over $323,000 to Stamford police in
one of the largest forfeitures in recent years. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We're going after the money," O'Connor said. "At the end of the day
we have to hurt these people where it hurts most. They're obviously
motivated by profit and greed."
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Until now, the task of identifying assets fell to local and federal
investigators busy prosecuting the drug cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(10) PROPOSAL FOR TAX HIKE TO KEEP DARE APPROVED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Flushing residents supported the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program Tuesday night, approving a 0.5-mill tax increase to continue
the program. | ||||||||||||||||||
The proposal passed 843-653. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I think there's a lot of support out there for that program, and
I'm glad there is," said City Manager Dennis Bow. "I'm very pleased
to see the support."
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Bow said the results show an effort by residents to maintain
officers in school buildings. | ||||||||||||||||||
The DARE program was phased out this year because of the loss of
state DARE funding and the expiration of the city's federal COPS in
Schools grant. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) PRISONS STILL FULL OF REPEAT OFFENDERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
For years in Virginia's criminal justice system, a major challenge
has been to prevent freed convicts from returning to a life behind
bars. While the state is working on the challenge, it has a ways to
go before it can declare success. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to a recent series of stories on the state's revolving prison doors by Frank Greene of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, almost one third of the prison population of some 33,000 is released to freedom every year. About a third of them - unprepared for the society beyond prison walls - will be back in prison within three years. That, in the language of the system, is recidivism. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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In 1995, Governor George Allen made good on his promise to end
parole and establish tougher sentencing guidelines for violent
criminals, an effort, he said, to shut "the revolving door of
justice." He complained that three out of four violent crimes were
committed by repeat offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nearly 10 years later, the Times-Dispatch reports, violent criminals
are serving substantially longer sentences, but the average time
served for all inmates is less than four years. And according to the
most recent data available, it appears that repeat offenders commit
three out of four violent crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||
So little has changed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) OFFICIALS: DRUG ARRESTS IN MISSISSIPPI INCREASE IN '04
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JACKSON - Cooperation among state and local law enforcement agencies
is increasing the number of drug arrests in Mississippi, officials
say. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday that Mississippi had 39 percent
more drug arrests in the first half of 2004 than during the same
period a year ago. | ||||||||||||||||||
"That's the right kind of start," said Republican Barbour, who took
office in January. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Great news from California this week, as Bryan Epis released on bail
pending the fall Supreme Court review of the Raich /Monson decision.
The founder of a Chico medicinal cannabis club, Epis was reunited
with his family after serving just over 2 years of a 10-year prison
sentence for growing cannabis for California medical users. Our
second story looks north to the bust of Canadian company called
Carasel, which has recently launched a constitutional challenge to
Canada's medical marijuana program. Carasel had already begun
growing for medical users when it was raided by local police last
week, striking yet another blow to safe access for Canada's
medicinal users. And on the heels of this story, a great editorial
about the failures of Canada's federal medicinal cannabis program
from the Ottawa Citizen. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our fourth story this week is an in-depth examination of cannabis reform in Massachusetts, with a focus on attorney Steve Epstein, founder of MassCann and organizer of the yearly "Freedom Rally". And lastly, an update on the cannabis possession trial of Cheryl Adams, and what may be the final chapter in the sad story of the Hayward Hempery, one of North America's first compassionate dispensaries. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST FREED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Bryan James Epis Is Released From Jail As the Supreme Court Decides
the Legality of State-Sanctioned Cooperatives That Grow Medicinal
Pot. | ||||||||||||||||||
At 3:58 p.m. Monday, Bryan James Epis, whose trial and conviction in
Sacramento made him a symbol of the federal government's war on
medical marijuana, walked out of prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sentenced to 10 years, he was behind bars for two years and one
month before a federal appellate panel Monday ordered him freed
until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the fate of state-sanctioned
medical marijuana cooperatives that operate wholly within
California. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) CROWN MEETING STYMIES POT CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Police in Smiths Falls won't lay charges against a medicinal
marijuana company until after investigators meet with federal Crown
Attorneys. Police seized 221 marijuana plants from Carasel Harvest
Supply Corp. Wednesday night after learning the company had started
growing medical marijuana several months ago without the appropriate
Health Canada licence. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Once we determined there was no licence, this company growing
marijuana was no different than you or I growing it in the
basement," said Smiths Falls Police Chief Larry Hardy yesterday.
"It's illegal."
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Hardy said police only became aware that marijuana was being grown
in the old Canadian Tire building from media reports following a
Tuesday city council committee meeting. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) NOT ABOVE THE LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A marijuana grow-op in Smiths Falls has done all Canadians a favour by focusing a bright light on the federal government's flagrant violation of the rule of law in its handling of medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last week, police raided Carasel Harvest Supply Corp., which
operates in an old Canadian Tire building, after they learned
(through media reports) that the company had started growing
marijuana even though Health Canada hadn't given the company a
licence yet. | ||||||||||||||||||
Health Canada's refusal to give a licence to Carasel is now being
challenged in the courts as an "unconstitutional barrier" to
medicinal marijuana users. Right now, the health ministry will let
an eligible sick person grow marijuana, and it will let that person
designate someone else to grow marijuana on his or her behalf, but
it won't let more than one user designate the same other person to
do the growing. That means the only legal multiple-client grower is
the government's single source in Flin Flon, whose product many
users dismiss as ditchweed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) WAITING TO INHALE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Smoking pot may be Epstein's thing, but make no mistake, his mind
couldn't be clearer or more passionate when it comes to his thoughts
on the state's current marijuana laws. Otherwise, how else could you
explain the amount of support he's helped drum up in recent years
from Massachusetts voters, the majority of whom appear to agree with
Epstein that the time has come to reconsider marijuana possession as
a criminal offense. | ||||||||||||||||||
Not only does Epstein maintain marijuana is a far less dangerous
drug than most people would have you believe, he also says
decriminalizing it would create a major economic boost in
Massachusetts (see adjacent story). So far, the voters seem to
agree. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 2000, Epstein and the folks at Mass Cann used their persuasive
efforts in the 2nd Middlesex Senate district and the 4th Essex, 6th
Middlesex and 4th Barnstable Representative districts, where voters
supported a non-binding ballot question asking their representatives
to introduce legislation that would decriminalize marijuana
possession, instead making it a civil violation - much like getting
a traffic ticket. | ||||||||||||||||||
A similar ballot question passed in 2002 in more than 20
representative districts - including the 1st, 2nd and 18th Essex
districts, where the question passed with more than 60 percent of
the vote. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(17) HEMPERY OWNER MAY SETTLE DRUG CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Former medical marijuana dispensary owner Cheryl Adams is beginning to give up on the idea of becoming Hayward's Ed Rosenthal. | ||||||||||||||||||
Adams, 31, who used to own the now closed Hayward Hempery and its dispensary in downtown Hayward, faces felony drug possession charges stemming from an arrest last December in Newark. She was allegedly driving with 29 separate small plastic bags of marijuana and 13 bags of concen trated cannabis, or hash, according to court records. | ||||||||||||||||||
Following a court preceding Wednesday morning at the Hayward Hall of
Justice, Adams said she can't afford a private attorney, and her
public defender might want to settle the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
That would nip in the bud Adam's interest in fighting her case -- much like medical marijuana activist Rosenthal did -- as one of the first tests of a related new state law that recognizes collective groups for medical marijuana patients and caregivers. Brian Bloom, her public defender of record, declined to comment on the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Philippine prohibitionists boast about killing drug users, and
apparently, can get away with it. Our focus this week is on the
unfolding death-squad executions of drug users in the Philippines.
In Davao City, Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte -- who earlier praised the
death squad killing of drug suspects in his area, this week
cryptically took "the blame" for the summary executions. "You are
wondering why, where, who, what, where, how when? To simplify the
situation, I take the blame," explained Mayor Duterte. "If there are
no more drugs, then there is nobody to kill. They must be stupid to
pursue the trade even with the knowledge that they are being killed.
So we are taking the blame," he said. Later in the week, the
death-squad-cheering Mayor Duterte ordered the banishment of drug
suspects from his land, telling them to "start swimming now to go as
far as Sarangani province."
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The prohibitionist Mayor Duterte denounced critics of his support
for the death squads last week, branding them "reactive idiots."
Thundered Duterte: "don't just sit there and wait for the next
victim to fall. Seek them out and help reform them or warn them to
leave the city... You can't do anything just by shouting every time
some drug addicts is killed." At the same time, Duterte again
defended the grim labors of the Davao Death Squad (DDS). The DDS "is
much better than you [critics] because it did something to the
problem," insisted Duterte. While Duterte urged critics to reform
Davao City addicts instead of noting death squad activity, he
admitted that any former drug user was fair game for summary
execution. "[N]ine out of 10 persons who are rehabilitated usually
slide or go back to their old ways. There's no cure for that," he
said. "So, don't give that line 'why did they kill him when he has
reformed?'"
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Meanwhile, officials of the Philippine Dangerous Drug Board, apparently irked by media criticism of the way drug prohibition is enforced in the Philippines, last week urged that "members of the various media associations" be tested for illegal drugs. Officials explained this would enable members of the media to prove their innocence. "Media practitioners, particularly those opposing the procedure, should view the process as more of an advantage on their part. For one, they could prove that they are clean of illegal drugs and this definitely would make their families happy," explained one official. Cowed Philippine "media men" immediately fell into line. President of the Western Police District Press Corps., Francis Naguit, pledged support for the testing idea and suggested reporters covering police activities in his area be tested first. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) RODY ADMITS FAILURE IN SOLVING EXECUTIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has taken the blame for the spate of unsolved murders, saying it is a failure of governance. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The failure lies on my lap," Duterte said as he commended the media for playing a vital role in calling the government's attention and even criticizing the government for failing to solve the incidents. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking before the City Peace and Order Council Meeting at the Men
Seng Hotel, Duterte said he has taken the blame to end the rumors
about these murders. | ||||||||||||||||||
"You are wondering why, where, who, what, where, how when? To
simplify the situation, I take the blame," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
This developed as Duterte welcomed the suggestion of a city councilor to scrap the support of the city government to the police if they fail to solve the extra-judicial killings in two months. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Duterte said the government recognizes the sanctity of human rights,
and does not agree with the the killings. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, Duterte told the Mindanao Times the killings will only stop
if the criminals will stop tinkering with drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If there are no more drugs, then there is nobody to kill. They must
be stupid to pursue the trade even with the knowledge that they are
being killed. So we are taking the blame," he said.
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[snip]
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However, Duterte said the authorities will continue looking for those responsible for the murder incidents and take them to justice. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We just have to continue to enforce the law and really find out who
the killers are and arrest them," he said. Senior Supt. Conrado
Laza, director of the Davao City Police Office, told the Mindanao
Times Duterte's statement of taking responsibility for the unsolved
murders reflects the lack of effort on the part of the police in
doing their job. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Laza has remained steadfast that the killings will only stop if the
people involved in the illegal drug trade would stop their
activities. | ||||||||||||||||||
"As what we have been telling, the cause of the killings here is the
conflict within the drug trade," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) LEAVE DAVAO CITY, DUTERTE WARNS DRUG TRADERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines -- Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has
warned those engaged in the illegal drugs trade here to "start
swimming now to go as far as Sarangani province" if they still want
to live. | ||||||||||||||||||
In his weekly television program Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa aired
live over ABS-CBN Davao, Duterte said he had had enough of drug
traffickers operating in the city and that he was tired of telling
them to stop. | ||||||||||||||||||
The mayor made his warning as the number of those killed in the
city's vigilante-related killings reached 59. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) DUTERTE DARES CRITICS: GO OUT, HELP REFORM ADDICTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DAVAO CITY - Irked by perennial criticism on police inability to
solve the killings of persons engaged in the illegal-drug trade,
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte branded his critics as "reactive idiots" and
urged them to seek out wanted persons and warn them to reform or
leave the city. | ||||||||||||||||||
"These reactive idiots, I may call them, don't just sit there and
wait for the next victim to fall. Seek them out and help reform them
or warn them to leave the city," he said in his regular Sunday
television program Monday morning. | ||||||||||||||||||
He dared his critics, mainly from the moderate and militant nongovernment organizations, to "get the list [of wanted persons] from the PDEA [Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency], it's public, go to these persons and tell them [wanted persons] to reform." | ||||||||||||||||||
"Go out of your way instead. You can't do anything just by shouting
every time some drug addicts is killed," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He reiterated that the shadowy antidrug vigilante group, called here
as the Davao Death Squad (DDS), was not government-created, but
admitted that the group "gets there first before we can get these
[wanted persons] ourselves."
| ||||||||||||||||||
At least another six persons believed hooked on drugs were killed in
a killing spree on Thursday and Friday, all attributed to the DDA.
The killings have reached more than 50 this year, and unconfirmed
talks continued to circulate that there were at least 500 persons in
the wanted list of the PDEA. | ||||||||||||||||||
The victims were often those on the wanted list of the PDEA. The
killings started in 1992, and occurred in episodes of several
months, before a lull. Each episode of killings would leave at least
more than 50 killings. Last year, about 90 persons were killed, all
still unsolved. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
"I don't know who [coined] that [DDS] but I tell you, there are
persons who won't accept these deeds of [drug-crazed] criminals who
would kill innocent lives and destroy the communities," Duterte
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said that the DDS "is much better than you [critics] because it
did something to the problem."
| ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
But he warned that studies have indicated that "there is a strange
medical and psychological effect of drugs on persons."
| ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm gonna tell you, that nine out of 10 persons who are
rehabilitated usually slide or go back to their old ways. There's no
cure for that," he said. "So, don't give that line 'why did they
kill him when he has reformed?'"
| ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) DDB URGES DRUG TEST FOR MEDIA MEN
| ||||||||||||||||||
Officials of the Dangerous Drug Board urged yesterday members of
various media associations to undergo drug test. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Although the process is not mandatory, Calida explained media men
could use the opportunity to prove that they are clean of shabu and
other regulated drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
"Media practitioners, particularly those opposing the procedure,
should view the process as more of an advantage on their part. For
one, they could prove that they are clean of illegal drugs and this
definitely would make their families happy," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Calida added that he is also aware that several media men are not regular employees who receive fixed income from their publications. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Under the "Barkadahan Laban sa Droga", scheme, Francis Naguit,
president of the WPD Press Corps., said he would urge reporters
covering the WPD beat to support the move. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Patriot Act Hits A New Low As The Prison/Parole/Probation
Population Hits A New High
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Richard Cowan at Marijuananews.com
| ||||||||||||||||||
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Tragic Comedy
| ||||||||||||||||||
The frustratutions of one man's attempt to change Brazil's war on
drugs
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Andrea Wilkins y Martinez at Narconews.com
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Bush's Born Again Drug War
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted August 12, 2004.
| ||||||||||||||||||
"Whereas previous administrations commonly framed their anti-drug
arguments in secular terms, Bush's drug war, at least rhetorically,
resembles that of a religious crusade."
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cultural-Baggage Radio Show
| ||||||||||||||||||
Internationally Known Pain Specialists: Dr. Joel Hochman & Dr.
Stratton Hill
| ||||||||||||||||||
Citing evidence that shows zero deaths for patients properly using opioid medicines last year and 17,00 deaths from aspirin and Tylenol, these doctors proclaim the drug war to be "mythology". | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Kicking Drugs with Drugs - Taking the Left Hand Path
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Preston Peet, For DrugWar.com, Posted August 12, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Alternative Crops Aren’t an Alternative
| ||||||||||||||||||
Campesino Families Continue to Grow Coca for Cash to Meet their Needs | ||||||||||||||||||
By Benjamin Maurice Melancon, 2004 Narco News Authentic Journalism
Scholar
| ||||||||||||||||||
August 12, 2004
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ATTACK OF THE ZOMBIE METH-HEADS?
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Brent Caughy
| ||||||||||||||||||
Re: District removes camp for squatters from 127th ( NEWS, July 28). | ||||||||||||||||||
Come on people. Let's get our heads out of our collective rear-ends.
There is no crime wave descending on Maple Ridge perpetuated by
roves of bearded bicycle-riding meth freaks who thrive on stealing
your 800 pound riding lawn mower or 600 board feet of lumber and
cases of lawn pesticide!
| ||||||||||||||||||
Oh sure, many of us have seen these people late at night with a
stolen motorcycle strapped to their bicycle rat traps with bungee
cords, zipping down to the local immigrant gang/drug dealers
clubhouse to sell off the daily acquisitions. | ||||||||||||||||||
I moved here first in 1975. I have seen a great deal of good and bad
happen in Maple Ridge over the years. I knew people who had tools
and motorbikes taken from their homes, too. Ten years ago. I have
also seen this area grow faster than I would have guessed it would.
With this kind of population, crime will grow. So lock your doors
and put your expensive stuff away. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sorry Mr. building supply owner, but with the increase in your
profits from all those houses that we built here came a huge
population. So buy security and/or a big dog. This isn't Mayberry
any more. | ||||||||||||||||||
And one other thing. Before we blame homeless people and roaming
zombie drug addicts, let's think about our own self images. I'm
referring to the suburban middle weekend warriors here who want to
express their self images with bad-ass tattoos and Harleys and their
kids with their pimp and hooker look portrayals. So many here
idolize the criminal image but we cry and moan when a real criminal
takes the stuff we leave out in our yards. | ||||||||||||||||||
And don't be so quick to judge what you think you see. The other day I was doing some yard work and while in my grubby work clothes I road my old beater bicycle to the store. I guess about half the people I passed took me for a zombie homeless drug freak. | ||||||||||||||||||
Brent Caughy
| ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Excerpt From "The Colonel's Weed"
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young
| ||||||||||||||||||
Tribune Boss Robert McCormick Had A Farm, And On That Farm He Grew
Some Hemp. | ||||||||||||||||||
As crops throughout the midwest withered during the drought of 1936,
the Chicago Tribune reported on one plant untroubled by the lack of
water. "When we stopped to look at the test plot where the hemp is
growing, we wanted to doff our straw hat and give this plant a
little applause," wrote reporter Robert Becker. "It has grown
remarkably in spite of intense heat and drouth [sic]. In fact, one
of the boys was saying that during the week of the most severe heat
the hemp kept pushing its head to the blazing sun."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Becker's report showed up in a regular Tribune feature called "Day
by Day Story of the Experimental Farms." This space kept readers
up-to-date on two farms in the western suburbs that had been started
( and publicized ) by the Tribune in hopes of bringing innovation to
the desperate farming industry. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hemp, traditionally used to make products like rope, paper, and
birdseed, was an obvious choice for the experimental farms. Though
it had been cultivated in the U.S. since colonial times by the likes
of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Americans weren't growing
much hemp in the 1930s. But new technological advances, as well as
its natural resistance to drought, made hemp potentially attractive
to struggling farmers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Less than a year after Tribune employees reported on the impressive
properties of hemp, the drug czar of that day published an
influential article in American Magazine. The story by Harry
Anslinger, head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, began: "The
sprawled body of a young girl lay crushed on the sidewalk the other
day after a plunge from the fifth story of a Chicago apartment
house. Everyone called it suicide, but actually it was murder. The
killer was a narcotic known to America as marihuana."
| ||||||||||||||||||
It wasn't long before the Chicago Tribune's hemp crop was the focus
of a federal drug investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Nearly 70 years later, the old argument continues: Are hemp and
marijuana synonymous or only distantly related?
| ||||||||||||||||||
Donald Briskin, a professor in the Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois in Urbana,
says hemp and marijuana differ substantially, thanks to the way
they've been bred over the centuries. Hemp has been selected for
length and minimal branching, to maximize the recovery of the fiber
along its main stem. Marijuana has been selected for elevated THC,
the molecule in marijuana flowers most responsible for getting
smokers high. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Some plant scientists consider hemp and marijuana to even be
different species," says Briskin. "For instance, another
classification is to consider hemp as Cannabis sativa and marijuana
as Cannabis indica. There isn't complete agreement on the
classification of these plants."
| ||||||||||||||||||
THC has been virtually bred out of industrial hemp. In Canada, for
example, the legal difference between hemp and marijuana is a THC
content that is either below or above 0.3 percent of the plant,
measured by dry weight. But the THC content of common marijuana
ranges from 3 to 7 percent. The flowers of industrial hemp may bear
some physical resemblance to marijuana, but ingesting even massive
amounts won't get a normal human high. | ||||||||||||||||||
Though 33 states had outlawed marijuana by 1937, its use as an
intoxicant was relatively uncommon in the U.S. Marijuana became
illegal in Illinois in 1931 after local media, including the
Tribune, campaigned against the drug. The logic of prohibition was
explained in "New Giggle Drug Puts Discord in City Orchestras," a
1928 Tribune article about marijuana's growing popularity among
local musicians. The story explained that marijuana "is an old drug
but was generally introduced into the country only a few years ago
by the Mexicans. It is like cocaine. In the long run, it bends and
cripples its victims. A sort of creeping paralysis results from long
use."
| ||||||||||||||||||
State laws against marijuana didn't impact hemp. It had been grown
in the United States since before the revolution, but the
labor-intensive processing of the plant made it less attractive to
American farmers, and by the time the Tribune started experimenting
with it most hemp products in the U.S. were imported. Technological
innovations that reduced the costs of processing hemp might have
been what caught the eye of Colonel Robert McCormick, the Tribune's
publisher and editor. | ||||||||||||||||||
McCormick was an agricultural enthusiast. His great-uncle Cyrus
revolutionized farming by inventing the mechanical reaper, and
McCormick farmed Cantigny, his estate in Wheaton. In the mid-1930s,
when he wasn't busy bashing FDR and the New Deal in the pages of the
Tribune, McCormick operated the "experimental farms" on his estate.
Frank Ridgway, the Tribune's agricultural editor and usual author of
"Day by Day Story of the Experimental Farms," also served as
supervisor for the farms. Ridgway described them as "practical
laboratories for trying out new discoveries, theories and
practices." According to one biographer, McCormick personally chose
the crops. Along with exotic strains of soybeans and alfalfa, he
grew hemp. | ||||||||||||||||||
A small test crop of hemp was planted in 1934, and in '36 a
three-acre hemp plot was sown. By harvest time, the plants had grown
to 13 feet. Reaping proved difficult. The towering stalks
overwhelmed the machines, and part of the crop had to be cut by
hand. The farmers learned as they went along. "Much progress has
been made in the manufacturing of fibers, paper and other products
on a small laboratory scale," Ridgway wrote after the 1936 harvest.
"The next step is to manufacture the hemp products on a commercial
scale. When that is accomplished, farmers should find a profitable
outlet for hemp plants."
| ||||||||||||||||||
To accompany Ridgway's column, the Tribune published a photograph of
farmworkers attempting to harvest the massive plants. At least one
person was troubled by what he saw. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Freelance writer Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly
and author of Maximizing Harm - www.maximizingharm.com
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"It is never too late to give up your prejudices."
| ||||||||||||||||||
- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
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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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