| Dec. 3, 2004 #378 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) IMPERFECT MEASURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Drug Sentences, Guesswork Often Plays Heavy Role
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Authorities Use Varying Tools To Calculate How Much Criminals Wanted
to Make Mr. Rosacker's Hoard of Tea
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On May 9, 1998, police and their dogs chased Elizabeth Cronan into a
wooded area near an abandoned house in Pace, Fla., where she was
living. They discovered the former dental assistant with about two
grams of methamphetamine, or speed, in her pocket. | ||||||||||||||||||
That crime alone would lead to only a short prison term. But
investigators determined from testimony by Ms. Cronan's
co-conspirators that her group had used the old house as a drug lab
and produced about 340 grams of speed. Added to other elements of the
case, she was now looking at 10 to 13 years. | ||||||||||||||||||
Then came the topper. Police searching the car of a conspirator found an empty one-pound can of red phosphorus, a chemical found in kitchen matches that is used by drug dealers to cook up speed. A Florida state chemist wrote a report estimating that the phosphorus could yield more than 2,200 grams, or about five pounds, of highly purified methamphetamine. Based on the report, a judge sentenced Ms. Cronan, a first-time offender who is now 45 years old, to 28 years in prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) MENTAL HEALTH WARNING FOR CANNABIS USERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Young people with a family history of mental illness were warned
yesterday that smoking cannabis substantially increases their chances
of developing psychiatric problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
Those who are genetically vulnerable to psychosis double the risks of
hallucinations, paranoia and serious conditions such as schizophrenia
by using the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
'Cannabis can be the trigger to lifelong mental illness' | ||||||||||||||||||
The study, to be presented at an Institute of Psychiatry conference in
London today, confirmed previous findings that for an average person
taking cannabis once or twice a week the risk of suffering psychotic
symptoms roughly doubles in later life. | ||||||||||||||||||
Prof Jim van Os, a psychiatrist at Maastricht University in the
Netherlands, said: "There have been a number of studies that have
shown that cannabis use roughly doubles the risk of psychiatric
illness such as schizophrenia among young people. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) BRITISH ADS TOUT MAGIC OF SHROOMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LONDON - In Camden Town, amid the tattoo parlors, street markets and
piercing salons, huge banners along High Street advertise: "MAGIC
MUSHROOMS."
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While in the United States the power of religious conservatives is
said to be increasing, Europe is tripping off in a different
direction. Hallucinogens, packaged as professionally as bean sprouts
in a supermarket, are readily available. | ||||||||||||||||||
Certainly, drugs are available around the world, particularly in similar bohemian hot spots like New York's Greenwich Village. | ||||||||||||||||||
But in Camden Town, a neighborhood in northwest London, we're not
talking about a furtive whisper of, "Psst, marijuana?"
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We're talking about kiosks where would-be trippers can browse at their
leisure, or even entire stores, with big glass-fronted refrigerators
to keep the product fresh. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) CANCUN OFFICIALS SUSPECTED IN SLAYINGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CANCUN, Mexico - The federal attorney general's office fired its
representative in Cancun and took him into custody Wednesday, charged
along with a group of suspects in connection with the killings of nine
people, including three federal agents. | ||||||||||||||||||
The arrest of Miguel Angel Hernandez came a day after soldiers surrounded the headquarters of federal investigators in this resort city, and Mexico's top drug- and organized-crime prosecutor, Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, said everyone who worked there was under suspicion for protecting or working for drug smugglers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hernandez and Felipe de Jesus Arguelles, who oversees Cancun's
police, traffic and emergency departments, were among a group of
suspects flown to Mexico City late Wednesday night to answer
questions, Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha said at
a news conference. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The DEA is poised to become even more intrusive when investigating
pain doctors and their patients, according to an article in the
Washington Post. This is only months after pain doctors thought they
had an agreement with the pain police. Of course, it's hard to
expect the feds to be able to keep tabs on everyone. The federal
drug war can't even keep the price of cocaine down in the U.S.,
according to new embarrassing government numbers. The statistics are
being publicized by The Washington Office on Latin America, not the
ONDCP. | ||||||||||||||||||
While the drug war has failed here, it's had worse consequences for
places like Colombia. If the Miami Herald can be believed, rivals
from the rebel and paramilitary camps are working together to keep
drug routes open. Finally, public transportation authorities in
Boston are startled to find that the First Amendment applies to them
as well, even after they spent $800,000 in public money trying to
resist ads from a marijuana advocacy group. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) NEW DEA STATEMENT HAS PAIN DOCTORS MORE FEARFUL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Agency Reneges On Guidelines Worked Out For Narcotics
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An extensive effort to ease tensions between physicians who specialize in treating pain and the Drug Enforcement Administration over the use of morphine-based painkillers has backfired -- leaving many pain doctors and patients more fearful than before that they could be arrested for practicing what they consider good medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||
The DEA triggered the new impasse this month when it published a
statement clarifying its position on a number of issues central to
pain medicine. The document discusses when a doctor is at risk of
being investigated for alleged prescription drug diversion, whether
patients with known drug problems can ever be prescribed narcotic
painkillers and whether doctors can give patients prescriptions to
be filled on a future date. | ||||||||||||||||||
On all these issues, the new DEA position is at odds with a set of
guidelines negotiated over several years by DEA officials and a
group of leading pain-management experts. Those guidelines were
posted on the agency's Web site in August as part of an effort to
reassure doctors who properly prescribe narcotics, but several weeks
later the document was abruptly removed and described by the agency
as inaccurate and unofficial. | ||||||||||||||||||
Pain-management experts have responded to the new notice with
dismay, saying its provisions may well result in the denial of pain
relief to millions of sufferers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Howard A. Heit, a pain and addiction doctor in Fairfax County, said
yesterday that "over 90 percent" of patients and doctors could face
investigation under the new guidelines. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) REPORT SUGGESTS U.S. LOSING DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With Prices For Heroin, Cocaine At 20-Year Lows, Effectiveness
Questioned
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WASHINGTON - Prices for cocaine and heroin have reached 20-year
lows, according to a report released Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Washington Office on Latin America, which usually is critical of
U.S. policies in Latin America, said the low prices called into
question the effectiveness of the two-decade U.S. war on drugs. A
White House official said the numbers were old and didn't reflect
recent efforts in Colombia to curb drug cultivation. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Washington Office on Latin America, citing the White House's
Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the street price of 2
grams of cocaine averaged $106 in the first half of 2003, down 14
percent from the previous year's average and the lowest price in 20
years. | ||||||||||||||||||
An official with the Office of National Drug Control Policy confirmed the figures, which haven't been publicly released. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report comes as the Bush administration and Congress work with
Colombian authorities to craft a successor to Plan Colombia, which
will end late next year after pumping more than $3 billion into
Colombia to fight drugs since 2000. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Washington Office on Latin America accused the White House
drug-policy office of not releasing price and purity numbers since
2000 because the data were "inconvenient."
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"It strays too far from the message of imminent drug-war success,
particularly around Plan Colombia," said John Walsh, a senior
associate with the Latin America organization. | ||||||||||||||||||
The organization said that not only had the price of cocaine on U.S.
streets dropped to a fifth of its 1981 level, but heroin was much
cheaper, too. A gram of heroin, which cost $329 in 1981, sold for
$60 in the first half of 2003, it said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) PARAMILITARIES ALLY WITH REBELS FOR DRUG TRADE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Formerly Archenemies, Colombian Right-Wing Paramilitaries and
Left-Wing Guerrillas Have Put Their Differences Aside, Working
Together In The Illicit-Drug Trade
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BOGOTA - In Colombia, drug trafficking and war can make for strange
bedfellows. | ||||||||||||||||||
In recent months, U.S. and Colombian authorities have noticed an
alarming amount of direct contact between right-wing paramilitary
groups and left-wing guerrillas from the country's largest rebel
group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. They are
not fighting, authorities say, but working or doing business
together. | ||||||||||||||||||
The motives for this cooperation vary. In some cases, the groups
have teamed up to fight a mutual enemy encroaching on an important
drug- trafficking corridor. In others, they've traded
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"Every day we see that the border that existed between guerrillas
and paramilitary groups has dissipated because of the
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[snip]
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(8) MBTA TAKES A HIT IN COURT ON MARIJUANA ADS CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The MBTA violated the free speech rights of a group that wants to legalize marijuana by refusing to display its advertisements throughout the transit system, a federal appeals court has ruled. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a decision that came after the T waged an $800,000 court battle,
the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals found officials improperly rejected
the ads because they disapproved of their message. | ||||||||||||||||||
"As a taxpayer I would be outraged by . . . what they spent on a
losing case," said Joe White, executive director of Change the
Climate, the group that wanted to run the ads. | ||||||||||||||||||
T officials argued yesterday that the money was well spent because the agency prevailed in key portions of the ruling that upheld the agency's policies for reviewing and rejecting some advertisements. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's expensive . . . but we are preserving our right to control
advertisements on the MBTA system in a way that's respectful to the
people who use that system," MBTA General Manager Michael Mulhern
said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The court ruling, while slapping the T for its refusal to run the
Change the Climate ads, said the agency properly rejected ads from
other groups deemed offensive to Christians. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the case of Change the Climate, which wanted to run a series of three advertisements, the court found the T's refusal was unreasonable and amounted to "viewpoint discrimination." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Restricting access to over-the-counter drugs that are used to make
methamphetamine in Kentucky has succeeded ... in driving meth cooks
to neighboring states for their supply. New, extremely harsh
mandatory minimums against methamphetamine in North Carolina
probably won't help much either. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Wall Street Journal looked at disparities among drug informants. Some leaders can shave years off their own sentences, while minor players are getting the longest sentences. Also this week, a New York Times columnist examined harm reduction behind bars. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) METH-MAKERS HIT NEARBY STATES FOR INGREDIENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OWENSBORO - A pair of Kentuckians looking to get ingredients for
methamphetamine traveled to Atlanta, where they bought nearly 7,000
pills containing pseudo-ephedrine from a wholesaler, court documents
show. Now Dennis B. Cartwright, 51, and Vanessa Lynn Jennings, 25,
are facing charges of criminal attempt to manufacture
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Police in Kentucky have found that, since stricter laws regulating
meth ingredients were passed, more people are traveling outside the
state to gather ingredients to make the drug that has fueled an
epidemic in rural Western Kentucky. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sgt. Brock Peterson, supervisor of the Owensboro Police Department's street crimes unit, said the ability of meth cookers to obtain pseudoephedrine from nearby states is a significant problem. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Basically, because other states don't have the methamphetamine
problem we have, they don't know," Peterson said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last year, nearly 300 meth labs were seized in Kentucky while 17 labs were seized in Georgia, according to federal statistics. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(10) NEW METH LAWS WORSEN PENALTIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Starting today, state and local authorities have tougher laws to
fight what many say is North Carolina's fastest-growing scourge:
homemade methamphetamine. Until now, you could get caught making the
illegal stimulant and easily avoid prison time. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now the penalty for producing meth has risen sharply, from likely
probation to a mandatory five to 17 years behind bars. | ||||||||||||||||||
Just having ingredients in quantities sufficient to make meth can
get you five years, instead of community service, but prosecutors
have to prove the intent to manufacture meth. | ||||||||||||||||||
Making meth around children can get you extra years. So can causing
injuries to authorities busting your secret meth lab. | ||||||||||||||||||
And if someone dies from an overdose of your meth, you can be charged with murder, not just involuntary manslaughter. | ||||||||||||||||||
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who led the push this
year for the new laws, says they will help fight what he calls a
growing social catastrophe. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) FEDERAL CASES SHOW BIG GAP IN REWARD FOR COOPERATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cooperating with federal prosecutors against friends, acquaintances and co-defendants is often the only hope for criminals to avoid being sentenced under strict federal guidelines and mandatory minimum prison terms. More than one in six defendants is awarded a letter from prosecutors saying he or she gave "substantial assistance" to an investigation. The letter means that the usual rules are thrown out and judges, many of whom believe current punishments are too severe, can give any sentence they like. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the procedure for deciding who gets these valuable letters is often haphazard and tilted toward higher-ranking veteran criminals who can tell prosecutors what they want to know. U.S. attorneys in different parts of the country vary widely in how they reward cooperation, even though they're all part of the same federal justice system. Studies suggest blacks and Hispanics are less likely to get credit than whites, perhaps partly because they are more mistrustful of authorities. And once prosecutors decide that cooperation is insufficient for a letter, their word is usually final -- defendants can't appeal the decision to a judge. | ||||||||||||||||||
All these issues raise concern because the federal sentencing
guidelines were supposed to promote uniformity in sentencing. "How
could any factor in a system which aims to normalize sentences be so
widely disparate?" asks Marc Miller, a professor at Atlanta's Emory
University Law School. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GETS REAL ABOUT SEX BEHIND BARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Thirteen million Americans have been convicted of felonies and spent
time in prison. The prison system now releases an astonishing
650,000 people each year - more than the population of Boston or
Washington. In city after city, newly released felons return to a
handful of neighborhoods where many households have some prison
connection. | ||||||||||||||||||
The so-called prison ZIP codes have more in common than large
populations of felons or children who grow up visiting their mothers
and fathers in jail. These neighborhoods are also public health
disaster areas and epicenters of blood borne diseases like hepatitis
C and AIDS. Infection rates in these areas are many times higher
than in neighborhoods short distances away. | ||||||||||||||||||
No one can say how many infections begin in prison. But the
proportion could be high given the enormous concentrations of
disease behind bars and the risky behaviors that inmates commonly
practice. They carve tattoos in themselves using contaminated tools
borrowed from other inmates. | ||||||||||||||||||
They inject themselves with drugs using dirty syringes. | ||||||||||||||||||
The most common source of infection could easily be risky, unprotected sex, which, despite denials by prison officials, is clearly a regular occurrence behind bars. A recent study of male inmates in several prisons, for example, found that more than 40 percent had participated in sexual encounters with another man. Most of these inmates, by the way, viewed themselves as heterosexual and planned to resume sex with women once they got out of prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
Prison systems in Canada and Europe have tried to cut down infection
by making condoms available to inmates. Prompted by research showing
that sterile syringes slow the spread of AIDS among intravenous drug
users, several countries have actually moved programs that supply
clean needles right into the prisons. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
This week the U.S. Supreme Court finally heard the Raich/Monson
case, which seeks to limit the federal governments efforts to
prosecute medical marijuana users and those who help them in states
that have legalized its medical use and distribution. The L.A. Times
story cites the somewhat skeptical tone of most of the Supreme Court
Justices hearing the case, with the exception of Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor who lent support to the rights of states to govern commerce
within their own borders. Adding to this ongoing legal debate, our
second story focuses on the introduction of a medical marijuana bill
in Wisconsin by Republican State Rep. Gregg Underheim, with a plea
from local resident and medicinal cannabis user Jacki Rickert to
legalize the only medicine that addresses the pain she suffers as a
result of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. | ||||||||||||||||||
There's been much action from Canada following last week's release
of the Canadian Addiction Survey, which showed almost a doubling of
cannabis use over the last 10 years. Our third story has Public
Safety Minister Anne McLellan calling for judicial education on the
severity of grow ops, citing that less than 1 out of 100 British
Columbians busted for cultivation serve a prison term. Conservative
Justice Critic Vic Toews went a step further by urging the
government to put in place U.S.-style mandatory minimum sentences.
Our fourth story addresses recent concerns of the Canadian medicinal
cannabis community at the news that "cultural vampire" and media
baron Moises Znaimer - owner of MuchMusic - is heading up a
pharmaceutical company hoping to develop a cannabis-based medicine
for sale in the nations drugstores. Despite reassurances from
representatives from Cannasat that they are no threat to the
established network of national non-profit compassion clubs,
activists are quick to point out that venture capitalists surely
wouldn't enter into this contentious market without the potential to
profit off of Canada's critically and chronically ill. And lastly
this week, news of a new housing development in Chilliwack B.C. that
claims to be the first official "grow-op free" community in North
America. The 13-unit gated community will require that all residents
forfeit their houses if they are caught growing cannabis, and all
visitors will be photographed by 24-hour cameras. If we could only
get all of Canada's ultra conservative fear-mongering anti-drug
zealots to move into an expanded version of this project, the rest
of the nation could finally put in place a drug policy based on
science, reason and compassion. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) IT'S STATE LAW VS. FEDERAL LAW IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court on Monday confronted a dispute between
California's medical marijuana law and federal anti-drug policy,
with a Bush administration lawyer arguing that the government's
zero-tolerance law trumps the state measure. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Smoked marijuana really doesn't have any future in medicine," acting Solicitor Gen. Paul D. Clement told the court. If thousands of Californians were entitled to smoke marijuana to relieve their pain, he said, the federal ban on this illegal drug could collapse. | ||||||||||||||||||
Eight years ago, California voters approved a limited exception to
the state's drug laws. Seriously ill patients were given the right
to use marijuana for medical purposes if they had a doctor's
recommendation. | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal authorities, however, have all but ignored the state law --
as well as similar measures since enacted in 10 other states -- and
insisted that they retain the power to raid the homes of
Californians who grow marijuana for their own use. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court took up the issue Monday, not to decide whether marijuana is a good medicine but to rule on whether the federal authority to "regulate commerce" extends to seizing homegrown drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) SHOULD MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA BE LEGAL IN WISCONSIN? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Fifty-three-year-old Jacki Rickert of Madison is undergoing rehabilitative therapy for four broken ribs and a chipped hipbone that she suffered in a fall that wouldn't hurt most people. | ||||||||||||||||||
The therapy is expected to help, but without marijuana, Rickert
doubts she'd be able to handle the pain associated with
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disorder that makes her bones and
connective tissue highly susceptible to injury. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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State Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, said he will introduce a bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal use during the next legislative session, which begins in January. If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of states' rights, Underheim's bill could get a boost. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) JUDGES URGED TO GET TOUGH ON GROW OPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's new pot reform laws will toughen penalties to combat
dangerous marijuana grow ops -- but judges also need a lesson about
the gravity of the crime, said Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan.
Responding to a Toronto Sun story about chronically lenient
sentences for large-scale growing operators, the Deputy Prime
Minister said more judicial education is required. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We need to help judges understand how absolutely serious this is --
the social costs, the economic costs and quite truthfully, the
danger to the lives and safety of first responders when they go into
these houses," she told Sun Media. "This is not a crime that should
be taken lightly. This is not a victimless crime."
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[snip]
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(16) MOSES PUSHES MUCHMARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Cultural vampire Moses Znaimer has found fresh blood in the
medicinal marijuana business, and he stands to drain more there than
from all the Canadian pop stars he's sucked on so far. | ||||||||||||||||||
Moses -- founder of MuchMusic, CityTV, and various other cultural
black holes -- has waded into the promised land of medicinal
marijuana but potheads are proving more resistant than music fans to
his establishment-masquerading-as-edgy touch. He's the main backer
of Cannasat, a company looking to get it's own brand of pot into
pharmacies in Canada and thus become part of the
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[snip]
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(17) POT-FREE HOUSING EYES A MARKET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A pot-free housing project in Chilliwack, believed the first in
Canada, will soon open to buyers willing to give up some privacy for
protection against home marijuana grow operators. | ||||||||||||||||||
But they'll also have to agree to forfeit their home, if caught
growing pot themselves in one of the 13 homes planned for the
Promontory Park subdivision on Valleyview Road. | ||||||||||||||||||
Developer Bill Coughlin says homebuyers will be asked to sign a
contract agreeing to sell the home back to the strata council at
cost, if the house is used for growing pot. The three-bedroom homes
are priced in the $300,000 range. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hydro meters will also be centrally located to prevent theft of electricity, foil-covered windows and basement suites will be banned and a 24-hour security camera will photograph all visitors with copies sent to the RCMP if a criminal investigation starts. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
There was surprising news from the Philippines last week as congressman Solomon Chungalao suggested government focus on meth, not pot. Chungalao, who had earlier urged that medical marijuana be made legal, admitted the pot-war cost "enormous vital resources to the government." The reaction to Chungalao was swift and furious; Philippine politicians, police, clergy and papers roundly condemned the suggestion that anyone, including medical users, not be jailed for using the evil weed. Although Chungalao took pains to emphasize he did not condone use of the plant, Philippine papers could not resist describing the congressman as a "Proponent Of Pot Use." | ||||||||||||||||||
The Philippine president's son, Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, who is
also a congressional representative, jumped into the legalization
fray last week when he declared that he might support medical
marijuana. "If scientific studies will show that marijuana can cure
or has vital medicinal values for the treatment of ailments,
particularly cancer and other dreaded diseases, then I think its
legalization should be explored, but strictly for the purposes," he
proclaimed. Predictably, Arroyo was roundly condemned as
representatives stood to righteously denounce the very idea of
legalizing "dangerous drugs." Besides, noted the Manila Bulletin,
there was some provision for medical use for the "highly addictive
substance" (cannabis) already written into Philippine cannabis
prohibition laws. Philippine penalties against cannabis possession
currently include the death penalty. | ||||||||||||||||||
Worldwide, interest is growing in the use of Ibogaine, a powerful
hallucinogenic drug which is found in the root of an African plant
called Tabernanthe iboga. Iboga(ine) is no recreational high: users
report the trip is intense but no fun, yet the drug often leaves
users free of cravings for heroin, or opioids, stimulants like
cocaine or amphetamines, and even nicotine. Fearing that hippies
might use iboga for a buzz, zealous U.S. drug bureaucrats outlawed
iboga in the 1970s. But, as an article from the Los Angeles Times
this week points out, clinics are popping up in countries like
Mexico, where iboga remains legal. For many, a single (unpleasant)
trip on the plant, a treatment which may last for several days, is
sufficient to eliminate cravings. U.S. drug researchers, an eye to
profitable and politically correct patent-drugs, want to create a
patentable version of Ibogaine sans the hallucinogenic qualities.
Pharma companies are said to be unhappy with iboga's single-use
action, which could not generate profits as drugs which require
repeated doses. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) FOCUS ON 'SHABU,' PRO-MARIJUANA SOLON TELLS GOV'T (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Ifugao Representative Solomon Chungalao said the government campaign
to stop the cultivation and distribution of marijuana had been an
expensive and tiring job. | ||||||||||||||||||
Chungalao, who proposed the legalization of marijuana
| ||||||||||||||||||
"The drive to eradicate marijuana appears frustrating and costing
enormous vital resources to the government. The police and the
military furthermore seem sidetracked in their efforts as they are
now more concentrated on the more dangerous drug called shabu," he
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(19) PROPONENT OF POT USE STUNNED BY REACTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Suddenly, this congressman has found his 15 minutes of
| ||||||||||||||||||
Thrust into the limelight by his proposal to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes, Ifugao Representative Solomon Chungalao has been overwhelmed by the adverse reaction to his proposal from the police, the Catholic Church and other sectors. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Before even drafting and filing the bill... I floated the idea to
search out the opinions and ideas of certain concerned people,
knowing pretty well that the arguments against it were aplenty,"
Chungalao told the Inquirer here on Sunday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Chungalao said he was forced to defend his proposal after some
sectors used it to attack the First Family, particularly Pampanga
Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo, who had initially endorsed the
idea. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Chungalao clarified that he was not condoning the cultivation of
marijuana. "Those who transport and use cannabis illegally will
still be punished according to our laws," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the bill would only affect "a very limited area and a very
limited group of people."
| ||||||||||||||||||
"I brought into the discussion the possibility of excluding
marijuana among other drugs, and of tapping the medicinal aspect and
properties of marijuana to legalize its production, even on a
limited scale in limited areas," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) ANTI-DRUGS LAW CITES MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Presidential son, Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey"
Arroyo, was right after all. | ||||||||||||||||||
Like many of his critics and colleagues in the House of Representatives, the young Arroyo may not be aware that a provision of the Dangerous Drugs Code actually acknowledges the use of marijuana for scientific, medical, and laboratory purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
It was for this reason that the neophyte solon answered in the
affirmative when Ifugao Representative Solomon Chungalao
interpellated him on the House floor on whether he would support a
bill that would legalize the use of the highly addictive substance
if it will be used for medical purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under the amended Dangerous Drugs Code, marijuana, opium, poppy, and
other plants or materials and substances may be used for medical
experiments and research purposes or for the creation of new types
of medicines. | ||||||||||||||||||
In an interview yesterday, Arroyo said his statements about marijuana use were taken out of context, especially by his critics, when he was actually against the legalization of the plant. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If scientific studies will show that marijuana can cure or has vital medicinal values for the treatment of ailments, particularly cancer and other dreaded diseases, then I think its legalization should be explored, but strictly for the purposes," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Arroyo was defending the budget of the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency when Chungalao rose on the floor to ask the sponsor if he
would support a bill espousing legalization of marijuana for medical
purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
It was at this juncture that opposition Representative Rodolfo Plaza manifested on the floor that the minority is categorically against legalization of marijuana or any other dangerous drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(21) THE MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug and Alcohol Addicts Are Going Abroad in Search of the Purported
Miracle Treatment Called Ibogaine. But Will the Drug Industry
Embrace a Substance That Causes a Hallucinatory High?
| ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Craig is not some crystal-collecting spiritual seeker on a Carlos
Castaneda trip. He is a prosperous, respected restaurant owner, age
50. He is friendly with the mayor and active in mainstream
| ||||||||||||||||||
Craig is here because he is desperate. He is addicted to
painkillers--OxyContin, Lortab and other illegally obtained
prescription opiates. His habit is costing him $1,500 a month, and
he knows he must stop. Conventional detox programs have failed to
help, so he has slipped over the border to try a treatment that is
as much an urban myth as a scientifically proven medication--and is
as illegal as heroin in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
The treatment is a dose of a powerful hallucinogen called ibogaine.
It is derived from the roots of a shrub called Tabernanthe iboga
that grows in Africa. Local tribespeople have used it as a
peyote-like sacrament for generations. Since the 1960s, it has
circulated on the margins of Western drug culture, sustained by its
reputation as a potent healer. A single daylong trip on ibogaine,
lore has it, can help break an addiction to heroin, cocaine, alcohol
or even cigarettes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
"The pharmaceutical industry has never wanted much to do with
addiction medicine," Glick says. "It's not very profitable, and it's
bad public relations."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Though there are millions of people addicted to various substances
in the U.S., many of them don't want, or can't afford, treatment.
Worse, from a bottom-line standpoint, an ibogaine-based treatment
drug would be used only once--a feeble investment for companies
accustomed to cash-cow refillable prescriptions. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
But the ranks of the believers keep growing. Six months after his
ibogaine treatment, Craig says he's staying clean and feeling great.
"That stuff worked just like it was supposed to," he says. "It was
so much better than the detox I tried. I don't understand why it's
not legal."
| ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
RAICH - A LTE WRITING OPPORTUNITY
| ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
PBS ONLINE NEWSHOUR SUPREME COURT WATCH
| ||||||||||||||||||
Two California patients who use marijuana under the supervision of
their doctors are arguing the federal government should not be allowed
to overrule the state law that permits the use of the drug in their
treatment. After a report on the case, a Supreme Court expert
discusses Monday's court session. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec04/marijuana_11-29.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
GW Pharmaceuticals Regulatory Update - UK and Canada
| ||||||||||||||||||
03/12/2004
| ||||||||||||||||||
GW is today providing an update on the progress of its regulatory
filings for Sativex in the UK and Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.servecast.com/investis/gwpharma/061204/webcast.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Are We There Yet?
| ||||||||||||||||||
Measuring Progress in the U.S. War on Drugs in Latin America | ||||||||||||||||||
By John M. Walsh, Washington Office on Latin America
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CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
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MPP's Steve Fox discusses the Raich U.S. Supreme Court medical
marijuana case on CNN's Crossfire. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Police Brass Speak Out Against Drug War
| ||||||||||||||||||
December 3, 2004
| ||||||||||||||||||
The majority of more than 300 police chiefs interviewed for a report released this week have labeled the drug war a failure. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug War Toll Mounts
| ||||||||||||||||||
by Radley Balko, policy analyst for the Cato Institute
| ||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
IRRATIONAL PUNISHMENT
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Bruce Mirken
| ||||||||||||||||||
Re "Cruel and irrational: A 55-year sentence for selling a few
joints' worth?" ( editorial, Nov. 19):
| ||||||||||||||||||
"Cruel and irrational" is apt description of the 55-year sentence
given to Weldon Angelos for selling two small packets of marijuana
to an undercover officer. It is time to rethink the failed policy --
marijuana prohibition -- that produces punishments that make no
rational sense. | ||||||||||||||||||
As director of communications, Marijuana Policy Project, I ask why,
exactly, do we jail people who choose to unwind at the end of a day
with a joint rather than a martini? Marijuana is well documented to
be less addictive and less physically harmful than alcohol. Unlike
liquor, marijuana has never been documented to cause a fatal
overdose. | ||||||||||||||||||
If the idea is to curb marijuana use, prohibition has utterly failed. Although marijuana arrests set an all-time record last year -- more than three quarters of a million -- the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that more teens currently smoke marijuana than cigarettes. Legal regulation is working to keep kids off tobacco, and it can do the same with marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bruce Mirken, San Francisco
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
HARM OUTWEIGHS GOOD OF TESTING STUDENTS
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Tom Angell
| ||||||||||||||||||
Forcing drug tests on students is ineffective, invasive, and can
make existing school drug problems worse. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Walton-Verona school board recently approved a random,
suspicionless drug testing program for all student athletes.
Advocates of such programs claim that they give young people an
excuse to say "no" to drugs. But randomly testing those who
participate in after-school sports simply gives students who have
used or are thinking about using drugs an excuse to say "no" to
trying out for teams. | ||||||||||||||||||
School officials should welcome these at-risk students into the
positive atmospheres provided by team sports, especially during the
crucial hours between the end of the school day and the time their
parents come home from work. Instead, drug testing programs turn
students toward the streets, where they'll be more likely to
experiment with drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yanking at-risk students out of their after-school activities and
deterring others from joining could have the unintended consequence
of worsening an existing drug problem in the student body. Indeed,
the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice published
a report in 1998 underscoring the importance of extracurricular
involvement in crime and drug-use reduction among adolescents. Why
would school boards want to further alienate the young people who
need their help the most?
| ||||||||||||||||||
Forcing students into bathroom stalls while school officials listen for the sounds of urination greatly damages the relationships of trust that are so crucial in our schools. Students should feel that they can approach adults if they have problems with drugs or are experiencing other hardships of being teenagers. Instead, the "gotcha" attitude that is fostered by drug testing isolates students and deters them from seeking the help and advice they might need. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug testing isn't just contrary to common sense; it's not supported
by science. In 2003, researchers at the University of Michigan
published the largest national study on the subject, finding that
"school drug testing was not associated with either the prevalence
or frequency of student marijuana use, or of other illicit drug
use." Numerous other surveys support this finding, and studies to
the contrary are conspicuously absent. | ||||||||||||||||||
How much will an ineffective drug testing regimen cost local
taxpayers? Schools that adopt such programs spend an average of $42
per student tested. In Dublin, Ohio, the cost of detecting only 11
students who tested positive cost $35,000, or $3,200 per positive
test. In a time when many school districts are cutting programs and
teacher salaries just to keep the lights on, throwing money down the
drain on drug testing is especially foolish. | ||||||||||||||||||
Because of the ineffectiveness of drug testing, 95 percent of
schools nationwide do not randomly drug test their student athletes.
Northern Kentucky school boards should think twice before adopting
drug testing programs, which surely are not the quick fix for drug
problems some say they are. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tom Angell, a recent graduate of the University of Rhode Island, is
communications director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a
group based in Washington, D.C., that is critical of the nation's
drug policies. | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Things do not change; we change." -Henry David Thoreau | ||||||||||||||||||
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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