| March 18, 2005 #392 | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) WHERE A PUFF OF MARIJUANA IS THE ULTIMATE POWER-UP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
IN mid-2002, when the video game Narc was only six months into
development, the most startling element in it may have been a
barrel-throwing sumo wrestler. Or it may have been the inclusion of a
villainous flamenco dancer named El Toro. | ||||||||||||||||
When the game is released for PlayStation 2 and the Xbox next week, however, the most arresting aspect will most likely be that players of Narc will - as part of the gameplay - be able to take drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
In an industry known for depicting violence, Narc's foray into substance abuse is a venture into a largely untracked frontier. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is something that nobody else has tackled," said Steve Allison,
37, chief of marketing for Narc's publisher, Midway. | ||||||||||||||||
In Narc, which is rated M, or Mature, for ages 17 and older, players
control one of two narcotics officers, partners who were once
separated after one became addicted to drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
The gameplay primarily involves arresting dealers, whose drugs can be
confiscated and used. | ||||||||||||||||
A digital puff of marijuana, for example, temporarily slows the action of the game like a sports replay. Taking an Ecstasy tablet creates a mellow atmosphere that can pacify aggressive foes. The use of crack momentarily makes the player a marksman: a "crack" shot. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) SAFE DRUG-INJECTION SITES REDUCE HIV SPREAD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Giving addicts a safe, supervised place to inject drugs may help
reduce syringe-sharing, thereby preventing the spread of hepatitis C
and HIV/AIDS, Canadian research suggests. | ||||||||||||||||
A University of British Columbia study has found that drug users who
regularly use Vancouver's safe-injection site in the city's gritty
eastside are 70 per cent less likely to share needles than those who
give the facility a pass. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is extremely important because Vancouver has been the site of
one of the most explosive HIV epidemics among injection-drug users
that has ever been observed in the developed world," said Thomas Kerr,
a researcher at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and lead
author of the study. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1111154097459_46/ | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) SR MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLUB LEAVES NEIGHBORS FUMING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
It goes by names like Skywalker, Afghan Skunk and Trainwreck and sells
for about $45 for an eighth-ounce bag. | ||||||||||||||||
The pungent marijuana is offered at the Resource Green Caregivers and
Patient Group, a Santa Rosa club where volunteers say pot is good for
what ails its 2,400 customers, whether it's AIDS, cancer or just a
severe case of the blues. | ||||||||||||||||
The Sonoma Avenue club -- one of three in Santa Rosa -- has built a
steady following in the 10 months since it opened, in part through a
reputation for potent weed at reasonable prices. | ||||||||||||||||
However, neighbors say the club's popularity is nothing to celebrate.
Cars clog the street outside its steel-gated doors and people smoke
joints in nearby yards, Rayburn Killion said. | ||||||||||||||||
Killion said the place appears to be frequented most by healthy
twenty-something customers, who often resell pot to people waiting
outside, play loud music or urinate in the bushes. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) IRELAND: 'NO RISE' IN CANNABIS USE SINCE LAW CHANGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Number in court the same as last year. | ||||||||||||||||
There is no evidence to suggest cannabis use has increased in Northern Ireland a year after it was reclassified, the Government has said. | ||||||||||||||||
And while police figures show there has been no reduction in prosecutions against young people for possession of the drug, there has been some decrease overall in Class C drug-related arrests. | ||||||||||||||||
The figures have been unveiled by the Secretary of State Paul Murphy
just over a year after the Government downgraded cannabis from Class B
to Class C, ranking it alongside bodybuilding steroids and some
anti-depressants. | ||||||||||||||||
The reclassification sparked concerns at the time that it would
encourage drug use. | ||||||||||||||||
The Government conducted a survey of statutory organisations, including the police, the community and voluntary sector, in April and May of last year to assess the impact of the law change. | ||||||||||||||||
According to the Secretary of State, the level of response was
disappointing, but the general view was that reclassification had
little impact on overall attitudes towards cannabis, both among young
people and adults. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration continues to insist that propaganda isn't
propaganda. "As long as they are providing factual information, it's
okay," according to a White House spokesman. But anyone vaguely
familiar with the Office of National Drug Control Policy knows they
never provided factual information. | ||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere, a city council is considering drug testing itself; the
drug war adds to the undertreatment of pain in African Americans;
and a newspaper editorial couldn't be more supportive of a proposed
snitch program for kids. | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) ADMINISTRATION REJECTS RULING ON PR VIDEOS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
GAO Called Tapes Illegal Propaganda | ||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration, rejecting an opinion from the Government
Accountability Office, said last week that it is legal for federal
agencies to feed TV stations prepackaged news stories that do not
disclose the government's role in producing them. That message, in
memos sent Friday to federal agency heads and general counsels,
contradicts a Feb. 17 memo from Comptroller General David M. Walker.
Walker wrote that such stories -- designed to resemble independently
reported broadcast news stories so that TV stations can run them
without editing -- violate provisions in annual appropriations laws
that ban covert propaganda. | ||||||||||||||||
But Joshua B. Bolten, director of the Office of Management and
Budget, and Steven G. Bradbury, principal deputy assistant attorney
general at the Justice Department, said in memos last week that the
administration disagrees with the GAO's ruling. And, in any case,
they wrote, the department's Office of Legal Counsel, not the GAO,
the investigative arm of Congress, provides binding legal
interpretations for federal agencies to follow. | ||||||||||||||||
The legal counsel's office "does not agree with GAO that the covert
propaganda prohibition applies simply because an agency's role in
producing and disseminating information is undisclosed or 'covert,'
regardless of whether the content of the message is 'propaganda,' "
Bradbury wrote. "Our view is that the prohibition does not apply
where there is no advocacy of a particular viewpoint, and therefore
it does not apply to the legitimate provision of information
concerning the programs administered by an agency." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Within the last year, the GAO has rapped the Department of Health
and Human Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy
for distributing such stories about the Medicare drug benefit and
the administration's anti-drug campaign, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||
In an interview yesterday, Walker said the administration's approach
is both contrary to appropriations law and unethical. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is more than a legal issue. It's also an ethical issue and
involves important good government principles, namely the need for
openness in connection with government activities and expenditures,"
Walker said. "We should not just be seeking to do what's arguably
legal. We should be doing what's right." | ||||||||||||||||
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said yesterday that federal
agencies have used video news releases for years. "As long as they
are providing factual information, it's okay," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) DRUG TESTS CONSIDERED FOR CHARLESTON COUNCIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
CHARLESTON - Charleston City Council is considering the idea of
requiring drug tests for its members after Councilman Kwadjo
Campbell was charged with marijuana possession. | ||||||||||||||||
On Tuesday, the council asked the city staff to review whether the
same drug-testing rules that apply to city workers may legally be
applied to members of the council. | ||||||||||||||||
The staff also was asked to see whether testing is required for
members of other elected bodies in the state. | ||||||||||||||||
Councilman Paul Tinkler proposed the idea. He said council members
should be held to the same standard as city workers, who can be
tested upon suspicion of illegal drug use. | ||||||||||||||||
Campbell, 33, was charged with second-offense marijuana possession last month. Campbell, who pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in 1996 and served probation, awaits trial on the misdemeanor charge. | ||||||||||||||||
Some members of the council questioned Tinkler's motives as Campbell
listened silently. | ||||||||||||||||
Under city law, council members forfeit their seats if convicted of
a crime involving moral turpitude. | ||||||||||||||||
Mayor Joseph Riley Jr. has urged the council to eject Campbell if he
is convicted, although S.C. courts have ruled simple possession of
marijuana is not a crime involving moral turpitude. Campbell did not
object to the drug-testing plan and voted for the idea. | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) THE PAIN GAP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Minorities In America Are Considered "Under Treated" For Their Pain
From Medical Conditions | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
As pain management emerges as a medical specialty, a mounting body
of evidence shows minorities are less likely than whites to receive
medicines, physical therapy and care they need. | ||||||||||||||||
The impact of chronic pain can be devastating, sapping quality of life, interrupting sleep and eating patterns, and triggering depression. Chronic pain can even prevent some from working. | ||||||||||||||||
"There is no question that this is an issue," said Dr. Peter S.
Staats, a board-certified and fellowship-trained pain management
physician at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank. "There are many
people not getting treatment for their chronic pain, and race is
part of the equation." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
That's where stereotypes come into play, such as the mistaken belief that African Americans have a higher threshold to tolerate pain, said Dr. Winston Price, president of the National Medical Association, which represents African American doctors. It's also discriminatory and wrong to assume that minorities are more likely to abuse painkillers or sell them on the street, experts say. | ||||||||||||||||
"There's no scientific basis for that," Price said. "But the bias, whether overt or covert, is to under medicate African Americans." | ||||||||||||||||
Fear Is Another Factor | ||||||||||||||||
Beyond judging patients, doctors face the risk of federal investigation for prescribing large amounts of painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||
Last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency said doctors could be
investigated based on how many of their patients get narcotics, the
number of pills patients receive and how long they stay on the
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
"There's a very small number of physicians who get prosecuted, but
when it happens, it certainly catches everyone's attention," said
Dr. Jeffery Kimpson, a pain specialist at Providence Hospital in
Southfield, Mich. "There are barriers built into the system to make
you a little more hesitant to prescribe." | ||||||||||||||||
Even when minority patients find a pain specialist to work with, they're often denied the drugs they need because pharmacies in minority neighborhoods are less likely to carry potent painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) PAYING KIDS TO SNITCH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Attention parents: Have you heard the rumors from your kids that
there are people out there lurking just around the corner, hoping to
turn little Johnny and Sally into snitches and informants, and then
pay them for their information? | ||||||||||||||||
Unlike some of what you hear from your kids, these rumors are true. | ||||||||||||||||
CrimeStoppers, the successful, worthwhile Middle Georgia
organization that has done so much good, is proposing to reach down
into the ranks of our young people in the hopes of solving more
crimes and locking up more criminals. CrimeStoppers is recruiting
school-age youngsters as tattle-tales. | ||||||||||||||||
And it can't happen too soon. | ||||||||||||||||
CrimeStoppers has approached both Bibb and Houston school officials
with an offer to use a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to
promote CrimeStoppers among students. Patterned after a successful
kid-snitch program in Palm Beach County, Fla., the kids might supply
information that would help cops catch a thief, or a drug pusher, or
a gun runner, or worse. In return, kids might see a few dollars
thrown their way for their trouble. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Brutality old and new in the drug war this week. A Florida man was tasered after refusing to submit to a urine test; while a young Colorado couple sued police over a mistaken drug raid at their home which left them terrorized. The police were looking for a meth lab, and anyone who keeps a chemistry set around the house might want to watch out who knows about it. A man in North Carolina said he was simply keeping samples of the periodic table when he was investigated as a meth maker, and some of his chemical supplies were destroyed. | ||||||||||||||||
In Alabama, a prison warden was suspended from his job after warning
that overcrowding was a disaster waiting to happen. Just a few days
later, a report showed that non-violent offenders make up the bulk
of Alabama prisoners. | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) USE OF TASER TO GET SAMPLE OF URINE BEING INVESTIGATED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
LANDO - A police officer twice used a Taser stun device on a drug suspect who was restrained to a hospital bed because the man refused to give a urine sample to medical staff, authorities said. | ||||||||||||||||
Antonio Wheeler, 18, was arrested Friday on a drug charge and taken
to an emergency room after telling officers he had consumed cocaine,
police said. Because Wheeler said he had used the drugs, Florida
Hospital officials wanted a urine sample. A police affidavit said
Wheeler wouldn't provide a sample on his own, so workers tried to
catheterize him to get one. | ||||||||||||||||
The police document said Wheeler was handcuffed to a hospital bed
and then secured with leather straps after he refused to urinate in
a cup. When medical staff tried to insert a catheter to get the
sample, Wheeler refused and began thrashing around, the affidavit
said. | ||||||||||||||||
At one point, police officer Peter Linnenkamp reported, he jumped on
the bed with his knees on Wheeler's chest to restrain him. When
Wheeler still refused to let the catheter be inserted, Linnenkamp
said he twice used his Taser, which sends 50,000 volts into a
target. | ||||||||||||||||
"After the second shock (Wheeler) stated he would urinate and calmed down enough to be given the portable urinal," Linnenkamp wrote. | ||||||||||||||||
At the request of Police Chief Michael McCoy, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident. Linnenkamp is on administrative leave. Wheeler was being held on $7,500 bail. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) BOTCHED DRUG RAID VICTIMS FILE SUIT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
BRECKENRIDGE - Attorney Tim Meinert filed a lawsuit against the
Summit County Sheriff's Office and the Frisco Police Department
Thursday on behalf of Josh Brunvand and Kate Rhodes, the victims of
a botched drug raid last summer. | ||||||||||||||||
"The kids were almost going to back out, but they talked about it
and decided for themselves and everyone in the county that they want
some answers," Meinert said. "The reason Kate and Josh are doing
this is because they don't want this to ever happen again to
anyone." | ||||||||||||||||
Meinert delivered a letter to the Sheriff's Office Nov. 20 asking
for $300,000 to compensate the couple, which relocated to California
after the incident. He said if they weren't compensated by Jan. 31,
2005, he would file suit. | ||||||||||||||||
The incident stemmed from reports the Frisco Police Department
received early last year claiming Brunvand and Rhodes were
manufacturing crystal methamphetamine in their Meadow Creek Villas
condominium unit. | ||||||||||||||||
The manufacturing of crystal methamphetamine is a dangerous process
that can cause deadly explosions. | ||||||||||||||||
Police responded to the couple's condominium, where an officer
conducted a quick search and left. But further complaints led
officers to believe the couple might be making crystal meth, and in
mid-July, police obtained a search warrant, waited until the couple
left their condominium and apprehended them en route to a local
restaurant. | ||||||||||||||||
There, Meinert wrote, they were handcuffed and escorted back to
their condominium where officers "engaged in threatening,
intimidating and harassing conduct" trying to get a confession from
them. | ||||||||||||||||
In the meantime, the drug task force team members searched the
condominium destroying two doors, a mirror, household items and
strewing personal items throughout the unit. | ||||||||||||||||
They found nothing in the raid. | ||||||||||||||||
Sheriff John Minor, Capt. Derek Woodman and Frisco Police Chief Tom Wickman later apologized to the couple and their parents. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) ATTORNEY: PERIODIC TABLE, NOT METH | ||||||||||||||||
ASHEBORO - Authorities thought they had stumbled onto a meth lab. Asheboro attorney Jon Megerian said Monday that all his client was trying to do was collect the elements of the periodic table. | ||||||||||||||||
"That was his only interest," said Megerian. "None of it was
dangerous at any time to anybody." | ||||||||||||||||
Many of the chemicals Megerian said the man was collecting were
hauled away by authorities last week after Asheboro police - called
to check an open door at his Dublin Square Road apartment - thought
they had uncovered a methamphetamine lab. | ||||||||||||||||
Agents from the State Bureau of Investigation summoned for
assistance assumed command of the scene and initially confirmed that
the city's first meth lab had been discovered. | ||||||||||||||||
Later, the SBI's bomb unit was called because several of the chemicals found in the apartment can be used to make bombs. | ||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was called to assist, as
was a chemical cleanup company from Tennessee. | ||||||||||||||||
Some of the chemicals eventually were taken to the county landfill,
where they were buried and ignited, creating a large explosion, said
Asheboro Police Chief Gary Mason. | ||||||||||||||||
But, by Friday morning, SBI agents determined that there was not enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against the resident, according to a press release from the Asheboro Police Department. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) WARDEN'S MEMO PUTS HIM ON LEAVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Days before being placed on mandatory leave, Donaldson Correctional
Facility Warden Stephen Bullard sent out a memo warning of
"catastrophic circumstances" at the prison. | ||||||||||||||||
"I am concerned that it is going to take a lawsuit, riot, death or
serious injury for anyone to take this crisis seriously," Bullard
wrote in the March 1 memo to Alabama Department of Corrections
Commissioner Donal Campbell. | ||||||||||||||||
The warden's concerns focused on correctional officers, who have
been forced to work overtime, sometimes 32 hours per week. The staff
shortage took a toll on him, as well, affecting his health, patience
and tolerance, he wrote. | ||||||||||||||||
On March 4, Bullard was informed that Campbell had placed him on a
mandatory 10-business-day leave, which could be extended. Department
of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said that, because the leave
is an administrative matter, he could not comment on the reasons for
it. Campbell has acknowledged the staffing shortages and crowding at
Donaldson. He approved a 5 percent pay differential for Donaldson
officers in an attempt to recruit more to the ranks. Bullard used
stronger language, however, and said the state was taking advantage
of employees. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) NONVIOLENT CONVICTS FILL STATE PRISONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Alabama courts have sent more people to prison for drug possession than for the violent crimes of murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery combined. Second to possession is drug distribution. | ||||||||||||||||
None of the top five crimes for which people are sent to prison are
violent offenses, according to an analysis of five years of data in
the Alabama Sentencing Commission's 2005 report. | ||||||||||||||||
That breakdown could change if legislators adopt a commission
proposal aimed at sending fewer nonviolent offenders to prison, to
make room for violent criminals. | ||||||||||||||||
"The war on drugs needs to encompass what you do with them once you catch them, and obviously prison may not be the most effective alternative. Long-term drug treatment for some offenders may well be the most effective weapon in the war on drugs," said Rosa Davis, chief assistant attorney general who works on the commission. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Fall-out from the tragedy that lead to the death of four young RCMP
officers continues to fuel political hysteria around cannabis in
Canada this week, with an endless parade of news stories showing
stock footage of heavily armed police officers in "haz-mat" suits
emerging from dark basements holding sticky plants aloft as if they
were made of plutonium. YIKES! We've certainly got our work cut
out for us in Canada right now, as can be seen in this week's first
story which reports that the concept of mandatory minimum sentences
for cannabis cultivation is currently gaining significant political
traction in Parliament, despite public resistance from Justice
Minister Cotler, who rightly points to studies showing that
mandatory minimum sentences are neither effective nor are they a
deterrent. Our second story examines a recent shift in cross-border
smuggling between Canada and the U.S., with American border guards
reporting a downward trend in Washington State as smuggling moves
eastward, where a record number of cannabis seizures were reported
at border crossings from Ontario to the Maritimes. | ||||||||||||||||
Our third story this week looks at Columbia, Missouri, which boasts
one of North America's most progressive cannabis enforcement
policies. As a result of a local ordinance, personal possession is
now a finable offense. Despite continued resistance and protest from
local police, who feel that the law is far too lenient, enforcement
is actually on the rise: between Nov. 2004 and Feb. 2005, police
charged 144 people with misdemeanor possession, up from 100 during
the same period last year. Our next story reports that South
Carolina's Marijuana Tax Stamp - which is issued by Department of
Revenue - is being bought by collectors rather than those producing
contraband. The stamp - which costs $3.50 per gram of cannabis -=
was created to allow prosecutors to charge drug traffickers with tax
evasion; only 433 have been sold over its 10 year existence. And
lastly this week, a panel of 15 theologians charged with updating
the Bible for a new edition called "Today's New International
Version Bible" have decided to add the words "to death" after the
term "stoned" (as in "stoned to death") in reference to the type of
capital punishment often referred to in earlier versions of the
Bible, for fear that kids might have otherwise thought that the
"good book" was advocating or promoting drug use, as opposed to the
practice of brutally killing fellow citizens with sharp stones. Yet
another example of how our society's moral compass is starting to
spin fast enough to create a pleasant breeze; at least it will keep
us cool while we slowly sink into hell. | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) COTLER UNDER PRESSURE TO GET TOUGH ON GROW-OPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A movement to impose minimum sentences on marijuana grow-op owners
is gaining ground in the minority Parliament over the objections of
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler. | ||||||||||||||||
New attention has been focused on grow-ops since the killing of four
RCMP officers during a raid 11 days ago. That has prompted MPs to
consider joining the ranks of those who complain that judges have
been too lenient on a criminal activity that is causing harm in many
communities. | ||||||||||||||||
The push for tougher measures comes even though Mr. Cotler and many
in the legal community argue that minimum sentences will backfire,
and civil-liberties advocates denounce it as a "knee-jerk" movement
that will do more harm than good. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) BORDER WAR ON WEED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. border agents say they're seizing record amounts of Canadian
pot being snuck across the border and are escalating their war
against organized smugglers. Agents say they're taking a tougher
line against marijuana smugglers, following the slaying of four RCMP
officers in Alberta, who were killed at a grow-op site. | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. officers said they weren't taking chances when they chased a
Canadian truck driver last Thursday after he ran a port near Sumas,
Washington. The man was charged for smuggling 142 kg of weed, worth
$1.6 million, police said. | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers said some
smugglers have shifted their bases from B.C.-Washington state to
Buffalo-area border crossings, where they claim there's less police
heat. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) MARIJUANA TICKETING INCREASES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Although Columbia police officers have made plain their disapproval
of the city's new marijuana ordinance, they are enforcing the law
with zeal, and the numbers show it. | ||||||||||||||||
Columbia police have ticketed more people per month for misdemeanor
possession of marijuana since voters approved Proposition 2 in
November, but most are not being prosecuted. First-time offenders
are given a second chance as part of the municipal court's marijuana
deferral program. | ||||||||||||||||
The way the court is handling the cases prompted the Columbia Police
Officers Association to start a petition drive to ask the City
Council to repeal the ordinance. The ordinance passed with 61
percent support on Nov. 2. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(17) MARIJUANA STAMPS NOT CATCHING ON WITH SELLERS, OFFICIALS SAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Ten years after it was created, a little-known law requiring
marijuana dealers to pay taxes on pot sales has had little impact,
officials say. | ||||||||||||||||
State officials say it appears not a single dealer has purchased the
required stamps. Instead, the stamps have created a market and a
demand among collectors. | ||||||||||||||||
Of the 433 pot stamps sold by the state since 1994, the overwhelming
majority were bought as novelties, according to the South Carolina
Department of Revenue. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(18) NO GETTING STONED IN NEW BIBLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
For centuries scholars have argued over the most delicate nuances of
biblical texts, passionately debating whether key words should be
tweaked to reflect cultural changes. | ||||||||||||||||
But, despite the fervent exchange of such learned views, there has
been no fretting about whether the Bible endorses dope-smoking.
Until now. | ||||||||||||||||
A 15-strong panel of eminent theologians and linguists was so
concerned that young people reading the Bible today are confusing
the phrase 'stoned' not with Old Testament executions but with
drugs, that it has suggested a radical clarification to a
forthcoming edition of the sacred text. | ||||||||||||||||
In an attempt to clear up any confusion on the part of Britain's
youth, Today's New International Version Bible, published by Hodder
& Stoughton on Tuesday, updates the original edition, published 27
years ago, so that people are 'stoned to death', rather than
'stoned'. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Looking right over the border into the U.S. has Canadian police
upset. Cops in the states, they get all the goodies: high-tech toys,
lots of helicopters, big guns. But best of all, cops in the states
get to have nice big, SWAT-laden drug squads to go after "drugs"
(read: pot) there. U.S. judges, they know how to make a cop feel
good, too. None of this namby-pamby touchy-feely stuff, no sir. In
the states, pot growers are treated worse than murderers. And a fine
thing that is, also: it keeps a whole law enforcement industry flush
with funds. Canadian cops aren't treated like that, and it hurts
them to see the U.S. cops get so much. Last week, a grow op "study"
carefully circulated to papers in the province of British Columbia
had a little something for everyone in law enforcement. The report,
done by "criminology professor Darryl Plecas", cited alarming
increases in grow-ops, yet an ominous lack of jail time for the
growers (relative to the U.S., of course). Police and other
predictable prohibitionists across B.C. seized upon the report as
proof of need for more punishment in the form of increased jail time
for growing the forbidden weed. | ||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere in Canada, the march of prohibition-corrupted police
continues as cops in both Ontario and Quebec were caught running pot
grow ops last week. In York Ontario, an eight-year veteran cop
stands accused of running a grow op; in Quebec a four-year veteran
stands accused on unrelated cannabis grow op charges. | ||||||||||||||||
And finally, this week marks the start of North America's first supervised heroin injection trials, where heroin users will be given free prescription heroin. In Vancouver, Canada, the North American Opiate Medication Initiative is beginning with only three users, and hopes to ramp up to more than 150 people as the study progresses. | ||||||||||||||||
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(19) POT SENTENCING QUESTIONED BY POLICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Police are curious as to why Prince George courts are not sending
marijuana growers to jail, but they are not discouraged by the
finding. A grow-op study by criminology professor Darryl Plecas of
the University College of the Fraser Valley, states the Prince
George legal system had prosecuted many cases of drug production and
trafficking, but none of those found guilty were sentenced to even a
single day in jail. | ||||||||||||||||
The finding applies to the years 2001 to 2003. A total of 68 people were found guilty during that time. All of them had at least one prior conviction, they averaged four priors, and 68 per cent of them were prior drug offences, Plecas said. Yet no jail in Prince George, while court houses in the rest of the province were sending half of such criminals to prison for an average of five months each. | ||||||||||||||||
"We don't control (sentencing)," said RCMP spokesperson Const. Mike
Caira. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(20) COP ON GROW-OP RAP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
York Officer, Husband Charged After Home Raid | ||||||||||||||||
A YORK Region cop accused of having a marijuana grow op and cocaine
in her rural home has been suspended with pay. Const. Nadine Morcos
was arrested after colleagues reported seizing drugs in her
husband's vehicle, police said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||
The arrest of Morcos, 34, who was transferred to the Richmond Hill
detective office last month in "an administration capacity," shocked
colleagues, Chief Armand La Barge said. | ||||||||||||||||
An eight-year member of the force, mostly on uniform patrol, Marcos
surrendered at No. 5 police station one day after investigators raided
the couple's home in the Town of Georgina and seized marijuana,
cocaine, "other controlled substances and drug paraphernalia," Const.
Laurie Perks alleged in a statement. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(21) QUEBEC COP ARRESTED ON MARIJUANA CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
QUEBEC CITY - A 28-year-old Quebec City police officer was charged
Wednesday with growing marijuana and possession for the purpose of
trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||
Jean-Francois Pare, who has been with the force since 2001, has been
suspended with pay and is out on bail. He'll be back in court in
May. | ||||||||||||||||
Several officers showed up at Pare's court appearance to support
him. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(22) VANCOUVER HEROIN TRIAL A FIRST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER - Vancouver heroin users have become the first in North
America to be given free prescription heroin, as part of a
controversial drug trial that began Monday. | ||||||||||||||||
The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) started
treating just three drug users, but will eventually recruit 157
people for the two-year study. | ||||||||||||||||
They will be split into two groups -- one receiving heroin, the
other methadone -- to find out if heroin is better for addicts who
have failed at methadone or abstinence. | ||||||||||||||||
The heroin users will attend the heavily secured clinic three times
a day, seven days a week, to be given their fix in a safe-injection
room. Methadone users will come twice a day to drink their heroin
substitute. | ||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
HOW TO INCREASE REFORM MEDIA COVERAGE | ||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FRONT PAGE FANTASY | ||||||||||||||||
By Richard Cowan at Marijuananews.com | ||||||||||||||||
== | ||||||||||||||||
HAS THE WAR ON TERROR HURT THE WAR ON DRUGS? | ||||||||||||||||
New reports reveal that global demand for illegal substances is
higher than ever despite actions to curb supply. | ||||||||||||||||
By Jason Burke | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/03/14/global_drug_use/ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||
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WORLD WEED | ||||||||||||||||
THE WTO - THE STONER'S NEW BEST FRIEND | ||||||||||||||||
By Tim Wu | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
EUROPEAN DAY OF CITIZEN ACTION | ||||||||||||||||
21 April, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
Please sign the petition on the Catania report spread the news about the European action day - see http://action.encod.org for details | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LORETTA NALL COURT UPDATE | ||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, March 16, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
http://usmjparty.blogspot.com/2005/03/loretta-nall-court-update.html | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
ONDCP DRUGSTORY.ORG | ||||||||||||||||
The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (for ONDCP) has developed
DrugStory.org to present the latest drug-related information to
entertainment writers and feature journalists. DrugStory.org offers its
audience of writers links to Web sites that offer detailed content on
specific drugs and drug related issues. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NEEDLE EXCHANGE HELPS PREVENT HIV | ||||||||||||||||
By Patsy Fleming | ||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration's efforts to undermine needle exchange as
part of a global HIV prevention strategy are appalling and deadly
[editorial, Feb. 27]. Look no farther than the president's back yard
for proof of how devastating they are. | ||||||||||||||||
Washington, which among the country's large cities has the highest
annual per capita rate of new AIDS cases, is the only jurisdiction
in the United States that is prohibited by Congress from using its
locally raised taxes to fund a needle-exchange program, although
needle exchange has been proved by almost every scientific standard
to be effective at reducing HIV transmission without increasing drug
use. | ||||||||||||||||
As a result, unlike those in other states and cities, our nonprofit
group, Prevention Works, must raise every cent of its budget from
private donors and foundations -- a task that not only is
time-consuming and difficult but that distracts from life-saving
work. | ||||||||||||||||
Prevention Works helps ensure that some 3,500 people a year are
provided the tools and counseling to remain free of HIV and other
blood-borne diseases, such as hepatitis C, and to combat their
addiction. | ||||||||||||||||
Our experience tells us needle exchange works as part of a
comprehensive HIV-prevention strategy. We applaud efforts to ensure
that sound science prevails over partisan politics in the broader
global fight against AIDS, and we encourage Congress and the
president to understand the effect of their shortsightedness on
lives in the nation's capital. | ||||||||||||||||
Patsy Fleming | ||||||||||||||||
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LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - FEBRUARY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Robert Sharpe for his 21 letters published during
February, bringing the total number of published letters archived by
MAP to 1,234. Robert writes as a volunteer for CSDP (www.csdp.org).
Robert tells us that he is spending about an hour a day, most days,
after work and a D.C. commute home sending out letters. Robert has
provided us with his tips for letter writing success at | ||||||||||||||||
You may read Robert's published letters at | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Impact Of The Drug War On Women And Families | ||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK -- The ACLU, Break the Chains: Communities of Color and the
War on Drugs, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of
Law today released a report that compiles for the first time
existing research on the effects of current drug laws and sentencing
policies on women and their families. The report, Caught in the Net:
the Impact of Drug Policies on Women & Families ( | ||||||||||||||||
"We've gone from being a nation of latchkey kids to a nation of
locked-up moms, where women are the invisible prisoners of drug
laws, serving hard time for someone else's crime," said Lenora
Lapidus, Director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "Family values
ought to mean keeping families together. Treatment can cure drug
addiction, but there's no cure for a family destroyed." | ||||||||||||||||
In the wake of Martha Stewart's release from federal prison last week and the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark rulings on sentencing policies in U.S. v. Booker and U.S. v. FanFan, the Caught in the Net report highlights the sky-rocketing incarceration rates of women in the United States. The number of women serving time in state prison facilities for drug-related offenses has increased 888 percent since 1986 according to the Sentencing Project, and U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics show that more than one million women are currently in prison, in jail, or on parole or probation. | ||||||||||||||||
In a letter posted on her website prior to her release from Alderson
Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia, Stewart encourages the
American people "to ask for reforms, both in sentencing guidelines,
in length of incarceration for nonviolent first-time offenders, and
for those involved in drug-taking." | ||||||||||||||||
"Women and their children have for too long remained the unseen
victims of the drug war. The Caught in the Net report and conference
are meant to bring women's experiences into the ongoing debate that
lawmakers are having about sentencing reform," said Deborah Small,
Executive Director of Break the Chains. | ||||||||||||||||
The report and conference feature representative stories of women
minimally, peripherally or unknowingly caught up in drug activity
who are found "guilty by association" with their husbands and
boyfriends involved in the drug trade. Examples in the report
illustrate the ways in which expanded liability laws like
conspiracy, accomplice liability, constructive possession and asset
forfeiture laws unfairly punish women for the actions of others.
With little or no information to trade prosecutors, these women
serve the longest sentences for the least involvement in drug
offenses. | ||||||||||||||||
"This country can no longer ignore the devastation of families and communities when record numbers of women and mothers are locked up for drug offenses," said Kirsten Levingston, Director of the Criminal Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. "It's time to promote drug policies that work, to stop wasting money and to use our social systems to help women, not hurt them." | ||||||||||||||||
For an electronic version of Caught in the Net see | ||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"For some people, the impediment of its being illegal probably helps." | ||||||||||||||||
-- Jennifer L. Brunner, Common Pleas Judge, | ||||||||||||||||
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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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