| June 24, 2005 #405 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) ARRESTS FOLLOW SEARCHES IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA RAIDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
San Francisco - Federal agents executed search warrants at three
medical marijuana dispensaries on Wednesday as part of a broad
investigation into marijuana trafficking in San Francisco, setting
off fears among medical marijuana advocates that a federal crackdown
on the drug's use by sick people was beginning. | ||||||||||||||||||
About 20 residences, businesses and growing sites were also searched,
leading to multiple arrests, a law enforcement official said. Agents
outside a club in the Ingleside neighborhood spent much of the
afternoon dragging scores of leafy marijuana plants into an alley
and stuffing them into plastic bags. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The investigation led the authorities to these sites," the law enforcement official said. "It involves large-scale marijuana trafficking and includes other illicit drugs and money laundering." | ||||||||||||||||||
In a separate investigation, a federal grand jury in Sacramento
indicted a doctor and her husband on charges of distributing
marijuana at the doctor's office in Cool, a small town in El
Dorado County. | ||||||||||||||||||
The doctor, Marion P. Fry, and her husband, Dale C. Schafer, were arrested at their home in nearby Greenwood and pleaded not guilty in federal court in Sacramento to charges of distributing and manufacturing at least 100 marijuana plants. The authorities said in a court document that Dr. Fry wrote a recommendation for medical marijuana to an undercover agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration even though there was a "lack of a medical record," and that her husband provided the agent with marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) POLICING GAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Metro Cops Use Confidential Informants To Target Gay Chat Rooms And Lure Homosexual Men Into Trading And Selling Drugs. This Undercover Operation Changed The Life Of One Man Who May Well Be Innocent. | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite its upscale name, the Stewarts Ferry Luxury Apartments are
more like middle-class projects. Just one exit from the airport,
east on I-40, the sprawling complex is crisscrossed by towering
power lines that hover over shallow, manmade ponds and more than
600 units that all look the same. There are two pools, a large
crystal-blue one near the leasing office and another with an
unobstructed view of the interstate. The tiny, faded fountain
that greets the complex's residents is dry. | ||||||||||||||||||
On a late Friday night in May, Steve exits I-40. A computer programmer who can while away a night reading Scientific American, he had planned to relax after a hard week. But 90 minutes earlier, he spontaneously agreed to meet a blind date he found online. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) R.I. HOUSE PASSES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Providence - A bill that would allow patients with serious
diseases to smoke and grow marijuana continued its advance
through the General Assembly, winning overwhelming support
from House lawmakers Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Qualifying patients suffering from diseases like cancer, AIDS
and Hepatitis C would be shielded from arrest and prosecution
under the bill, which passed 52-10. Their doctors and
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Rhode Island would become the 11th state to authorize the medical use of marijuana, according to the legislation. | ||||||||||||||||||
If approved, the bill could put the state at odds with the
U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this month that
medical marijuana users can be prosecuted under federal law
even if their home states allow use of the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) LAST ORDERS FOR MAGIC MUSHROOM ENTHUSIASTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Bad news for psychedelic fungi fans. There are just 24 more shopping
days before magic mushrooms are declared illegal - and that's
official. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ignoring pleas from mushroom retailers and consumers, the government
yesterday announced that clause 21 of the Drugs Act 2005,
reclassifying psilocybe mushrooms as a class A drug alongside heroin
and crack cocaine, will come into force on July 18. | ||||||||||||||||||
From that date, importation, possession or sale of magic mushrooms
will be punishable by a life sentence, effectively outlawing sales
via market stalls, head shops and the internet.
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[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Withholding financial aid to drug offenders at the federal level has been such a big success, at least one state is considering it now too. Also holding a tighter grip on its money is the U.S. government, at least when it comes to drug policy in Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere, another group of government officials are talking about
showing how virtuous they are by undergoing drug testing; a Michigan
lawmaker wants to ban hemp flavored candy, which demonstrates the
point of a new book about overcriminalization. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) STATE MAY 'JUST SAY NO' TO FINANCIAL AID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Students who sell drugs may be denied
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Madison - Wisconsin university students convicted of selling or
possessing drugs would be barred from receiving state financial aid
and academic scholarships under a bill introduced in a state Senate
committee on Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Drugs are destroying our society. Drugs are destroying our families. Drugs are destroying the lives of citizens," state Sen. Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) told the Senate Committee on Higher Education and Tourism. "We need to take a stand against drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
The same bill was introduced in the committee last session, after winning overwhelming approval in the Assembly. But it stalled. | ||||||||||||||||||
Committee members say they agree with the sponsors' goals of
discouraging drug use and ensuring that financial aid goes to
law-abiding students. | ||||||||||||||||||
But they also share concerns raised by administrators of state
financial aid. | ||||||||||||||||||
The administrators have argued - and argued again on Wednesday -
that they don't have the tools to check which students have been
convicted of drug crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||
"To do this bill correctly is beyond our ability," said Connie
Hutchison, executive secretary of Wisconsin's Higher Education Aids
Board. | ||||||||||||||||||
Making enforcement more difficult, the administrators argue, is the
fact that the Senate bill is a more sweeping version of a 1998
federal law that prohibits students convicted of selling drugs from
receiving federal financial aid. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) U.S. SAYS NO TO $150 MILLION TO FIGHT COCA FARMING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Colombia's request for an additional $150 million to
strengthen its anti-coca spraying program was rebuffed Thursday by a
House appropriations subcommittee. | ||||||||||||||||||
It comes soon after new data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime indicated Colombia achieved only a modest reduction in coca cultivation despite heavy spraying, with more coca being grown in Peru and Bolivia. Coca is used in the production of cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, lawmakers on the foreign operations subcommittee of the
House Appropriations Committee did approve $463 million requested by
the Bush administration for Plan Colombia, a massive anti-drug
effort. | ||||||||||||||||||
The $20.3 billion appropriations bill approved Thursday also
includes funds for Israel, Egypt and the fight against HIV/AIDS. The
Bush administration had asked for $22.8 billion. The full House is
expected to vote on the measure later this month. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Colombian government's effort to establish a new coca
eradication base had the backing of several key members of Congress,
including Reps. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House
International Relations Committee, and Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of
the House Government Reform Committee. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the proposal had only lukewarm support from the Bush
administration, which did not formally request any additional funds
for Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) HIGH OFFICE? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug Testing Proposed For Palm Beach County Commissioners | ||||||||||||||||||
The buzz around the Palm Beach County Commission offices at the
Governmental Center on Monday was all about drugs. With various
degrees of seriousness, commissioners reacted with irritation and
humor to their chairman's suggestion that they all be subject to
random drug and alcohol tests. | ||||||||||||||||||
Commissioner Warren Newell was prepared. Visitors to his office got to inspect a Styrofoam cup filled with yellow liquid. It looked more like Mountain Dew than urine, and actually was dishwashing soap. | ||||||||||||||||||
In case that doesn't fully convey his feelings about the notion of
drug testing commissioners, Newell said he doesn't think it's a good
idea. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is not something I think is germane for the job. Where do you
stop?" he said. "Even though I operated forklifts [to help with
recovery efforts] in the hurricanes, we're [commissioners] not
operating heavy equipment."
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The idea came from Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Considering a number of Palm Beach County employees are subject to
random drug and alcohol testing, I recommend the same random testing
for our board members as we certainly want to hold ourselves to the
same high standards," Masilotti wrote in a memorandum Friday to
County Administrator Bob Weisman. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) MICHIGAN LAWMAKER SEEKS HEMP CANDY BAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Pot Suckers Called Drug 'Stepping Stone'
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A Lenawee County state legislator wants a ban enacted on all candy
products containing hemp or hemp flavoring. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dudley Spade (D., Tipton) introduced his legislation last week after
learning that 19 Spencer Gifts shops in Michigan are selling
hemp-flavored lollipops called Pot Suckers. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We should not have these out and available for kids to acquire
these kinds of tastes. I'm concerned it could be a stepping stone to
smoking marijuana," Mr. Spade said.
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"I think it's ridiculous," said Steven Trachtenberg, president of
ICUP Inc., the Trenton, N.J., novelty gift and apparel company that
sells Pot Suckers. "If you look at products on the shelves now, you
see pina colada jelly beans and shampoo. Are we promoting drinking
to kids?"
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Mr. Spade had 11 supporters sign his bill, which was sent to the
House Judiciary Committee Wednesday for review. Among them was state
Rep. Kathy Angerer (D., Dundee).
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"Kids need our protection," she said. "Any product that glorifies
drug use I think is wrong."
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Lenawee County Sheriff Larry Richardson agrees. "I'm all for it," he
said. "Kids tell me it tastes like the real stuff. I definitely
think we should put controls on it."
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[snip]
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(9) OPED: CRIMINALIZATION OUT OF CONTROL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Drug warriors in Congress are considering a bill that
would send parents to jail for at least three years if they learn of
drug activity near their children and fail to report it to
authorities within 24 hours. | ||||||||||||||||||
One wonders if this a good idea, especially in areas such as
Baltimore, where intimidation and murder of government witnesses are
common. But when it comes to the criminal law, Congress rarely
pauses for reflection anymore. | ||||||||||||||||||
In April, the bill's author, Republican Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner
Jr. of Wisconsin, floated what might be called the "Jail Janet
Jackson" initiative. Instead of enforcing the Federal Communications
Commission's indecency regulations with fines on broadcasters,
according to Mr. Sensenbrenner, those who violate the regulations
should be subject to arrest and imprisonment. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'd prefer using the criminal process rather than the regulatory
process," he said. "Aim the cannon specifically at the people
committing the offenses."
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There are serious problems with Mr. Sensenbrenner's proposal. The FCC's indecency standards are notoriously vague and of dubious constitutionality. How could a policy that says "misspeak and go to jail" not end up chilling constitutionally protected speech? | ||||||||||||||||||
More fundamentally, is this an appropriate use of the criminal sanction? Do we really want to lock people up for bad taste? | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Sensenbrenner's jail-centric approach reflects a broader social
phenomenon, and a troubling one. The criminal sanction is supposed
to be a last resort, reserved for the most serious offenses to civil
peace. But more and more, it's becoming government's first line of
attack - a way for lawmakers to show that they're serious about
whatever is the perceived social problem of the month. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
More corruption uncovered in a local war on drugs, while the drug
war gets reigned in a bit by two different courts. And the harm that
prison does to society and the individual is explored in different
articles. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) POLICE-INFORMANT FUNDS QUESTIONED IN SALLISAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SALLISAW - City officials want a state audit of the Sallisaw Police
Department Drug Fund because $23,000 in informant pay-off money
can't be accounted for. | ||||||||||||||||||
Former Police Chief Gary Philpot has not turned over his files
outlining cash payments to drug informants, Police Chief Shaloa
Edwards said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Though no specific allegations have been levied, Edwards said his
predecessor needs to turn over what he claims is proof of
appropriate spending. | ||||||||||||||||||
"He says he has the files to prove it, but it needs to be audited
and sealed," Edwards said. | ||||||||||||||||||
City commissioners voted Monday to ask the state auditor to
investigate. | ||||||||||||||||||
Philpot could not be reached for comment Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) JUDGE DISMISSES BORDER PATROL SEARCH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Felony drug charges against a Hogansburg man charged with
transporting more that 70 pounds of hydroponic marijuana in April
2004 were dismissed Monday after a Judge ruled the seizure was
illegal. | ||||||||||||||||||
On Monday, Acting St. Lawrence County Court Judge Kathleen M. Rogers dismissed the first-degree criminal possession of marijuana count against Brian M. White, 25, of 183 Racquette Point Road, Hogansburg. | ||||||||||||||||||
She granted defense attorney Richard Manning's motion to suppress the marijuana seized following a stop at a Border Patrol checkpoint. | ||||||||||||||||||
St. Lawrence County Interim District Attorney Gary Miles had made the motion for the dismissal after Rogers ruled the marijuana seized following a traffic stop could not be used as evidence in the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
White was arrested and charged with first-degree criminal possession
of marijuana on the afternoon of April 20, 2004 following a
secondary inspection at a temporary U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on
Route 11 in the town of Dekalb. | ||||||||||||||||||
The investigation eventually revealed White was transporting
approximately 71 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car at the
time of the stop. | ||||||||||||||||||
Border Patrol Agent Cynthia Pena conducted the primary interview
when White pulled up at the checkpoint. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Long called Massena based Trooper Kevin Beattie and requested a drug
dog be sent to the car. After placing the call, Long asked White to
consent to a search of his car. | ||||||||||||||||||
White declined, saying that he had valuable speakers in the
trunk. | ||||||||||||||||||
White was then detained for nearly 50 minutes while Long waited for
Beattie. | ||||||||||||||||||
Upon arriving, the drug dog did an external search of the car and
alerted on the trunk lid. | ||||||||||||||||||
When the trunk was opened, two duffel bags were found, both
allegedly contained hydroponic marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite the presence of the drugs, Judge Rogers dismissed the case
on the grounds that Long did not have reasonable suspicion to detain
White for as long as he did. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rogers noted it was important to clarify the authority to conduct
and operate the checkpoint is a matter of federal constitutional law
because the stop was initiated by federal officers and their
authority for the check points derives from their particular duty to
enforce immigration laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) HIGH COURT DECLINES TO CLARIFY SENTENCING-GUIDELINE DECISION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Justices Reject Petition Based On January Ruling; Not Chasing
'Squabbles'
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The Supreme Court turned down a petition to clarify its January
decision that invalidated U.S. mandatory sentencing guidelines,
leaving federal circuit courts to make their own rules on the
matter. The high court's move means federal inmates in some states
will continue to have an easier time challenging their sentences
than prisoners in others. | ||||||||||||||||||
The January decision in U.S. v. Booker limited federal judges in punishing convicted defendants for aggravating factors that weren't proven to a jury or admitted by the defendant. That threw into turmoil sentences for thousands of inmates, many of whom petitioned for earlier release dates. The Supreme Court didn't specify how its opinion should be applied, leaving it up to the federal circuit courts of appeal, which supervise different groups of states. | ||||||||||||||||||
Four circuits ruled that any sentence longer than the maximum allowed by the facts found by the jury or undisputed by the defendant usually would require new sentences. One circuit decided that the trial courts would have to decide whether resentencing was needed. Two other circuits concluded that inmates wouldn't receive lighter sentences unless they could show that they probably would have received a lighter sentence had the trial judge considered the federal sentencing guidelines to be advisory rather than mandatory. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday, the high court declined to hear the case of Vladimir
Rodriguez, who was convicted of a federal drug dealing offense in
Florida, within the jurisdiction of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Atlanta, which applies the harsher resentencing standard.
After that court upheld his 109-month sentence, he appealed to the
Supreme Court. The Justice Department supported the 11th Circuit's
opinion, but asked the Supreme Court to hear the case to resolve the
"deep and real" split among the appellate courts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Four of the nine justices must agree before the high court will hear
an appeal. In rejecting the Rodriguez case, the court made no
decision on which interpretation is correct and could take up the
question in a future appeal. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(13) PRISON COSTS LOCK UP STATE BUDGET DOLLARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With prison spending gobbling up a growing slice of Wisconsin's
budget, a rising chorus of state and local leaders and reformers are
pushing for alternatives to prison sentences, such as drug courts
that emphasize treatment for nonviolent offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin's chronic budget problems have heightened scrutiny of the
state's explosive growth in the number of people behind bars and new
prison building that has sapped funds for K-12 education, the
University of Wisconsin System and other programs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Although prison spending has leveled, it continues to account for
roughly 7 percent of state general purpose revenue spending, behind
only local school aids, medical assistance, shared revenue to cities
and counties and the UW System. | ||||||||||||||||||
And over the past 10 years, it has been the fastest growing of the
five, increasing 150 percent since 1995. | ||||||||||||||||||
Reformers argue that putting a greater emphasis on treatment cuts
the costs of incarcerating inmates, reduces the risk of re-offending
and helps put offenders on the path to become responsible members of
society. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) FOR MANY, A PRISON RECORD POSES MAJOR OBSTACLE TO ADVANCEMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In central Milwaukee and across the country, there's a growing barrier to income mobility that has little to do with the decline of manufacturing: a criminal record. Tougher sentencing laws and more drug arrests have produced a skyrocketing prison population and a soaring number of job seekers burdened with a prison record. | ||||||||||||||||||
Princeton University sociologist Bruce Western has found that 60% of
black high-school dropouts in their early 30s nationally had a
prison record in 1999, up from 17% in 1979. On average, a prison
record reduces one's annual income by 40%, he says. | ||||||||||||||||||
Milwaukee native William Jones had run-ins with gangs in high school, joined the Marines and spent four years in prison in the early 1990s for involuntary manslaughter. Released in 1996 and required to remain in Indiana as a condition of his parole, he eventually got a job at TruGreen ChemLawn in South Bend selling lawn-care services. "I started to see myself in customer service. This was where I had natural skills. I enjoyed going to work," he says. Between salary and commission, he made $13 an hour. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 2002, after his parole ended, he returned to his hometown and
applied for work at TruGreen ChemLawn in Milwaukee, disclosing his
prison record. He was told the company didn't hire felons, he
recalls. "I said, 'Well, your company hired me in South Bend. I
worked there for three or four years.' " The reply: He should
consider himself "lucky."
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Steve Bono, a spokesman for TruGreen's parent, ServiceMaster Co. in
Downers Grove, Ill., confirms that TruGreen generally does not hire
an applicant with a felony conviction. Mr. Bono says he doesn't know
why Mr. Jones got hired in Indiana.
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[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
I hate to start at the bottom, but this week's hemp and cannabis
section ends with two must-read articles=85but more on that in a
minute. We begin this week with big news from Canada, where Sativex
- a whole-plant cannabis spray manufactured by England's GW
Pharmaceuticals - has just become available in pharmacies. Although
officially recommended for neuropathic pain in MS patients, this
editor anticipates that many physicians will consider off-label
prescriptions for conditions and symptoms that already benefit from
the therapeutic use of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our second story is a bit of a pleasant surprise: it appears that
Senator Arlen Specter may introduce federal medicinal cannabis
legislation in the Senate this year. Specter, who is currently
battling Hodgkin's Disease, made the remarks to Philadelphia's Daily
News right before being honored by the Philadelphia Bar Association.
This could be good news for the good folks of Oregon, where the
state-run medicinal cannabis program has once again begun to issue
ID cards to medical users. Following the Raich/Monson Supreme Court
decision, Oregon had ceased distributing cards while awaiting a
legal opinion from the state's Attorney General's office. With this
announcement the state released 550 cards held up since the trial,
bringing the total number of participants in the program to well
over 10,000. | ||||||||||||||||||
From Massachusetts this week, a great Boston Globe article on Senate Bill 998, which would protect legitimate medicinal cannabis patients from arrest. The story focuses on Steve Epstein, co-founder of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, and the incredible success the group has had in getting non-binding cannabis reform initiatives passed throughout the state. This kind of project, which harnessed and ably politicized public opinion in support of reform, should be a template for similar initiatives throughout the U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally, an absolutely must-read article by New Yorker Columnist
(and former Jimmy Carter speech writer) Hendrik Hertzberg reflecting
on the Raich/Monson decision and the Hinchey-Rohrabacher vote; read
it now, and pass it along, because articles this good don't come
along every day. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) MS SUFFERERS GAIN ACCESS TO NEW DRUG (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Pot-Based Spray Dulls Neuropathic Pain
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A marijuana mouth spray approved to treat tingling and burning
chronic pain in multiple sclerosis patients hit pharmacy shelves
across Canada on Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Saskatchewan patients who want to try the drug may have to hunt
around to find a doctor willing to prescribe it. And at $124.95 for
a 10-day supply, users will also be reaching deep into their own
pockets -- the drug isn't yet covered by any public or private
health-care plans. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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About half of the 50,000 Canadians who have the disease, which
causes a deterioration of a protective layer of cells around nerves,
experience chronic pain. Other symptoms include visual disturbances,
balance and co-ordination problems, spasticity, altered sensations
and fatigue. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug is an extract from cannabis plants containing active
ingredients delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol
(CBD). Patients squirt the peppermint-flavoured spray under their
tongue or in the side of their cheek four or five times a day to
dull the pain. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) SPECTER FAVORS RX GRASS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Arlen Specter says he "may introduce legislation" in the Senate in
favor of medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. senator, who has long supported the use of human stem cells
for disease research, told Your Humble Narrator yesterday that he's
in favor of a state's right to decide whether to allow its doctors
to prescribe marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Specter himself, who is battling Hodgkin's disease, could be a
candidate for medical marijuana use. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that federal agents could
arrest people who use doctor-prescribed marijuana in states that
have authorized it, including California and Oregon. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(17) STATE ISSUES POT CARDS AGAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Oregon's statewide health agency resumed issuing medical-marijuana
cards Friday, deciding the program could continue despite a U.S.
Supreme Court ruling allowing federal prosecution for possessing the
drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
State Attorney General Hardy Myers said the ruling didn't overturn
Oregon's voter-passed program. | ||||||||||||||||||
But his written opinion also warned that registration in the state
program won't protect patients or caregivers from federal
prosecution for drug possession if the federal government chooses to
take action against them. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(18) NEWBURYPORT MAN MAKES CASE FOR MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Scott Mortimer of Newburyport deals daily with debilitating back
pain, an agony so intense it sometimes causes him to break out in a
cold sweat. Traditional medications have failed, so for the better
part of a decade, the soft-spoken 37-year-old has relied on the
black market to ease his suffering. Mortimer's drug of choice:
marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
He wants access to a reliable supplier, a manufacturer who can
guarantee that the marijuana he uses is free of dangerous pesticides
or chemical fertilizers. And he wants to be free of the stigma
attached to illegal drug use and the fear of police action. On June
7, Mortimer testified before the Judiciary Committee on Beacon Hill
and urged legislators to embrace Senate Bill 998, a proposal that
seeks to legalize the medical use of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
The measure, sponsored by Lynn Democrat Thomas M. McGee, would
protect patients, their doctors, and caregivers from arrest and
state prosecution if the doctor signs a written statement that the
patient has a ''chronic or debilitating" medical condition and would
benefit from the use of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(19) WATCHED POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
If hard cases make bad law, as a three-hundred-year-old courthouse
saying has it, then the case of Gonzales et al. v. Raich et al.
ought to have been easy and good. The case is--or appears to
be--about marijuana and illness. | ||||||||||||||||||
On one side is Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose et al. consists of the massed power of the United States government. A.G.A.G. et al. take the position that because Cannabis sativa is irredeemably wicked and has no legitimate uses, medical or otherwise, the possession of it, to say nothing of its cultivation, distribution, or sale, is quite properly forbidden by federal law. | ||||||||||||||||||
On the other side is Angel Raich, a thirty-nine-year-old mother of
two from Oakland, California. Raich does not have cancer, aids,
multiple sclerosis, or epilepsy--the big-ticket ailments whose
symptoms can often be palliated by marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
But she does have more than her share of physical troubles, including an inoperable (though nonmalignant) brain tumor. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Someday the cruelty of the "drug war" will give way to laws and
policies based on reason and justice. | ||||||||||||||||||
But that day is painfully slow in coming, and no drug, legal or not,
can take the pain away. | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News
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COMMENT: (20-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadian prohibitionists have turned up a propaganda barrage
designed to build consensus around increasing penalties for using
meth. Press reports on the dangers of meth appeared last week all
over Canada, most with the same conclusion: those officially
suspected of involvement with methamphetamines are dangerous, bad
people who need to be jailed, possibly for life -- just like they do
in the United States. Conservative MPs, ever excited by the prospect
of meting out new punishments, are behind the plan. While the media
keeps up the drumbeat for new laws to imprison more meth-involved
people for longer, not everyone is so convinced. One dispatch last
week noted director Tim Stockwell, Centre for Addictions Research in
B.C., argues reports of a meth epidemic are greatly exaggerated.
"It's not as mainstream as it's being made out," the drug expert
revealed. Stockwell also pointed out instances of false statistics
used by government and media to trumpet an inflated crisis of meth
use. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week, disturbing indications the White House is playing fast and loose with cocaine production estimates from Colombia. Washington has been pouring money into Colombia for years, into various schemes attempting to coerce Colombians to stop producing cocaine. Aerial spraying of plant-poisons (glyophosate), is a favorite method of U.S. prohibitionists, but has been ineffective. The White House insists the plan is working, that cocaine production in Colombia is down. But U.N. analysts this week revealed Colombian cocaine production is actually increasing, even as other sources within the U.S. Government indicate the same. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) TOUGHEN PENALTIES FOR METH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A bait-car video released last week is indeed chilling. It shows a truck thief speeding down residential streets in Langley and Abbotsford - going as fast as 140 km/h, smashing into three vehicles and narrowly missing a head-on collision with a police car. | ||||||||||||||||||
During the rampage, the man pulls out a handgun and tries 14 times
to fire it out the passenger-side window. Fortunately, it doesn't go
off. | ||||||||||||||||||
Cpl. Tim Shields, spokesperson for the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Task Force, said the footage is "the most chilling bait-car video that auto theft investigators from around the world have ever seen." He also said the thief is a meth addict. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
He said B.C. faces a flood of criminals looking for products used to
make the drug, unless it clamps down on the sale of ingredients like
some U.S. states are doing.
| ||||||||||||||||||
North Dakota has doubled its prison budget during the past seven
years, and a shocking 60 per cent of male inmates there are meth
addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Both the video and warning are signs that it's time for B.C. to take
swift action. We've got enough problems with grow ops. We don't need
more meth madness. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MP Randy Kamp has proposed that the feds declare meth a more dangerous drug than it is currently considered. | ||||||||||||||||||
Doing so would make legal penalties far more serious, leading to
longer jail sentences for people who produce the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(21) CRYSTAL METH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Private Bill Seeks Up To Life Term For Manufacture
| ||||||||||||||||||
'Crank' Less Restricted Than Pot
| ||||||||||||||||||
A push by western provinces to get Canada to increase the penalties
for producing crystal meth will take on new steam shortly, when a
private members' bill reclassifying the drug is introduced in the
House of Commons. | ||||||||||||||||||
Two Conservative Party MPs plan to introduce a bill reclassifying
crystal methamphetamine from a schedule three drug to a schedule one
drug, the same category as cocaine, opium, ecstasy and heroin. It
means the maximum sentence for producing it will go from 10 years to
life in prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) METH REPORTS EXAGGERATED, RESEARCHER FINDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Recent media reports of the amount of crystal meth use in B.C. is
way off base, a local expert says. | ||||||||||||||||||
Centre for Addictions Research of B.C director Tim Stockwell was
eating his breakfast cereal last week when he read that about
190,000 B.C. residents used amphetamine-type substances like crystal
meth last year. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I was immediately suspicious," Stockwell said. | ||||||||||||||||||
It turns out that the right information for the wrong question was reported, he said. That number actually refers to those who had used amphetamine-type substances in their lifetime, not just last year. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
It turns out that actual estimates found that only 0.6 per cent of
respondents reported using amphetamine-type drugs in the previous year.
This equates to approximately 22,000 B.C. residents - about one-tenth
of the reported estimate. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's not as mainstream as it's being made out," said Stockwell,
noting that such drugs are often only used by people living on the
streets. | ||||||||||||||||||
In 2003, 12 deaths were reported associated with crystal meth. By
contrast, 1,789 deaths associated with alcohol use were reported in
2004 and many more from tobacco. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) DRUG WAR IN COLOMBIA: IS THERE ANY PROGRESS? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
White House Says Cocaine Levels Are Down, But Some Analysts Disagree | ||||||||||||||||||
Estimates on last year's cocaine trade:
| ||||||||||||||||||
South American production* White House drug office: 640 metric tons United Nations: 670 metric tons U.S. task force: 1,390 metric tons | ||||||||||||||||||
Seizures State Department: 373 metric tons
| ||||||||||||||||||
Consumption White House drug office: 300 metric tons in U.S. alone. | ||||||||||||||||||
* South America provides virtually the world supply of cocaine. By
U.S. and Latin American authorities.
| ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - As proof that the U.S.-backed drug war in South America is paying off, the Bush administration says cocaine production has plummeted by nearly 30 percent over the past three years. | ||||||||||||||||||
But some American counternarcotics officials and drug-trade analysts
call such triumphal pronouncements misleading. | ||||||||||||||||||
A U.S. government task force, they note, estimated that cartels last year produced more than twice the amount of cocaine claimed by the White House. A report released last week by the United Nations maintained that cocaine output is actually on the rise. | ||||||||||||||||||
The debate over drug numbers matters because Congress uses the White
House figures as a measuring stick when determining the best way to
spend nearly $1 billion annually in counternarcotics programs in
South America. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy announced in March that cocaine production last year in the three Andean nations totaled 640 metric tons, down from 900 metric tons in 2001. | ||||||||||||||||||
Touting these numbers at a recent congressional hearing on Colombia
which provides 90 percent of the cocaine sold in the United States
John Walters, the head of the White House drug office, said: "We are
heading in the right direction, and we are winning."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Contradictory figures
| ||||||||||||||||||
But the White House figures contradict other tallies and strike some
as funny math. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to the State Department, U.S. and Latin American security
forces seized a record 373 metric tons of cocaine last year.
Walters' office thinks annual consumption of the narcotic in the
United States alone is about 300 metric tons. Taken together, the
two figures exceed the White House estimate of the total produced in
2004. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a U.S.
official familiar with anti-drug operations insisted that South
America "could easily be producing well over 800 metric tons of
cocaine per year."
| ||||||||||||||||||
The Florida-based Joint Interagency Task Force South, which includes
Air Force, Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement Administration
officials, put the figure even higher. The task force, which has
seized huge caches of cocaine on the high seas, estimated 2004
production at 1,390 metric tons. | ||||||||||||||||||
But David Murray, a special assistant to drug czar Walters, vigorously defended the White House figures, which are based on the size of the coca crop that provides the raw material for cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Like the White House estimates, U.N. surveys reported a downward trend in cocaine production each year between 2001 and 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||
But last week's United Nations' estimate had cartels producing 670 metric tons in 2004, up from 655 tons the previous year. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
JOHN WALTERS DEFENDS ENDLESS DRUG WAR
| ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
STAND UP AND TELL THE TRUTH
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Teri Weefur, AlterNet
| ||||||||||||||||||
asha bandele discusses her new role as drug policy reformer:
'If you're not talking about race at just about every juncture,
then you're not talking about the drug war as it's construed in
this nation.'
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
GARY WEBB'S "DARK ALLIANCE" RETURNS TO THE INTERNET
| ||||||||||||||||||
After an Arduous Journey, the Historic Document About U.S.-Sponsored
Narco-Trafficking Finds a New Home
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Dan Feder
| ||||||||||||||||||
Special to The Narco News Bulletin
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LISTEN Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
www.KPFT.org
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MarijuanaNews World Report June 23, 2005
| ||||||||||||||||||
with Richard Cowan
| ||||||||||||||||||
Feds Raid SF Clubs. Most Remain Open. Sativex Now On Sale in Canada, At
A High Price. Oaksterdam Clubs Approved for Vaporization; BC Club To
Test "Smoked Cannabis." Marijuana Raids In Southern Mexico Reignites
Zapatista Rebellion. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
NO VOTE ON STUDENT DRUG TESTING
| ||||||||||||||||||
Friday, June 24, 2005
| ||||||||||||||||||
The DPA amendment to cut the federal government's multi-million dollar
student drug testing program fell victim to Congressional laziness. In a
somewhat rare move, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress
decided yesterday to prohibit debate on dozens of proposed amendments to
the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill so that members of Congress could
go home early. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/062405bobbyscottbillnovote.cfm | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NATION IS ADDICTED TO DRUG PROHIBITION
| ||||||||||||||||||
By Larry Seguin
| ||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs today is mostly about marijuana (Court ruling ensures
enforcement, June 9). | ||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana arrests, convictions, incarcerations and the seizure of
property in marijuana cases constitute the great majority of
drug-war incidents. Without marijuana prohibition, the War on Drugs
and its bloated budgets would simply not be justifiable, nor the
Drug Enforcement Agency, nor foreign intervention, nor political
anti-drug posturing. | ||||||||||||||||||
Without marijuana prohibition, the whole War on Drugs would soon
fall apart. | ||||||||||||||||||
America is in the throes of an addiction, to be sure. But it is to
drug prohibition far more than to drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
Enormous and wildly increasing budgets are squandered on ever-higher
doses of the drug prohibition habit, and vehement denials that the
prohibition habit is the problem are heard along with pronouncements
that with one more big fix of "enforcement and interdiction" the
drug problem will be resolved. | ||||||||||||||||||
And in great irrational fear of the imagined rigors of withdrawal,
the addict is ready to commit any disgrace, deception, crime or
doublethink whatsoever to get his fix. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug prohibition has become a monkey on the back of democracy
itself. | ||||||||||||||||||
LARRY SEGUIN Lisbon, N.Y. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Headlining Support For Prohibition In All Its Abstract Glory | ||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young
| ||||||||||||||||||
Who says George Will's writing about the drug war is tough to
decipher? Certainly not us at DrugSense Weekly, ahem, but headline
composers at newspapers across the country who had to title a recent
work by the syndicated columnist seemed to have different ideas on
the ultimate point of the piece. | ||||||||||||||||||
( See http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n968/a03.html to read Will's
piece, which was published June 16 in many papers. )
| ||||||||||||||||||
The headlines conflicted in some cases. The Dayton Daily News asked,
"Is drug war worth fighting?" For the Washington Post, there was
absolutely no question: "Drug war worth fighting."
| ||||||||||||||||||
I found that stacking up several of the various headlines gave them
a poetic effect (in the sense of a Soviet-era agitprop poem) while
neatly encapsulating the circular arguments and half-hearted
questions commonly stressed by the mainstream press when it attempts
to explore drug prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
An appropriate title for the following headline collage might be: What does George Will really think about the 'Drug war'? | ||||||||||||||||||
Is the drug war worth fighting?
| ||||||||||||||||||
That little conglomeration doesn't make much less sense than Will's column. This is the way I interpret the column: Will's reason tells him the drug war is a dismal failure, but his emotional fear of illegal drugs doesn't want to believe it. So he ties the sweet-sounding lies of drug czar John Walters into a obfuscated bundle, describes them as "Lincolnian" and apparently hopes his smartest readers will understand his inner conflict. He expressed his confusion, but in a way that no one will call him pro-drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
Strangely, Will knows how to make a clear point when he wants to. In
today's column in the Chicago Sun-Times, Will lambastes "liberal"
members of the U.S. Supreme Court for failing to uphold individual
property rights in yesterday's eminent domain decision. The decision
allows municipalities to take private property, with compensation,
if municipal leaders believe the property can be used to generate
more tax revenue under another owner. | ||||||||||||||||||
Will waxes indignantly about the Bill of Rights, particularly the
Fifth Amendment. He writes: "Liberalism triumphed Thursday.
Government became radically unlimited in seizing the very kinds of
private property that should guarantee individuals a sphere of
autonomy against government."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Of course, the drug war has been chipping away at the Fifth
Amendment for decades, but Will didn't mention that in his drug war
column. And, when government limits what you can do with your
consciousness, that certainly reduces an individual's autonomy
against the government. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Will can't just come out and say this is a bad thing. It doesn't
even need to show statistical success; the drug war's good
intentions make it a matter of "better angels" fighting "lesser
angels."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Whose side are the better and lesser angels on in the battle over
property rights? It seems clear on that issue, Will feels he's with
the angels, while opponents have sided with the devil. | ||||||||||||||||||
George Will is entitled to his opinion. He gets well compensated for it. I even think he's correct about the eminent domain decision. | ||||||||||||||||||
But, with his wishy-washy attitude toward the predatory nature of
the drug war, he shouldn't be surprised that government becomes more
controlling and invasive every day. If he thinks it's not wrong for
the government to restrict the rights of certain drug users, why
shouldn't the government determine that some property owners have
less rights than others?
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
To see a list of headlines, check out the first 25 results at
http://www.mapinc.org/author/Will+George . | ||||||||||||||||||
To see a thorough dissection of Will's drug war column by Richard Cowan,
go to http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=828
| ||||||||||||||||||
To see Will's column about property rights, visit
| ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and author of
Maximizing Harm. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Drugs have taught an entire generation of American kids the metric
system." - P.J. O'Rourke
| ||||||||||||||||||
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offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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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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