DrugSense Home
DrugSense Weekly
August 26, 2005 #414


Table of Contents

* Breaking News (03/28/24)


* This Just In


(1) The Right To Grow
(2) Colombia Lawmakers 'Use Cocaine'
(3) Justice Weighs Desire V. Duty (Duty Prevails)
(4) US CO: Pot Law Makes Ballot

* Weekly News in Review


Drug Policy-

COMMENT: (5-9)
(5) Rocky Calls War On Drugs 'A Disaster'
(6) Inhofe, Coburn Oppose Meeting
(7) Zero Intelligence
(8) Why Can't You Buy Heroin At Boots?
(9) Sniff Crisis Put In PM's Lap

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

COMMENT: (10-12)
(10) Police Can Keep Pace With Technology Without Stripping Away Rights
(11) Editorial: Breaking Up A Canyon Party
(12) Ark. Sheriff Explores Link Between Meth And Arrowheads

Cannabis & Hemp-

COMMENT: (13-16)
(13) Hempfest Fans Rockin' The Joint
(14) Emery "Not Scared"
(15) Medical Pot Activist May Sue Over Bust At Airport
(16) Moss Speaks Before He Thinks, Again

International News-

COMMENT: (17-20)
(17) 'Hot' Dope Claims Five
(18) Drug Evidence Against Rebels Stacking Up
(19) Islamic Courts Demolish Stalls In Somalia
(20) Bali Ecstasy To Agony: Arrested Model Faces 15 Years

* Hot Off The 'Net


    Web Log of Dr. Tom O'Connell
    Community Audits and Initiatives Project
    Recent Attempts at Reforming Canadian Legislation Regarding Marijuana
    The Future of Drug Reform : Jacob Sullum Interview
    A Menace to Society / By Peter Bagge
    Music Versus Guns
    Arrest Rates Having Little Impact on Marijuana Use
    Cultural Baggage Radio Show

* What You Can Do This Week


    Join Us For "How To Increase DPR Media In Your Area"

* Letter Of The Week


    Regulating Drugs / Suzanne Wills

* Feature Article


    In Pain? Call A Cop / By Mike Gray

* Quote of the Week


    Mark Twain


THIS JUST IN    (Top)

(1) THE RIGHT TO GROW    (Top)

A Second Chance For Medical Marijuana

Dr.  Lyle Craker, a professor of plant and soil sciences at UMass Amherst, has been trying since 2001 to get a license from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to grow research-grade marijuana for use in Food and Drug Administration-approved studies of the plant's potential to become a legally prescribed medicine.

Last December, after more than three years of stonewalling, the DEA officially rejected his application, holding that his study "would not be consistent with the public interest."

Now Craker, along with the Belmont-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and the ACLU's Drug Law Reform Project, is challenging that ruling.

Hearings began in Washington this week before DEA administrative-law judge Mary Ellen Bittner.  Supporters hope the proceedings will end the DEA's obstruction and remove the federal government's monopoly on research marijuana.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 26 Aug 2005
Source:   Boston Phoenix (MA)
Copyright:   2005 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group.
Website:   http://www.bostonphoenix.com/
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/54
Author:   Mike Miliard
Cited:   http://www.maps.org/
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/find?238 ( Raich v.  Ashcroft)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1382.a11.html


(2) COLOMBIA LAWMAKERS 'USE COCAINE'    (Top)

Some of Colombia's elected politicians have used cocaine within Congress itself, the vice-president of the country's Senate has alleged.

The drug is also being sold there, Senator Edgar Artunduaga said.

"I know names of people who distribute cocaine here in Congress," he said, revealing the results of an investigation ordered by his office.

"There are important officials who distribute, and senators and representatives who consume," he said.

Personal possession of small amounts of cocaine and other drugs is not illegal in Colombia, the world's biggest cocaine producer.

Mr Artunduaga refused to name those involved.

"But I will denounce the dealers to authorities," said Mr Artunduaga, describing some of them as "middle-ranking officials".

[snip]

"Biscuit sellers, shoe sellers, astrologers and marijuana and cocaine dealers all enter Congress," he said.

Pubdate:   Fri, 26 Aug 2005
Source:   BBC News (UK Web)
Copyright:   2005 BBC
Website:   http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Continues:   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4186912.stm


(3) JUSTICE WEIGHS DESIRE V. DUTY (DUTY PREVAILS)    (Top)

It is not every day that a Supreme Court justice calls his own decisions unwise.  But with unusual candor, Justice John Paul Stevens did that last week in a speech in which he explored the gap that sometimes lies between a judge's desire and duty.

Addressing a bar association meeting in Las Vegas, Justice Stevens dissected several of the recent term's decisions, including his own majority opinions in two of the term's most prominent cases.  The outcomes were "unwise," he said, but "in each I was convinced that the law compelled a result that I would have opposed if I were a legislator."

[snip]

Justice Stevens said he also regretted having to rule in favor of the federal government's ability to enforce its narcotics laws and thus trump California's medical marijuana initiative.  "I have no hesitation in telling you that I agree with the policy choice made by the millions of California voters," he said.  But given the broader stakes for the power of Congress to regulate commerce, he added, "our duty to uphold the application of the federal statute was pellucidly clear."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 25 Aug 2005
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   2005 The New York Times Company
Website:   http://www.nytimes.com/
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author:   Linda Greenhouse
Bookmark:   http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1384.a05.html


(4) US CO: POT LAW MAKES BALLOT    (Top)

Denver Initiative Would Legalize Adult Possession, Use

Denver would become the second city in the nation to legalize the adult use of marijuana if voters approve a ballot measure in November.

The first city was Oakland, Calif.

Voters there overwhelmingly approved an initiative last year that requires the city to regulate and tax marijuana, similarly to the way it administers laws on alcohol.  It also directs Oakland officials to make pot the city's lowest law enforcement priority.

The new law has not been enacted because it conflicts with the state of California's laws.

Denver's initiative may face the same fate.

The ballot measure would make it legal for adults 21 years and older to possess less than 1 once of marijuana.  But state law prohibits the possession of marijuana.

[snip]

The measure's backers, Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, collected more than the 12,000 signatures needed to force the matter onto the ballot.

"This initiative shouldn't even be here at the local level," said Councilman Michael Hancock, one of the measure's most vocal critics. "I've seen the devastating effects of drugs in our urban city.

"I have no tolerance for these kinds of discussions.  It has no place in the public dialogue."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 25 Aug 2005
Source:   Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright:   2005, Denver Publishing Co.
Website:   http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Author:   April M.  Washington
Cited:   SAFER (www.saferchoice.org)
Cited:   Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org )
Cited:   Sensible Colorado ( www.sensiblecolorado.org/ )
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1384.a08.html


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW    (Top)

Domestic News- Policy


COMMENT: (5-9)    (Top)

The First National Conference on Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis was held in Salt Lake City, Utah last weekend and included the avid participation of SLC's Mayor Anderson.  Two Oklahoma Senators, on the other hand, were upset at the apparent conference sponsorship by our federal Health and Human Services.  HHS quickly denied the sponsorship as the Oklahoma's Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control proudly stated they had declined an invitation once they found out alternatives to our current policies were to be discussed.  A more enlightened representative from the UK received praise from two UK columnists after calling for an end to drug prohibition.

The last story shows that no matter how much money we spend, how many liberties we loose, how many police officers we hire, how many prisons we build - human beings will find a way to "take the edge off" the troubles they face.


(5) ROCKY CALLS WAR ON DRUGS 'A DISASTER'    (Top)

The war on drugs has been an "absolute unmitigated failure - a disaster i n this country." Strong words spoken by Salt Lake City's Mayor Rocky Anders on during a panel discussion Friday night at the Harm Reduction Conference.  In the two hours following Anderson's opening remarks, civic and community leaders from around the country echoed his sentiments, calling for greater outreach, education and prevention for drug abuse.  "We want to prevent, when we can, the abuse of all substances and for those who choose to use, reduce the harm," Anderson said.  The second part of his quote, the notion which, in some form, accepts drug use and looks to minimize its risks, is what the Harm Reduction Conference is all about.

The first annual conference, held at the Salt Lake City Marriott on Friday and today, focuses on methamphetamine, HIV and hepatitis. Among those on the panel were Dave Purchase, of the North American Syringe Exchange Network, whose civic involvement in Seattle brought about the first needle exchange program in the United States, and Dave Nadalmann, of the Drug Policy Alliance, who advocates more practical approaches to drug reform.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat, 20 Aug 2005
Source:   Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright:   2005 The Salt Lake Tribune
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/383
Author:   Michael Westley
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1360/a06.html


(6) INHOFE, COBURN OPPOSE MEETING    (Top)

A claim that the U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services is sponsoring a conference about methamphetamine and sexually transmitted diseases raised the ire of Oklahoma's two senators.

Sens.  Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, are among six who sent a letter this week to U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt criticizing the agency.

Although Health and Human Services was listed as a primary sponsor for the conference, department spokeswoman Christina Pearson said conference organizers made a mistake.

"HHS is not a sponsor of the conference.  The conference organizers incorrectly listed us as a sponsor without our knowledge or consent," she said.

Conference organizers counter that the agency provided them with a $3,000 grant, but the agency denies it provided the money.

"There was discussion of $3,000 that would provide some scholarship funds to defray travel costs of people attending, but this is not being provide d now," Pearson said.

[snip]

The meeting also attracted the attention of Oklahoma's Bureau of Narcotic s and Dangerous Drugs Control.

The agency had been asked to make a presentation, but decided against it, its spokesman said.

"We were led to believe that it was about raising awareness about meth and the dangers associated with it.  We were not aware that there would be other questionable and potentially controversial topics being discussed out there," Mark Woodward said.

As of Thursday, more than 900 health care workers, scientists, law enforcement agents and others from around the world were registered to attend the conference.

Pubdate:   Fri, 19 Aug 2005
Source:   Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright:   2005 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author:   Beth Gollob
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1377/a01.html


(7) COLUMN: ZERO INTELLIGENCE

Muddled Thinking Over Drug Use In Prisons Will Help The Criminals

Is there anyone in either the Dail or the Seannad with the courage and imagination of British Liberal Democrat Chris Davies? The Welsh MEP raised a row in the UK when he suggested that perhaps it was time to rethink the Western world's policy on drugs.  Davies put forward the idea long advocated by libertarians that legalising all narcotics would drastically slash the profits of drug smugglers and dealers while reducing crime rates caused b y addicts prepared to pay astronomical prices for their fix.

Davies is, in a sense, stating the blindingly obvious: the West is losing the so-called 'war on drugs'.  Demand for drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine and heroin in the EU and North America is, if you'll excuse the pun, at an all-time high.  For instance, even in Afghanistan, the presence of thousands of American and Nato troops has not halted the growing of the poppy and t he subsequent production of heroin.  In fact, it appears that the 'war on drugs' is probably even less winnable than the 'war on terror', both of which are being prosecuted in that same country.

So far, no one within any of the Irish political parties has taken up the Lib Dem's imaginative proposal.  Only the Greens favour the legalisation of certain soft drugs such as cannabis, while the others maintain a prohibitionist stance.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 21 Aug 2005
Source:   Observer, The (UK)
Copyright:   2005 The Observer
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/315
Author:   Henry McDonald
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1362/a04.html


(8) COLUMN: WHY CAN'T YOU BUY HEROIN AT BOOTS?

[snip]

Most of us aren't heroin addicts because we don't want to be heroin addicts.  Or coke heads or meth freaks. The people who do want to be junkies are junkies.  Were hard drugs decriminalised, it's dubious that consumption would appreciably rise.

Which is why Lib Dem MP Chris Davies's calling for the legalisation and regulation of hard drugs last week really shouldn't qualify as "brave".  Nor should Lord Birt's now partially leaked 2003 report on UK drug policy qualify as "controversial".  The report's assertions make common sense: for drug cartels, government seizures are merely a modest line-item in their budgets; the "maximum" - meaning, farcically optimistic - estimate of drug seizures runs to 25% of total supply.  Confiscation only serves to drive up the street price of hard drugs and so benefits their purveyors.  Therefore , even more effective narcotics enforcement would simply push users into stealing yet more DVD players to fund costlier habits.

Alas, common sense is in short supply on this matter.  The west's prohibition approach to drugs is as entrenched as it is idiotic. Davies and Birt are pissing in the wind.  So, by the way, am I. But I've nothing else to do this afternoon, so let's fritter away my time.

It would be nice if everyone were happy and good.  If everyone were a productive member of society, reliably rising to greet the morning, bursting into song and eager for the day ahead.  If we all took such joy in the miracle of sheer being that it would never enter our heads to try to fuzzy up a single blade of grass.

[snip]

Yet as for working out the details of a legal distribution scheme that would effectively result in "harm reduction", why bother? Davies was wasting his breath, Birt his paper - as I am wasting yours.  I cannot imagine a rational, pragmatic approach to drugs in the western world evolving in my lifetime.  Davies's proposal was sane, it was welcome; it was also self-destructive.  Fellow Lib Dems rushed to clarify that he was not promoting party policy.  And these are Lib Dems! Can you envisage an American presidential candidate going out on a limb to advocate that the US decriminalises heroin? That's right, with pigs flying merrily overhead, and hell freezing below.

Pubdate:   Tue, 23 Aug 2005
Source:   Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright:   2005 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author:   Lionel Shriver
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1374/a09.html


(9) SNIFF CRISIS PUT IN PM'S LAP    (Top)

Native Leaders To Confront Cabinet Over Solvent Abuse

The solvent-abuse crisis gripping a Manitoba reserve will be thrown in the laps of Prime Minister Paul Martin and his top cabinet ministers when they meet in Winnipeg on Friday.

Two grand chiefs vow to give Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott a strong message about the solvent crisis on Pauingassi First Nation.

An exclusive Free Press story Sunday revealed that 20 per cent of the reserve's 450 residents, including half the children, are addicted to solvents such as gasoline or glue.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 23 Aug 2005
Source:   Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright:   2005 Winnipeg Free Press
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author:   David O'Brien
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1381/a06.html


Law Enforcement & Prisons


COMMENT: (10-12)    (Top)

Seems as some Canadian legislatures have not heard Benjamin Franklin's wise words, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Hopefully they will carefully study the following Vancouver Sun's editorial before making the legislation official.

An Utah editor attempts to justify the paramilitary police activity used to break up a rave saying the harmful drugs justify the means and only those who were present can judge whether too much force was used.  We all can 'be there' as the 'net spreads the truth via digital video clips, http://www.music-versus-guns.org/media.html.

Arrowhead collectors beware! If there weren't already enough hysterical claims about the signs of Methamphetamine use, an Arkansas Sheriff has "come to expect arrowheads - when he storms the home of suspected meth makers." It can't be long before possession of an arrowhead will be cause for search and seizure.


(10) POLICE CAN KEEP PACE WITH TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT STRIPPING AWAY RIGHTS    (Top)

The federal government is considering allowing police into dangerous new territory in the name of public security.

According to news reports, police and security agencies would be given the right to browse through personal e-mails, text messages and possibly even password-protected websites used for purchasing goods and financial transactions without first seeking a warrant from a judge.

[snip]

The Internet has created a new venue for human activity, but it has not changed the principles governing the balance we seek between the need to protect ourselves from those who would do us harm and our right to maintain private lives.

The legislation under discussion seems to confuse the need for police to keep pace with technological change with the desire to have new powers in what would be a fundamental assault on the right to privacy.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 23 Aug 2005
Source:   Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright:   2005 The Vancouver Sun
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1373/a09.html


(11) EDITORIAL: BREAKING UP A CANYON PARTY    (Top)

Unless people were there Saturday night, participating in the "rave" party in Spanish Fork canyon, it would be hard for them to draw conclusions as to whether police used excessive force when they busted things up, as party organizers are alleging.

But there can be no question as to whether the health of party goers was endangered by illegal drugs that were circulating, and there can be little question that the event's organizers were sloppy and ill-organized.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 24 Aug 2005
Source:   Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City, UT)
Copyright:   2005 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/124
Video:   http://www.modernfix.com/images/videos/Utah_rave_troops_invade.mov
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1382/a01.html


(12) ARK. SHERIFF EXPLORES LINK BETWEEN METH AND ARROWHEADS    (Top)

SEARCY, Ark.  - The time consuming and methodical motion of searching for arrowheads on farmland and in river beds seems to appeal to methamphetamine addicts, a sheriff says.

White County Sheriff Pat Garrett says after more than 100 search warrants , he has come to expect arrowheads, many thousands of years old, when he storms the home of suspected meth makers.

"I noticed it when I first started.  It just seemed there were always Indian arrowheads and I couldn't figure it out," Garrett said.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 22 Aug 2005
Source:   Log Cabin Democrat (AR)
Copyright:   2005 The Log Cabin Democrat
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/548
Author:   Associated Press
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1372/a05.html


Cannabis & Hemp-


COMMENT: (13-16)    (Top)

Let me begin this week by congratulating the organizers and volunteers of the Seattle Hempfest 2005.  As a result of fantastic weather, incredible organization, and a high level of support from the local community, this year's festival - already North America's largest cannabis freedom event - went off without a hitch.  Over 150,000 cannabis users over the two days of the event and no violence or arrests - oh yeah, Mr.  Walters, we're the problem here.

Talking about problems, our next article is an interview with Marc Emery from Dose Magazine in which Emery reflects on the actions that have led to this pivotal point in his life as an entrepreneur and activist, and how he remains optimistic and upbeat despite the DEA extradition order that has destroyed his business and so disrupted his life.  And on the heels of this story, a report that WAMM co-founder Valerie Corral may sue the Burbank airport and police for detaining her after finding about 5 grams of cannabis on her person before boarding a flight.  Corral, who is a legal cannabis user under California state law, will appear at a hearing on August 29th where she will plead not guilty to the misdemeanor charge.

And lastly this week, an article by Florida sports columnist Ray McNulty on Randy Moss' recent admission that he still smokes pot occasionally.  Although one may question why Moss - who has been rebuked by the NFL for drug use in the past - would make this admission publicly, I find it incredible that the author would prefer for him to lie than to admit that you can be a dominant, electrifying sports figure and still smoke pot.  Would he be so castigated if he admitted that he had the occasional can of Budweiser or glass of wine? No, he'd get a multi-million dollar endorsement deal.  From all the way up here in Canada, this bud's for you, Randy; 'cause Moss don't grow on a well, that doesn't quite work, but I had to go for it.


(13) HEMPFEST FANS ROCKIN' THE JOINT    (Top)

Spontaneous drum circles, stick jugglers wearing jester hats and a raffle for a 3-foot-tall bong.

It must be Hempfest.

When the festival ends today, organizers expect the gathering - billed as "the world's phattest protestival" - to have drawn as many as 150,000 attendees to Myrtle Edwards Park for free concerts, pro-pot speeches and a milelong strip of hemp-based shopping opportunities.  In the market for "hemp litter for small pets"?

The event, now in its 14th year, aims to decriminalize marijuana and legalize domestic hemp production.  It's illegal to grow hemp - a cousin o f marijuana - in the United States.  But products made from it - such as paper, soap and granola mix - are legal to sell and consume.  However, some consider the peasant skirts and ponchos commonly made from the fibers to be crimes of fashion.

[snip]

Seattle police were there, but spokesman Sean Whitcomb explained, "Marijuana enforcement is one of our lowest priorities.  Keeping the public safe is our No.  1 mission at Hempfest."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 21 Aug 2005
Source:   Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright:   2005 The Seattle Times Company
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author:   Julia Sommerfeld, Seattle Times staff reporter
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1385.a06.html


(14) EMERY "NOT SCARED"    (Top)

Right now MARC EMERY's got no seeds to sell.  The pot prince, weed warrior, jailbird and munificent marijuana activist, is readying for a skunky battle as he faces hard time in an American prison.

And he says he's not scared.

EMERY, 47, grew up in Ontario and currently sits at the head of a global cannabis community.  And since the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) charged him last month for selling seeds online - something he'd done for years - he says more and more people are taking note of his battle.

We sat down with EMERY - against a wall, painted with hemp leaves - and spent an hour trying to figure out what makes him tick.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 22 Aug 2005
Source:   Dose (CN BC)
Copyright:   2005 - DOSE
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/3875
Author:   Chantal Eustace
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1368.a05.html


(15) MEDICAL POT ACTIVIST MAY SUE OVER BUST AT AIRPORT    (Top)

A well-known local medical marijuana advocate is considering a lawsuit after getting caught with the drug at a Southern California airport in late July.

Valerie Corral said she was at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank when security officials found about "5 or so grams" of pot in her bag. She had a Santa Cruz County medical identification card and a doctor's recommendation, she said.

That didn't keep her from being detained for about 45 minutes, having her pot taken and getting a citation.

Corral, co-founder of Santa Cruz's Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said she is fighting the charge, and may sue to ensure state medical marijuana laws are followed in the city.  She is getting help from the Drug Law Reform Project of the American Civil Liberties Union based in Santa Cruz.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat, 20 Aug 2005
Source:   Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright:   2005 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author:   Brian Seals
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1358.a02.html


(16) MOSS SPEAKS BEFORE HE THINKS, AGAIN    (Top)

[snip]

If Moss does still get high on ganja - and, according to excepts from his HBO interview, he said he might light up "every blue moon" - there's at least a chance he'll get caught.  And if he does get caught, if he fails enough drug tests, it could cost him more than money.  It could, eventually, cost him his football career. That would be a waste.  That would be stupid.

Of course, Moss has done some dumb things before.  He's got a history of problems, on and off the field.  Some of those problems, which date back to his high school years, involved his use of marijuana. And those problems put him at Marshall instead of Florida State and dropped him to the 21st pick in the NFL Draft.

Not surprisingly, the cloud of controversy has followed Moss to the NFL, where his pass-catching skills sometimes have been overshadowed by his behavior.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 21 Aug 2005
Source:   Press Journal (Vero Beach, FL)
Copyright:   2005, The E.W.  Scripps Co.
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/2977
Author:   Ray McNulty, Sports Columnist
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1367.a01.html


International News


COMMENT: (17-20)    (Top)

Under prohibition, prohibited drugs are not inspected for safety or purity.  One batch may be potent, the next weak. Heroin users are especially vulnerable to an unexpectedly strong batch ("hot heroin") that can kill users.  This happened last week in Vancouver, Canada when potent heroin hit the street and at least five users (unaccustomed to such strong heroin) died.  Police there (who had earlier taken a hard line against Vancouver's supervised injection site) in a stunning about-face are now urging heroin users to take their heroin at the site, according to a report in Vancouver's 24hours magazine.

U.S.  officials are heartened by growing signs that some left-wing Colombian rebels may be involved with cocaine trafficking.  Evidence of Colombian rebel involvement with cocaine is eagerly sought by U.S.  anti-drug warriors, to bolster accusations they have made against the FARC and ELN Colombian rebel groups for at least twenty years.  A recent bust of tons of cocaine in supposedly Colombian rebel-held territory has been held up by U.S.  drug warriors as proof of the link.  Washington now has a never-ending line of Communist Drug Terror Rebels to prosecute, no matter how flimsy the evidence. U.S.  prohibitionists hope to avoid a repeat of last year's botched prosecution of Nelson Vargas Rueda, a FARC member extradited to the U.S.  from Colombia. A court in D.C. found Rueda not guilty of cocaine trafficking.

Fire-breathing preachers in the Bible-belt, jailing sinful marijuana users for the Glory of Christ have little on the Islamic militias in Somalia, who last week began demolishing the shanties of those suspected of selling marijuana or wine in Mogadishu.  In platitudes familiar to subjects of prohibitionist regimes worldwide, the Islamic Militia issued an explanation for events.  "We want to fight against every thing that can spread obnoxious misconduct within this ... community and the use of narcotics and other toxic drugs." Expect the use of drugs to soar in Somalia.

While authorities in Indonesia hailed Indonesian Independence Day by reducing the sentences of the Bali bombers (who in 2002 killed over 50 Australians), another Australian was nabbed by Bali drug cops for allegedly possessing ...  two MDMA pills. Sydney model Michelle Leslie, 24, is being held in a Balinese jail awaiting a pro forma trial and conviction.  After her conviction, Leslie will receive up to 15 years in jail for possessing the two pills.  Meanwhile, convicted militant Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir currently in jail for the Bali bombings got his sentence reduced and should be a free man again in a few months.  Earlier this year, Balinese prohibition officials sentenced Australian Schapelle Corby, accused of smuggling cannabis into Bali, to 20 years in jail.


(17) 'HOT' DOPE CLAIMS FIVE    (Top)

"Hot heroin" is being blamed for five deaths last weekend.

After Vancouver Police said Monday that three people had overdosed on heroin on the weekend, Sgt.  Anne Drennan told the media yesterday that two more have been added to the list.

Two downtown eastside males in their 40s were found overdosed together, leading police to believe deadly doses of the drug are being sold.

[snip]

Both police and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority are urging drug users to use the safe injection site in Vancouver.

Pubdate:   Wed, 24 Aug 2005
Source:   Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright:   2005, Canoe Inc
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1383.a04.html


(18) DRUG EVIDENCE AGAINST REBELS STACKING UP    (Top)

For Decades, Colombia's Shadowy FARC Rebel Group Was Suspected Of Drug-Trade Activity.  Now, Though, Colombian And Foreign Authorities Are Arresting Rebels In Trafficking Cases.

BOGOTA - As far as drug busts go, this one was huge: seven tons of cocaine    found  in  a small underground compartment at the rear of a farmhouse in central Venezuela.

But as important as the drugs were the armbands also found at the site last year -- from the 16th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , or FARC.

Accusations that the Marxist guerrilla group, which has been fighting the Colombian government for more than four decades, was linked to the drug trade go back to the 1980s.  But until recently there was little evidence the rebels were moving cocaine through foreign countries on its way to th e United States and Europe, and efforts to prosecute its members for those kinds of crimes proved nearly impossible.

That is changing.  Increasingly, FARC guerrillas have become a target of Colombian and foreign drug prosecutors.  Eight rebels currently face indictments in the United States.  Of those, two mid-level FARC commanders , including Ricardo Palmera, alias Simon Trinidad, already were extradited to Washington in recent months to face charges of drug trafficking, among others.

[snip]

A mid-level commander of the 14th Front known as Comandante Sonia was the other FARC leader extradited to Washington to await trial on drug charges .  She is suspected of keeping watch over a vast network of rivers used to move tons of cocaine headed for foreign markets.

[snip]

And a former 14th Front commander, Jose Benito Cabrera, alias Fabian Ramirez, has been indicted in the United States for allegedly masterminding the network.  Cabrera's brother, Erminso Cuevas Cabrera, was recently arrested in Colombia and charged with drug trafficking.

[snip]

Difficult Cases

Still, building prosecutions against FARC members for trafficking drugs remains difficult.  Witnesses and associates are hard to find. Da Costa, jailed in Brazil, insists the FARC had nothing to do with drug trafficking.

One FARC member extradited to the United States for drug trafficking, Nelson Vargas Rueda, also an alleged member of the 16th Front, was found not guilty in a Washington, D.C., court last year and returned to Colombia.

And a U.S.  federal investigator, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the case, said that the drug case against the FARC's Palmera is very weak.

Army and prosecution officials here say they have no doubts that the FARC has turned into a virtual drug cartel.

But proving it may be a difficult matter.

Pubdate:   Tue, 23 Aug 2005
Source:   Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright:   2005 The Miami Herald
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author:   Steven Dudley
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1374.a10.html


(19) ISLAMIC COURTS DEMOLISH STALLS IN SOMALIA    (Top)

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Militias of Islamic courts on Tuesday began pulling down stalls suspected of selling wine, marijuana and other drugs in Somalia's capital, a militia leader and an Islamic court official said.

Witnesses said the militiamen also confiscated equipment from two video halls during their effort to enforce sharia - or Islamic law.

Six people have been arrested accused of dealing in wine, marijuana and other drugs prohibited under sharia, and militiamen allegedly found an unspecified quantity of drugs inside the demolished iron sheet stalls, said Mohamed Duale Hashi, a commander of the Islamic courts' militias in Mogad ishu.

[snip]

Sheikh Ahmed Mo'alin Yusuf, a leader of the Islamic courts, said the demolitions are the beginning of an anti-drug campaign organized by the Islamic Courts Union.

"We want to fight against every thing that can spread obnoxious misconduct within this Muslim community and the use of narcotics and other toxic drugs," he said.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 23 Aug 2005
Source:   Ledger, The (FL)
Copyright:   2005 The Ledger
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/795
Author:   Associated Press
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1379.a13.html


(20) BALI ECSTASY TO AGONY: ARRESTED MODEL FACES 15 YEARS    (Top)

Michelle Leslie, the Sydney model Bali police say they caught with two ecstasy tablets on her way to a dance party, could be jailed for up to 15 years if convicted.

The 24-year-old, who also uses the surname Lee, was arrested on Saturday but has refused to answer police questions, spending much of her time in tears.

[snip]

Major Kusin said Leslie's car was the subject of a routine random search.  Four Indonesians had also been arrested with ecstasy pills. He denied foreigners were being targeted over drug use in Bali.  But he added "we apply selective priority because we have limited police officers".

[snip]

Leslie has been a model for Myer and Antz Pantz underwear.

Pubdate:   Tue, 23 Aug 2005
Source:   Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright:   2005 The Sydney Morning Herald
Details:   http://www.mapinc.org/media/441
Author:   Mark Forbes, and Samantha Selinger-Morris
Continues:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n1376.a02.html


HOT OFF THE 'NET    (Top)

WEB LOG OF DR.  TOM O'CONNELL

New Blog by medical cannabis researcher and long time editor (1997 through the summer of 2001) of the DrugSense Weekly

http://www.doctortom.org/


COMMUNITY AUDITS AND INITIATIVES PROJECT

National change often starts by acting locally; the DrugSense Community Audits and Initiatives Project will help you to get informed, get involved and to finally get a drug policy based on science, reason and compassion for your local community.

http://drugsense.org/caip/


RECENT ATTEMPTS AT REFORMING CANADIAN LEGISLATION REGARDING MARIJUANA

Decriminalization Versions 1.0 - 1.4...  Contraventions and Contradictions

By Ben Woolsey, Student of Criminology at Simon Fraser University

http://www.weedincanada.blogspot.com/


THE FUTURE OF DRUG REFORM

SuicideGirls' Daniel Robert Epstein interviews Jacob Sullum (8/18)

http://suicidegirls.com/words/Jacob%20Sullum/


A MENACE TO SOCIETY

Sick people who smoke pot to get better...and our government's tireless efforts to stop them!

By Peter Bagge

http://www.reason.com/0508/bagge.shtml


MUSIC VERSUS GUNS

Soon to be a centralized site with information on a multitude of issues pertaining to the Utah rave raid incident.  Please visit this site to learn more about what happened and what you can do.

http://www.music-versus-guns.org/versuspress.html


ARREST RATES HAVING LITTLE IMPACT ON MARIJUANA USE

Washington, DC - According to a new report from the Justice Policy Institute, data shows little relationship between growing arrest rates for marijuana offenses and the drug's use rate, despite it surpassing heroin and cocaine as leading category of drug arrest since the mid-1990s.

http://www.justicepolicy.org/article.php?id=537


CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW

Tonight:   08/26/05 - Individual interviews from the "Meth, HIV and Hep
Conference in Salt Lake City + Swat Raid in Utah + Seattle HempFest

Audio:   http://drugtruth.net/MP3/FDBCB_082605.mp3

Last:   08/19/05 - Voices of Reform from the DC Rally for Journey for
Justice + Canada's Marc Emery.

Audio:   http://drugtruth.net/MP3/FDBCB_081905.mp3

Archive:   http://drugtruth.net/


WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK    (Top)

JOIN US FOR "HOW TO INCREASE DPR MEDIA IN YOUR AREA"

Sun.  August 28 /05, 09:00 p.m. ET

MAP's Media Activism Facilitator Steve Heath will be joined by some of our most prominent and prolific letter and opinion writers from around the U.S.  and Canada. Included in the discussions will be quick and easy tips and directions for how to increase printed Letters to the Editor, OPED columns and newspaper Editorials on any of several current hot topics related to national and state drug policies.

http://www.mapinc.org/onair/details.php?id=422


LETTER OF THE WEEK    (Top)

REGULATING DRUGS

By Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas

Dallas - Columnist Steve Chapman is exactly right in his analysis of the current meth hysteria ( "The latest drug crisis, again," Commentary, Aug.  7). "America's most dangerous drug of the week is methamphetamine, better known as crystal meth."

Meanwhile regulated (legal) methamphetamine hydrochloride, called Desoxyn by the manufacturer, is sold to children for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and to adults for obesity apparently without incident.

From the 1930s until 1965, amphetamines were fairly easy to obtain. They were popular with college students, truck drivers, shift workers and those who wanted to lose a few pounds.  They were abused by a few "speed freaks ."

The federal government removed many pharmaceutical amphetamine products from the market in 1965.  Demand for the drugs remained strong.  The market answered with meth.

Incarceration has never reduced demand for drugs or the problems associated with an illegal market.  What is needed is comprehensive regulation.

Pubdate:   Fri, 19 Aug 2005
Source:   Chicago Tribune (IL)


FEATURE ARTICLE    (Top)

IN PAIN? CALL A COP.

Among many unintended consequences of the war on drugs -- destruction of the inner cities, loss of respect for the law, gang warfare -- there is one surprise about to nail Baby Boomers right between the eyes.  And we're witnessing it with increasing frequency over the past 24 months.

As this fabled generation approaches antiquity with the standard compliment of ailments that flesh is heir to, they are discovering the federal government is utterly indifferent to their physical pain, even when the pain is so excruciating you'd rather be dead.

Ever had a toothache over the weekend? You try to focus on Monday morning when the dentist will be back from his fishing trip.  But what if the toothache is incurable? "Imagine if you had to grin and bear it for an undetermined period of time," says pain patient Richard Paey.  "You can't see straight. You think you'll pass out, and sometimes you do.  And sometimes you pray you will."

Mr.  Paey was sentenced last year to 25 years in Florida state prison for trying to get enough narcotics to make his agony bearable.  No matter that he is wheelchair bound with MS and his back was destroyed by botched surgery twenty years ago.  Florida drug cops in combination with the Drug Enforcement Administration busted him because his prescriptions were not in order -- his doctor was out of state.

It seems he couldn't find a local doctor because most physicians these days are terrified of the DEA.  Consider the case of Dr. Frank Fisher, a Harvard trained physician who used to run a community health center in Anderson, California.  Dr. Fisher caught the attention of the drug police when he began prescribing narcotics at a rate the non-medically educated lawmen felt was inappropriate. They arrested him and charged him with murder -- five of his patients had died after he prescribed narcotics.  He was labeled a drug kingpin and jailed under a $15 million bond.

But when the case got to court, Shasta County Judge William Gallagher didn't like anything about it.  He dismissed the murder charges yes, the patients had died but Fisher had nothing to do with it.  One woman was killed in a car crash -- as a passenger!

This past April Dr.  Fisher was finally exonerated on all charges -- after five months in prison and six years in court.  Now he's 51, flat broke, living with his parents, and his clinic is long gone.  If you ask him for painkillers today he'll likely say, "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning."

The experience was even worse for some of his former patients.  Most have been unable to find adequate care, several have died, and two dozen of them had to apply for full disability -- including patients who had previously been earning a living and paying taxes.

"What you are seeing is the clash of the war on drugs conflicting with the war on pain," says Dr.  Scott Fishman, chief of the division of pain medicine at the University of California Davis.  "It has a chilling effect for health care in the future." This particular shoot-out is essentially a religious war between a federal agency that views narcotics as a tool of the Devil, and an awakening medical profession that has recently re-discovered the value of painkillers derived from the opium poppy.

Traditionally, opiates have been prescribed only for short term pain.  Using them over the long haul labeled patients as a 'drug addict'.  But recent studies turn that thinking on its head. We now know patients who use opiates to deaden pain do not get high, and fewer than two in a hundred become addicted.  Additionally, opiates are virtually harmless to internal organs -- unlike aspirin, Tylenol and ibuprofen which can damage the stomach, liver and kidneys.  Most important, patients lucky enough to get sufficient opiates to truly make the pain disappear are often able to forget about suicide and actually get back to life.

At the moment the lawmen clearly have the upper hand.  By publicly terrorizing pain specialists like Dr.  Fisher, they are forcing the medical profession to abandon the most effective painkillers we've ever known.  As a consequence one American in ten may be living with chronic pain when relief should be just a phone call away.  Those ranks, however, are about to swell dramatically as the Boomers hit their 60s.  The betting is that this huge demographic wave is going to alter the political scenery on pain management just as they have transformed everything else in their path.

Its about time.  As Dr. David Brushwood, professor of pharmacy at the University of Florida puts it, "Interference in medical practice by a federal agency is intolerable.  If the agency insists on an approach to diversion prevention that misunderstands medical practice and victimizes pain patients, it has outlived its usefulness."

Mike Gray is the Chairman of Common Sense For Drug Policy, http://www.csdp.org/ He is also the author of the best selling books, DRUG CRAZY and BUSTED, a compilation of essays by leading national voices on drug policy.  He has recently joined the newly created DrugSense Drug Policy Writers Group,
( http://www.mapinc.org/resource/dpwg/ ) which connects activists with authors to facilitate increased opinion page coverage of drug policy reform.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK    (Top)

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain


DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers o ur members.  Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you.

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

CREDITS:  

Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Jo-D Harrison (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod ()

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists.  Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings.


NOTICE:  

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.  Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest i n receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.


MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE

http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

-OR-

Mail in your contribution.  Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc.
D/B/a DrugSense
14252 Culver Drive #328
Irvine, CA, 92604-0326
(800) 266 5759


RSS DrugSense Weekly current issue this issue

Back Issues: 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010