| Nov. 4, 2005 #424 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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A NOTE TO OUR READERS: DrugSense Weekly will not be published next week, as many staff members will be attending the Drug Policy Alliance Conference. DSW will resume publication the following week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) DEA IS OPPOSED ON PAINKILLER APPROVAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In an escalating dispute over how the government regulates powerful
painkilling drugs, the Food and Drug Administration is seeking to
prevent renewal of a provision that last year gave the Drug Enforcement
Administration final say over allowing new narcotic medications on the
market. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The FDA's deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs, Scott
Gottlieb, said yesterday that the agency opposed the legislation, which
for the second year in a row was added by the House to the yearly
appropriations bill for several major departments. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Specific language attached to the appropriations bill would ultimately delay access by physicians and their patients to important, safe and effective pain management and palliative care medicines," Gottlieb said. He said giving DEA authority over traditional FDA territory could upset "a delicate balance for managing both safety and access." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although the dispute is ostensibly over a limited change in how
controlled drugs are approved and labeled, it has become something of a
stand-in for a larger battle over whether DEA's actions are intruding
into the practice of medicine and denying pain sufferers relief they
need. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) TIMONEY'S SON BUSTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Son Of Former Star In NYPD Charged With Trying To Purchase 400 Pounds
Of Pot In Westchester | ||||||||||||||||||||
The son of former top NYPD official John Timoney has been charged with
trying to buy 400 pounds of marijuana with $450,000 in cash during a
Westchester sting operation, officials said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sean Timoney, 25, of Philadelphia, was arrested Tuesday night inside
the Fairfield Inn in Spring Valley, according to Drug Enforcement
Administration officials. Officials said that Timoney and Jae Seu, 23,
of Glenside, Pa., attempted to use a duffle bag full of cash to buy the
drug from an undercover agent. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute a
controlled substance. The two defendants were taken to Albany for
arraignment and were ordered held there pending a bail hearing
tomorrow. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sean Timoney is the son of current Miami Police Chief John Timoney, who had a 25-year career with the NYPD, ultimately becoming chief of department under former Police Commissioner William Bratton. He served as Philadelphia's police chief before taking the Miami job. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Miami police said Chief Timoney was "aware of the arrest." "He does not
have all the details and he's not going to comment on it publicly
because it's a private family matter," Miami police spokesman Delrish
Moss said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) TEEN ANTIDRUG CAMPAIGN: ADS TAKE NEW FORM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Latest Campaign Focuses On Exaggeration, Not Fear | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the 1980s, a frying egg was used as a scary metaphor for a brain
sizzling on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two decades later, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has launched an Above the Influence campaign -- a play on the saying "under the influence" -- to remind teens to just say no to drugs but in a unique way. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Unlike the previous ads that have tried to shock teens into action, the new ads use humor, exaggeration and shame to play on teens' desires to maintain their identities and reject negative influences. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The ads began airing in Michigan and across the nation this week and
will run through April. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This campaign recognizes teens are very concerned with who they are,
and drugs are something they should be above," said Tom Riley,
spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "We're trying
to find ways to get them to make smart choices and to see destructive
choices like using drugs as something that would diminish their
identity." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The campaign -- which includes six TV commercials, print ads and a Web site, http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/ - comes at a time when teens seem to be responding to efforts to keep them off drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) DOZENS HELD IN WARRANT SWEEP AT APARTMENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal and local authorities teamed up Wednesday to continue a crime- fighting effort aimed at public housing developments in the area. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kansas City police conducted a warrant sweep at Stonegate Meadows apartment complex near Interstate 70 and Sterling Avenue. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And U.S. Attorney Todd Graves was on hand to announce several
indictments tied to the Public Housing Safety Initiative, a program
funded by a federal grant that focuses on crimes inside or near public
housing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The vast majority of people in public housing are good, upstanding citizens," Graves said. "We're trying to focus on the one bad apple." | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the warrant sweep, police cleared 50 warrants with the arrests of at
least 25 persons, nine for felonies, including a drug possession
charge, seven for state misdemeanors and 34 for municipal infractions,
said police Sgt. Jeff Klienow. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Those arrested were handcuffed and loaded on a bus while children ran
and played nearby. The bus headed downtown to Police Headquarters for
processing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Another typical week in the drug war, in which citizens try to
rescue basic religious rights which have been bulldozed by
prohibition; Newsweek still refuses to acknowledge its super-hyped
meth coverage may be flawed; a call is made for liberals to oppose
the drug war; and a security guard at a high school is accused of
selling drugs on campus. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) ON DOCKET: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM VS. DRUG LAWS | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court Takes Up a Case Involving a New Mexico Sect That
Could Be Important for Other Minority Religions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - In a case with potential important significance for
minority religious groups in America, the U.S. Supreme Court this
week takes up a clash between the nation's drug laws and a statute
protecting religious liberty. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At issue in the case set for oral argument Tuesday is the scope of
the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act ( RFRA ). The law
requires the federal government to justify any measure that
substantially burdens a person's ability to practice his or her
religion. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But what happens when a religious ceremony requires consumption of a
drug outlawed under the Controlled Substances Act? That is the
essence of the dispute in a case called ( UDV ). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although the case involves the use of drugs, how the high court resolves the matter could have an impact on a wide array of religious groups in the United States that depend on a robust defense of religious liberty to practice their faith free of government interference. If the nation's drug laws are found to trump religious protections, other laws might also be applied in ways that substantially erode religious freedom, legal analysts say. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) COURT DISCUSSES HALLUCINOGENIC TEA CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Justices Debate Whether Church's Drink Violates Federal Drug Laws | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court debated Tuesday whether to let a
small congregation in New Mexico worship with hallucinogenic tea,
the first religious freedom dispute under Chief Justice John
Roberts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor seemed skeptical of the Bush
administration's claim that the tea can be banned, but she might not
be around to vote in the case. | ||||||||||||||||||||
About 130 members of a Brazil-based church have been in a
long-running dispute with federal agents who seized their tea in
1999. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) METH STILL DRIVING PEOPLE NUTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Newsweek, On The Media, And Me | ||||||||||||||||||||
On October 14, I appeared on NPR's On the Media to address press
coverage of the supposed "methamphetamine epidemic" in America. In
my remarks, I laid into a feature that Newsweek ran this summer that
exemplifies what I have long derided as the "new drug of choice
story." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Newsweek's editor, Mark Whitaker, wrote to On the Media, chiding the
show for allowing me to cast what he claims were baseless
assertions. On the Media's host Bob Garfield read Whitaker's letter
on air during the October 21 show and effectively apologized for
failing to check out my claims. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Said Garfield: "Newsweek's editor, Mark Whitaker, complained, properly, that we neglected to verify Gillespie's charge." | ||||||||||||||||||||
But On the Media has nothing to be sorry for-certainly not for
airing a segment that questioned the way illegal drugs are covered
by the media. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Whitaker not only mischaracterized what I said on the air, he failed
to respond to serious credibility issues regarding the August 8
Newsweek story. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indeed, his response to my point of view is representative of a
sadly uncritical media when it comes to implausible claims made in
the name of the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) LIBERALISM'S BRAIN ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Where Does Drug Policy Fit Into The Debate On Liberty? | ||||||||||||||||||||
At some point, everyone ought to throw his or her political
theory-whatever it is-up against the wall of reality to see if it
sticks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
I ran smack into that wall when the state shackled Mark, one of my
best friends, and hauled him off to a dank, violent, | ||||||||||||||||||||
I've always believed that we live in a fundamentally liberal society
that can trace its way back to enlightenment thinkers like
Jefferson, Madison, Locke, Mill and Rousseau. Sure, the past 24
years of the Reagan, Bush and even Clinton regimes haven't been
kind, but one bedrock principle still seemed intact: If not equality
and fraternity, we'll always have liberty. And so, as guards
frogmarched my friend out of the courtroom shackled hands to feet, I
wondered how confining that man for 17 years jives with my
understanding of our nation's values. Is imprisoning hundreds of
thousands of people an acceptable policy result of a liberal,
pluralistic democratic society? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Or, is the drug war proving libertarians correct about the potential
for abuse of government power? | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) Ridgefield School Board Suspends Security Firm | ||||||||||||||||||||
RIDGEFIELD SCHOOL BOARD SUSPENDS SECURITY FIRM | ||||||||||||||||||||
School officials will stop using - at least temporarily - a security company that employed a guard arrested last week on charges of trying to sell marijuana on the grounds of Ridgefield High School. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is a very serious matter involving the safety and security of
Ridgefield students," said Superintendent Kenneth Freeston. "We need
to conduct our own investigation and review closely the findings of
the investigation conducted by Securitas," the private security
company. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials with Chicago-based Securitas said they would have no
comment on the arrest of Warner Cuevas, 23, of Danbury, who helped
direct traffic outside the school. Students said Cuevas was on of
several security guards who worked at the school. They described him
as "nice," "friendly" and "chill," or easy-going." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most of this week's stories evoke a sense of deja vu. In the first,
a neighborhood that thought it beat its problem with drug dealers
sees them coming back. In the second, a small town police chief is
charged with dealing crack. And finally, a desperate jail system
tries to reduce crowding. More novel, but less important: Some
researchers are trying to develop drug-sniffing wasps as an
alternative to drug-sniffing dogs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) UNSAVORY VISITORS, CREEPING BACK AFTER A 10-YEAR HIATUS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Washington Heights/Inwood | ||||||||||||||||||||
The grandmother in the dark apartment darted to the window. "Come
here!" she said excitedly. "Look at this one!" | ||||||||||||||||||||
Less than 10 feet outside her building, a man with a shaved head was
bending over a scrawny sapling and rummaging in the grass at its
base. When he straightened up, he held a small plastic bag in his
hands. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think today it's marijuana," the woman said. "Marijuana or crack.
They keep it at the bottom of the tree. When somebody's coming to
buy, they pick it up from there." | ||||||||||||||||||||
How often did this happen? "Every 10 minutes," she replied. Indeed,
over the next half-hour, a visitor witnessed two more visits to the
tree. | ||||||||||||||||||||
These events unfolded on Audubon Avenue in Washington Heights. Out
of fear of reprisal, the apartment's occupant spoke on the condition
that she not be identified. But stories like hers are heard with
increasing frequency in Upper Manhattan, where residents say that
open drug trafficking is returning after a decade of relative
invisibility. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There's more visibility of narcotics sales in the street," said
City Councilman Miguel Martinez, whose district covers half of Upper
Manhattan. "We've heard a lot, and we've seen it." His constituents
have reported finding bags of drugs stashed in mailboxes and sitting
atop the tires of parked cars. He has seen drug dealers hanging out
at night on the sidewalk in front of his office. "I'm embarrassed,"
he said, "because I have a public office here, and it's becoming a
shelter for drug dealers." | ||||||||||||||||||||
No one is suggesting that Washington Heights is as drug-ridden as it
was in the 1980's, when the neighborhood was a center of the city's
crack cocaine trade. These days, the drug most often sold in
Washington Heights is said to be marijuana, and the violence
associated with the trade is far less than it was. There have been
15 reported homicides in Inwood and Washington Heights this year; in
1986, the precinct that covered Washington Heights and part of
Inwood reported 72 killings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) TOWN'S POLICE CHIEF FACES CRACK CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal Agents Also Arrest Lieutenant After Surveillance Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||
GREENVILLE - The chief of the Bethel Police Department and a
lieutenant were arrested Thursday on federal charges of distributing
crack cocaine they took from a truck that federal agents had under
surveillance. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The charges against Chief Reginald Laverne Roberts, 41, and Lt.
Jerome Earl Cox, 31, are in criminal complaints filed by federal
prosecutors. Roberts, who had been chief in the small Pitt County
town about five years, also was charged with one count of selling a
firearm to a felon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After a brief hearing Thursday in federal court, U.S. Magistrate
Judge David Daniel ordered both held without bond pending a hearing
next week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The drug charge carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and
a $2 million fine. Roberts faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in
prison and $250,000 fine on the weapons charge. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) CRIME POLICY EASED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jail Overcrowding Prompts Changes | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a drastic new policy that will return hundreds more thieves, drug
dealers and burglars to the streets, the San Bernardino County
Sheriff's Department has stopped booking even more nonviolent
criminals into county jails. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new procedures were set in place in the last week by Sheriff
Gary Penrod as a temporary solution to ease overcrowding at the
county's three detention centers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This means drug dealers arrested with as much as 24 pounds of
illegal narcotics could be set free as long as they promised to
appear in court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) RESEARCHERS LOOKING INTO WAYS WASPS CAN HELP LAW ENFORCEMENT, (Top)OTHERS | ||||||||||||||||||||
TIFTON - Move over, drug-sniffing dogs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Make way for the wasps. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With just a wisp of scent, these tiny Georgia insects can identify
not only drugs, but crop pests, explosives, diseases and dead
bodies. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They are far more versatile than drug dogs, which cost thousands of
dollars to train and usually work with only one person. Tifton
scientists say they will cost pennies per thousand to rear and can
learn a scent in 30 seconds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Joe Lewis, a research entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's research service, has been studying how the wasps can be used by farmers, police, anti-terrorism officials and doctors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Glen Rains, an associate professor of biological engineering at the
University of Georgia, recently developed a "wasp hound" to monitor
the insects' responses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"You can't put them on a string and let them kind of fly along
beside you," Lewis joked. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The wasp hound consists of a 2-inch round Plexiglas cartridge in a
container with a light and camera. | ||||||||||||||||||||
About five of the quarter-inch wasps wander around the cartridge
until they smell the scent they were trained to recognize. They
congregate where it enters. The device is hooked to a laptop, which
graphs the intensity of the wasps' response. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some of the best cannabis reform news in some time comes to us from
the "mile high" city this week, as Denver voters narrowly passed a
law that allows adults to possess up to one ounce of cannabis for
personal use. Police have suggested that this will make little
difference in their enforcement priorities, since most cannabis
arrests are prosecuted under state law. Unfortunately in another
municipal campaign, residents in the city of Telluride, Colorado
voted down an initiative that would have made the adult use of
cannabis the lowest possible police enforcement priority. The vote
was frustratingly close, with the "no" side winning by a mere 24
votes: 332-308. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our next story comes to us from Canada's MacLean's Magazine, and
looks at the often difficult position that cannabis-using parents
find themselves in once their kids become old enough to try it
themselves. Next is an interview from the U.K. with world-renown
cannabis smuggler Howard Marks - also known as Mr. Nice - from his
new home in Yorkshire. Marks reflects on his turbulent smuggling
career and his new life as a writer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lastly, a controversial article from the Tri-Valley Herald about the continuing hippy, counter-culture image associated with the medical and recreational cannabis movement. The writer asks "are medical pot activists their own worst enemy?". The answer is quite simply no: the forces of prohibition that deny a safe and effective medicine to those who need it are our worst enemy, not the guy standing in the field at the rally with the really big bong and the green Doctor Seuss hat; he's funny looking, but doesn't add to the unnecessary suffering of our critically and chronically ill citizens. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) OK OF POT ISSUE GIVES NEW MEANING TO MILE HIGH CITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana advocates scored a breathtaking victory in the Mile High
City as Denver voters legalized adult possession of small amounts of
marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think it just goes to show that people in Denver were fed up with a law that prohibited adults from making a rational, safer decision regarding what they put into their bodies," said Mason Tvert, the 23-year-old Denver man who spearheaded the Initiative 100 campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While other big cities, such at Seattle and Oakland, Calif., have
passed laws making adult pot use a low police priority, supporters
said passage of I-100 would make Denver the first major city to
legalize adult pot possession of 1 ounce or less. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Denver officials maintain amending local law changes nothing,
because the vast majority of marijuana possession busts will
continue to be prosecuted under state law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) TELLURIDE NARROWLY BUSTS PLAN TO EASE POT-LAW ENFORCEMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alcohol Ban Is Tested in Orchard City Vote | ||||||||||||||||||||
A measure that would have eased enforcement of marijuana laws in the
ski resort town of Telluride crashed in a close vote. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Voters rejected 332-308 a proposal to make busting someone for
possession of marijuana the town marshal's "lowest law enforcement
priority." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Supporters felt they could have done better a little later in the
season. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is early November and it's a ghost town until the ski area
hires," said Question 200 supporter Brian Vincente. "We lost by a
hair, so I think it bodes well for the future of the reform of drug
policy." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) PASS THE WEED, DAD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Parents Are Smoking Dope With Their Kids. What Are They Thinking? | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It was a little weird, seeing my parents stoned," Tom confesses.
The Toronto high school student was describing the first time he'd
smoked marijuana -- at home last spring, just after turning 17, when
he shared a joint with his hard-working, middle-class parents. "But
I had an amazing, fantastic connection with my dad, and it was a
good experience for all of us. They showed me how to take the seeds
and stems out of the pot. Then, basically, we ate. | ||||||||||||||||||||
My mom ordered sushi, and we made a mountain of nachos. It kind of
felt like a rite of passage." | ||||||||||||||||||||
After his family initiation, Tom bought six or seven joints of his
own for a camping trip, "and that was cool too." But his new
girlfriend didn't approve of pot, or him on it. "She said there was
this separation thing that happened whenever I smoked." So Tom gave
it up, even though his older sister had just given him a nice
handmade pipe for his birthday. "But my other sister could care less
about pot. Lots of kids try it and don't like it. I think it's
totally individual." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) LIFE BEGINS AT 60 AS MR NICE ENJOYS HIS NIGHTS IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
He Was the World's Most Famous Dope Smuggler. but Howard Marks Has
Just Turned 60, and Is Discovering the Merits of a Quieter Life In
Yorkshire. | ||||||||||||||||||||
IT'S A milestone to test anybody's nerve, but for an international
cannabis baron - notoriously well-versed in sex, drugs and rock and
roll - turning 60 could have been a particularly bitter pill to
swallow. Instead, Howard Marks - whose career as a drugs baron was
chronicled in his best-selling book, Mr Nice - says he is rather
enjoying his new life in Leeds. The transformation from Mr Nice into
Mr Nice Night In is suiting him just fine. "I moved here in December
last year and I love it," he says, in his lilting Welsh burr. "I
spend most of my time writing and just looking at the Leeds to
Liverpool canal." From his city centre apartment by the riverside,
he says: "There were pretty sad reasons for me ending up here -
first my father died in 1998 and then I moved to Yorkshire to be
near my mother, who had been living in Northallerton before she died
in 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"But I've had some great times in Leeds - it's been good to me and I
kind of like Yorkshire in general. It reminds me of back home in
Wales - - with all its traditional coal mining communities. That,
plus the place is full of hard nuts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I much prefer provincial cities. In Leeds you get everything you
want from living in a city but without the messiness of London."
During his years as a drugs smuggler, Marks moved 30 tonnes of
cannabis from Pakistan to the US, had 43 aliases and 89 phone lines.
Then in 1988 the Oxford nuclear physics graduate got caught and was
sentenced to 25 years in Terre Haute Penitentiary, Indiana. He
served less than seven, and following his release in 1995, knew he
couldn't go back to his old ways. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) ARE MEDICAL POT ACTIVISTS THEIR OWN WORST ENEMIES? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
About 50 medical marijuana activists rallied under Wednesday's
leaden skies near the United Nations Plaza farmers market, wielding
a bullhorn and picket signs to demand that federal officials act on
a formal request to loosen the drug's ban. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This weekend, Guru of Ganja Ed Rosenthal of Oakland hosted a Wonders of Cannabis festival in Golden Gate Park featuring joint-rolling contests and an appearance by comedian and noted stoner Tommy Chong. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mixed messages, some drug policy experts say sadly. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sometimes I think cannabis activists are their own worst enemies,
said University of California, Berkeley public policy professor
Robert MacCoun. They rely too heavily on a 1960s countercultural
playbook, but it's precisely that kind of association that inflames
opponents. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rosenthal insists MacCoun and other critics miss the point: The Bay Area supports medical marijuana, and the ease with which the region has assimilated it should be a model for the rest of the nation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Indonesia, lawyers for Schapelle Corby appealed for the second time
to Indonesia's Supreme Court in a bid to win her release. A previous
appeal saw her sentence cut from the 20 to 15 years. Corby was
convicted earlier this year of smuggling 4.1 kilos of cannabis from
Australia to Indonesia, a charge which she denies. New evidence
includes a security expert who is expected to testify on Corby's
behalf. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A "magistrate" was cited in The Australian (newspaper) last week, as
authority that jailing more marijuana users would somehow "tackle
psychosis". Denouncing "the decriminalisation of marijuana" and
"harm minimisation," stories of classic amphetamine psychosis were
cited as reasons to jail users of cannabis all the more. The
magistrate, Craig Thompson, made his remarks at the "People's Drug
Summit," in Adelaide, last week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In British Columbia, Canada, a Mountie was charged with four counts
of "assault with a weapon" after tasering a 19-year-old woman in the
back, as she lay face down. The incident, which happened in the town
of Lillooet, occurred during a drug raid. Trivial amounts of drugs
were alleged to have been taken in the raid by police. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian police want to be able to easily spy on all Internet and
phone users, and they want someone else to pay for it. Communication
service providers balked at having to pay for the taps, which they
say police regularly ignore charges for, now. Federal police suggest
seizing assets of citizens accused of (drug) offenses, to provide
more funds for police. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The "world's leading advocate of drug reform," Ethan Nadelmann,
spoke at the Edinburgh Lectures in the City Chambers, in Edinburgh,
Scotland this week. Increasing penalties for cannabis use "would be
an incredibly stupid thing to do," said Mr. Nadelmann, and would
"intensify the hypocrisy of the government's war on drugs."
Nadelmann urged cannabis be completely taken out of the black
market, by legalizing it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(19) CORBY LODGES NEW FREEDOM BID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lawyers for convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby have lodged an
appeal with Indonesia's Supreme Court, in a second attempt to win
her freedom. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 28-year-old was found guilty in May after 4.1 kilograms of
marijuana was found inside her boogie bag when she arrived in Bali
on a holiday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Bali High Court cut her 20-year sentence to 15 years earlier
this month | ||||||||||||||||||||
Her lawyers today gave the court seven reasons to hear | ||||||||||||||||||||
One of them, Erwin Siregar, says he wants to call Sir John Wheeler,
the British security expert who examined security at Australia's
airports. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There is the possibility, he said, there is possibility or somebody
else put the drugs inside her bags, so we want that." | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) 'STAMP OUT DOPE' TO TACKLE PSYCHOSIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA users should be treated like cigarette smokers and told to
"quit for life" if Australia is to tackle the rising incidence of
drug-induced psychosis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A drug conference heard yesterday that the fashionable strategy of
"harm minimisation" was not working as greater numbers of people
suffered from mental illness. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Acting magistrate Craig Thompson called on governments to wind back
the decriminalisation of marijuana and impose "coercive | ||||||||||||||||||||
He said it was "totally incomprehensible" that the laws had evolved
so people could be fined for smoking a cigarette but cautioned for
marijuana use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"So many are coming before me suffering drug-induced psychosis where
marijuana and crystal methamphetamines are the main causes," Mr
Thompson told the Adelaide conference. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Thompson has been a magistrate in NSW for 23 years, and has served in several drug awareness organisations including three years as president of Parents Reaching Youth Through Drug Awareness. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The federal parliamentary secretary for health, Christopher Pyne,
has blasted the state and territory systems of on-the-spot fines for
possession of marijuana, claiming that "all states and territories
need to toughen up their laws". | ||||||||||||||||||||
A report on the amphetamine market in Sydney found last week that
"ice" was among the most addictive drugs available, and caused an
11-times greater chance of a psychotic episode. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The study found ambulance and police officers and hospital emergency
departments faced hazardous working conditions in dealing with
amphetamines-affected patients. | ||||||||||||||||||||
South Australia was the first state to decriminalise marijuana
possession - in 1987 - and has the most lax fines. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) MOUNTIE CHARGED WITH ASSAULT AFTER LILLOOET HOME RAIDED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Lillooet Mountie has been charged with four counts of assault with
a weapon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police received a complaint against Const. Daniel St. Amand on March
1 after an earlier incident in Lillooet. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It is alleged a police officer used excessive force by Tasering a
19-year-old woman in her back as she lay on the ground face down
during a drug raid Feb. 5. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The woman's dog was also allegedly Tasered during the raid. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police said they found trace amounts of cocaine on a scale, plus
four ecstasy pills in a coat and a bag of marijuana in the woman's
home. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After the woman filed a complaint, the detachment launched an
internal probe, then turned the matter over to the South East
District Internal Affairs Unit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Amand is presently on administrative duty and will appear in court
at an undetermined date. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(22) COPS WANT LOOT FOR SNOOPING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Proceeds Of Crime Would Pay For Electronic Intercepts | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police and telecommunications firms want cash seized from criminals used to pay for a proposed federal electronics eavesdropping scheme. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The ad-hoc coalition of police chiefs and communications companies
has its eyes on money forfeited through the federal | ||||||||||||||||||||
The idea, spelled out in a recent confidential letter to the Public Safety Department, is intended to avoid a public outcry from phone and Internet subscribers, who might otherwise be stuck with the tab. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The legislative proposals, first outlined three years ago, have drawn sharp criticism from privacy advocates and civil libertarians. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There is an equally charged debate about who should foot the bill
for phone wiretaps and e-mail intercepts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Under the federal proposals, service providers would be required, when upgrading their systems, to build in the technical capabilities needed by police and intelligence agencies, such as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to easily tap communications. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We're frankly sort of perplexed," said Parke Davis, a senior
regulatory officer with Telus. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"What do you do when you have somebody like the police saying, 'Do
this wiretap,' and then ignoring the invoice. And they do it
repeatedly." | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(23) BLAIR WARNED OVER CANNABIS LAW CHANGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE world's leading advocate for drugs reform last night urged Tony
Blair to resist toughening the law on cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ethan Nadelmann said making cannabis a class B drug would be
"incredibly stupid", doing nothing to reduce its use and only
serving to criminalise thousands of young people. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Nadelmann, executive director of the United States-based Drug
Policy Alliance, also said the only way to reduce harm caused by
heroin was to allow doctors to prescribe it to addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Nadelmann said doing so "would be an incredibly stupid thing to
do". | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This would simply intensify the hypocrisy of the government's war
on drugs and is one area where Tony Blair is foolishly following in
the footsteps of a disastrous U.S. policy," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Nadelmann said the only sensible option was to take cannabis out
of the black market and legalise it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He put forward his argument at the prestigious Edinburgh Lectures in
the City Chambers. Previous speakers at the event have included
former Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Professor Stephen
Hawking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BRINGING IN THE HARVEST | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Ann Harrison, San Francisco Bay Guardian | ||||||||||||||||||||
California law permits the cultivation of cannabis for medical
marijuana patients, but farmers who grow the quasi-legal crop are
still hounded by law enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||
WHO SUPPORTS MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Support rising; varies most by age and gender | ||||||||||||||||||||
Since the late 1960s, Gallup has periodically asked Americans
whether the use of marijuana should be made legal in the United
States. Although a majority of Americans have consistently
opposed the idea of legalizing marijuana, public support has
slowly increased over the years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Also, a PDF copy of the Gallup poll on illegal drugs which came
out last month is now at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
BURNING SHIVA WITH CHRIS BENNETT | ||||||||||||||||||||
Higher Power | ||||||||||||||||||||
Moses had the burning bush. Chris Bennett of Vancouver has his
burning weed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Chris Bennett, a minister of the small cannabis sect known as the
Church of the Universe, believes that the Biblical tree of life is,
in fact, the marijuana plant. But this same plant that he reveres
could put much else that he loves at risk. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
MAPS NEWS UPDATE | ||||||||||||||||||||
Here is October's news from the Multidisciplinary Association for
Psychedelic Studies | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
SUPREME COURT HEARS AYAHUASCA RELIGIOUS USE CASE | ||||||||||||||||||||
The US Supreme Court Tuesday heard oral arguments in a case in which the federal government seeks to bar a small religious group from using its holy sacrament, a hallucinogenic tea known as ayahuasca (hoasca). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TELL TRUTH ABOUT DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Jerry Epstein | ||||||||||||||||||||
Re: "Time to Talk About Drugs," Tuesday Editorials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yes, Red Ribbons are reminders to be frank with kids, and parents
should explain the concept of supply and demand. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They can understand that "Kiki" Camarena died from prohibition, not
from drugs. Prohibition is the futile attempt to overcome the law of
supply and demand with another law that will no more work than one
to repeal gravity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The young can hear that the dangers from drugs are real, but that
legal drugs account for more than 90 percent of drug deaths and
addiction, not because they are legal but dangerous. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That the teens selling illegal drugs in and around their schools are
there because prohibition tempts them and makes them cannon fodder
for the drug lords. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They will learn that they can protect themselves from drug abuse
through responsible choices without government help but that they
often cannot protect themselves from the crime, violence and
corruption that government foists on them through the false god,
prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jerry Epstein, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Houston | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BE A MAP NEWSHAWK | ||||||||||||||||||||
You can help MAP by sending drug-related articles you find to our
clipping service. Find out how here: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Needs More Sensible Drug Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
By David Conrad | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Drugs are bad, m'kay" | ||||||||||||||||||||
So says Mr. Mackey, the school counselor from the "South Park"
cartoon. That's an oversimplification, which might be what the
show's creators are saying. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Mackey should say, "Don't take these drugs, take other drugs,
which may be just as dangerous." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The drug policy in America often makes absolutely no sense! | ||||||||||||||||||||
On "The New Republic," (www.tnr.com), Andrew Sullivan stated in his March 5, 2001 article, "The most frustrating part of the interminable debate about the 'war on drugs' is the word 'drugs.'" | ||||||||||||||||||||
Strictly speaking, after all, there is no war on drugs in this country; there is a war on some drugs. Sullivan continued on the history of drug policy, saying few people thought the policy made sense, banning benign marijuana while allowing dangerous alcohol. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That rings true to me. In my experience as a security officer (yep, that's right: the hippie works for the Man), I'd rather deal with a hundred pot-heads than one drunk. Lots of people, especially on hard alcohol, turn violent at the slightest provocation. Conversely, marijuana users are much more likely to hug you than hit you. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Anti-marijuana advocates argue it causes brain damage. Banning
marijuana for that reason makes no more sense than banning
cigarettes for lung cancer, alcohol for cirrhosis of the liver and
Big Macs for heart disease. | ||||||||||||||||||||
If America is worried about heart disease, the Food and Drug
Administration should never have released Vioxx. According to a Jan.
25 BBC article, an FDA study indicated the arthritis drug could have
caused up to 140,000 U.S. deaths due to increased risk of heart
attack or stroke. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The BBC quoted Jane Tadman, of the Arthritis Research Campaign, who
said, "These findings in the Lancet are shocking ... This data adds
further weight to calls that Vioxx should have been withdrawn from
sale several years earlier than September 2004." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Vioxx hasn't been the only questionable product drug company Merck
embraced. According to Sullivan, Merck patented the designer drug
Ecstasy in 1914. Sullivan explains Ecstasy was legal until the
1980's, but now is as illegal as heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The horrible irony doesn't end there. According to a Feb. 9 CNN
article, the FDA stated the anti-depressant Zoloft can lead to an
"increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in short-term
studies of adolescents and children." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some people smoke pot when depressed. Others take Zoloft.
Apparently, when you push pot on a street corner, it's destroying
society. When you push Zoloft from a corporate office, it's a
medical advancement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the end, what should be the legal distinction between drugs,
recreational or medicinal? The answer is somewhere in the middle. I
agree with Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who
said, "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose
begins." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Harmful side-effects to a consenting adult user aren't good enough
reasons to ban anything in a free society. Instead, people should be
advised honestly and completely by the provider about the risks of
use of the product. | ||||||||||||||||||||
I don't think certain drugs should ever be legal. For example, I've heard horror stories from cops about PCP, or "Angel Dust." | ||||||||||||||||||||
America also has to come clean about the financial and societal
costs of drug use versus the drug war. Timothy Lynch, the director
of the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice, spoke about
this in a Feb. 5, 2001 National Review article. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lynch said $18 billion federally was spent on anti-drug programs in
1999. Despite this, Lynch quotes former FBI director William | ||||||||||||||||||||
Anti-drug activists argue drug revenue supports terrorists like
Al-Qaeda. True, but the reason they make so much money is because
drugs are illegal. It's basic supply-and-demand economics: With high
demand and low supply, the price goes up. | ||||||||||||||||||||
America needs a more sensible drug policy. Legalization of certain,
less harmful illegal drugs and proper review of all drugs,
pharmaceutical or not, will make things better. America's prison
population will be smaller, its drugs safer, and our enemies won't
have a fast source of cash. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Let's not let Mr. Mackey have the last word on this issue, folks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This piece originally appeared in the Northern Star at | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Why keep on enacting laws when we already have more than we can
break?" | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Anonymous | ||||||||||||||||||||
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