| August 4, 2006 #460 | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) ROADSIDE DRUG TESTS IN TWO YEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
ROADSIDE screening devices capable of detecting "drug-drivers" are expected to be introduced within two years, The Scotsman has learned. | ||||||||||||||||
The UK government is set to give the green light by January for the
development of new equipment to catch people who get behind the wheel
after taking illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Home Office sources say manufacturers have already been told about the
likely requirements of the kits, which will look for drugs such as
heroin, cannabis, Ecstasy, cocaine and amphetamines. | ||||||||||||||||
It is anticipated that a pilot scheme will be launched early next year,
after which they will be made available to police forces across the
country. | ||||||||||||||||
Senior officers are anxious to see the introduction of a screening
device to replace the current method of testing, which involves putting
drivers through a series of physical tests to determine whether they
are impaired by drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
A study by Glasgow University found that more than a third of motorists
who drive after taking illegal drugs nevertheless pass the roadside
sobriety tests. Even some with heroin in their system managed to beat
the test. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Oxfordshire-based Cozart developed the Rapiscan drug-screening kit,
already used by the Home Office for testing offenders. It involves
taking a swab from the subject's mouth, which is dispensed on to
cartridges. Each cartridge is inserted into a handheld reading device,
which gives a positive or negative result for a particular drug within
five minutes. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) CHARGES REJECTED FOR MOMS WHO BEAR BABIES EXPOSED TO ILLEGAL DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Maryland's reckless endangerment law cannot be used to prosecute women
who give birth to babies exposed to illegal drugs, the state's high
court ruled yesterday, overturning the convictions of two Eastern Shore
mothers. | ||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors said such charges were needed to protect children, but some advocates for pregnant women welcomed the decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals as an affirmation that such cases could make pregnant women vulnerable to prosecution for an array of potentially dangerous behaviors -- such as smoking cigarettes and driving without a seatbelt -- and that drug-using mothers need treatment, not punishment. | ||||||||||||||||
"Imprisonment is not only the most costly thing the state could do," said Lynn Paltrow of the New York-based National Advocates for Pregnant Women. "It's the most family-destructive thing the state could do." | ||||||||||||||||
Kelly Lynn Cruz, seven months pregnant and belligerent, arrived at an
Eastern Shore hospital in the middle of the night in January 2005. The
three-pound boy she gave birth to tested positive for cocaine. Last
August, she was convicted of reckless endangerment. | ||||||||||||||||
Regina Kilmon, whose case was similar, was also convicted in 2005 of reckless endangerment. She was sentenced to four years in prison. | ||||||||||||||||
The cases were clear-cut for prosecutors. "We're talking about unlawful
activity, use of a narcotic substance," Scott Patterson, the longtime
state's attorney in Talbot County, said last summer. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) MOTHER DOPING AROUND CHILDREN, COURT HEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Judge Hands Down 18 Months Probation
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A 34-YEAR-OLD mother pled guilty last week to possessing cannabis marijuana after she offered a joint to her teenage son and daughter. | ||||||||||||||||
The Wasaga Beach resident received 18 months probation on a suspended
sentence, Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||
Federal prosecutor Cecile Applegate told the court that in December
2003 the childrens' father contacted police "with concerns about" the
youngsters - - then age 13 and 14. | ||||||||||||||||
The complainant said on one family visit, Tammy Larsen offered them a
marijuana cigarette; on a second visit, the accused is alleged to have
"smoked a joint in front of the children."
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Applegate said the complainant also claimed Larsen told the boy she
could "hook him up with drugs to sell."
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"The facts are quite shocking. Clearly, she has exposed her children to
the perils of marijuana," finished the prosecutor. | ||||||||||||||||
Larsen expressed embarrassment and regret before Justice John Wilson,
who noted her attempt at improving parenting skills through the
Children's Aid Society. | ||||||||||||||||
"Life can be a little complex," began the judge, adding: "Often choices are made that are inappropriate but so frequently made, so people start to think, 'Hey, there's not a whole lot wrong with this.' | ||||||||||||||||
"Minors will likely find marijuana without the assistance of their
parents," Wilson wrote. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) FREEDOM OF SPEECH AN ISSUE WHEN SCHOOLS MONITOR BLOGGERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Blogging has opened the flood gates for students to communicate with
one another in whole new ways. | ||||||||||||||||
But it has also put many students and school districts in uncharted
waters where freedom of speech are concerned. | ||||||||||||||||
Jim Spedit, professor of law at Northwestern University with a specialty in Internet law, said a number of issues have arisen across the country between schools and students in the area of blogging. | ||||||||||||||||
Community High School District 128 in May approved changes to its Code
of Conduct to include information discovered on Web postings and
student blogging. | ||||||||||||||||
"I think this (District 128's action) is another reaction to the fact
that there is a lot of communication out there," he said. "In this
case, the school district isn't excluding students because of the
speech, but because of illegal behavior."
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He said the district's decision to use information gleaned from the
blog sites as a basis to investigate student behavior is not
problematic. | ||||||||||||||||
The ACLU agrees. | ||||||||||||||||
"When we think about these issues, it is not a problem for a principal
or teachers to look at these sites and take action if they have a
pretty strong feeling a crime has been committed or a school rule
broken," said Ed Yohnka, ACLU director of communications. "What we
don't want is a student to be punished for some speech that they write
that the school just doesn't like."
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[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The start of a new school year is closing in on our youth and many
more of them will face drug testing than did last year. Drug testing
first crept into our school system for athletes and expanded to
other extracurricular activities. It now being forced upon those who
want to drive to school which, as we all know, includes every
16-year-old. | ||||||||||||||||
The UK has implemented a 'drug testing pilot program' which includes
children at the ripe old age of 11. At least the British are not
quite as intrusive (or disgusting) since they use the swabs versus
the American urine tests. They must also have permission from the
student's parents AND the child prior to the test. | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) DISTRICTS WATCH EXPERIMENTAL DRUG TESTING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Should local school districts attempt to ensure that students who participate in extracurricular activities do not use drugs? | ||||||||||||||||
And if they do, is it right to single out athletes? Or to randomly
select students for drug testing?
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Those are among the questions local educators are facing this month as they prepare for the start of another school year. The questions come in the aftermath of a decision last month by the Collinsville School District to approve random drug testing for student athletes. | ||||||||||||||||
The new policy will begin at Collinsville High School in the fall. | ||||||||||||||||
"It's a very interesting concept," said Granite City High School Vice-Principal/Athletic Director Jim Greenwald. "It's just like any other kind of teaching technique or curriculum. We want to learn as much about it as possible, and I'm anxious to see how it pans out." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(6) FOCUS IS ON DRUG TESTING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The importance of the meeting is it provides a kind of last minute
chance to fully understand a brand new policy, which is basically an
expansion of the old one. | ||||||||||||||||
"It's been athletics up to now," Campbell said about the drug
testing. | ||||||||||||||||
"But the school board decided to include all students participating in interscholastic events that are competitive," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
"Before they can participate they must be tested."
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The new policy approved back in March allows for the drug testing of
all junior high and high school students taking part in
extracurricular activities. | ||||||||||||||||
Up until that time only athletes were allowed to be tested, which
the local board approved in 2001. At the time this was the one area
where testing was allowed. | ||||||||||||||||
A short time later a U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the door for
local boards to include all students taking part in any
extracurricular activity. | ||||||||||||||||
The local approval came after a school committee was formed to look closer at possibly revising the athlete-only policy then in place. | ||||||||||||||||
The seven members later recommended students in the seventh grade and up who take part in the extra activities should be included. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(7) STUDENT DRUG TESTING USED MORE WIDELY THIS YEAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Students returning to school next month look forward to new experiences: new status, new classes, new teachers, new activities. | ||||||||||||||||
What also awaits many of them are new rules, and in some cases a new
student random drug testing policy. | ||||||||||||||||
Several school districts - Booneville and Prentiss, Itawamba and
Tishomingo counties among them - are implementing the new policies
for the 2006-07 academic year. Five other school districts in the
region also have drug-testing policies for some or all their
students. | ||||||||||||||||
"Our students deserve a safe and secure environment to learn, and
this policy is designed to ensure that," said Malcolm Kuykendall,
Tishomingo County's newly appointed superintendent. | ||||||||||||||||
Likewise, Prentiss County will implement a random drug testing policy after examining those used in other area districts and the prototype available through the state Department of Education. | ||||||||||||||||
However, where the new policy in Tishomingo County and Booneville
schools will apply only to students involved in extracurricular
activities like band and sports, the Prentiss County policy will
apply to all students, faculty and staff. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Effectiveness questioned
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Student drug testing is not without its opponents, who insist
research does not support the policies making any difference on
whether young people use drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
A 2003 study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that
included 94,000 students in 900 American schools, half with a drug
testing policy and half without, found there was no difference in
illegal drug use among students, said Jennifer Kern, spokeswoman for
the Drug Policy Alliance Legal Affairs Department. | ||||||||||||||||
Those results were confirmed in a followup study by the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, she said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) BRITISH SCHOOL'S DRUG TESTING PILOT PROGRAM FUELS CIVIL (Top)LIBERTIES DEBATE | ||||||||||||||||
FAVERSHAM, England - A British school has launched a pilot program
where students as young as 11 are subjected to random drug tests - a
project that has generated interest in Washington and fed a civil
liberties debate on both sides of the Atlantic. | ||||||||||||||||
The Abbey School in this southeastern market town is testing
students by mouth swab for traces of heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
Parents must give permission for the testing, and even then students
can refuse. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Since the program began in January 2005, only one out of nearly 600 students has tested positive for marijuana - a record Walker attributes to students steering clear of drugs because of the tests. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Critics say the tests violate students' privacy and could open the
door to lawsuits. As the program expands, some say children will
find their rights to object to the tests eroded. | ||||||||||||||||
Rights activists say drug testing in schools is another infringement on privacy in Britain, where closed-circuit television cameras are ubiquitous and lawmakers are debating identity cards that would store biometric data such as fingerprints or iris scans. | ||||||||||||||||
Liberty, one of Britain's largest civil rights groups, says testing
could wrongly turn students into suspects if they refuse. The
American Civil Liberties Union says the tests are imprecise and
violate students' basic rights. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Another story about drug testing only this one is about Boston
police officers. Even though officers know they will be tested
within 30 days of their birthday, some are still unable to pass.
Surprisingly, cocaine is showing up at a much higher rate than
marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
Along the lines of, "My dog ate my homework," a deputy claimed he
had tossed confiscated marijuana into the trash at his girlfriend's
house. Unlike the homework example - where the student would not be
believed and his/her grade would reflect this - the judge acquitted
the deputy. During the trial a second deputy reported that the owner
of the baggie was allowed to drive away while the two passengers
where hauled into jail. | ||||||||||||||||
A report revealing torture of citizens by Chicago police officers
over 20 years ago took 4 years and $6 million taxpayer dollars to
complete but was finally released a little over a week ago. A
Chicago Tribune reporter asserts that even though none of the guilty
will be charged with the crimes they committed, there is still much
to be gained. | ||||||||||||||||
The Cincinnati City Beat used over 3,000 words to explore the reason
the county jail is overcrowded and no sane remedy seems to be near.
Unfortunately, this scenario is played out in nearly every county
and town across America. The politicians still seem unwilling to
suggest the obvious and more humane answer of reforming our drug
laws. | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) 75 OFFICERS FAILED CITY DRUG TESTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Cocaine Use Most Prevalent, Raising Concern
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Since Boston police started annual drug testing in 1999, 75 officers
have failed the tests, and 26 of them flunked a second test and were
fired, newly released statistics show. | ||||||||||||||||
Acting Police Commissioner Albert Goslin said an additional 20 of
the officers who tested positive left the department on their own,
which he said is because they could not handle the frequent
follow-up checks. | ||||||||||||||||
Of the 75 officers, 61 tested positive for cocaine, 14 for marijuana, two for ecstasy, and one for heroin, according to the figures, obtained by the Globe through a public records request. (Some officers had more than one drug in their system). | ||||||||||||||||
Some specialists and department observers said they were alarmed by
the number of officers testing positive for a "hard" drug such as
cocaine and questioned the department's policy that allows an
officer to remain on the force after a positive drug test. An
officer is not fired until a second positive test. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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But Mark A. de Bernardo, a labor lawyer in Virginia who is executive
director of the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace, said he is
startled by the number of Boston officers who used cocaine. He said
that while no one tracks national numbers on law enforcement
officers who test positive for drugs, it is unusual for so many of
the positive results to be for cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
"In typical drug testing, the number of marijuana positives is going to be three, four, five times the number of cocaine positives," he said. "That's alarming that cocaine would seem to be the drug of choice for the drug abusers in the Boston Police Department." | ||||||||||||||||
He said the number of drug-using officers might be higher than what
the testing shows because of the predictability of Boston's annual
testing. | ||||||||||||||||
"Anybody who fails a drug test when they know a year advance within
30 days of when it's going to be . . . is a person who I consider to
be an addict," he said. "I'd assume that this is just a percentage
of those that actually engage in actual drug use because it's not
true random testing."
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[snip]
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(10) JUDGE ACQUITS EX-DAVIE DEPUTY OF DRUG POSSESSION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Not Enough Evidence to Convict, He Rules
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A former deputy in the Davie County Sheriff's Office was acquitted
yesterday of misdemeanor marijuana possession. | ||||||||||||||||
Kevin Lee Adams, 25, was charged as the result of an investigation
by the State Bureau of Investigation last year. | ||||||||||||||||
Adams had been accused of taking marijuana that he and another
deputy had seized in a drug case to his girlfriend's house. He told
investigators that he had disposed of the marijuana by throwing it
into a trash can at the house. | ||||||||||||||||
Judge J. Keaton Fonvielle of District Court ruled after a three-hour
trial that there was not enough evidence of criminal intent to
convict Adams. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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According to testimony yesterday, Adams and another deputy, Kelly Ann Marshall, responded to a call at Bermuda Run Country Club late on July 1, 2005. Marshall arrested two of three people she found in a black Jeep Cherokee after seizing three bags of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
She testified that while she was writing a citation against the
driver, Adams told her not to charge the driver because he had
cooperated with the deputies. She and Adams then drove back to the
Davie County Jail in separate cars with the two men who were
arrested. | ||||||||||||||||
The driver was freed before they left. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) OPED: TRUTH HAS VALUE, EVEN WITHOUT JUSTICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Police Torture Report
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The truth about acts of torture in the Chicago Police Department, laid out over 290 pages, was there for all to see--those who wanted the facts, and perhaps more important, those who didn't. | ||||||||||||||||
It took special prosecutor Edward Egan and Robert Boyle, the chief
deputy special prosecutor, four years and more than $6 million in
taxpayer money to investigate the atrocities that went down behind
the doors of police interrogation rooms on the South Side in the
1970s and '80s. | ||||||||||||||||
Filtering the fiction from decades of rumors and allegations left
prosecutors with horrifying conclusions. Suspects were punched and
kicked. Burned and shocked. Tortured.
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And yet the truth comes too late. Statutes of limitation have long
since passed. None of the perpetrators of these malevolent acts will
be prosecuted. | ||||||||||||||||
So what's the point in finding the truth--and spending millions in
the process--if that truth won't bring about justice?
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[snip]
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"Revelations are always instructive and valuable, even if they're
beyond the reach of the criminal justice system," said retired U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Nathaniel Jones. | ||||||||||||||||
History buttresses the judge's claim. | ||||||||||||||||
In 1947, a committee appointed by President Harry Truman released a
report detailing endemic discrimination and violence against blacks
throughout the country. The report--"To Secure These Rights"--didn't
lead to criminal prosecutions. But its findings shocked many
Americans and laid the groundwork for civil rights policies for
decades to come. | ||||||||||||||||
In the mid-1990s, the South African Truth and Reconciliation
Commission was formed to explore human rights violations committed
during apartheid. | ||||||||||||||||
"It was clear that many of the persons who committed the atrocities there would never be prosecuted," Jones said. "Nevertheless, it had a cleansing effect to disclose it. It's important to lift up the screen and pull back the veneer and let people see how ugly our past has been so they can conform their conduct to a higher standard." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) THE POLITICS OF THE JAIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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"The misdemeanor offenders are the ones filling up the jails," Goodin says. "But murderers are not being let go; that's not the case. It's the folks who are in there for other types of offenses." | ||||||||||||||||
Still, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters says the situation
sends the wrong message to all criminals. | ||||||||||||||||
"It's become a joke," he says. "They know there's no room in our
jails."
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A proposal to build a new jail originally was included in the 1996
sales tax increase that also was designed to pay for the new Reds
and Bengals stadiums. By the time the measure reached the ballot,
the jail component was removed by officials who feared it might
jeopardize stadium plans. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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To sort through the various proposals and determine the county's
actual needs, DeWine and Portune created a task force this summer to
examine issues connected with building a new jail. The task force
included law enforcement personnel, social service agencies,
business people and others. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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After more than a month of review, the county's jail task force
issued its recommendations July 31. It concluded a new 1,800-bed
facility is needed in a centralized urban location, echoing the
results of a county study completed in December 2005. | ||||||||||||||||
The task force didn't issue a recommendation on how to fund the
jail's construction, stating it's a policy decision that should be
left to elected officials. | ||||||||||||||||
Also, the task force concluded that law enforcement and social
service agencies need to work in a more coordinated manner to handle
the influx of people in the criminal justice system who have
substance abuse and mental health issues. | ||||||||||||||||
The number of people arrested for drug offenses has spiked in recent
years, according to Barbara Tombs, of the Vera Institute. From 1999
to 2004, drug offenses have increased from 17 percent of all people
arrested to 26 percent. Inmates requiring specialized services such
as psychiatric treatment and detoxification have jumped 17 percent
in that period. | ||||||||||||||||
"As I see it, you don't have a crime problem, you have a drug problem," Tombs says. "That's driving everything else." | ||||||||||||||||
The county's task force recommended the creation of a permanent
Inmate and Offenders Services Commission to focus on treatment,
education and counseling. It also recommended the county provide
funding for the group. | ||||||||||||||||
"If we don't do something, we're going to end up needing an even
bigger jail," says task force chair Crystal Faulkner, a local
accountant and radio talk-show host. "People don't usually get over
drugs by just going to jail."
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[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp-
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COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
We begin this week with a story from Canada, where the Harper government has announced plans to introduce "drugged driving" legislation that would significantly increase penalties, and perhaps even give police the right to demand mandatory fluid samples following roadside stops. Critics of this legislation suggest that roadside checks should focus on obvious impairment rather than metabolite levels in blood; cannabis use, for example, can be detected in blood for up to 30 days, although intoxication only lasts a few hours. | ||||||||||||||||
Our next story comes from the U.K.'s Sunday Telegraph, which reports
that public health advocates are criticizing the Home Office for
apparently cancelling a publicity campaign on the mental health risks
associated with cannabis use. The multi-million dollar campaign was
supposed to launch this past spring. And from the U.S. this week, news
that two Vermont border agents accused of covering up a drug arrest are
free after the prosecution dropped the charges because of a lack of
criminal intent. The charges stem from an incident in which the men
stopped a smuggler trying to bring 60 lbs of cannabis into the U.S.,
but then released him after he apparently promised to inform them of
future shipments. | ||||||||||||||||
Lastly, a story from Guelph, Ontario about a study that appears to
explain how cannabis mitigates nausea in chemotherapy patients.
University of Guelph behavioural neuroscientist Linda Parker's research
proved that cannabis reduced "retching" in rats and shrews exposed to
stimuli designed to cause this response. The study suggests that in
addition to its anti-nauseant properties, cannabis may also help
patients disassociate from past experiences that were associated with
nausea and vomiting, such as chemotherapy treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) CONSERVATIVES GET TOUGH ON DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Those who choose to get high and drive may no longer be getting a
free ride in Canada. | ||||||||||||||||
The federal Conservatives are looking at ways to combat
drug-impaired driving through stronger enforcement legislation that
can lead to prosecution. | ||||||||||||||||
"Department of Justice lawyers are working on legislation which will
help police deal with drug-impaired drivers," said Langley MP Mark
Warawa on Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
He made the announcement at a press conference organized by the
Langley RCMP on the issue of teens' lax attitudes toward smoking pot
and getting behind the wheel of a car. Politicians, police and youth
counsellors joined forces to say this is a problem that should be
taken seriously. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(14) MINISTERS 'FAILED TO WARN PUBLIC OF CANNABIS RISKS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Health campaigners have accused the Government of creating "dangerous confusion" over the mental health risks of smoking cannabis after it scrapped a multi-million pound publicity campaign. | ||||||||||||||||
The Home Office announced in January that the publicity drive would
launch in the spring but, six months later, it has been quietly
pushed to one side. | ||||||||||||||||
The scheme was recommended by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of
Drugs, a Home Office committee made up of scientists, medical
experts, drugs charity workers and police. It said that a major
campaign was required to let people know about the mental health
risks and to combat confusion about the drug brought about by the
change in its classification, from class B to class C. | ||||||||||||||||
Days later, Charles Clarke, the home secretary at the time, told the
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[snip]
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(15) CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST BORDER AGENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Federal charges have been dropped against two U.S. Border Patrol
agents who were accused of covering up a drug arrest. | ||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors initially accused agents Steven Garceau and Ross
Schofield of trying to protect an informant by altering records and
fabricating a crime scene near Derby so it would appear 60 pounds of
marijuana they had confiscated had been abandoned. | ||||||||||||||||
They were accused of letting their suspect go after he promised to
alert them when there were shipments in the future. | ||||||||||||||||
But prosecutors said they don't think they can prove the agents had
any criminal intent. And, prosecutors said in papers filed in
federal court, they wanted to avoid a confrontation between the
agents' right to know about the evidence against them and the
government's interest in keeping certain law enforcement procedures
and investigative material secret. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||
(16) U OF G RESEARCH SHOW POT HELPS SICK PEOPLE COPE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
Linda Parker, a University of Guelph behaviour neuroscientist,
recently discovered marijuana may help prevent nausea among
chemotherapy patients in a way anti-vomit and anti-nausea drugs
can't. | ||||||||||||||||
Many cancer patients get nauseated when they go in for treatment because they're anticipating the effects of the chemotherapy, and even the environment of the hospital can trigger nausea, she said. | ||||||||||||||||
Parker's research has been published in recent issues of the journal
Physiology and Behavior. | ||||||||||||||||
She said there's always been anecdotal evidence marijuana reduced nausea in cancer patients, but it was only in the 1990s that researchers figured out how it affected the brain and the body. | ||||||||||||||||
In her work, she's used rats and shrews to figure out how two
compounds -- THC, a chemical that makes people high, and cannabidiol
- -- can treat vomiting and nausea. | ||||||||||||||||
Parker said rats and other rodents don't vomit but they do open
their mouths as though they're about to retch when they feel
nauseous, she said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||
International News
| ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
It is summertime in Afghanistan, the poppies have dropped their
bright red petals, and farmers all over the nation collect the
plant's sap and dry it into raw opium. While opium flows
plentifully, it is in "Southern Afghanistan," said the U.S. and
British military this week, where the opium must be eliminated, for
surely those poppies, repeat military psywar officials, are the
poppies that must fund those pesky "militants." It is ironic. The
Taliban was congratulated by the Bush regime in spring 2001 with a
50 million dollar gift for wiping out opium production. But now that
same black market for opium (a market handed to the Taliban due to
U.S. prohibition policy) is funding the Taliban. No word from "NATO"
on the bumper crop of poppies grown by U.S.-friendly warlords in the
north: those opium poppies just aren't a problem. | ||||||||||||||||
For years, heroin by prescription has been credited with saving lives and cutting crime in Switzerland and in the United Kingdom. A limited, pilot program of heroin prescription is happening in Vancouver now too, and Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan wants to see it expanded. "It's just a matter of time. You've just got to work it through the system. Now we've got to move into the next stage." Sullivan wants to see the life-saving program extended to stimulants like meth, also. "I want a stimulant maintenance trial going... I've almost assumed [a heroin-maintenance program] is going to happen." | ||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile in the UK, controversy brewed this week when David Nutt
(senior member of the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of
Drugs) and Colin Blakemore (chief executive of the Medical Research
Council) were among a panel of experts who issued a report
condemning government drug policy as based on "ad hockery", "riddled
with anomalies" and "not fit for purpose". Questioning the UK
government's (ABC) classification of drugs, the report titled, "Drug
Classification: Making a Hash of it?" was released last week. Said
Phil Willis (committee chair responsible for the report), "It's
clearly not fit for purpose in the 21st century, neither for
informing drug-users or providing public information... We have more
drug addicts today than we've ever had and we have more people using
class A drugs than ever ... the classification system as a device to
reduce harm to individuals and society has failed ... If the
government wants to hand out messages through the criminal justice
system then let it do so, but let's not pretend to do it on the back
of scientific levels of harm from drugs because clearly that isn't
the case."
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(17) NATO TAKES ON TURMOIL IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Military Alliance Faces Growing Taliban Power, Opium
| ||||||||||||||||
KABUL, Afghanistan - Southern Afghanistan, homeland of the Taliban
and hub of the global heroin trade, is spinning out of control.
Islamic militants are launching suicide attacks, corrupt authorities
are undermining the central government, and a disgruntled population
is hooked on growing opium. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
Nearly five years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban regime
that hosted al-Qaida, the country is in danger of again becoming an
international terrorist haven. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
Another pressing concern is the drug trade. Last year, Afghanistan produced nearly 90 percent of the world's opium, the raw material of heroin. Much of it is grown by poppy farmers in the south. | ||||||||||||||||
Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in Western anti-narcotics
assistance, diplomats expect opium output to have increased this
year, and say provincial government officials and police are still
involved in drug trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(18) MAYOR SEEKS DRUG MAINTENANCE FOR COCAINE AND METH ADDICTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Experimental Program Would Provide Substitute Drugs To
| ||||||||||||||||
Vancouver needs an experimental drug program for cocaine and crystal
meth addicts that would give them substitute drugs to help them quit
or stabilize their habits, says Mayor Sam Sullivan. | ||||||||||||||||
While a medical experiment is already underway for heroin addicts
that provides some local addicts with daily doses of heroin,
Sullivan said he's confident it will eventually result in a
heroin-maintenance program. | ||||||||||||||||
"It's just a matter of time. You've just got to work it through the
system. Now we've got to move into the next stage."
| ||||||||||||||||
The next stage is what addiction experts say is the newest and most-
needed research, "stimulant maintenance" trials, which would provide
substitute drugs to cocaine and crystal-meth addicts. | ||||||||||||||||
Local researchers have frequently made the point that cocaine is
much more widely used in Vancouver than heroin, so a program for
treating cocaine would be of greater benefit. | ||||||||||||||||
"I want a stimulant maintenance trial going," said Sullivan. "I've almost assumed [a heroin-maintenance program] is going to happen." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
Other countries that have tried stimulant-maintenance programs include Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Finland. | ||||||||||||||||
E-MAILS TO MAYOR BACK DRUG PROGRAM
| ||||||||||||||||
A Vancouver Sun freedom-of-information request for all e-mails in
the nine days after Mayor Sam Sullivan said on April 21 that he was
trying to support and find funding for drug maintenance programs
indicated 21 of 30 comments were supportive. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) DRUG 'CLASSES' HAVE LITTLE LINK TO THE DANGERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Britain's antiquated drugs laws stand accused of failing millions of
people because they bear little or no relationship to the harm
caused by everything from a hit of heroin to a seemingly harmless
pint of lager. | ||||||||||||||||
The Home Office has been warned by its own senior advisers that
alcohol and tobacco are more harmful to the nation's health than the
Class A drugs LSD and ecstasy. | ||||||||||||||||
Research by medical experts, who analysed 20 substances for their
addictive qualities, social harm and physical damage, produced
strikingly different results from the Government's drug
classification system. | ||||||||||||||||
Heroin and cocaine, both Class A drugs, topped the league table of
harm, but alcohol was ranked fifth, ahead of prescription
tranquillisers and amphetamines. | ||||||||||||||||
Tobacco was placed ninth, ahead of cannabis, which has recently been
downgraded from a Class B to Class C drug, at 11th. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
Professor Blakemore told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "Alcohol,
on our classification, is the fifth most harmful drug - more harmful
than LSD and by a long way than ecstasy and cannabis and a whole
range of illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
Strongly influenced by the research, MPs on the Commons science and technology select committee demanded an overhaul of the system to give the public a "better sense of the relative harms involved". | ||||||||||||||||
They called for a new scale to be introduced, rating substances on
the basis of health and social risks and not linked to legality or
potential punishments. | ||||||||||||||||
They questioned whether ecstasy and magic mushrooms should remain in Class A and called on the Government's drug adviser, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), to look at the issue. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) MPS SAVAGE GOVERNMENT'S 'AD HOC' DRUG POLICY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
More Addicts Than Ever Before, Says Chairman. Dereliction of Duty by
Advisory Council Alleged
| ||||||||||||||||
MPs have mounted a savage attack on the government's drugs policy,
denouncing it as "based on ad hockery", "riddled with anomalies" and
"not fit for purpose". | ||||||||||||||||
They have also challenged the basis for the ABC classification
system, saying that the harm caused by drugs should be separated
from criminal penalties. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
"If the government wants to hand out messages through the criminal
justice system then let it do so, but let's not pretend to do it on
the back of scientific levels of harm from drugs because clearly
that isn't the case," said Phil Willis, chair of the science and
technology committee. "The only way to get an accurate and
up-to-date classification system is to remove the link with
penalties and just focus on harm."
| ||||||||||||||||
The investigation - entitled Drug Classification: Making a Hash of it? - found no evidence that the sliding scale of classification deters users from taking the more harmful drugs. "We have more drug addicts today than we've ever had and we have more people using class A drugs than ever ... the classification system as a device to reduce harm to individuals and society has failed," Mr Willis said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
The ABC system attaches higher penalties to more dangerous class A
drugs such as cocaine than to less dangerous drugs such as cannabis,
which is in class C. | ||||||||||||||||
Steve Rolles of the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, who gave evidence to the inquiry, welcomed the report. "It's all very well to have good science at one end of this equation, but if there's no evaluation and review of the impact of the classification on key indicators the whole thing then becomes a joke, really." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
VINCENT P. DOLE 1913 - 2006
| ||||||||||||||||
August 3, 2006
| ||||||||||||||||
Dr. Vincent P. Dole, a member of DPA's honorary board and a courageous
spokesperson for the reform of drug laws, died in Manhattan on
Wednesday, August 2, 2006. He was 93.
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
TIMOTHY LEARY'S LONG ACID TRIP
| ||||||||||||||||
By Neal Pollack, The Nation. Posted July 29, 2006.
| ||||||||||||||||
Psychedelics are supposed to destroy the ego, but they didn't stop LSD pioneer Tim Leary, who never lost his penchant for self-promotion. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Listen Live Fridays 8:00 PM, ET, 7:00 CT, 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
www.KPFT.org
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LEGALIZING MARIJUANA - A NEW REPUBLICAN STRATEGY?
| ||||||||||||||||
by Mike Rhodes
| ||||||||||||||||
The Republican Party has a new voter registration project in Fresno. It
involves luring people to sign a legalize marijuana petition and then
re-registering them as Republicans. | ||||||||||||||||
LETTER FROM DRUG KINGPIN TO DEA | ||||||||||||||||
"On behalf of drug kingpins across the world, I want to thank you for
fighting this fire with gasoline."
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
150 OFFICERS TO ARREST 12 LOW LEVEL STREET DEALERS?
| ||||||||||||||||
By Alvin Benn, Montgomery Advertiser
| ||||||||||||||||
SELMA -- Twelve suspected drug dealers were arrested and others sought
Wednesday after an early morning sweep through a neighborhood said to
have been held captive. | ||||||||||||||||
http://nallforgovernor.blogspot.com/2006/08/150-officers-to-arrest-12-low-level.html | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DRUGSCIENCE.ORG
| ||||||||||||||||
http://www.drugscience.org/ has been revised, redesigned, and
developed in a showcase on science and the marijuana issue. Now
DrugScience is set to introduce features in political science to
supplement its longstanding archives on the cannabis rescheduling
petition and the recent history of marijuana research. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DON'T LET LAWMAKERS ROLL BACK REFORM
| ||||||||||||||||
The battle to protect Proposition 36, California's successful
treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, has moved to the courts. You
can help to protect this diversion program--the largest in the country
and a model for the rest of the nation--by contributing now to the
legal battle. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Pot User Weighs In
| ||||||||||||||||
By Alison Myrden
| ||||||||||||||||
Re "High rise housed a $1M grow op," ( July 16):
| ||||||||||||||||
Having retired from law enforcement more than a decade ago, and
having been one of Canada's first 20 people to receive a licence to
grow and use marijuana as medicine many years ago, I see absolutely
nothing has changed with the war on drugs. People are still taking
advantage of the easy market involved with the "grow your own"
marijuana culture, are more than familiar with the millions of
dollars to be made in this prohibited list of substances and this
story is a prime example. | ||||||||||||||||
Exemptees like myself are targeted daily for different reasons
regarding our choice of cannabis as medicine, strictly because of
people like these. We go into extreme debt trying to take care of
our cannabis needs and our health all the time ( if we are even able
) which often means tending to our plants daily, watering, feeding
and transplanting more often than not. Our homes do not look like
this apartment did when the police arrived. | ||||||||||||||||
Next the government sends us to the street for our medicine, as
their source is somewhat questionable in potency and strength. The
Compassion Clubs around town hold their breath daily while they
serve us wondering as to whether or not there will be a visit from
their local or regional police. | ||||||||||||||||
Then, our home insurance is denied and or cancelled by most major
insurance companies due to medical gardens being considered illegal
"grow ops" by most confused citizens and lastly, we are the target
of continuous home invasions. What kind of a life is this for a
licensed medical patient?
| ||||||||||||||||
Stories like this just add to people's confusion and hysteria involving the very few grow operations that do turn out poorly. | ||||||||||||||||
Legalize and regulate marijuana and all drugs so that our children and the street market no longer lead this issue and so that responsible adults have safe, affordable and consistent access. | ||||||||||||||||
Please -- our lives depend on it. | ||||||||||||||||
Alison Myrden
| ||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
| ||||||||||||||||
( Few grow ops turn out poorly? Are you serious? )
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Save Prisons For Those Who Belong There; Save Money
| ||||||||||||||||
By Ronald Fraser
| ||||||||||||||||
BURKE, VA. - Sadly, America's first national prison commission in 30
years failed to tackle, head-on, our lock-'em-up culture and find
ways to reduce the number of people behind bars in Texas and
elsewhere. | ||||||||||||||||
The commission's recent report is little more than a how-to manual
to help wardens cope with overcrowded prisons that breed violence,
disease and recidivism. What we really need is a road map to
drastically shrink Texas' prison population and, at the same time,
save state taxpayers a lot of money. | ||||||||||||||||
In "Confronting Confinement," the Commission on Safety and Abuse in
America's Prisons, admits, "It was beyond the scope of our inquiry
to explore how states and the federal government might sensibly
reduce prisoner populations. Yet all that we studied is touched by,
indeed in the grip of, America's unprecedented reliance on
incarceration. We incarcerate more people at a greater rate than any
country in the world."
| ||||||||||||||||
The study rightly pins responsibility for our overcrowded prisons on tough-on-crime laws passed by state and federal legislators. But it does not look for ways to downsize America's booming prison industry that adds more than 1,000 new inmates per week, costs more than $60 billion a year and employs about 750,000 workers to watch over 2.2 million inmates - almost double the 1990 prison population. | ||||||||||||||||
The commission never asked this question: Why pay room and board to put someone like Martha Stewart, or a pot smoker, or a car thief behind bars when modern electronic tracking devices can easily keep tabs on these non-violent criminals at a fraction of the cost? | ||||||||||||||||
Texas taxpayers shelled out about $2.2 billion in 2003 to hire
72,220 state and local corrections employees to watch over 213,800
inmates. That's about $10,289 per year, per inmate. Nationally,
about one-half of all state prisoners have been convicted of violent
crimes, including murder and assault. The other half - in the case
of Texas, about 106,900 inmates - are non-violent, many of them
convicted of possession or sale of small quantities of drugs. For
such offenders - and for low-level burglars and embezzlers - prison
can do more harm than good. | ||||||||||||||||
Many will leave prison more violent and possessing better criminal
skills than when they arrived. And even those who want to go
straight will have a hard time finding a legitimate job. Why not
treat these offenders differently?
| ||||||||||||||||
The Council of State Governments reports that halfway houses and
non-residential, community-based supervision programs, including day
reporting centers, community service and other work assignments, are
viable alternatives to incarceration. These alternatives also allow
offenders to build work and social skills needed to avoid future
run-ins with the law. | ||||||||||||||||
In 2003, Texans also spent $301 million, or about $574 per year to supervise each of 524,200 non-incarcerated convicts. That means for every non-violent inmate shifted from inside prison to non-prison punishment, taxpayers could save upward of $9,706 per year. If all 106,900 non-violent inmates were released to alternative punishments, the state could potentially save $1 billion annually. | ||||||||||||||||
Five years ago California started sending drug offenders to
treatment programs instead of prison and, based on a recent UCLA
study, the state has saved about $173 million a year and no longer
needs to build a planned new prison. Total savings: $1.4 billion.
Maryland is cutting its prison population and saving money with a
similar program. | ||||||||||||||||
Overcrowded, violent, disease-filled prisons and jails are here to
stay as long as the number of inmates sent to prison goes up year
after year. As a society, we are quick to needlessly fill prisons
with non-violent inmates and too slow to find alternative ways to
punish and rehabilitate them. We now need a second commission to
finish the job and publish a step-by-step road map for ending
America's "unprecedented reliance on incarceration."
| ||||||||||||||||
Ronald Fraser of Burke, Va., writes on policy issues for the DKT Liberty Project. He can be contacted at . | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"We must all hang together, or, assuredly, we shall all hang
separately."
| ||||||||||||||||
Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
July 4, 1776
| ||||||||||||||||
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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 ()
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