| Nov. 17, 2006 #475 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) DRUG RAPE STUDY SHOWS ALCOHOL LINK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The first major study into alleged "drug rape" cases in the UK found
massive evidence that victims had been drinking and no cases of the
notorious Rohypnol drug, it has been revealed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Only two of 120 cases examined by the Association of Chief Police
Officers found forensic evidence of "GHB"- the other drug widely linked
with the drug rape phenomenon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But 119 of the 120 alleged victims admitted they had been drinking alcohol and forensic tests found evidence of booze in 52% of cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"In most cases, the alleged victims had consumed alcohol voluntarily and, in some cases, to dangerous levels," a spokesman said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The report does not seek to deny or neutralise the incidence of drug-
facilitated sexual assault but merely view the topic in the context of
alcohol and other related issues." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The report concluded there was no evidence to suggest widespread use of Rohypnol and only "limited traces" of GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) U.S. OFFICIALS TROUBLED BY EXPANSION OF ASIAN-CANADIAN DRUG GANGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates have become the No. 1
distributors of ecstasy in the United States, according to a new report
released yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The business of Vietnamese and other Asian gangs, who started out by
growing the popular form of marijuana known as B.C. Bud, has boomed,
according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency's national drug
intelligence centre says the groups have diversified their product
lines and set up U.S. franchises, grabbing a significant share of the
multibillion-dollar U.S. drug market. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Canadian-based Asian DTOs [drug-trafficking organizations] have
recently gained control over most MDMA [ecstasy] distribution in the
United States," states the centre's annual threat assessment, released
yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It adds that in the United States "an estimated $5.2-billion (U.S.) to
$21.2-billion is generated through the wholesale distribution of
marijuana and MDMA by Canada-based DTOs, and much of the illegal drug
proceeds are transported in bulk" back to Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Using the $20-billion figure is an overstatement . . . it's way, way
too high," said Philip Cross, an analyst at Statistics Canada. While
the government agency doesn't track illegal drug activity, he looked at
the U.S. study's methodology, and said that lower ranges of the
estimate are far more likely. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Whatever the dollar amount, the drug business would appear to be as
brisk as ever. Mexican drug networks remain, by far, the biggest
problem in the United States. But Canadian gangs are also carving out
territory in their niches. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) A CULTURALLY INSENSITIVE DRUG CASE? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A plant chewed for millennia as a stimulant by East Africans and Arabs brought a rare drug conviction Tuesday night in Madison. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The plant is khat, an evergreen shrub grown in East Africa and the Arabian peninsula and prized for its stimulating properties. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new felon is Liban Moalin, 37, a Canadian citizen who was born in
Ethiopia, where people routinely chew the plant's leaves and stems. It
took a jury only about a half-hour to find the former Fitchburg man,
who now lives in St. Paul, Minn., guilty of possession of a controlled
substance with intent to deliver. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Khat prosecutions represent a clash of cultures, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul. | ||||||||||||||||||||
About 30,000 Somalis live in the Twin Cities, Jamal said, and khat is
used socially among Somalis and other East Africans - generally those
who were born in Africa instead of the U.S. - because it provides a
stimulating, energizing effect. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The question of the Somalis on the street is, 'What's going on here?'." Jamal said. ".'Why are they making a big deal out of it?'." | ||||||||||||||||||||
It was a sentiment that was echoed Tuesday by one of Moalin's
attorneys, Sidney Moore, an Atlanta attorney who specializes in khat
cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Every culture has their stimulant," Moore said. "This is their
stimulant. There's been no evidence that this has any adverse effect on
anybody." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUE SNUFFED FROM FEDERAL TRIAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A jury has been selected and opening arguments will begin today in the
federal trial of merced marijuana activist Dustin Costa, but it is
unlikely there will be any debate on the hotly disputed issue of the
drug's medicinal value. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Before his arrest, Costa was president of the Merced Patients Group, a
private cannabis club that claimed 230 members. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The club helped connect people with doctors who give recommendations
for marijuana and those who supply the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Costa, 60, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with growing
more than 100 marijuana plants, equivalent to nearly 9 pounds,
in February 2004 with the intent to distribute. Costa also faces a
charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug trafficking
crime." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Rainwater, Costa's attorney, had hoped to use medical marijuana
as part of Costa's defense strategy, but earlier, U.S. District Judge
Anthony W. Ishii ruled that evidence wouldn't be admissable unless
brought up by federal prosecutors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That isn't likely. To assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar, this trial
has nothing to do with medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The law is the law," she said, and Costa broke it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Because of a prior marijuana cultivation conviction, Costa faces a 10- year mandatory minimum sentence, and the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted on all the charges. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The winners and losers of the drug war can be seen in sharp relief
in this week's policy review, as well as a possible turning of the
tides. The first story has a David and Goliath dimension: a former
recipient of coercive drug treatment continues to confront the
current U.S. ambassador to Italy over abuses at the now discredited
treatment center. In this story, it looks like David is making
headway in court. That hopeful is followed by a grimmer story about
police use of tasers, and how one young man got killed by one
because police thought he was growing cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our other stories this week also have a one step forward, one step
back quality. A federal judge is criticizing the disparity between
crack and powder cocaine sentences; while editorialists in Texas
naively claim that bigger drug incinerators are needed to win the
drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) DIRT AND THE DIPLOMAT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
For Decades, Richard Bradbury Nursed His Hostility for Former Ambassador Mel Sembler - WHO Finally Struck Back When It Got Too Personal. Now Their Grudge Match Has Spilled into a Public Courtroom | ||||||||||||||||||||
ST PETERSBURG - It's hardly an even fight. In one corner, Mel
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The wealthy, politically connected developer has it all over the
jobless guy who can't remember the last time he paid his taxes.
Except for this intangible: Bradbury is on a mission. And he's
obsessed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For 10 years he combed through the garbage outside Sembler's home on Treasure Island, meticulously cataloging little treasures he discovered, including documents with the ambassador's seal and presidential schedules complete with aircraft tail numbers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Three years ago, Bradbury's garbage runs hit what for him was the
mother lode: Sembler's discarded penile pump. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thoughtful soul that he is, Bradbury offered the item on eBay: | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Pump, one of a kind formerly owned by current United States
Ambassador to Italy ..." Minimum bid: $300,000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Semblers filed a lawsuit that called Bradbury's actions "so dark
and fringe as to outrage common sensibilities" and "an invasion into
the sanctity of our home and our bedroom." | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's been three years, and the outgunned jobless guy is more than
holding his own: Sembler offered to drop the suit if Bradbury would
keep his distance. Bradbury said no. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Anybody else would have cut and run. I'm not backing down." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The fight goes back more than 20 years, to a massive warehouse in
Pinellas Park with blue plastic chairs and too many peanut butter
sandwiches. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There, at a drug treatment center called Straight, Inc., 17-year-old
Richard Bradbury landed in a world that he says was part Lord of the
Flies, part Abu Ghraib prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) STUNNING REVELATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Untold Story Of Taser-Related Deaths | ||||||||||||||||||||
TASER International Inc. maintains that its stun-guns are "changing
the world and saving lives everyday." There is no question that they
changed Jack Wilson's life. On Aug. 4, in Lafayette, Colo.,
policemen on a stakeout approached Jack's son Ryan as he entered a
field of a dozen young marijuana plants. When Ryan took off running,
officer John Harris pursued the 22-year-old for a half-mile and then
shot him once with an X-26 Taser. Ryan fell to the ground and began
to convulse. The officer attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation,
but Ryan died. | ||||||||||||||||||||
According to his family and friends, Ryan was in very good physical
shape. The county coroner found no evidence of alcohol or drugs in
his system and ruled that Ryan's death could be attributed to the
Taser shock, physical exertion from the chase and the fact that one
of his heart arteries was unusually small. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In October, an internal investigation cleared Officer Harris of any wrongdoing and concluded that he had used appropriate force. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wilson says that while his son had had brushes with the law as a
juvenile and struggled financially, he was a gentle and sensitive
young man who always looked out for his disabled younger brother's
welfare, and was trying to better his job prospects by becoming a
plumber's apprentice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Ryan was not a defiant kid," says his father. "I don't understand
why the cop would chase him for a half-mile, and then 'Tase' him
while he had an elevated heart rate. If [the officer] hadn't done
that, we know that he would still be alive today." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) JUDGE: COCAINE SENTENCING DISPARITY 'UNCONSCIONABLE' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON A federal judge who served as a top drug policy advisor
to the first President Bush and advocated harsher penalties for
crack cocaine crimes said Tuesday the policy had gone too far and
was undermining faith in the judicial system. | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton told the U.S. Sentencing
Commission that federal laws requiring dramatically longer sentences
for crack cocaine than for cocaine powder were "unconscionable" and
contributed to the perception within minority communities that
courts are unfair. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I never thought that the disparity should be as severe as it has
become," said Walton, who sits on the bench in Washington, where he
previously served as a Superior Court judge, a federal prosecutor
and a deputy drug czar. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The current law includes what critics have called the 100-to-1
disparity: Trafficking in 5 grams of cocaine carries a mandatory
five-year prison sentence, but it takes 500 grams of cocaine powder
to warrant the same sentence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Advocates for changing the law point to crime statistics that show
crack is more of an inner-city drug while cocaine powder is used
more often in the suburbs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) EDITORIAL: INCINERATOR FOR DRUGS NEEDED IN THE VALLEY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fighting the Illicit Drug Trade Is an Expensive and Dangerous
Business for Law Enforcement Agencies. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last year, 1,077 tons of marijuana, 26 tons of cocaine, 715 pounds
of heroin and 3.2 tons of methamphetamine were seized along the
southwest border with Mexico, the U.S. Drug Enforcement | ||||||||||||||||||||
That's a lot of illegal drugs, and disposing of them isn't cheap. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Three main incinerators are used in Texas. All are privately owned.
One is in Dallas, another in Northeast Texas near the Louisiana
border and a third in El Paso. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That means law enforcement agencies from across the state must make
long trips to destroy confiscated drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Associated Press reports that for some law enforcement agencies
in the Rio Grande Valley, trips to the incinerators can take several
officers in a caravan of vehicles two days and easily cost $8,000 to
$10,000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The state should remedy this problem by building a publicly operated
incinerator closer to the Rio Grande Valley. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A new incinerator would be expensive, but hauling drugs across the
state is not cost-effective. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It would cost an estimated $5 million to build a facility that meets the requirements of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
More of the usual incompetence, failure and abused civil liberties
by police prosecuting the drug war, along with one surprising call
for prison reform in California. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DRUG SQUAD IN A BIND (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In two days, Michael Berkow will put on the uniform to be the chief
of the largest police agency in Chatham County. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With that new uniform come many expectations, among them a lower
violent crime rate and safer streets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
What remains in question is whether he will control the | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team is at the center of a
power struggle and a political dispute between the city and the
county. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The municipal police chiefs, the county sheriff and the district
attorney comprise a Drug Advisory Board, which oversees the drug
unit. County Manager Russ Abolt is the boss. | ||||||||||||||||||||
City Manager Michael Brown wants the CNT commander to report directly to the chief of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police, an arrangement called for in the 2003 police merger agreement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Authority over the agency is one in a number of problems plaguing
the drug unit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
CNT is understaffed and disorganized, and its staff lacks sufficient
training, according to the office of District Attorney Spencer
Lawton Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The agency is plagued by pay discrepancies, outdated policies, poor
record-keeping and a perceived lack of leadership. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In short, drug enforcement needs a massive overhaul, according to a
memo that Assistant District Attorney Ian R. Heap wrote a little
over three months ago. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) WAR ON DRUGS OFTEN FRUSTRATING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 2004 kidnapping and murder of an Embarrass man is a tragic example of just how violent drug-related crimes in the area can be. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Area law enforcement authorities continue to fight the "epidemic"
known as methamphetamine and admit being frustrated at times by
seeing both the number of related crimes and the costs to combat
them continue to rise. | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, that doesn't stop them from continuing the war on drugs,
which now includes a Drug Court ( an alternative to the traditional
punishment of drug users ). | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We're accustomed to frustration," said John Malovrh, supervising
deputy for the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department in Virginia.
His office is so deluged with cases, the investigators take what is
there and run with it, he said, which doesn't leave much time for
developing strategies against drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gilbert Police Chief Mark Skelton dealt with the impact firsthand
after Travis Holappa was kidnapped from his town and killed more
than two years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Gilbert Police Department incurred overtime costs of about
$15,000 from just that one case. "That is a huge burden on our
communities," Skelton said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Spending that much time on an investigation also takes quite a toll
on a five-person department, he said, but "it's just something you
have to do." | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It's warranted," according to Skelton. "You have to get to the
bottom of it." | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Eveleth, the battle against drugs taxes police department
resources to the extreme, said Police Chief Brian Lillis. If the
officers aren't building a case, he said, then they are involved in
a case they are prosecuting. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It continues to be a problem, particularly with meth crimes," Lillis said. "It has progressively worsened over the years." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) EDITORIAL: RAMPING UP DRUG ENFORCEMENT IN THE AREA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Lamar County Attorney's Office currently has no pending cases
involving methamphetamine labs. That's sounds like a good thing
until it is understood that part of the reason for the lack of cases
is a lack of drug enforcement in Paris and Lamar County in recent
years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
New laws making pseudoephedrine more difficult to obtain have
discouraged some meth makers, but certainly not all. However, there
hasn't been anyone to catch those who were not discouraged since
funding for the Red River Valley Drug Task Force was taken away and
Police Chief Karl Lewis had to put the Paris Police Department's
entire Narcotics Division on patrol duty because of a prolonged
manpower shortage. | ||||||||||||||||||||
What is really sad is that the drug enforcement retreat came just as
Paris and Lamar County were beginning to make a dent in the local
drug trade. With the help of federal law enforcement agents and on
their own, narcotics officers had taken down some major players and
were beginning to get this community cleaned up. | ||||||||||||||||||||
We're pleased to say that prosecutors with the Lamar County
Attorney's Office are about to get a lot busier, not that they
haven't had other criminal cases to prosecute. PPD's Narcotics
Division officers are back on the streets and the proposed Felony
Crime Unit, which replaces the drug task force, is expected to be
mobilized this month. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) OPED: THE WRONG KIND OF PRISON REFORM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Schwarzenegger's Plan to Ship Some Prisoners to Out-Of-State
Facilities Should Be Struck Down, and Real Reform Should Take Its
Course. | ||||||||||||||||||||
CALIFORNIA'S PRISONS are bursting at the seams, but Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's latest strategy for easing the pressure has hit a
snag. The nonpartisan Legislative Counsel, which provides legal
advice to state lawmakers, has issued an opinion ( concluding that
the governor's plan to ship thousands of prisoners to private
prisons out of state violates California's Constitution. This
opinion buoyed the anti-privatization California Correctional Peace
Officers Assn. ( the state prison guards union ), which has gone to
court to try to stop the transfers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Let's hope the court sides with the union. Outsourcing the care of
state prisoners to private, for-profit contractors, especially those
located out of state, is a bad idea. Not only will the move do
little to fix what is wrong with California's prisons, it will
create a whole new set of problems that will outlast any short-term
benefit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although the majority of voters in Colorado didn't quite catch on to
the SAFER message in last week's election, voters in some
Massachusetts towns did. Two thirds of voters supported nonbinding
ballot questions favorable to cannabis reform while rejecting the
notion of wine sales in grocery stores. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The conclusion of interviews with California doctors reveal that substituting cannabis for pills improves the quality of life for many patients, but is a disaster for pharmaceutical sales and the status quo. The drug warriors already know that, and like any drug dealer, they are only protecting their turf when they arrest and incarcerate the opposition on this tilted playing field. Kudos to Fred Gardner for bringing this comprehensive picture together. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although the next selection makes the all too common mistake of
confusing prohibition-related crime for "drug-related" crime in
every incident, it unintentionally makes the case for regulation and
an end to the status quo. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It seems prohibition-related environmental damage is okay if it is done by the U.S. government, and it is done outside the home borders, as googling "The Environment, Plan Colombia, and U.S. Aid" reveals. Local pot growers have less options, so there is alarm (rightfully so!) because they are destroying rare plants in California. End the war on some drug users and the unnecessary damage will end - but the drug warriors already know that. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) DECRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA FAVORED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Voters would rather have a little dope in their pockets than wine in
supermarkets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The nonbinding ballot question asking voters to instruct their
representatives to support legislation that would make possessing
less than an ounce of marijuana a civil rather than a criminal
infraction passed by nearly 2 to 1 in Plymouth, Duxbury, Kingston
and Halifax. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A question to approve medical use of marijuana passed 2 to 1 in
Milton. Meanwhile, voters in the four towns soundly rejected the
proposal to allow wine sales in grocery stores. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Neither candidate for the vacant House seat in the 12th Plymouth
District supported relaxing marijuana laws, but one, Thomas Calter,
said he would be willing to abide by the will of the people. He said
the state Health Department should study the medical benefit and
make a recommendation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Calter's opponent, Olly deMacedo, said he would not support
legislation to relax marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Late last night, their race was too close to call. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[ Editor: Calter won] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Boston University economist Jeffrey Miron estimated in 2002 that
arrests and processing for simple possession of marijuana cost
Massachusetts $24.3 million a year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MARIJUANA, THE ANTI-DRUG (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The extent to which medical cannabis users discontinue or reduce
their use of pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drugs is a
recurring theme in a recent survey of pro-cannabis (PC) California
doctors. The drug-reduction phenomenon has obvious scientific
implications. Medicating with cannabis enables people to lay off
stimulants as well as sedatives -suggesting that the herb's active
ingredients restore homeostasis to various bodily systems. (Lab
studies confirm that cannabinoids normalize the tempo of many other
neurotransmission systems.) The political implications are equally
obvious. Legalizing herbal cannabis would devastate the | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the 10 years since Proposition 215 made it legal for California
doctors to approve cannabis use by patients, the PC docs did not
adopt a common intake questionnaire, and, with one exception, did
not collect systematic data on which pharmaceutical drugs their
patients had chosen to stop taking. However, the consistency with
which the doctors describe this phenomenon has a force as impressive
as any slickly presented "hard" data. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This summer I surveyed 19 PC doctors who, between them, had approved
and monitored cannabis use by more than 140,000 patients. Herewith
some replies to a question about patients reporting reduced reliance
on pharmaceuticals. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) AS POT GROWS, SO DO CRIMES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Region's Farmland Makes Growing Marijuana Easy | ||||||||||||||||||||
The three people burst into the apartment with masks on, quickly
overwhelming the woman inside. One held her down on a bed while the
others ransacked her home. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Historically we've seen more home invasions robberies for marijuana
than for any other drug," said Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt.
Lloyd Swartz. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While proponents of the drug argue it should be legalized and that
its effects on society are far less troublesome than so-called
"harder" drugs like cocaine and heroin, local police see the trouble
it causes daily. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Kids tell us its easier for them to get marijuana than alcohol,"
said David Saffer, executive director of the Hudson Falls-based
Council for Prevention. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
MARIJUANA ARRESTS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Statewide 1996 2000 2003 2004 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||
23,189 67,089 50,846 40,591 42,088 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) MARIJUANA CROP RUINS MT. DIABLO'S RARE PLANTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In their most recent trashing of California's environment, pot
growers destroyed rare plants on Mount Diablo land that | ||||||||||||||||||||
The growers sneaked onto the 208-acre ranch land in the hills above
Concord to hack an opening in a thicket of desert olive, the group
Save Mount Diablo said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
No people nor pot plants were around three weeks ago when a rancher
stumbled on the mess left behind. Investigators from the Sheriff's
Office came out and verified that the site was not booby-trapped
before conservationists started the cleanup, said Seth Adams, Save
Mount Diablo programs manager. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It's a shame that even before the purchase of this land is
finished, someone or some people would destroy rare plants," Adams
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
With tighter border controls since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks, drug dealers are finding it easier to grow pot in the
United States rather than smuggle it in, state and federal
authorities say. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Three and a half years after Thailand's former Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra's bloody pogrom of death squads gunned down more
than 2,000 drug suspects, voices are demanding the new Thai
government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont investigate the
killings. Former senator Kraisak Choonhavan last week added his
voice to calls the summary executions be re-examined. Kraisak noted
that, "more than 2,000 people died in the extra-judicial killings
during the war on drugs launched by the Thaksin government in 2003.
It was believed that state officials were also involved in many of
the deaths." | ||||||||||||||||||||
When offered more money and increased powers, what cop would turn it down? Certainly not the Canadian police shilling for right-wing Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "We support any initiative to improve road safety," chirped Peterborough Deputy Police Chief Ken Jackman. Never mind that "there is currently no suitable test in Canada to test for drug impairment," any law that lets police order drivers to have blood drawn to test for "drugs," would be a great law, to police. Currently, police need a warrant to order a driver be jabbed for a blood test, but under new laws and punishments proposed by the Harper government, the mere accusation of any cop would suffice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the U.K., prisoners could be paid compensation for being forced
to go "cold turkey" from heroin, according to reports this week. The
prisoners were bringing the legal action based on trespass and
breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights that bans
torture, to which the U.K. is a signatory. "Rather than trying, and
failing, to turn prisons into hospitals, the government needs to get
to grips with drugs policy, invest in community health treatment for
addictions and use prison for drug barons, not downtrodden mules and
homeless addicts," observed a spokesman for the DrugScope
organization. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Illegal drugs are expensive, but in Germany this week, drugs were
blamed for burning money, literally. Since last summer, authorities
have reported that Euro notes were turning up with chemical burns
which caused them to disintegrate. German police announced this week
that the mystery of the chemically burned euro notes has been
solved, and the culprit appears to be methamphetamines. Using the
rolled up notes as meth "tooters" leaves a residue that turns into
an acid which eats the bills. "When a contaminated note comes into
contact with human sweat, the chemicals interact to form an
aggressive sulphuric acid," say police. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(17) CALL TO RE-EXAMINE DRUGS WAR KILLINGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kraisak Wants DSI to Hold New Inquiries | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kraisak Choonhavan, a former Nakhon Ratchasima senator, has urged
the Justice Ministry to re-examine the human rights violations which
occurred during the rule of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He said the interim government should attach importance to the cases
because the United Nations had submitted 26 questions on them to
Thai authorities last year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"More than 2,000 people died in the extra-judicial killings during
the war on drugs launched by the Thaksin government in 2003. It was
believed that state officials were also involved in many of the
deaths," said Mr Kraisak after an hour-long meeting with Justice
Permanent Secretary Jarun Pukditanakul. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Evidence linking some state officials to the extra-judicial killings
has also been submitted to the ministry, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Kraisak wants the Department of Special | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
A source said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont last week ordered
Kitti Limchaikij, the newly appointed secretary-general of the
Office of Narcotics Control Board, to dig into the extra-judicial
killings of 2,500 people during the Thaksin government's war on
drugs that began in February 2003. The prime minister wants a
clearer picture of how many deaths actually involved drug dealers
and how many did not, the source said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr Surayud also wants to know the exact number of cases in which
state officials were implicated, said the source. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(18) POLICE SUPPORT DRUGGED DRIVERS' CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
City police say they support Prime Minister Stephen Harper's announcement last week to crack down on drug impaired drivers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We support any initiative to improve road safety," Deputy Chief Ken
Jackman told The Examiner. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Drivers impaired by drugs are a concern." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new legislation, to be introduced when the House of Commons
returns from its Remembrance Day break, aims to help deal with the
growing threat of drug-impaired driving, Harper said during the
announcement in Kitchener. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It will increase penalties and also "strengthen presumptions" of
breath and blood tests - even though there is currently no suitable
test in Canada to test for drug impairment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jackman said taking steps to make it easier for police to obtain blood samples from suspected drug impaired drivers is a good start. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Currently police can only apply for a warrant to get a blood sample
after a serious or fatal collision. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) PRISONERS POISED TO WIN PAYOUTS FOR 'COLD TURKEY' DRUG (Top)TREATMENT | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prisoners are set to be paid compensation because they were forced
to stop taking drugs in jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drugs charity DrugScope said the group of six inmates and former
inmates who used heroin and other opiates were on the verge of
settling out of court with the Prison Service after suing the Home
Office. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The case - alleging the "cold turkey" withdrawal treatment they were
forced to undergo amounted to assault - was scheduled to start at
the High Court today. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former Tory prisons minister Ann Widdecombe said: "It's an insult to
every victim and every law abiding person. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"As far as I'm concerned there is no human right to continue a drug
habit when you go to prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Convicts should have no option but to go cold turkey once they
passed through the prison gates, she said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The prisoners were bringing the action based on trespass, because
they say they did not consent to the treatment, and for alleged
clinical negligence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They also claimed human rights breaches under Articles 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which ban discrimination, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and Article 8, which enshrines the right to respect for private life. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Rather than trying, and failing, to turn prisons into hospitals,
the government needs to get to grips with drugs policy, invest in
community health treatment for addictions and use prison for drug
barons, not downtrodden mules and homeless addicts." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(20) THE MYSTERY OF THE CRUMBLING 50 EURO NOTES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THOUSANDS of Germans have been stuffing euro notes up their noses --
and destroying not only their health but also the currency, police
believe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They say that the mystery of why euro notes have been falling apart
since the summer -- many look moth-eaten after only a day in the
pocket -- is down to an increasing use of crystal methamphetamine.
In Germany this drug is fast replacing cocaine as the illegal party
substance of choice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The crystals are pulverised and spread on a note that is then rolled
up and funnelled into a nostril. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The disintegrating notes have been puzzling police forces across the
country and angering ordinary consumers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[smip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Much of the crystal methamphetamine reaching Germany is refined in
Poland and the Balkans and is mixed with sulphates. Traces of these
sulphates cling to the notes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A spokesman for the forensic unit of the Rhineland Palatinate
police, quoted by Der Spiegel magazine, said: "When a contaminated
note comes into contact with human sweat, the chemicals interact to
form an aggressive sulphuric acid. If euros are wadded together in a
wallet or a purse, the corrosion will spread from one tainted note
to all the others." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
EXCERPT FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH MILTON FRIEDMAN | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2006/11/milton-friedman.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE WORLD DRUG REPORT 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||
One of the most comprehensive overviews of illicit drug trends at the
international level. In addition, it presents a special thematic
chapter on cannabis, by far the most widely produced, trafficked and
used drug in the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CALIFORNIA'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS GET NOD FROM COURT | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ruling Would Deny Counties' Attempt to Undermine Patient Protections | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/pressroom/pressrelease/pr111606.cfm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CANCER, SCHMANCER -- AS LONG AS I'M NOT A DRUG ADDICT | ||||||||||||||||||||
by Jacob Sullum | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
AMERICA'S DRUG WAR AND THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY | ||||||||||||||||||||
by Norman Stamper | ||||||||||||||||||||
A talk delivered at the Montana Law Review, James R. Browning
Symposium "The Right to Privacy", October 2006. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
CONSIDER LEGALIZING DRUG USE, PANEL SAYS | ||||||||||||||||||||
One of two options given to Premier | ||||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- A blue-ribbon advisory group to British Columbia Premier
Gordon Campbell has offered the government two choices for dealing
with crime and illegal drugs: Consider lobbying for legalization or
go for an all-out war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Help Keep DrugSense Afloat | ||||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense and the Media Awareness Project offer numerous free services, including this newsletter, but they are not free to produce. We count on contributions from readers like you. Please consider making a donation through our automated donation page: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
POT BUST STORY STIRS COMMENTS FROM AFAR | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Allan Erickson | ||||||||||||||||||||
I've just read the Keizertimes article, "Bust of Local Couple" | ||||||||||||||||||||
It is important to note that doctors have faced threats from the
feds if they recommend cannabis to patients. And while a few doctors
may have written many recommendations for cannabis there are 2,000
doctors total. It seems to me those few signing the most should be
commended for encouraging use of one of humanity's oldest and safest
medicines in spite of federal "Reefer Madness." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The few patients that have violated OMMA limits knowingly and for
profit do not represent the great majority of patients who lose
because of this abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There is no doubt about the multiple medical uses of cannabis. In my
mind the greatest threat to patients is not from the odd individual
seeking to make some spare money, but rather from our wrong-headed
Prohibition laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our patients lose because Prohibition has made a common garden plant
worth the price of gold. Consider the current value of the cannabis
consumed by patients. | ||||||||||||||||||||
If there are 12,000 patients and these patients each consume 3
pounds per year and the street price of cannabis is $3500 per pound,
then the value of their medicine is $126 million. If patients
represent 20 percent of cannabis consumers in Oregon, Oregon's
consumption jumps to $630 million per year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wouldn't it make sense to embrace a safe and fiscally sound state
policy on cannabis. A policy that might provide this useful medicine
to many more qualifying patients? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Allan Erickson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An Open Letter To Bill Bennett | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Milton Friedman | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Oliver Cromwell's eloquent words, "I beseech you, in the bowels
of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken" about the course
you and President Bush urge us to adopt to fight drugs. The path you
propose of more police, more jails, use of the military in foreign
countries, harsh penalties for drug users, and a whole panoply of
repressive measures can only make a bad situation worse. The drug
war cannot be won by those tactics without undermining the human
liberty and individual freedom that you and I cherish. | ||||||||||||||||||||
You are not mistaken in believing that drugs are a scourge that is
devastating our society. You are not mistaken in believing that
drugs are tearing asunder our social fabric, ruining the lives of
many young people, and imposing heavy costs on some of the most
disadvantaged among us. You are not mistaken in believing that the
majority of the public share your concerns. In short, you are not
mistaken in the end you seek to achieve. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Your mistake is failing to recognize that the very measures you
favor are a major source of the evils you deplore. Of course the
problem is demand, but it is not only demand, it is demand that must
operate through repressed and illegal channels. Illegality creates
obscene profits that finance the murderous tactics of the drug
lords; illegality leads to the corruption of law enforcement
officials; illegality monopolizes the efforts of honest law forces
so that they are starved for resources to fight the simpler crimes
of robbery, theft and assault. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drugs are a tragedy for addicts. But criminalizing their use
converts that tragedy into a disaster for society, for users and
non-users alike. Our experience with the prohibition of drugs is a
replay of our experience with the prohibition of alcoholic
beverages. | ||||||||||||||||||||
I append excerpts from a column that I wrote in 1972 on "Prohibition
and Drugs." The major problem then was heroin from Marseilles;
today, it is cocaine from Latin America. Today, also, the problem is
far more serious than it was 17 years ago: more addicts, more
innocent victims; more drug pushers, more law enforcement officials;
more money spent to enforce prohibition, more money spent to
circumvent prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Had drugs been decriminalized 17 years ago, "crack" would never have
been invented (it was invented because the high cost of illegal
drugs made it profitable to provide a cheaper version) and there
would today be far fewer addicts. The lives of thousands, perhaps
hundreds of thousands of innocent victims would have been saved, and
not only in the U.S. The ghettos of our major cities would not be
drug-and-crime-infested no-man's lands. Fewer people would be in
jails, and fewer jails would have been built. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Colombia, Bolivia and Peru would not be suffering from narco-terror,
and we would not be distorting our foreign policy because of
narco-terror. Hell would not, in the words with which Billy Sunday
welcomed Prohibition, "be forever for rent," but it would be a lot
emptier. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Decriminalizing drugs is even more urgent now than in 1972, but we
must recognize that the harm done in the interim cannot be wiped
out, certainly not immediately. Postponing decriminalization will
only make matters worse, and make the problem appear even more
intractable. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alcohol and tobacco cause many more deaths in users than do drugs.
Decriminalization would not prevent us from treating drugs as we now
treat alcohol and tobacco: prohibiting sales of drugs to minors,
outlawing the advertising of drugs and similar measures. Such
measures could be enforced, while outright prohibition cannot be.
Moreover, if even a small fraction of the money we now spend on
trying to enforce drug prohibition were devoted to treatment and
rehabilitation, in an atmosphere of compassion not punishment, the
reduction in drug usage and in the harm done to the users could be
dramatic. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This plea comes from the bottom of my heart. Every friend of
freedom, and I know you are one, must be as revolted as I am by the
prospect of turning the United States into an armed camp, by the
vision of jails filled with casual drug users and of an army of
enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight
evidence. A country in which shooting down unidentified planes "on
suspicion" can be seriously considered as a drug-war tactic is not
the kind of United States that either you or I want to hand on to
future generations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Milton Friedman, 1976 Nobel Laureate in economics, died earlier this
week. This piece was originally published in 1989. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Prohibition is an attempted cure that makes matters worse -- for
both the addict and the rest of us." - Milton Friedman | ||||||||||||||||||||
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