| Feb. 9, 2007 #486 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||
THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) REPORT CONCLUDES CONVICTED AGENTS LIED, COVERED UP SHOOTING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
EL PASO, Texas -- A federal report released Wednesday on the shooting of
a suspected drug smuggler by Border Patrol agents concurs with
prosecutors that the men committed obstruction of justice by failing to
report the shooting, destroying evidence and lying to investigators.
Conservative members of Congress have criticized the case against the
former agents, who were fired after their convictions, saying the men
were doing their job when they injured Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in 2005
near El Paso. | ||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security report on the investigation was
drafted in 2006 after Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were
convicted and each was sentenced to more than a decade in federal
prison. The 77-page report was made public Wednesday and offered few if
any new details on the case. | ||||||||||||||||
The report, which is heavily redacted of names and some specific
details, primarily outlines what Aldrete said happened on Feb. 17, 2005,
as he tried to run from Border Patrol agents after trying to elude them
in a van loaded with marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
According to the report, Aldrete, who was given immunity and has filed a multimillion dollar claim against the federal government, told investigators he was unarmed and shot as he ran away from Compean and other agents. He said he tried to surrender and ran again after Compean slipped while trying to hit him with the butt of a shotgun. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(2) OFFICERS MAY FACE MURDER CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Case Involves The Shooting Death Of An Elderly Atlanta Woman | ||||||||||||||||
ATLANTA -- Prosecutors plan to seek felony murder indictments against
three Atlanta police officers who killed an elderly woman during an
exchange of gunfire in her home, according to a document released by one
of the officer's attorneys Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
The Nov. 21 slaying of Kathryn Johnston, 88, sent waves of anger across
Atlanta -- prompting hundreds to gather to vent and criticize Police
Chief Richard J. Pennington. | ||||||||||||||||
Plainclothes officers entered Johnston's house after obtaining a warrant
based on what they said was information that drugs were being sold
there. The warrant did not require them to knock, and they stormed in.
Johnston allegedly shot and wounded three officers before they killed
her. | ||||||||||||||||
Pennington has asked the FBI to look into the case, which also is being investigated by the Fulton County district attorney's office. | ||||||||||||||||
On Wednesday, defense attorney Rand Csehy released a formal notification
he received from Dist. Atty. Paul Howard's office. The document
indicates prosecutors will ask a grand jury to return murder indictments
against Csehy's client, retired officer Gregg Junnier, and officers
Jason Smith and Arthur Tesler. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Smith is accused of falsely telling detectives that he instructed an
informant to make a police-monitored drug buy at the house. Tesler is
accused of lying to the FBI when he told them he witnessed such a drug
buy. Junnier is accused of falsely stating that the other two officers
met with the informant. | ||||||||||||||||
After the shooting, a local TV station interviewed an unidentified man
who said he was the informant. He said the officers told him to lie
about what happened and offered to pay him. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(3) VENEZUELA TO HELP FINANCE BOLIVIA'S COCA PRODUCTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Aid Will Boost Efforts To Develop Legal Commercial Products From The
Crop Used To Make Cocaine | ||||||||||||||||
CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has found a novel
way to dispense foreign aid: by promising to underwrite coca production
in Bolivia. | ||||||||||||||||
Officials here confirmed Wednesday that Venezuela would buy whatever
legal products Bolivia could make from coca leaf, as part of that
central Andean nation's attempt to wean farmers from the cocaine
industry. | ||||||||||||||||
Chavez's promise could finance the production of about 4,000 tons of
coca in Bolivia, Venezuelan officials say. | ||||||||||||||||
Possible coca-based products include soap, bread, herbal teas,
toothpaste, unspecified medicines and cooking oils. No dollar amount for
Venezuela's support has been announced. Three factories are under
construction in Bolivia with Venezuelan financial and Cuban technical
support, and production could begin this summer. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The coca deal will do nothing to lessen the animosity between the Bush
administration and the Chavez government. That hostility was evident
Wednesday at a congressional hearing in Washington during which
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said democracy and human rights were
under attack in Venezuela. | ||||||||||||||||
"I do believe that the president of Venezuela is really, really
destroying his own country, economically, politically," Rice told
lawmakers. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(4) MEXICAN ATTACKS RAISE DRUG-WAR STAKES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
President Vows No Letup Against Cartels | ||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- Deadly assaults on two police stations by criminals
wearing soldiers' uniforms have raised the pressure on Mexico's new
president, Felipe Calderon, to demonstrate that his vaunted military-led
crackdown on organized crime can stand up to the nation's powerful drug
cartels. | ||||||||||||||||
The attacks in the resort city of Acapulco on Tuesday, killing five
police investigators and two secretaries, also stirred fears that drug-
related violence will chase away tourists. | ||||||||||||||||
Since taking office Dec. 1, Calderon has sent around 25,000 troops to
hot spots in Mexico, including Acapulco, promising to "recover authority
in territories challenged by crime." The cartels in these areas killed
more than 2,000 people last year in their struggle to control cocaine
trafficking routes, domestic production of marijuana, heroin and
synthetic drugs, as well as the local consumer market. | ||||||||||||||||
Calderon called an emergency meeting with his security Cabinet
immediately after the Acapulco killings, which both defied and mocked
his efforts to show the gangs that they are not in control. A brief
statement insisted "the government will not retreat or give up in the
face of the attacks by organized crime." It described the attacks as a
reaction to the crackdown, which is beginning to look like the defining
issue of the new president's administration. | ||||||||||||||||
"Calderon had to do something," said Bruce Bagley, an expert on drug trafficking in Latin America and a professor at Miami University. "Public perception is that it had spiraled beyond control." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
An amusing, first-person column out of an Alaskan newspaper
illustrates the absurd psychology of the drug war better that most
opinion pieces. The writing is funny, but the unusually candid and
personal nature is also a step forward in press coverage of drug
issues. The craziness of the drug war is also brought down to a
personal level in a column out a Texas University, where one student
scrutinizes official campus drug policy in a much more thoughtful
way than university officials. | ||||||||||||||||
Also last week, corruption in a state drug testing contract in
Illinois; and a counter-culture icon may be facing felony drug
charges. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(5) COLUMN: PSYCHOACTIVE PSYCHOLOGY: IF YOU FORBID IT, THEY WILL (Top)COME | ||||||||||||||||
Hey, Whistleblowing Senators, You're Only Adding to the Hype | ||||||||||||||||
It seems as if the older I get, the more I want to do things that Sen. George Therriault, R-North Pole, says are bad for me. | ||||||||||||||||
Take the psychoactive plant salvia divornum, for instance. Or as it's sometimes known by its ridiculous street name, "Sally D." | ||||||||||||||||
"Sally D" sounds like the name of one of those ghost-ladies, the
ones with cougar eyes and big billowy purses that hang out on the
edge of the bar. | ||||||||||||||||
Salvia divornum, a member of the sage family, is found in Oaxaca,
Mexico, and used by shamans to invoke mystical trances. A
powder-like, fortified-leaf form is sold in Juneau, and the kit-like
box promises "a wonderfully helpful tool for anyone searching for a
deeper understanding of one's self." | ||||||||||||||||
Louisiana, Missouri, Delaware and Tennessee have banned salvia
divornum, classifying it as a controlled substance. | ||||||||||||||||
Therriault's Senate Bill 313 would follow suit. It cites the plant's "unpredictable physiological and psychological effects." | ||||||||||||||||
Any time legislators argue about a mystical trance-inducing
gatekeeper extract that may or may not have the power to unlock
secrets, consider me interested. | ||||||||||||||||
Most people I know who have read about SB 313 have wanted to smoke
the hell out of salvia. | ||||||||||||||||
I bought a half-gram after I read the "Salvia divinorum user's
guide," www.sagewisdom.org. These kind of sites are always a little
too obsessive, like the kids in eighth grade with the long haircuts
and the narrow faces and 100 more Rush bootlegs than anyone should
have. | ||||||||||||||||
But if you're going into the jungle, this is the machete. The
advice: smoke salvia in a dimly lit room while sitting or lying
down, with few stimuli and no open flames. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(6) EDITORIAL: UNIVERSITY DRUG POLICY ARCHAIC, HEAVY-HANDED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Check your e-mail. Peggy Scott, SFA judicial officer, sent an all-campus e-mail outlining the University Drug Policy. The policy is archaic and heavy-handed. Universities have traditionally set a progressive example in society, but ours has, embarrassingly enough, taken its cue from the futile and costly federal War on Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
The first sentence of the policy, which was last revised on Jan. 19
of last year, states "it is the declared policy of the United States
Government to create a Drug-Free America by 1995." This in itself is
reason enough to revise the document. The illicit drugs and alcohol
policy is no place for a bad joke. | ||||||||||||||||
According to the policy, students who are found to have violated it
"will be suspended from the University for no more than two years
and no less than the remainder of the current semester." A
re-evaluation of this policy is in order. | ||||||||||||||||
The size of our campus, the relatively small number of students and
the tiny town where SFA is nestled all serve as attractions for
graduates of small-town high schools who prefer the cozy atmosphere
found at SFA to the hustle and bustle of big schools in big cities.
As such, these small-town matriculates are exposed to aspects of
society not found in their hometowns and are forced to make
decisions with which they have never been faced. For small-town
students caught violating this policy as a result of first-time
experimentation, a suspension of any length could mean that they do
not return to SFA or any university. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(7) FBI, STATE INVESTIGATE DRUG FIRM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Allegedly Billed for Testing It Never Performed | ||||||||||||||||
A Chicago drug-testing company with a long-standing no-bid state
contract is under state and federal investigation amid allegations
it billed the state for drug tests it never performed. | ||||||||||||||||
The company--K.K. Bio-Science Inc.--came under scrutiny following an
Oct. 27 report in the Tribune detailing how Gov. Rod Blagojevich's
wife, Patricia, earned more than $113,000 in real estate commissions
from the company's owner and president. | ||||||||||||||||
There is no indication the fraud investigation has any connection to the real estate deals. Company officials declined to comment. | ||||||||||||||||
The governor has portrayed the newspaper's inquiries about his wife's business with a state contractor as sexist and "Neanderthal." | ||||||||||||||||
The Blagojevich administration last year denied Tribune requests for records that could document the company's performance, citing "an unwarranted invasion of privacy." But investigators in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services' internal inspector general's office quietly opened an investigation into the contract. | ||||||||||||||||
The children's services agency said Tuesday that investigation
likely prompted K.K. Bio-Science to officially terminate its
contract on Jan. 9. | ||||||||||||||||
DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe said Tuesday that the agency's
inspector general "found issues with the company's billing
practices. . It is reasonable to assume that the company's decision
to terminate the contract was related to our questions and to our
review of their billing practices." | ||||||||||||||||
K.K. Bio-Science owner Anita Mahajan declined to be interviewed
Monday evening and referred all questions to her attorney, James
Regas, who did not return repeated telephone calls Monday or
Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||
The company performs drug testing of urine for people involved with DCFS services, such as parents. A source familiar with the investigation said the questions focus on "false billings" in which the state may have been billed for tests that were not done at all. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(8) 'TREY' INDICTED ON DRUG CHARGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Whitehall - Felony Charge Filed Against Former Phish Leader | ||||||||||||||||
FORT EDWARD -- A Washington County grand jury on Thursday filed a
felony drug possession charge against the former frontman of the jam
rock band Phish. | ||||||||||||||||
Ernest J. "Trey" Anastasio, 42, of Richmond, Vt., was indicted on a
charge of felony criminal possession of a controlled substance and
lesser charges of driving under the influence of drugs and driving
with a suspended license, law enforcement sources said. | ||||||||||||||||
Grand jury proceedings are secret until the panel reports its
decisions on indictments to a judge. | ||||||||||||||||
Anastasio had initially been charged with misdemeanor criminal
possession of a controlled substance, but the grand jury decided a
weightier charge was warranted, one of the sources said. It was
unclear what degree of the felony charge was filed. | ||||||||||||||||
The indictment will not be handed up and made public in Washington County Court until late next week. No arraignment date has been set. | ||||||||||||||||
Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright said he could
not discuss the case Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||
The former Phish guitar player and vocalist was arrested early the
morning of Dec. 15 in the village of Whitehall, passing through the
village on his way to Vermont from New York City. | ||||||||||||||||
He was pulled over after Whitehall Police Patrolman Andrew Mija saw his 2004 Audi sedan cross the center line on Poultney Street. | ||||||||||||||||
Mija suspected Anastasio was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
and said Anastasio admitted he had used prescription painkillers and
hashish before he was pulled over. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Some drug war law enforcement practices seem to be under fire again
this week. In the wake of another deadly botched drug operation in
Florida, some citizens are asking for a moratorium on undercover
drug stings. In North Carolina, a jury found a man not guilty in a
highly publicized drug case, while another man caught and released
in the same case is suing local officials. | ||||||||||||||||
Also last week, police become video critics; and the backlash begins
against the Skid Row drug crackdown in Los Angeles. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(9) GROUP ASKS SHERIFF TO SHELVE UNDERCOVER STINGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A local citizens group called on Jacksonville Sheriff John
Rutherford on Friday to immediately suspend all undercover sting
operations pending a review of policies and procedures by an
independent board. | ||||||||||||||||
That request was included in a letter to Rutherford that the group
distributed to reporters during a news conference at the Police
Memorial Building. | ||||||||||||||||
The group, led by a mayoral candidate and two City Council hopefuls,
calls itself the Coalition of Concerned Citizens. | ||||||||||||||||
The letter requested a meeting with the sheriff to "discuss the
recent murders by the Jacksonville Sheriff Office." | ||||||||||||||||
That was a reference to two recent incidents in which Jacksonville
undercover police posing as drug dealers shot and killed 18-year-old
Douglas Woods on Jan 20 and 80-year-old Isaac Singletary on Jan. 27.
Authorities said Woods pointed a gun at an officer and fired at
least three times in a robbery attempt. Singletary was shot after he
confused the officers for drug dealers. | ||||||||||||||||
Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said again Friday that
police have suspended operations by the two undercover units
involved in the shootings but will continue other undercover
operations. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(10) VERDICT, LAWSUIT CAST NEGATIVE LIGHT ON DRUG BUST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
GRAHAM -- A man arrested in 2005 as part of a countywide drug bust
has been found not guilty of several drug charges. | ||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, another man arrested as part of the same operation but
later released is suing the sheriff and a deputy. | ||||||||||||||||
Jeffrey Davis Stone, 43, was on trial last week in Alamance County
Superior Court charged with two counts each of possession with the
intent to sell and deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, selling
cocaine and delivering cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
Assistant District Attorney Lori Goins argued that Stone sold drugs
to an undercover officer with the Alamance County Sheriff 's
Department on two separate occasions. The incidents happened a week
apart, on Aug. 16 and Aug. 23, and were part of Operation Clean
Sweep. | ||||||||||||||||
After buying the second time, deputy J. Rice, who was the undercover
officer in the case, said he identified Stone from a picture shown
to him by another investigator. Warrants for Stone's arrest were
issued on Oct. 15. He was arrested the following month. | ||||||||||||||||
Besides the testimony of the officers involved in the case, jurors
also heard a tape recording that detailed what was being said during
the transactions. | ||||||||||||||||
Defense attorney Robert Collins said the evidence in the case was
inconclusive. He said Rice's testimony contradicted some of the
things he had written in his original report, such as the address
where the drugs were sold, the age of the suspect, and the time he
had been with Stone. Collins said the jury didn't believe the
confidence the officers had in their evidence. Though we all make
mistakes, he added, "in this case ( the investigators ) made a
mistake." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(11) EX-TOP COP DVD VIEWED, REVIEWED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Lawmen who viewed former "Top Cop" Barry Cooper's "Never Get Busted
Again" DVD Friday at the Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph office
likened Cooper to a charlatan peddling old information. | ||||||||||||||||
Smith County Deputy Constable and Drug Interdiction Officer Mark Waters said Cooper's DVD provided no new information and most could be seen on shows pertaining to law enforcement like Fox's COPS. | ||||||||||||||||
"I would compare Barry Cooper to a snake-oil salesman and the
majority of his information is outdated," Waters said. "A lot of
laws have changed since the early 1990s when he was serving the
public." | ||||||||||||||||
But Cooper, who was once hailed as the best drug interdiction
officer in the state by his superiors, counters that his DVD is
meant for civilians, not cops, and he believes the information will
help "innocent casualties" in the War on Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
"This information has never been published and it will benefit the lay person," Cooper said. "The 25 plus people we screened the DVD, who were not in law enforcement, loved it. I'm not selling snake oil; I'm selling a DVD to help American people stay out of jail." | ||||||||||||||||
"They reviewed the DVD and just went through the roof and they had
never heard some of that stuff before. They couldn't believe someone
was giving the information to the public and that was the goal to
teach civilians what cops know," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
Rex Waters, a computer technician in Mabank, said he saw the DVD during the viewing and was happy to see the information. | ||||||||||||||||
"Look there's stuff on here that I and many others in the public
didn't know," he said. It's really going to help keep those who use
marijuana out of jail." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(12) DEFENSE LAWYERS PROTEST SKID ROW DRUG CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Attorneys Say Petty Offenders Are Getting Prison Time. LAPD Says Aim
Is to Help Those Trying to Quit Using Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Defense attorneys are protesting a drug crackdown on skid row, saying petty narcotics users are increasingly being sent to prison instead of receiving treatment that could cure their addictions. | ||||||||||||||||
Since September, police and prosecutors have targeted drug dealing
in the 5th Street corridor -- an area bordered by 4th and 6th
streets, Broadway and Central Avenue -- which police said was a
hotspot of drug crimes. | ||||||||||||||||
Though law enforcement officials have hailed the effort, defense
lawyers say it is harming some who need help. | ||||||||||||||||
"They're basically cleaning out skid row by putting people into
state prison, where there really isn't room ... either," said Deputy
Public defender Lisa Lichtenstein, who handles numerous downtown drug
cases. | ||||||||||||||||
She said that since the fall, minor drug cases that in the past
might have resulted in possession charges that could lead to
treatment have been prosecuted as drug sales, which can result in
prison sentences for those convicted. | ||||||||||||||||
In many cases, Lichtenstein said, the drug sales charges are against
addicts selling a small amount to pay for their own habit. "These
are very small amounts of drugs, 10 dollars' worth, maybe $20," she
said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
There were many news items highlighting the progress and setbacks
going on in the cannabis world this week. The spotlight first turns
on a classic example of the federally sponsored victimization /
marginalization of the ill population who uses cannabis as medicine
- whether or not state law allows it. | ||||||||||||||||
The next two articles contrast the difference between upholding prohibition with garbled myths about trying to protect children from the evil weed, to ending prohibition because the feds are mandated to keep out of state matters like drug laws and adult rights. | ||||||||||||||||
When it comes to the irrationality surrounding parents using illegal substances, we get the best perspective by looking at whether using legal substances would have the same outcome in any family situation. If not, then allowing prohibition related, not drug related problems to tear families apart in Canada, will eventually be as common as it is in the US, and just as detrimental. | ||||||||||||||||
It has been a long battle, but on Tuesday when North Dakota issued
the first U.S. permits to grow industrial hemp to two farmers who
must still get federal approval via the Drug Enforcement
Administration. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(13) MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS NEED PROTECTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Sharon Tracy "may have been exactly the kind of patient the voters
of this state had in mind when they enacted the medical marijuana
initiative, I-692." | ||||||||||||||||
So said the Washington State Supreme Court in a Nov. 22 ruling about
a woman who suffers from, among other things, diabetes, heart
disease, degenerating discs in her back, a hip deformity, and who
has had a series of eight corrective surgeries for a ruptured colon
and bowel conditions. On her doctor's recommendation, Sharon Tracy
was using marijuana to treat her pain. | ||||||||||||||||
Nevertheless, Skamania County saw fit to arrest and prosecute her, and the Supreme Court saw fit to uphold her conviction, all because her doctor got his license in California instead of Washington. Now she is serving home detention in Stevenson, more than 25 miles from the nearest hospital, and her felony conviction means that she'll no longer be able to help out at the day care at her church. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(14) CAUTION: MARIJUANA MAY NOT BE LESSER EVIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
'Gateway Drug' Or Not, Experts Say, It's Not A Benign Path For Teens | ||||||||||||||||
Tyreol Gardner first smoked marijuana when he was 13. | ||||||||||||||||
"The main reason I tried it was curiosity," Gardner recalls. "I
wanted to see what it felt like." | ||||||||||||||||
He liked what it felt like, and by age 15, he was smoking pot every week. He supported his habit with the money his parents gave him for getting straight A's on his report card. They didn't have a clue. | ||||||||||||||||
"By 16, when I got my license, it turned into a fairly everyday
thing," says Gardner, now 24. "I believe it is very addictive,
especially for people with addictive personalities." | ||||||||||||||||
Millions of baby boomers might disagree. After all, they smoked
marijuana -- the country's most popular illicit drug -- in their
youth and quit with little effort. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Many studies have documented a link between smoking marijuana and the later use of "harder" drugs such as heroin and cocaine, but that doesn't necessarily mean marijuana causes addiction to harder drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(15) WASHINGTON SHOULD LEAVE POTHEADS ALONE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
TWO WEEKS AGO, U.S. drug agents launched raids on 11 | ||||||||||||||||
Whatever happened to America's federal system, which recognized the
states as "laboratories of democracy"? | ||||||||||||||||
According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws, 11 states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington) have
eliminated the penalties for physician-approved possession of
marijuana by seriously ill patients. In those states people with
AIDS and other catastrophic diseases may either grow their own
marijuana or get it from registered dispensaries. | ||||||||||||||||
But the U.S. government says its drug laws trump the states' laws,
and in 2005, the Supreme Court agreed. | ||||||||||||||||
This is not the way it was supposed to work. The constitutional plan
presented in the Federalist Papers delegated only a few powers to
the federal government, with the rest reserved to the states. The
system was hailed for its genius. Instead of having decisions made
in the center -- where errors would harm the entire country -- most
policies would be determined in a decentralized environment. A
mistake in California would affect only Californians. New Yorkers,
Ohioans, and others could try something else. Everyone would learn
and benefit from the various experiments. | ||||||||||||||||
It made a lot of sense. It still does. Too bad the idea is being
tossed on the trash heap by big-government Republicans and their DEA
goons. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(16) POLICE SAY SMOKING POT ENDANGERED KIDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Four People Charged After Raid on Two Apartments | ||||||||||||||||
Four people have been charged with endangering children after police say they were found smoking pot in the same room as five kids. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
All five children were younger than 10, and two were infants, said
Dreilich. The children were taken into custody by Yellowknife Health
and Social Services Authority. Two of the people charged are parents
of all five children. | ||||||||||||||||
Inhaling marijuana smoke at such a developmental age can lead to
permanent damage, she said. | ||||||||||||||||
The adults were released after giving statements to RCMP, and
promising they would have no contact with the children until the
charges have been dealt with in court. | ||||||||||||||||
Until that time, the children will remain in the hands of Health and
Social Services, said Dreilich. | ||||||||||||||||
"They will make the determination on what's best for the kids and if
that means placement other than in their home, then they certainly
will do that." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(17) N. DAKOTA ISSUES HEMP-GROWING LICENSES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
North Dakota issued the nation's first licenses to grow industrial
hemp to two farmers Tuesday who still must meet federal requirements
before they can plant the crop. | ||||||||||||||||
The farmers must get approval from the Drug Enforcement | ||||||||||||||||
Hemp is a cousin of marijuana that contains trace amounts of the
chemical that causes a marijuana high, though hemp does not produce
the same effects. The sturdy, fibrous plant is used to make products
such as paper and rope. | ||||||||||||||||
Six other states -- Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana and
West Virginia -- have authorized industrial hemp farming, according
to Vote Hemp, an industrial hemp advocacy organization. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Canadian troops may be fighting the Taliban's opium poppies in
Afghanistan, but back home in Alberta this week, farmers are asking
Ottawa for permission to grow the same flower. "They've been growing
it in Australia for 40 years," says Lethbridge researcher Glen
Metzler, and "They've never had any issues" there. Metzler says
Health Canada officials are "stalling." Based on import data,
farmers in Canada are missing out on "$100-million sales potential",
says Metzler. | ||||||||||||||||
On the Atlantic Island-nation of Bermuda, the Bermuda Pharmaceutical
Association is pressing the government to establish needle
exchanges. Prompted by incidents of improperly discarded needles,
Bermudan pharmacists recommended that needle exchanges be run "by
trained professionals... It's better to have dirty needles off the
streets." | ||||||||||||||||
Naltrexone implants, intended to make heroin addicts stay off heroin
by making the drug ineffective, may instead be causing heroin
overdoses, says doctors at the University of New South Wales, in
Australia. "The problem is when you stop using it (naltrexone) you
become sensitive to the effects of heroin, so that even much smaller
doses of heroin than you used to use could be potentially lethal,"
said addiction specialist Nick Lintzeris. | ||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile in Malta, addiction researchers there say it might be time
to try a newly developed cocaine vaccine which keeps (addicts) from
feeling the effects of the drug. The vaccine for cocaine makes it
"attach itself to a larger protein molecule, while at the same time
causing the immune system to recognize and combat it". But such a
vaccine may cause problems for users anyway, as the "high" isn't
completely blocked, possibly causing users to overcome that by
taking an overdose. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(18) BUREAUCRACY STANDS IN WAY OF TURNING POPPIES INTO CASH CROP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The poppies, not unlike those marking Canadian graves in Flanders
fields, would be processed for use by pharmaceutical companies now
importing from Australia. They'd also help reduce a growing shortage
of poppyseeds used making bagels and other foods. | ||||||||||||||||
But Glen Metzler, the Lethbridge researcher who's promoting the new crop, says he's being stalled by Health Canada officials. They need only look to Australia, he adds, to find appropriate regulations to ensure the poppy crop isn't diverted into the drug trade. | ||||||||||||||||
"They've been growing it in Australia for 40 years," he says.
"They've never had any issues." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"Today there's a $100-million sales potential," based on what
Canadian pharmaceutical companies import every year. As well,
Metzler says a global shortage of poppyseed has driven prices up 40
to 50 per cent for Canadian companies making bagels, poppycake or
other baked delicacies. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
It took years to convince federal officials to write regulations for
hemp, Metzler says. But he hopes it won't be that long until poppy
crops are blowing legally on southern Alberta fields. | ||||||||||||||||
"Agriculture is looking for new opportunities, and we're presenting
one," he says. "Now we have to lobby the government. That's what's
holding us up." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) PHARMACISTS PUSH FOR NEEDLE EXCHANGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A syringe exchange programme, allowing drug addicts to exchange
dirty needles for clean ones, has been recommended by the island's
pharmacists. | ||||||||||||||||
They are concerned that addicts are buying diabetic syringes from
pharmacies, using them to 'shoot up' and failing to safely dispose
of them. | ||||||||||||||||
The Bermuda Pharmaceutical Association (BPA) raised the issue after
its members reported a series of incidents involving drug abusers.
The BPA represents roughly 60 island pharmacists. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
What if they are a drug addict and you refuse to sell them a needle
- are you sending them down a road of re-using a dirty needle and
putting themselves and others at risk of disease?" | ||||||||||||||||
These are questions that Ms Flynn and Andrew Daley, the new
president of the BPA who is also championing the cause, would like
to see taken out of pharmacists' hands. | ||||||||||||||||
The BPA is recommending the establishment of a needle-exchange
programme, staffed by trained professionals. | ||||||||||||||||
"Educational resources and counselling have to be made available to
these people so that they have an opportunity to rehabilitate
themselves," Ms Flynn said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"I know this is a very religious island and lots of people might not
think it's a good idea to give needles to drug users but it would be
helping everyone from a public health perspective. | ||||||||||||||||
"It's better to have dirty needles off the streets." | ||||||||||||||||
She said there had been instances where needles had been washed up
on the beach or dumped in the ocean. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Government has yet to comment on the issue, but Health | ||||||||||||||||
What do you think? Would free needles reduce health risks or facilitate drug use? E-mail the editor: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) HEROIN TREATMENT MAY RAISE RISK OF OVERDOSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A CONTROVERSIAL treatment to help drug addicts kick heroin could put
them at risk of fatal overdoses, research has revealed. | ||||||||||||||||
When implanted in the body, naltrexone -- a drug that sends addicts
into immediate withdrawal -- was thought to prevent heroin overdoses
by blocking the effects of opiates. | ||||||||||||||||
But doctors from the Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the
University of NSW found five drug-related deaths among people using
the implants in coronial records. | ||||||||||||||||
Four men and a women, with an average age of 26, died between 2002
and 2004. Two of them were from Victoria. | ||||||||||||||||
Researchers believe some addicts may have taken large doses of
heroin to overcome the "block" effect of the implant. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Addiction specialist Nick Lintzeris, from drug treatment agency
Turning Point, said it was possible some of the deaths had occurred
after naltrexone had worn off. "The problem is when you stop using
it (naltrexone) you become sensitive to the effects of heroin, so
that even much smaller doses of heroin than you used to use could be
potentially lethal," he said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(21) COCAINE VACCINE - TO USE OR NOT TO USE IT? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Although a vaccine for cocaine addiction has been discovered, as with every scientific discovery it is now up to society to choose whether to make use of it or not, said Professor Richard Muscat. | ||||||||||||||||
Prof. Muscat, Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Malta was commissioned by the Pompidou Group to write a paper discussing the implications of the TA-CD vaccine. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The TA-CD vaccine makes ingested cocaine attach itself to a larger
protein molecule, while at the same time causing the immune system
to recognise and combat this larger protein molecule before the
attached cocaine is able to reach the brain. The TA-CD vaccine does
not actually stop someone from wanting to consume cocaine, but it
does inhibit the "high". | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Furthermore, after six months, both those who had relapsed and those
who had not, said that the "high" was not as strong as before taking
the vaccine. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||
02/02/07 - Methamphetamine Conference: Alan Clear, Prof Rick Curtis. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
01/26/07 LEAP member Tony Ryan: "End The War on Drugs" | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
VOTE HEMP EXPOSES ONDCP AND DEA LIES ABOUT HEMP FARMING | ||||||||||||||||
Canadian Govt. Can Tell Difference Between Hemp and Marijuana, Why
Can't the U.S.? | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FROM NEW ORLEANS TO NEWARK | ||||||||||||||||
How are We Going to End the Violence in Our Cities? | ||||||||||||||||
By Asha Bandele and Tony Newman | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
RADIO INTERVIEW WITH HOWARD WOOLDRIDGE OF LEAP | ||||||||||||||||
CHOR AM 770 in Calgary, January 25, 2007. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
AMERICAN JUSTICE : THE SENTENCING OF DUSTIN COSTA | ||||||||||||||||
By Dr. Tom O'Connell | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
THE CANNABINOID CHRONICLES | ||||||||||||||||
Vol. 4, Issue 5, February 2007 | ||||||||||||||||
Medical cannabis news and information. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
A BRAVE NEW WORLD | ||||||||||||||||
One Man's Fight Against Prohibition | ||||||||||||||||
By Danny Kushlick, Director and Co-Founder, | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.tdpf.org.uk/MediaNews_TransformInTheMedia/2006-11-01.htm | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Join Drug Policy Activists For An Online Virtual Conference | ||||||||||||||||
MAP is pleased to announce a new series of Media Activism
Roundtables for 2007. | ||||||||||||||||
We're also happy to unveil the new and improved DrugSense Virtual
Conference Room which now operates with TeamSpeak software hosted
directly on the DrugSense servers. | ||||||||||||||||
Much like the past two years of conferences held using the Paltalk
system, the TeamSpeak program permits participants to interact using
both Text messaging (group chat format) and via live Voice using a
microphone and speakers, or a standard headset. | ||||||||||||||||
Best of all, TeamSpeak functions with ease on all platforms,
including Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems! | ||||||||||||||||
Weekly discussions will cover the latest in current drug policy
reform efforts from around the world with an emphasis on teaching
people how to get increased media coverage in their local
newspapers, radio and television. | ||||||||||||||||
See http://mapinc.org/resource/teamspeak/ | ||||||||||||||||
During the month of February, conferences are scheduled each Tuesday
evening at 9pm EST, 8pm CST, 7pm MST, 6pm PST. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. WAR ON DRUGS ALSO NEEDS AN EXIT STRATEGY | ||||||||||||||||
By Debra S. Wright | ||||||||||||||||
Another person has been shot six times and is dead. He's the latest
casualty in the war. This casualty, however, is not from the war in
Iraq. This casualty is from the war at home, the war on drugs. (
"Undercover officers fatally shoot drug suspect," The Ann Arbor
News, Jan. 24) | ||||||||||||||||
Let's compare them. They're both wars in which the body counts
continue to rise with no clear exit strategies in sight. They're
both wars that our government tries hard to "sell" us, even though
we know the strategies are flawed. They're both wars that many
Americans think we can't win. The stakes, in both, are extremely
high. | ||||||||||||||||
My heart goes out to the families of the soldiers who have bravely
given their lives in Iraq, and to those wounded there. It also goes
out to the family of David Ware, and the many others killed and
wounded in the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
It's time for us to stand up and tell our government that we're not going to tolerate the killings anymore, abroad or at home. Let's look for exit strategies in both wars. The body counts are too high. | ||||||||||||||||
Debra S. Wright, Ypsilanti | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Take Action During Medical Marijuana Week Feb. 12-18 | ||||||||||||||||
By Americans For Safe Access | ||||||||||||||||
To celebrate ten years of safe access to medical cannabis in
California and growing access throughout the country, Americans for
Safe Access (ASA) has organized Medical Marijuana Week 2007. This
will be the fifth annual Medical Marijuana Week, held during the
week of 2/15 to commemorate the passage of Proposition 215,
California's medical cannabis law. | ||||||||||||||||
This year, we are calling on advocates nationwide to take action
every day during this week. Please read on for daily opportunities
to advance safe access to medical cannabis. Celebrate Medical
Marijuana Week with us by educating your community, urging Congress
to protect medical cannabis patients, writing letters to the editor,
and more! | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
For more information about Americans for Safe Access, see
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"Biochemically, falling in love is pretty much like getting
simultaneously smashed on low-dose speed, E, and heroin."
-- Bernie Hobbs | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: | ||||||||||||||||
Please utilize the following URLs | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection
and analysis by Deb Harper (), International
content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (),
Layout by Matt Elrod (). Analysis comments
represent the personal views of editors, and not necessarily the
views of DrugSense. | ||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE | ||||||||||||||||
-OR- | ||||||||||||||||
Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to: | ||||||||||||||||
The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. |
 | current issue | this issue |