| April 16, 2010 #644 | ||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||
(1) A COLLAPSE IN INTEGRITY OF SCIENTIFIC ADVICE IN THE UK (Top) | ||||||||
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Over the past 6 months the UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) - an independent expert body that advises government on drug-related issues - has hardly been out of the headlines. | ||||||||
One sacking and seven resignations is not a good track record for
any organisation. The public's discontent at the ACMD over how it
operates and how it is unduly influenced by government has left a
bitter taste, together with a crisis in confidence about
evidence-based policy making in the UK. | ||||||||
The trouble at the ACMD began in October, 2009, after the controversial sacking of the then chairman, Professor David Nutt for criticising the government's policy over cannabis and ecstasy. | ||||||||
Five more members quit soon after in protest.
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[snip]
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During the past 12 years the Labour Government has done a great deal to build up a strong science base in the UK and enhance the important role that science plays in our economy and society. | ||||||||
However, the events surrounding the ACMD signal a disappointing
finale to the government's relationship with science. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(2) MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUE WILL GO TO PUBLIC ON NOVEMBER BALLOT (Top) | ||||||||
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PHOENIX - It looks like Arizonans are going to get to decide whether they want to be able to use marijuana for medical reasons. | ||||||||
Backers of a plan to let doctors provide written recommendations for
marijuana turned in petitions Wednesday with what they said are
about 252,000 signatures in support of the plan. That is nearly
100,000 more than need to be found valid to put the question on the
November ballot. | ||||||||
If approved, Arizona would become the 15th state in the nation with
a medical marijuana law. | ||||||||
But campaign manager Andrew Myers said what voters are being asked
to approve here would be different. | ||||||||
Of note, he said, there could be no more than 120 dispensaries for
medical marijuana set up in the entire state. And they would have to
operate as nonprofit entities. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(3) MOST CANADIANS STILL SUPPORT DECRIMINALIZATION OF POT: POLL (Top) | ||||||||
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A new poll shows the majority of Canadians support the legalizing of marijuana but not other, hard-core drugs. And nowhere is that support higher than in British Columbia, where more than six in 10 people say having a toke shouldn't earn you a date with the courts. | ||||||||
But the Angus Reid poll, released Thursday, also shows many
Canadians believe there is a serious nationwide drug abuse problem
and 70 per cent want mandatory minimum prison sentences and fines
for drug dealers and marijuana grow operators. | ||||||||
The poll supports the findings of Angus Reid polls in the past that
showed most Canadians believe decriminalization of marijuana
possession is appropriate, but that other illegal drugs should
remain illegal. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(4) MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD OFFERS NO JOB PROTECTION (Top) | ||||||||
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Court Rules That Businesses Can Fire Employees Who Test Positive | ||||||||
A business can fire workers who test positive for marijuana use
despite their having a medical marijuana card, the Oregon Supreme
Court ruled Thursday. | ||||||||
In a 5-2 decision, the court majority said that the state law voters
approved in 1998 does not override a federal law that classifies
marijuana as a drug with no medicinal uses. | ||||||||
"Because employee did not take marijuana under supervision of a
licensed health care professional and because the authorization to
use marijuana found (in state law) is unenforceable, it follows that
employee was currently engaged in the illegal use of drugs," said
the majority opinion written by Justice Rives Kistler. | ||||||||
The opinion did not strike down the 1998 law, which shields the
possession, growing and distribution of specified amounts of medical
marijuana from state criminal liability. Lawmakers have revised it a
couple of times. | ||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||
Some major institutions, or at least their representatives, continue
to challenge drug prohibition. This week, we hear from doctors and
the head of a teachers union. And, another U.S. institution in
Mexico finds the drug war there creeping closer. And, finally, a
good column about the psychology of prohibition that needs to be
overcome. | ||||||||
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(5) HALLUCINOGENS HAVE DOCTORS TUNING IN AGAIN (Top) | ||||||||
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As a retired clinical psychologist, Clark Martin was well acquainted
with traditional treatments for depression, but his own case seemed
untreatable as he struggled through chemotherapy and other grueling
regimens for kidney cancer. Counseling seemed futile to him. So did
the antidepressant pills he tried. | ||||||||
Nothing had any lasting effect until, at the age of 65, he had his
first psychedelic experience. He left his home in Vancouver, Wash.,
to take part in an experiment at Johns Hopkins medical school
involving psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in certain
mushrooms. | ||||||||
Scientists are taking a new look at hallucinogens, which became taboo among regulators after enthusiasts like Timothy Leary promoted them in the 1960s with the slogan "Turn on, tune in, drop out." Now, using rigorous protocols and safeguards, scientists have won permission to study once again the drugs' potential for treating mental problems and illuminating the nature of consciousness. | ||||||||
After taking the hallucinogen, Dr. Martin put on an eye mask and
headphones, and lay on a couch listening to classical music as he
contemplated the universe. | ||||||||
"All of a sudden, everything familiar started evaporating," he
recalled. "Imagine you fall off a boat out in the open ocean, and
you turn around, and the boat is gone. And then the water's gone.
And then you're gone."
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Today, more than a year later, Dr. Martin credits that six-hour
experience with helping him overcome his depression and profoundly
transforming his relationships with his daughter and friends. He
ranks it among the most meaningful events of his life, which makes
him a fairly typical member of a growing club of experimental
subjects. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(6) HEAD OF AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS RANDI WEINGARTEN (Top)SUPPORTS LEGALIZING POT | ||||||||
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Teachers union boss Randi Weingarten thinks it's high time marijuana
is legalized. | ||||||||
Weingarten - head of the American Federation of Teachers and former
president of New York's United Federation of Teachers - came out in
support of a California proposition to legalize pot for personal
use. | ||||||||
"Everything in moderation is pretty much fine," Weingarten said when asked by "Real Time" host Bill Maher whether she'd back the measure. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(7) SMALL BOMB IS THROWN AT U.S. POST IN MEXICO (Top) | ||||||||
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MEXICO CITY - An explosive device hurled over a wall at the United
States Consulate in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo on
Friday night has renewed fears that Mexico's violent drug
trafficking organizations may be focusing their wrath on the
American government, which has backed President Felipe Calderon's
antidrug offensive. | ||||||||
American officials said Saturday that the consulate in Nuevo Laredo and a consular office in nearby Piedras Negras were to be closed indefinitely beginning Monday. The attack, which occurred around 11 p.m. Friday, shattered windows but injured no one, American officials said in a statement on the consulate's Web site. | ||||||||
In Mexico City, federal prosecutors said in a statement on Saturday
that they were reviewing video from security cameras at the
consulate, along with other evidence from the scene. A federal
official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told news services
that the explosive appeared to have been homemade. | ||||||||
The episode follows the shooting deaths last month of three people linked to the United States Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, a border city that has been wracked by drug-related violence recently. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(8) THE PAY-ANY-PRICE PRINCIPLE (Top) | ||||||||
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When choosing between frugality and security, history shows that
America almost always selects the latter. To paraphrase President
Kennedy, we'll pay any price and bear any burden to protect
ourselves. | ||||||||
No doubt this was why the economic case against the Iraq invasion
failed. To many, the war debate seemed to pose a binary question:
debt or mushroom clouds? And when it's a scuffle between money
arguments and security arguments (even dishonest security
arguments), security wins every time. | ||||||||
Call this the Pay-Any-Price Principle -- an axiom that has impacted
all of America's wars, and now, most poignantly, its War on Drugs.
When faced with criticism of budget-busting prosecution and
incarceration costs, law enforcement agencies and private prison
interests have successfully depicted their cause as a willingness to
pay any price to jail dealers of hard narcotics. | ||||||||
Of course, data undermine that story line. In 2008, the FBI reported
that 82 percent of drug arrests were for possession -- not sales or
manufacturing -- and almost half of those arrests were for
marijuana, not hard drugs. | ||||||||
Fortunately, these numbers are seeping into the public
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Considering both the public opinion shift and the facts about
marijuana, this should be the moment that drug policy reformers drop
their budget attacks and flip the security argument on their
opponents -- specifically, by pointing out how safety is actually
compromised by the status quo. | ||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||
The legacy of drug war-related police corruption in another American
city starts to unfold. The violence of the Mexican drug war starts
to hit tourist country. And, in Canada, a disturbing trend toward
U.S.-style drug law enforcement. | ||||||||
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(9) LAW AND DISORDER: PROBE CASTS DARK CLOUD OVER CITY (Top) | ||||||||
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For nine months last year, Ron Mills was locked in the Camden County
Jail. | ||||||||
For nine months he held firm to his story that the drugs he was
charged with possessing didn't exist. | ||||||||
Last month Mills' story was validated when a former Camden police officer admitted in federal court that for more than two years he and four other officers arrested suspects with planted drugs, carried out illegal searches and wrote false arrest reports. | ||||||||
Mills' story, which was detailed by former Patrolman Kevin Parry in
court, is now being laid out in one of a growing number of lawsuits
planned against the city. | ||||||||
As of Friday, lawsuits, or notice of future lawsuits, have been
filed against the city in 10 cases, according to city attorney
Howard McCoach. | ||||||||
"We're gong to be looking at each of these and determining how to
proceed," he said. | ||||||||
McCoach said city officials are discussing the pending lawsuits with
Camden's insurance providers. The city is responsible for all
payouts up to $300,000 -- anything above that is covered by
Meadowbrook Insurance Group. | ||||||||
While opinions differ on the extent of the liability Camden faces in the still unfolding police scandal, most agree it's unlikely the city will escape without settlements in some of the cases. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(10) STREET SHOOTOUT STRIKES FEAR IN ACAPULCO (Top) | ||||||||
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Mexico Under Siege
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As Many As Six People Are Killed As Gunmen Open Fire on Motorists
and Federal Police
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A chaotic shootout Wednesday on a hotel-lined boulevard in the beach
resort city of Acapulco left as many as six people dead, Mexican
authorities said. | ||||||||
Federal police officers patrolling the area came under fire after they heard gunshots and saw attackers shooting at two men in a car, authorities said. The gunmen also shot at other vehicles as they tried to flee, riddling dozens of cars with bullet holes. | ||||||||
The victims included a woman and her 8-year-old daughter. No
tourists appeared to have been killed. A federal officer was also
slain during the shootout with gunmen, which erupted on busy Miguel
Aleman Boulevard, the main tourist drag. | ||||||||
Five people were wounded, according to public safety authorities in
Guerrero state. | ||||||||
The midafternoon gun battle could be heard in nearby hotels.
Hundreds of spent casings from AK-47 assault rifles -- the type
favored by drug-gang hit men -- littered the street. Cars reportedly
crashed into one another as innocent drivers tried to escape the
shooting. | ||||||||
Guests and workers at the beach-side Hotel Playa Suites, next to
where the shooting took place, were rattled by the confusing scene
as police poured into the area. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(11) FORMER TORONTO DRUG SQUAD OFFICERS MUST FACE TRIAL, TOP COURT (Top)RULES | ||||||||
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Five Men Lose Bid To End Corruption Case
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Five former Toronto drug squad officers caught up in a massive
allegation of police corruption must face trial, the Supreme Court
of Canada said Monday. | ||||||||
In a 3-0 ruling, a panel of Supreme Court judges denied the officers
leave to appeal an earlier Ontario Court of Appeal decision that had
rejected a lower-court finding that their right to a speedy trial
had been violated. | ||||||||
The officers - John Schertzer, Steven Correia, Joseph Miched, Ned
Maodus and Raymond Pollard - are charged with falsifying notes,
robbing and beating drug dealers, and conducting illegal searches
between 1997 and 2002. | ||||||||
Monday's decision was an important triumph for Crown counsel Kenneth
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In staying the charges in January, 2008, Mr. Justice Ian Nordheimer
of the Superior Court said that the Crown acted without urgency in
disclosing material to the defence. "The Crown was sitting on its
hands rather than actively assisting the investigation," he said.
Judge Nordheimer cited damage done to the careers, families and
psychological welfare of the officers. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(12) RCMP'S TACTICAL VEHICLE USED TO ACCESS RURAL GROW OP (Top) | ||||||||
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One of the tactical vehicles recently added to the RCMP's arsenal
has been used in a drug raid close to Agassiz. | ||||||||
Last Tuesday, RCMP used their new Tactical Armoured Vehicle, or TAV,
to gain access to a property on Fielder Road, between Agassiz and
Harrison Mills. | ||||||||
Corporal Scott Stoughton says that the use of the vehicle is "a sign
of the times" and that the public will notice the TAV being used
regularly. | ||||||||
"I think the plan, from what I understand, is to use it frequently,"
the Agassiz RCMP member says. | ||||||||
The TAV is based in Chilliwack and will be used in high risk
situations that "meet certain thresholds," he says. | ||||||||
Stoughton wasn't part of the raid on the grow op at 2061 Fielder
Road, but he says that the TAV was needed to gain access to the
property. | ||||||||
Police seized 924 marijuana plants at the property, a loaded .38
caliber hand gun and growing equipment at the property. They
consider it a sophisticated operation, due to the value of the
equipment and number of plants being grown. | ||||||||
[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp
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COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||
California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano remains confident that he will
find a co-sponsor for his Bill that would "regulate, control and tax"
cannabis in November 2010. | ||||||||
Canadian compassion clubs are ill at ease after one of the oldest and
largest clubs in the country was raided by police last week, ending
several years of unofficial detente. | ||||||||
Grim economics continue to make cannabis law reform increasingly
attractive to impoverished state governments. | ||||||||
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the Organica medical marijuana dispensary in Del Rey to stop selling cannabis, finding that California law allows for only non-profit collectives. | ||||||||
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(13) WITHOUT CO-SPONSOR, AMMIANO'S POT BILL LAGGING (Top) | ||||||||
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California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, started a
national conversation by introducing a bill to legalize and tax
marijuana for recreational use in California. In the days afterward,
even Fox News commentator Glenn Beck said, "It is about time we
legalized marijuana."
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While Ammiano's bill, introduced in February, has sparked cable and
blog chatter and supportive editorials from around the world, it
hasn't received a single co-sponsor. He pulled it from a committee
hearing scheduled for late March - he said it was scheduled without
his knowledge - and plans to hold a hearing in late fall or early
winter. The measure is now a two-year bill, giving the freshman
legislator through next year to build support. | ||||||||
Few doubt Ammiano's political bravery in introducing legislation that
challenges one of society's long-standing taboos - he calls it the
"wink-wink" attitude many have toward weed. But is the former stand-up
comedian and first-term legislator representing one of the most
liberal parts of the country the right person to lead the fight for
pot legalization?
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Can a longtime San Francisco supervisor convince his conservative
colleagues from districts that don't have dozens of pot clubs that
they're not taking a political risk by supporting a bill the state
Board of Equalization says could raise more than $1 billion in revenue
for a cash-starved state?
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"Oh, don't underestimate me, pal," Ammiano said. He isn't concerned
about not having co-sponsors so early in the process, especially for a
highly detailed bill that could be reviewed by three different
Assembly committees. Privately, he has been having conversations with
his more conservative colleagues, many of whom he said are telling
him, " 'Great idea - I don't think I can vote for it yet.' I think
they need the assurance of their constituents that they won't be
thrown out of office, which I think would be highly unlikely. They
won't be thrown out of office for this."
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[snip]
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(14) PROTESTERS DEMAND LEGAL ACCESS TO CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||
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Some lit up bongs, some blasted Bob Marley and others waved flags
emblazoned with the marijuana leaf in a Sunday afternoon protest
outside police headquarters to protest the shuttering of Cannabis as
Living Medicine. | ||||||||
Officers raided the Queen St. E. clinic of CALM, an organization that
sells marijuana to medicinal users, on March 31 and charged nine
people with a variety of drug-related offences. | ||||||||
On Sunday, some 300 people took to the street outside police
headquarters to protest the raid and subsequent closure of the clinic,
and to demand that Health Canada make it easier for those with medical
needs to access the drug. | ||||||||
"A lot of people need help from cannabis, but it's hard to get high- quality cannabis," said Neev Tapiero, CALM's owner, adding that the clinic's users have rallied in the wake of the closure. | ||||||||
"Everyone's in great spirits; the community is behind us." | ||||||||
Police officers lined both the north and south sides of the building
behind security fences and shut down part of the street, but no
incidents were reported. | ||||||||
The crowd was a mix, with dreadlock-sporting marijuana legalization
activists rubbing shoulders with sufferers of epilepsy and people with
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, who say the drug helps their
conditions. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(15) SOLVING REVENUE WOES BY LEGALIZING MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||
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The voters of trendsetting California may well decide this November to
legalize marijuana -- there's a ballot referendum, and 56 percent of
Californians are in favor -- and no doubt this would be great news for
the munchie industry, the bootleggers of Grateful Dead music, and the
millions of stoners who have long yearned for an era of reefer
gladness. | ||||||||
Seriously, this is a story about how desperate times require desperate
measures. | ||||||||
Legalization advocates, including many ex-cops and ex-prosecutors,
have long contended that it's nuts to keep criminalizing otherwise
law-abiding citizens while wasting $8 billion a year in law
enforcement costs. That argument has never worked. But the new
argument, cleverly synced to the recession mind-set, may well herald a
new chapter in the history of pot prohibition. | ||||||||
It's simple, really: State governments awash in red ink can solve some
of their revenue woes by legalizing marijuana for adults and slapping
it with a sin tax. | ||||||||
So much of the marijuana debate used to be about morality; now it's
mostly about economics and practicality -- which is why New Hampshire,
Massachusetts and Rhode Island are also floating measures to legalize
and tax; why similar voter referendums are in the works in Washington
state and Oregon; why 14 states (including, most recently, New Jersey)
have legalized medical marijuana, and why even Pennsylvania, hardly a
pacesetting state, is weighing the sanction of medical pot, complete
with 6 percent sales tax. | ||||||||
But California is the likeliest lab for a massive toke tax, given its dire financial straits and the fact that marijuana is the state's top cash crop, racking up an estimated $14 billion in annual sales -- twice as much as the No. 2 agricultural commodity, milk and cream. | ||||||||
[snip]
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The bottom line is that public support for legalizing the crop has been building for a very long time. Gallup found only 12 percent of Americans in favor back in 1969, but 31 percent said yes in 2000, 36 percent said yes in 2005, and 44 percent said yes in 2009. | ||||||||
The economic crisis has put wind behind the sentiment, and it seems
inevitable that there will come a day -- perhaps in the next major
recession -- when a presidential candidate will find it perfectly
politic to speechify about the audacity of dope. | ||||||||
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(16) DISPENSARY BARRED FROM SELLING MEDICAL POT (Top) | ||||||||
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In a Preliminary Order Against a Venice-Area Outlet, Judge Says State
Law Does Not Allow Sales by Collectives
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In a second ruling against a medical marijuana dispensary, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday that bars a popular Venice-area outlet from selling or distributing the drug at its sprawling store on Washington Boulevard. | ||||||||
The decision by Judge James C. Chalfant could embolden city
prosecutors to seek more court orders to close dispensaries as they
try to find the most efficient way to reduce the number in Los
Angeles. As he did in a previous case, Chalfant concluded that the
state's medical marijuana laws do not allow collectives to sell
cannabis. | ||||||||
Chalfant's decisions are preliminary orders and both cases are slated
to go to trial. But his rulings against Hemp Factory V in Eagle Rock
and Organica, which straddles the Los Angeles-Culver City line, could
eventually force the courts to settle the issue, which has become
increasingly contentious as prosecutors in Southern California step up
efforts to halt such sales. | ||||||||
Most, if not all, collectives sell marijuana to their members for set
prices. | ||||||||
In the hearing, Chalfant strongly reiterated his view that the state's
laws were intended to allow medical marijuana patients and caregivers
to form collectives to grow pot together and share the harvest, but
not to sell it like a product in a retail store. "Maybe I am too old,
but those of us who grew up in the 1960s know what a collective is,"
he said. | ||||||||
Asha Greenberg, the assistant Los Angeles city attorney who is handling the case, said Chalfant's decision should make it clear to the city's dispensaries that selling marijuana is illegal. | ||||||||
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley and Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich have pressed that view. Dispensary operators and their advocates, including Americans for Safe Access, the nation's main advocacy group for medical marijuana, have insisted that the two prosecutors are misinterpreting the law and recent court decisions. | ||||||||
[snip]
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International News
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COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||
As we close the international news section our thanks to Doug Snead
for his analysis over the years. The drug war outside the United
States should be of concern to the reform community, as the
following articles indicate. - Richard Lake
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(17) DRUG WAR TOLL TOPS 22,000 (Top) | ||||||||
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The Tally, Based on Official Mexican Figures, Is Higher Than
Previously Reported
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The death toll from the Mexican government's three-year war on drug
cartels is far higher than previously reported -- more than 22,000,
according to news reports published Tuesday that cited confidential
government figures. | ||||||||
The figure is significantly higher than tallies assembled by Mexican
media. They estimate that more than 18,000 people have died since
President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against
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The unofficial media tallies have often been cited by foreign news
outlets, including The Times. | ||||||||
The government has seldom released official counts of those killed
in the skyrocketing violence, which stems largely from fighting
between rival drug-trafficking groups. | ||||||||
The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that it was preparing to make its count public, but it had not issued its report by the evening. | ||||||||
The daily Reforma newspaper first published the toll number, which
it said was contained in a confidential file that top security
officials gave federal senators during a hearing Monday. The
Associated Press, which said it had gained access to the report,
said the total given was 22,700. | ||||||||
The figures present a starker picture than previously known of the
violence that has buffeted the country, especially along the U.S.
border and in drug-smuggling corridors. | ||||||||
Last year was the deadliest since the Calderon anti-crime offensive
began, with 8,928 people killed, according to Reforma. So far this
year, 2,904 people have died, the newspaper said. The AP said the
report put the toll at 9,635 last year and 3,365 in January through
March this year. It was unclear why there were discrepancies in the
report's figures. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(18) SPIKE IN HEPATITIS C CASES RAISES HIV FEARS (Top) | ||||||||
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Health officials hope providing clean needles and crack pipes to
addicts will reduce an expected spike in the number of central
Vancouver Island residents who contract HIV. | ||||||||
A relatively high number of people suffering with hepatitis C in the
region could be a sign that a surge in HIV is on its way, said Dr.
Lorna Medd, medical health officer with the Vancouver Island Health
Authority. | ||||||||
Central Vancouver Island's HIV rate was at 4.9 cases per 100,000 in
2008, well below the provincial rate of 7.9, according to BC Centre
for Disease Control statistics. But the region has among the highest
rates of hepatitis C in the province at 87.6. The B.C. rate was just
55.8 in 2008. | ||||||||
VIHA has said it plans on having sterile needles and other drug
paraphernalia available at front-line health care centres. About 12
sites in Nanaimo have been shortlisted, but final selections won't
be made until sometime this summer. | ||||||||
"The HIV rates tend to follow the Hep C rates," said Medd. "We think
we're in a window, and if we're able to get in with good harm
reduction support and safety supplies, we could prevent some cases
of HIV."
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Other social service providers are glad VIHA is looking at further
harm reduction strategies, but say more education and other supports
are needed to best tackle such problems. Both HIV and hepatitis C, a
virus that attacks the liver, can be spread by sharing needles and
crack-cocaine pipes. | ||||||||
Medd said that past experiences with areas such as Vancouver's
drug-riddled Downtown Eastside have shown health officials that when
hepatitis C cases are up, HIV cases are usually not far behind.
Often, there is a two-to-three-year lag before the two statistics
stabilize. | ||||||||
[snip]
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(19) AFRICA'S DRUG PROBLEM (Top) | ||||||||
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On the tarmac of Osvaldo Vieira, the international airport of the
West African coastal country of Guinea-Bissau, sits a once-elegant
Gulfstream jet, which in the normal course of events would have no
reason to land in a country with no business opportunities and
virtually no economy. | ||||||||
In recent years, however, Guinea-Bissau has emerged as a nodal point
in three-way cocaine-trafficking operations linking producers in
South America with users in Europe; the value of the cocaine that
transits this small and heartbreakingly impoverished country dwarfs
its gross national product. | ||||||||
The Gulfstream arrived unexpectedly from Venezuela on July 12, 2008,
and taxied to a hangar at the adjacent military airbase - where
soldiers formed a line and unloaded its contents. | ||||||||
The contents, reportedly more than a half-ton of cocaine, vanished. | ||||||||
The crew was arrested and released.
| ||||||||
The army permitted the government to impound the plane only after
several days. Since then, the plane has sat in the harsh sun, a
reminder of Guinea-Bissau's helplessness before forces far more
powerful than itself. | ||||||||
The most evident of those forces are South American crime syndicates with billions of dollars at their disposal and new markets to explore. But the dynamic before which Guinea-Bissau and its neighbors along the West African coast are truly helpless is globalization, which ensures that producers will find a way to deliver all things insatiably desired, whether good or bad. West Africa, which neither produces nor consumes significant quantities of cocaine, is a victim of changes in global supply and demand. | ||||||||
Partly because of heightened American and South American efforts in
recent years, the flow of cocaine to the United States diminished.
Traffickers increasingly turned to Europe, where cocaine use grew
significantly over the last decade. European law-enforcement
officials responded by cracking down on air and maritime routes from
South America. And the traffickers in turn adapted by establishing
the West Africa connection. | ||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
(20) JUAREZ VIOLENCE (Top) | ||||||||
| ||||||||
Street Gangs Responsible for Killings, Mayor Says
| ||||||||
AUSTIN -- Street gangs, not drug cartels, are behind most murders in
Juarez these days, the city's mayor said Monday. | ||||||||
Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz told a crowd of more than 100 people
at the University of Texas at Austin that law enforcement efforts
have made it more difficult for drug cartels to transport cocaine
into the United States. | ||||||||
He said the increased patrols forced the cartels to find alternate
routes. That, he said, created a separate battle between Juarez
gangs that are now hunting for additional income. | ||||||||
"For the most part, the killings between the Sinaloa cartel and the
Juarez cartel have ceased in Juarez," Reyes Ferriz said. He blamed
the majority of the 2,600 killings in the city during the past year
on the feud between warring gangs. | ||||||||
He said the Aztecas and their rivals the Mexicles and Artistas
Asesinos (Artists Assassins) are now fighting for control of the
retail distribution of drugs in Juarez. The Aztecas are linked to
the Juarez cartel, and the Mexicles and Artistas Asesinos are linked
to the Sinaloa cartel. | ||||||||
Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in Juarez since 2008. | ||||||||
[snip]
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||
10 RULES FOR DEALING WITH THE POLICE AVAILABLE ONLINE
| ||||||||
Flex Your Rights has made their new film, 10 Rules for Dealing with
Police, available for free on YouTube. | ||||||||
For more information see:
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
WILL CALIFORNIA LEGALIZE MARIJUANA?
| ||||||||
Q&A With Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, Who Wants to do Just That. | ||||||||
http://reason.com/blog/2010/04/13/reasontv-will-california-legal | ||||||||
| ||||||||
MAJORITY OF CANADIANS WOULD LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, BUT NOT OTHER DRUGS
| ||||||||
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,010
Canadian adults, two-in-five respondents (42%, -2 since May 2008)
believe Canada has a serious drug abuse problem that affects the whole
country. | ||||||||
| ||||||||
HOW LOS ANGELES BECAME THE "WILD WEST" OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
| ||||||||
By Brian Doherty
| ||||||||
How Los Angeles became the medical marijuana capital of America
thanks to a combination of entrepreneurial energy and benign
political neglect.
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
SMOKE A JOINT, LOSE YOUR COUNTRY
| ||||||||
Rigid deportation rules make a mockery of justice. | ||||||||
By Jacob Sullum
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
ETHAN NADELMANN TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS
| ||||||||
DPA Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann testified before Congress this week about the future of the ONDCP. His recommendations for the agency included adding a focus on harm reduction and establishing a mechanism to independently evaluate effectiveness. Read his written testimony. | ||||||||
Watch a webcast of the hearing here:
| ||||||||
Read Ethan Nadelmann's written testimony here:
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
'JUST SAY NO' JUST DOESN'T WORK: YOUTH
| ||||||||
National Student Organization Forms New Anti-Drug Website | ||||||||
A national youth and student drug reform organization says young
Canadians don't put much stock in the federal government's anti-drug
approach, so it has created a new website it says may better educate
young people about the risks they take by using drugs. | ||||||||
Canadian Students for a Sensible Drug Policy designed
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
HOW STANISLAV GROF HELPED LAUNCH A NEW PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCH ERA
| ||||||||
By Alexander Zaitchik
| ||||||||
The world of medicine may finally be ready to catch back up with psychedelic pioneers, whose work was rejected a half-century ago. | ||||||||
| ||||||||
PSYCHEDELIC RENAISSANCE
| ||||||||
MAPS' role in the psychedelic renaissance is featured in Playboy
magazine, including a lengthy and detailed interview with Rick
Doblin, Ph.D.
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
DRUG TRUTH NETWORK
| ||||||||
Century of Lies - 04/11/10 - Jeff Blackburn
| ||||||||
Jeff Blackburn, Dir of Innocence Project of Texas + Loretta Nall
of Alabamians for Compassionate Care
| ||||||||
Cultural Baggage Radio Show - 04/11/10 - Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn | ||||||||
Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn, Dir of Clergy Against Prohibition + DEA bust of 16 year old, Chris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access | ||||||||
| ||||||||
NORML REMEMBERS `THE HEMPEROR' JACK HERER
| ||||||||
By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||
WRITE A LETTER
| ||||||||
Whiffs Of Change
| ||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
DON'T JUST SMOKE A JOINT ON 4/20
| ||||||||
Take Action Against Marijuana Prohibition
| ||||||||
By Bill Piper
| ||||||||
Stand up today with other Americans and get the word out there. This
war will end; how soon depends, in part, on you.
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||
LEGALIZATION MAY END THE NARCOTIC WARS
| ||||||||
By Kirk Muse
| ||||||||
I'm writing about your not-so-thoughtful editorial: "Legalization
wouldn't end narcotics wars" (April 3, 2010). Ending alcohol
prohibition got rid of the alcohol cartels. | ||||||||
When is the last time the Albany Democrat-Herald had a story about
alcohol merchants settling scores with their competitors with gun
battles in the streets?
| ||||||||
Probably 1933, the year we ended the disaster known as alcohol
prohibition. | ||||||||
Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz.
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - MARCH (Top) | ||||||||
DrugSense recognizes Stan White of Dillon, Colorado for his ten
letters published during March, bringing his career total that we
know of to 680. | ||||||||
You may read Stan's published letters by clicking this link:
http://www.mapinc.org/writers/Stan+White
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||
Transforming the DrugSense Weekly
| ||||||||
By Richard Lake
| ||||||||
On Independence Day, 1997, the first DrugSense Weekly was published
on line and distributed via email. Today, our 644th issue is our
last in the current format. | ||||||||
Today we transform the DrugSense Weekly into a blog. As a blog we
will be able to keep you updated on a continuous basis rather than
just once a week. | ||||||||
Two features will continue to be published on a periodic basis - the
Letter Of The Week and Letter Writer Of The Month. | ||||||||
As a blog will be able to point to and comment on news worthy of
attention faster. The same applies to items formerly featured in Hot
Off The 'Net and What You Can Do This Week. | ||||||||
Thank You to all who contributed to the DrugSense Weekly over all
the years!
| ||||||||
Starting a blog in place of the DrugSense Weekly will be a new
experience. There will likely be some rough edges as the blog
evolves in the weeks ahead. We hope you will bookmark the link to
the blog and check in frequently. | ||||||||
Richard Lake is Senior Editor of MAP.
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||
"He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery." -- Harold Wilson | ||||||||
| ||||||||
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 (), This Just In selection by
Richard Lake () and Stephen Young, International
content selection and analysis by Richard Lake (),
Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis, Hot Off The Net
selection and Layout by Matt Elrod ().
Analysis comments represent the personal views of editors, 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. | ||||||||
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