| Feb. 5, 2010 #635 |
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- * Breaking News (02/05/10)
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- * This Just In
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(1) Massacre Response Fails To Convince
(2) State Rep. Introduces Medical Marijuana Bill
(3) Museum Exhibit Studies Plight Of The Homeless
(4) Cannabis Expo In Berlin Saturday
- * Weekly News in Review
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Drug Policy-
COMMENT: (5-9)
(5) Catholic Charities To Give Syringes To Drug Users
(6) In Defense Of Martha
(7) Pre-Concert Ale Bust Gets Review
(8) Most Crime In Hawaii Linked To Drugs, Says Law Agency Official
(9) Lines Drawn Over Pot Use
Law Enforcement & Prisons-
COMMENT: (10-13)
(10) Court Told Of Possible Origin Of DNA On A Police Baton
(11) Stopping Drugs At Sea
(12) Former Deputy Found Guilty, Taken To Jail
(13) Closing Arguments Today In Barraza Trial
Cannabis & Hemp-
COMMENT: (14-17)
(14) Duo Pushes Rhode Island To Decriminalize Pot
(15) Marijuana Too Damaging To Be Legalized
(16) Pot Haze Invites Raid On Nelson Bus
(17) Banks Wary Of Marijuana-Dispensary Accounts
International News-
COMMENT: (18-21)
(18) What's Spanish For Quagmire? Reassessing Mexico's War On Drugs
(19) More Than A Dozen Die In Juarez Massacre
(20) Report Touts Needle Exchange
(21) Minister Has Switched Sides On Sentencing
- * Hot Off The 'Net
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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is / Pete Guither
CIA Misled Congress / Drug War Chronicle
Drug Truth Network
Drug Czar Should Go / Timothy Lynch
Michael Douglas's Son Faces More Time Than A Murderer Or A Rapist
Businesses Should Stay On Marijuana's Good Side / Mason Tvert
The Other War That Isn't Covered By Obama's Spending Freeze
What Young San Franciscans Think Of Legalizing Pot In San Francisco
Cannabiz
Award-Winning Ibogaine Researcher Howard Lotsof Dies At 66
- * What You Can Do This Week
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Write A Letter
Scientific Survey: Ever Been In The Military? Ever Used Cannabis?
Help Make The Senate Pay Attention
- * Letter Of The Week
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Religious Freedom & Cannabis / Trevor Douglas
- * Feature Article
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Open Letter to Change.org / Mary Jane Borden
- * Quote of the Week
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John F. Kennedy
DrugSense needs your support to continue this newsletter and many
other important projects - see how you can help at
http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
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THIS JUST IN
(Top)
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(1) MASSACRE RESPONSE FAILS TO CONVINCE
(Top) |
| Source: | Los Angeles Times (CA)
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| Copyright: | 2010 Los Angeles Times
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| Author: | Ken Ellingwood, Reporting from Mexico City
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Mexico Under Siege
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Officials' Suggestions That Youths Slain at a Juarez Teen Party Had
Drug Ties Enrage Relatives.
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Last weekend's massacre of at least 15 people at a teen party in
Ciudad Juarez was horrifying enough.
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Then the authorities got involved.
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Mexican officials have issued sketchy and conflicting information,
including a death toll that went down. They initially said they were
at a loss to explain why gunmen would open fire on decent kids in a
private home. Then they produced a suspect who said the attack was
part of a feud between drug-trafficking gangs, suggesting that at
least some of those targeted weren't so decent after all.
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When family members exploded with indignation, authorities
backpedaled.
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To understand why so many Mexicans lack trust in their country's law
enforcement system, the brutal killings -- and the clumsy response
by authorities -- offer a handy Exhibit A.
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The Juarez case has already become a political hot potato, with
parents of the victims calling for the resignation of President
Felipe Calderon, and politicians across the spectrum jabbing fingers
at one another amid the early phases of an election season.
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The Senate said it would summon top officials to explain the
Calderon administration's public safety strategy and the latest
Juarez violence. There have been calls for a state of emergency in
Juarez and even a plea for U.N. peacekeepers.
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The loudest voices have been those of fed-up Juarez residents who
say the authorities have added insult to their grief.
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"I can assure you my nephews were good kids, students. My nephews
weren't into drugs, they didn't belong to any gang," Patricia
Davila, the aunt of two victims, said by telephone from Juarez.
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"We're angry with the authorities because so far we don't see any
solution to what happened. On the contrary, now they're staining the
image of these kids by saying they're mixed up in gangs. It makes a
mockery of the pain of the parents, of us relatives."
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[snip]
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(2) STATE REP. INTRODUCES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL
(Top) |
| Source: | Morning Sun, The (KS)
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| Copyright: | 2010 GateHouse Media, Inc.
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TOPEKA - On Thursday, a Wichita lawmaker introduced a bill that
would create state-registered "compassionate care centers" allowing
for people suffering from chronic illness who have a doctor's
prescription to receive medical marijuana.
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State Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, brought up the bill to legalize
marijuana for people with prescriptions.
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"Mine is kind of personal," Finney said. "I am a lupus patient and I
have been through the treatment and I have met a lot of people with
chronic conditions. One of the reasons I ran was because I wanted to
be an advocate for those people."
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According to The Associated Press, Rep. Scott Schwab, a Republican
from Olathe, opposes the measure saying: "It has no benefit for pain
management. All it does is make you crave another bag of chips."
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Kansas is the 14th state to introduce similar measures. The Maryland
Legislature is currently looking into the issue as well.
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[snip]
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(3) MUSEUM EXHIBIT STUDIES PLIGHT OF THE HOMELESS
(Top) |
| Source: | Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ)
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| Copyright: | 2010 Courier-Post
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| Author: | Kim Mulford, Courier-Post Staff
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In 1994, Phillipe Bourgois started hanging out with the homeless
heroin users and crack smokers who lived in an encampment six blocks
from his home.
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Then an anthropology professor at San Francisco State University,
Bourgois wanted to answer a basic question: "Should I be giving them
a quarter every time I see them?"
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Introduced by a needle-exchange activist, Bourgois immediately was
welcomed in.
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"I told them I was an anthropology professor interested in writing
about their lives and, boom, they loved that idea," said Bourgois,
who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania and is now studying
the Puerto Rican community in a drug-ravaged neighborhood in North
Philadelphia.
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"Because when you stop and think about it, they want to be taken
seriously," said Bourgois. "They want to be treated with respect and
they believe they have a lot to tell the rest of the country."
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Bourgois and his research partner, Jeff Schonberg, spent 12 years on
the project, which culminated in a book and now an exhibit at the
Penn Museum in Philadelphia titled "Righteous Dopefiend:
Homelessness, Addiction and Poverty in Urban America."
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[snip]
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(4) CANNABIS EXPO IN BERLIN SATURDAY
(Top) |
| Source: | Oshkosh Northwestern (WI)
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| Copyright: | 2010 Gannett Co., Inc.
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| Author: | Patricia Wolff, of The Northwestern
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BERLIN - The timing may be a little off for a hemp and cannabis expo
in Berlin Saturday, coming on the heels of a major drug bust of some
30 illegal drug manufacturers and dealers in the city, but the
coordinators of the event make no apologies.
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The T.H.C Expo is being held to tout the wonders of medical
marijuana and the economic potential of hemp farming.
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"We planned this before the big drug bust," said Narin Selthofner of
Green Lake.
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Selthofner and her activist husband Jay Selthofner helped plan the
exposition at the public library to put the spotlight on the
benefits of the cannabis plant as medicine and an agricultural crop.
Green Lake, Dodge and Fond du Lac counties were once important
hemp-growing areas and the plant still grows wild in the region,
Narin Selthofner said.
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The T.H.C Expo, which stands for Talking Hemp and Cannabis, aims to
"openly and honestly" discuss the Medical Marijuana Act and the hemp
farming bill being debated this year by state lawmakers, she said.
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Hemp can be used to produce non-toxic diesel fuel, clothing and
textiles, cosmetics, paints and cleaners, paper and building
materials. An important part of the local economy was stifled when
the federal government banned hemp cultivation, Narin Selthofner
said.
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[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
(Top)
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Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-9)
(Top) |
Catholic Charities in Albany, New York understands that needle
exchanges work, so they are starting new programs in the city. While
that organization seems to "get it," elsewhere, the disconnect
between policies and responses continues. As one observer from
Massachusetts noted, the defeat of Martha Coakley for U.S. Senate
may have had much to do with her contempt for voters and supporters
of drug reform as she served as the state's attorney general. In
North Carolina, drug agents apparently don't understand how much
damage they have done to a local concert venue by performing a drug
sweep (including backstage) before a Willie Nelson show - though
other officials are starting to get the picture. And in Hawaii, the
drug war causes problems that authorities perceive as drug problems,
while citizens demand voter initiated changes in policy actually be
implemented. Will those demands fall on deaf ears?
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(5) CATHOLIC CHARITIES TO GIVE SYRINGES TO DRUG USERS
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Fri, 29 Jan 2010
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| Source: | Times Union (Albany, NY)
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| Copyright: | 2010 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
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| Author: | Paul Grondahl, Staff writer
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Church Agency's Needle Exchange Aims to Cut Disease Risk
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ALBANY-- After 20 years of alleviating suffering for people touched
by AIDS, Catholic Charities will take one of its boldest steps yet
on Monday: passing out free syringes to IV drug users in two urban
neighborhoods to prevent the spread of the disease.
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Anticipating criticism, the social services agency of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Albany spent five years planning and vetting the
needle exchange program, which received approval from its trustees
and board chairman, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard.
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"I understand there will be questions, but this is common sense,"
said Sister Maureen Joyce, CEO of Catholic Charities. "I strongly
believe in this. It will save lives."
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Organizers have met with neighborhood associations, drug users,
police, prosecutors and AIDS activists. The program, called Project
Safe Point, is supported by Albany County District Attorney David
Soares, the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York and local public
health officials.
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The anonymity of those who use the free service will be maintained.
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[snip]
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(6) IN DEFENSE OF MARTHA
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Wed, 27 Jan 2010
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| Source: | Daily News Tribune (Waltham, MA)
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| Copyright: | 2010 GateHouse Media, Inc.
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By Richard M. Evans
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As a Main Street lawyer, I rise in defense of Martha Coakley, who is
not to blame for her inglorious defeat. Instead, blame belongs to
Mike Capuano, the progressive and likeable congressman from
Somerville who lost to her in the Democratic primary. But for a
gross political miscalculation, he might well have been the
Democratic nominee, with dramatically different results for
Massachusetts and the nation.
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* In November of 2008, slightly over a year ago, Massachusetts
voters elected Barrack Obama by 62%, and passed an initiative to
decriminalize marijuana by 65%. (Yes, 65%!
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* Martha Coakley, long-resistant to marijuana reform, led a phalanx
of prosecutors and law enforcement officials in opposition to the
initiative. After the landslide victory for decriminalization, she
resolutely stood her ground and encouraged cities and towns to pass
new anti-pot ordinances, usually at the behest of local police,
confident that her judgment was superior to that of the voters.
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* As a congressman, Rep. Capuano co-sponsored a federal marijuana
decriminalization bill, but hardly mentioned it in the campaign. Not
once did he question Martha's support for prohibition. Not once did
he challenge her to explain why otherwise law-abiding people ought
to be arrested and have their lives ruined for a small amount of
pot. He totally failed to mention (or perhaps notice) that he and
65% of the voters opposed Martha on this issue.
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Why didn't Mike Capuano reach out to the voters who already agreed
with him? Why didn't he press Martha on an issue where she was
already proven to be on the losing side? Why did he ignore the huge
body of voters who shared his support for decriminalization? In
short, why didn't he seize the low-hanging fruit?
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[snip]
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(7) PRE-CONCERT ALE BUST GETS REVIEW
(Top) |
| Source: | News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
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| Copyright: | 2010 The News and Observer Publishing Company
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The Duplin County district attorney has asked state Alcohol Law
Enforcement agents to provide him with detailed reports on the
alcohol and moonshine bust last week that netted six members of the
Willie Nelson entourage. District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Monday
that he had heard many complaints since Thursday, when the entourage
members were cited outside the Duplin County Events Center for
possession of a half-ounce or less of marijuana and three-fourths of
a quart of moonshine.
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Some have questioned why 14 ALE agents were sent to work the Willie
Nelson concert with Duplin County sheriff's deputies and Kenansville
police.
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Others have complained that such raids will keep other bands and
musicians from booking the $13 million events center in the small
town of Kenansville. "A lot of these events centers are in the red
to begin with," said Hudson, a prosecutor for three decades.
"There's a lot of people wondering, 'Why did you do this to begin
with?' I'm trying to make sure everything has been done
appropriately."
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Nelson, the maverick country music star with the reputation of being
a longtime pot smoker, was scheduled to play Thursday night before a
crowd of 3,000. But an hour before the show, ALE agents and local
law enforcement officers fanned out across the events center grounds
and ended up citing 14 people with 25 violations. Nelson's bass
player, Dan Edward "Bee" Spears, 60, of Franklin, Tenn., was cited
on a tour bus where many of the citations were issued. Five
production crew members were also cited. John Duane Vogt, the
general manager of the events center, and Donald Farrior, an
assistant from Kenansville, were cited by ALE agents for interfering
with the investigation.
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[snip]
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(8) MOST CRIME IN HAWAII LINKED TO DRUGS, SAYS LAW AGENCY OFFICIAL
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Sat, 30 Jan 2010
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| Source: | Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
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| Copyright: | 2010 The Honolulu Advertiser
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Authorities say the death of 23-month-old Cyrus Belt, whose accused
killer was high on crystal meth, along with virtually every adult in
the toddler's life, highlights the major role illegal drugs play in
many crimes - from murders to thefts - in the Islands.
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Witnesses detailed in court this week the crystal meth use by not
only accused killer Matthew Higa, but by Belt's mother, Nancy
Chanco, her live-in boyfriend, her father and Higa's father.
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Authorities say the case is a stark example of how drugs are linked
to crime, and they're warning residents that though the crystal meth
problem is not at the epidemic proportions it once was, it remains a
factor in many crimes.
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"We still have an immense problem" with meth, said city Prosecutor
Peter Carlisle.
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Authorities have estimated that as much as two-thirds of all law
enforcement investigations in Hawai'i are drug-related.
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"Most of the crime that we see in Hawai'i, including the violent
crime, is associated with drug abuse or drug trafficking," said
Larry Burnett, director of the Hawai'i High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area program, a partnership of law-enforcement agencies.
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[snip]
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(9) LINES DRAWN OVER POT USE
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Wed, 03 Feb 2010
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| Source: | Hawaii Tribune Herald (Hilo, HI)
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| Copyright: | 2010 Hawaii Tribune Herald
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A County Council committee heard from about two dozen people Tuesday
night who testified that police are ignoring the voter-passed
initiative making adult personal use of marijuana the lowest
law-enforcement priority.
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The committee on Public Safety and Parks and Recreation received and
filed a request from Police Commission Chairman Thomas Whittemore to
review and rectify what he called ambiguities in the initiative
passed into law by almost 58 percent of the island's voters in
November 2008.
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Adam Lehman, one of the authors of the so-called "Peaceful Sky"
ordinance, took exception to Whittemore's reference to ambiguities.
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"The only thing ambiguous about this new law is the lack of
willingness by some county members to honor the will of the people,"
Lehman testified. "This statement that was made by the chair of the
police commission that the county wasn't allowed to, quote, clean up
the language, unquote. How insulting to the people you serve. This
language is clean. The minds of those who are not willing to accept
this law is what needs cleaning up."
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The law makes adult use and possession of 24 or fewer ounces of
cannabis on private property, or the cultivation 24 or fewer plants,
the lowest law-enforcement priority. It also directs the council not
to accept money related to marijuana eradication.
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Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong, the committee's chairman, asked
county Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida if the law prohibits the
police "from accepting funding for marijuana eradication."
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"It prevents the acceptance ... yes, in regards to the lowest
law-enforcement priority," Ashida replied.
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Yagong said that he perceives a "disconnect" between voters and law
enforcement over the issue.
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[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons
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COMMENT: (10-13)
(Top) |
A police brutality trial continues in New York, while delusional
failure from both the Coast Guard and DEA are publicized as heroic
by Parade Magazine. And, as usual, corruption remains an integral
part of the drug war.
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(10) COURT TOLD OF POSSIBLE ORIGIN OF DNA ON A POLICE BATON
(Top) |
| Source: | New York Times (NY)
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| Copyright: | 2010 The New York Times Company
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A baton that the authorities seized from Officer Richard Kern
contained a trace of blood in a mix of genetic material that
possibly included that of a Brooklyn man he is charged with sexually
abusing in 2008, an expert witness testified on Wednesday.
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The witness, Sarah Philipps, a DNA specialist with the medical
examiner's office, gave that conclusion in State Supreme Court in
Brooklyn on the day prosecutors wrapped up their case against three
police officers who are accused in an attack on the man, Michael
Mineo. One of the lawyers for the officers immediately called the
finding "meaningless."
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The DNA evidence was seen as one of several critical components of
the prosecution's case against the three officers. Prosecutors
charge that on Oct. 15, 2008, as several police officers were
arresting Mr. Mineo, whom they had seen smoking marijuana, Officer
Kern sodomized him with his baton. Two other officers, Alex Cruz and
Andrew Morales, are charged with crimes related to covering up the
abuse.
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The prosecution is also relying on testimony given by another police
officer who said that he saw Officer Kern jab his baton between Mr.
Mineo's buttocks, and on the testimony of medical experts, who have
said that Mr. Mineo's injuries could have been caused by trauma from
the baton.
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Ms. Philipps said that she retrieved the blood and DNA by swabbing
the retractable portion of Officer Kern's baton, including the tip.
The DNA on the baton came from at least three "contributors," she
said.
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[snip]
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(11) STOPPING DRUGS AT SEA
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Sun, 31 Jan 2010
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| Copyright: | 2010 Parade Publications
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The U.S. Coast Guard Patrols 6 Million Miles of Ocean to Find
Cocaine Smugglers
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Every day, a high-stakes battle affecting the security and
well-being of millions of Americans is played out far off our
shores. The conflict occurs across more than 6 million square miles
of ocean--an area larger than the size of the contiguous United
States--where smugglers transport cocaine and other illegal drugs
from South America. Their cargo is ultimately intended for sale in
our cities and towns---but not if the U.S. Coast Guard stops it
first.
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[snip]
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Unfortunately, the men had dumped their entire cargo, evidence that
the authorities would need to prove they were smuggling cocaine. The
Sherman reached the scene by 11 p.m., and all hands were called up
on deck. Crew members hung over the railings, using searchlights and
handheld floodlights to scour the water for bales. Thirteen were
eventually recovered, but Cmdr. Patrick St. John, the Sherman's
executive officer, estimated twice the amount had sunk to the ocean
floor. Thanks to that one bust, over $50 million worth of cocaine
would not be reaching American streets. When Dechmerowski was told
the figure, she was astounded and said, "Everyone has a calling in
life, and I am finally serving a good purpose." Hours later,
Panamanian authorities arrived to take away the suspects and the
evidence. The boat's captain, Dionisio Beltran, turned out to be a
much-wanted reputed smuggler.
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On its fall patrol, the Sherman's crew made several other big
scores, halting a fishing boat holding 4885 pounds of cocaine and
five other go fasts that Dechmerowski disabled by shooting out their
engines. In total, the Sherman interdicted an estimated $1.3 billion
worth of cocaine in 10 weeks.
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Despite these successes, Haycock acknowledged that the flow of
cocaine to the U.S. is never ending. "We're stopping drugs," he
said, "but we'd be even more effective with more modern equipment."
(The Coast Guard received $1.2 billion for drug interdiction in
2009.) One good sign: Cocaine's street price in our country has
recently doubled, said the DEA's Nicholas Kolen, which shows that
some of the traffickers' supply lines have been disrupted by
antidrug patrols.
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[snip]
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(12) FORMER DEPUTY FOUND GUILTY, TAKEN TO JAIL
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Thu, 28 Jan 2010
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| Source: | Daily Reflector (Greenville, NC)
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| Copyright: | 2010 Daily Reflector
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| Author: | Michael Abramowitz
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A former Pitt County sheriff's deputy was led from court in
handcuffs Wednesday after she was found guilty on charges that she
interfered with a drug investigation.
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Michelle Pollard was sentenced in Pitt County Superior Court to six
to eight months in jail, beginning immediately, after a jury found
her guilty of felony obstructing justice and a misdemeanor count of
wilful failure to discharge duties.
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The sentence was the maximum for those charges and a first-time
offender. The former lieutenant cried quietly when the judge denied
her bond during the appeal process.
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"I didn't intend to impede any investigation," Pollard said before
she was sentenced by Judge William R. Pittman of Raleigh. "I had no
idea there was an investigation, and I never read the actual
report." Pollard, 40, a former gang unit commander, was referring to
a classified report about an active investigation of suspected drug
dealer Gina Wooten. Testimony during the trial showed Pollard
accessed the report after learning Wooten was having drug-related
legal problems and later tipped off Wooten about the ongoing
operation.
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[snip]
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(13) CLOSING ARGUMENTS TODAY IN BARRAZA TRIAL
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Wed, 03 Feb 2010
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| Source: | El Paso Times (TX)
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| Copyright: | 2010 El Paso Times
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| Author: | Ramon Bracamontes
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EL PASO -- Lawyers for state judge Manuel Barraza put on a defense
that lasted just four hours Tuesday, then watched as prosecutors
struck back with a witness who said Barraza sought sex from her as
payment for a legal bill seven years ago.
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Barraza, 54, is fighting for his judicial career and his freedom
against federal charges that he made a deal with a former client in
which he would unjustly help her in a cocaine case in return for
money and sexual favors. Barraza had been the judge of a state drug
court for only three months when FBI agents arrested him in April
2009.
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[snip]
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In total, prosecutors called 13 witnesses. They also played 14 audio
and video recordings for the jury, and introduced 24 e-mails between
Barraza and someone he thought was a woman he had met on behalf of a
defendant charged in a cocaine case. But FBI Special Agent Ricardo
Ale actually sent e-mails to Barraza in what the government said
were sexually suggestive exchanges.
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Barraza's defense team called seven witnesses, including his sister,
Sally Mena. She testified that she worked with Barraza for 27 years
in private practice and helped him close his law practice after he
won election to a district court judgeship in November 2008.
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She said she referred dozens of his pending cases to other lawyers.
This was intended to counter government witnesses who said Barraza
continued to practice law -- at least in one case -- after taking
office as a judge.
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U.S. District Court Judge Frank Montalvo will give the jurors
instructions this morning. After that, lawyers for the government
and defense each will have up to an hour to make closing arguments.
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Montalvo told the jurors that they would probably start their
deliberations by early afternoon.
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Barraza is charged with three counts of wire fraud, deprivation of
honest services and making a false statement to federal agents. Each
count carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but Barraza
has a clean record and was an attorney in good standing for 30
years.
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[snip]
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Cannabis & Hemp
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COMMENT: (14-17)
(Top) |
The long arm of LEAP reached into Rhode Island last week to give
legislators there a much needed repentant drug warrior's perspective
on a proposal to decriminalize cannabis.
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Meanwhile, diehard drug war proponents are still desperately trying
to prevent other states from cashing in on cannabis law reform.
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Citizens can sleep safer tonight knowing that members of Willy
Nelson's band were caught consuming cannabis on Willy's notorious
tour bus.
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The burgeoning cannabis dispensary industry in Colorado is running
out of banks willing to do business with them.
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(14) DUO PUSHES RHODE ISLAND TO DECRIMINALIZE POT
(Top) |
| Source: | Wall Street Journal (US)
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| Copyright: | 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. |
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PROVIDENCE, R.I.--A retired police officer and the proprietor of an
organic eatery make an odd couple when it comes to trying to overturn
marijuana laws in this tiny state, but Jack Cole and Josh Miller are
giving it their best shot. Mr. Cole, 71 years old, is a veteran of
decades with the New Jersey State Police, almost all with the drug
squad. Mr. Miller, 55, runs Local 121, a restaurant favored among "buy
local" diners, and also serves in the state Senate, where he leads a
special commission to study marijuana prohibitions.
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The panel began hearings in January to discuss an overhaul of the
state's pot laws, starting with decriminalization of small amounts. As
legislators across the U.S. struggle to rescue state budgets hammered
by the recession, decriminalization is one idea gaining traction.
Advocates say states could cut costs of policing, prosecuting and
incarcerating offenders, and even raise money by taxing users.
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"Any respect for this issue lies right now in its impact on the
budget," said Mr. Miller.
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His committee will hear testimony Wednesday from Mr. Cole, the founder
of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, a national lobby
seeking an end to the drug war. LEAP's 10,000 members include many
former police officers, corrections workers and federal agents of the
Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration.
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Decriminalization faces resistance from district attorneys and police
departments that have grown used to making arrests and building
criminal cases in a longstanding war-on-drugs tradition, and often
equate decriminalization with being "soft" on crime.
|
[snip]
|
Messrs. Cole and Miller agreed the former cop's presentation must
appeal to law-and-order politicians. Mr. Cole said the way to win them
over was to show that chasing pot smokers keeps police from fighting
other crimes. "Look at the clearance rates for these crimes," he said.
In the 1960s, before federal antidrug funds flowed heavily to states,
"91% of all murders in this country were solved. Today, it's 61%." He
cited similar drops for arson (60% unsolved) robbery (75% unsolved)
and rape (60% unsolved). Mr. Cole said the national addiction rate has
remained unchanged for a century at about 1.3% of the population. He
concludes that if drugs are legalized, the addiction rate would stay
the same, "but we'll be spending a lot less to manage it."
|
|
|
(15) MARIJUANA TOO DAMAGING TO BE LEGALIZED
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Sun, 31 Jan 2010
|
|---|
| Source: | Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
|
|---|
| Copyright: | 2010 The Honolulu Advertiser
|
|---|
|
The Los Angeles City Council's vote Tuesday to shut hundreds of so-
called medical marijuana dispensaries was a welcome move, but the
larger battle over pot has just begun.
|
Across the country, lawmakers and residents of cash-strapped states
are edging ever closer to legalizing -- and taxing -- marijuana. In
California, the first state in the nation to pass a medical marijuana
law, backers of an initiative to legalize the drug expect to gather
enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot. And
a Field Poll last year showed more than half of California voters
would support such a move.
|
Two beliefs drive this push to make pot legal: that new tax revenue
will stave off deeper budget cuts and that marijuana is a relatively
benign drug. Neither is true.
|
Legalization almost certainly would bring with it additional substance
abuse in the state, and the long-term public costs associated with
that would vastly exceed the relatively modest amount of new revenue
legal weed might bring in. Baby boomers who hazily recall their own
experimentation with marijuana often are stunned to learn that the
amount of tetrahydrocannabinol -- or THC, marijuana's primary
psychoactive substance -- in domestic sinsemilla has quadrupled since
the late 1970s.
|
[snip]
|
Do we really want this habit-forming drug easier to get?
|
[snip]
|
Skip Miller is chairman of D.A.R.E. America, a drug-abuse prevention
and education program, and a partner in the Los Angeles law firm
Miller Barondess. He wrote this commentary for the Los Angeles Times.
|
|
|
(16) POT HAZE INVITES RAID ON NELSON BUS
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Sat, 30 Jan 2010
|
|---|
| Source: | News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
|
|---|
| Copyright: | 2010 The News and Observer Publishing Company
|
|---|
|
The strong odor of marijuana wafting from the window of a Willie
Nelson tour bus led to six members of the country singer's entourage
getting busted in Duplin County for possession of marijuana and three-
fourths of a quart of moonshine, law enforcement officials said.
|
But it was a pain in the country music star's hand that forced the
last-minute cancellation of Thursday night's concert in Kenansville,
not a pain in the neck from having to deal with the drug and alcohol
raid an hour before the show.
|
The grizzled, 76-year-old singer-songwriter, author, poet and activist
has a reputation as a musical outlaw and longtime marijuana smoker.
But Nelson was not on the bus where ALE officers found marijuana,
rolling papers and a Mason jar almost full of "non-tax-paid alcohol,"
or moonshine, according to Ernie Seneca, an Alcohol Law Enforcement
spokesman. Seneca didn't know whether the shine was brewed locally or
imported from Texas along with the band.
|
Bass player Dan Edward "Bee" Spears was on the bus, and the 60-year-
old longtime band member from Franklin, Tenn., was one of those cited.
The event's planner and one of his assistants also were cited for
trying to interfere with the ALE investigation.
|
[snip]
|
It was about 6:40 p.m., a little less than an hour before the show was
to begin, that an officer walking past the tour bus "detected a strong
odor of marijuana," Seneca said. The officer got permission to enter
the bus, according to Seneca, and then cited the six entourage
members. In addition to the bassist, citations were issued to: Kenneth
Koepke, 52, of Burnet, Texas; Robert Allen Lemons, 59, of Spicewood,
Texas; Dudley Bishop Prewitt, 59, of Spicewood, Texas; Aaron William
Foye, 32, of San Marcos, Texas; and Thomas Ray Hawkins, 54, of
Atlantic City, N.J. "They were released in time for them to go on
stage," Seneca said. He added that the band and crew had been
respectful of the officers.
|
[snip]
|
|
|
(17) BANKS WARY OF MARIJUANA-DISPENSARY ACCOUNTS
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Mon, 01 Feb 2010
|
|---|
| Copyright: | 2010 The Denver Post Corp
|
|---|
|
Wells Fargo & Co. - which medical-marijuana dispensary owners say is
virtually the only bank in Colorado willing to take their business -
has stopped opening new accounts for dispensaries.
|
Cristie Drumm, a spokeswoman for the banking giant, said Wells Fargo
is examining state and federal laws to determine what the bank's risk
is in working with dispensaries.
|
"We're not actively opening accounts with these businesses at this
time," she said.
|
The move reflects a broader uneasiness among banks in the state about
working with the medical-marijuana industry, and it marks one more
cloud hovering over dispensaries. Though Drumm said she was unsure
whether the bank would also re-evaluate its existing dispensary
accounts, news of Wells Fargo's change in attitude has dispensary
owners worried they might lose a key ally in their business plans.
|
"We wouldn't have a bank to put our money in," said Ryan Vincent, who
owns The Health Center in Denver. "I don't know what we would do. We'd
probably have to start rallying to put together a credit union."
|
Vincent said every dispensary he knows of uses Wells Fargo as its
bank, largely because the industry has received a cold shoulder from
other financial institutions. While Vincent said he understands the
bank's need to do what's best for its business, he said shutting out
dispensaries would deprive the bank of needed customers and deprive
dispensaries of needed stability, possibly forcing them to operate in
shadowy, cash-heavy ways.
|
"It's interesting to see that there's money and no one wants to hold
onto it," Vincent said. "We're trying to be a legitimate, above-board
industry in Colorado."
|
[snip]
|
|
|
International News
|
COMMENT: (18-21)
(Top) |
In the current issue of Foreign Policy magazine, former Mexican
foreign minister Jorge G. Castaneda, denounced the U.S. war on drugs
as "failed" and a "quagmire", based on a "false narrative". According
to Castaneda, there is no "druggie explosion" in Mexico; violence
there took off in response to Calderon's crackdown in 2006; the
Mexican government isn't a "besieged state"; only a minority of the
illegal guns in Mexico come the U.S., and it is doubtful that the
U.S. is going to stop wanting drugs anytime soon. "It is absurd,"
says the Castaneda, "for hundreds of Mexican soldiers, police
officers, and petty drug dealers to be dying over the drug war in
Tijuana when, 100 or so miles to the north in Los Angeles, there are,
as the New York Times reported recently, more legal and public
dispensaries of marijuana than public schools... A wiser course for
Mexico would be to join Americans in lobbying to decriminalize
marijuana and heroin, the two drugs easiest to deal with (the first
because it is the least harmful and the second because it is the most
harmful)."
|
Meanwhile in Juarez, Mexico the killings continue unabated as 14
people were gunned down at a birthday party last weekend. The
killings were believed to be related to turf battles between cartels
over the lucrative illicit drug trade. "The prevailing drug-
prohibition policy is literally killing the people of Juarez," noted
El Paso city Rep. Beto O'Rourke.
|
Consisting of the testimonials of 50 inmates, a report written by the
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, entitled, "Under the Skin,"
underscores the futility of drug prohibition. The report concentrates
on the sharing of needles upon a backdrop of hard drug addiction - in
prison itself. "The inmates describe rampant drug use while
incarcerated." The report calls for starting a needle exchange inside
of prison to halt the spread of diseases like HIV and hepatitis C.
|
What do you call it when someone changes their mind not because of
truth or evidence, but because they are told to? This week is was
revealed Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson - who now backs
mandatory minimums for pot as politically expedient, back in 1989
sang a much different tune. Back then, as a Tory backbencher,
Nicholson rejected the idea of making judges mere rubber-stamps for
prosecutors and asserted (quite reasonably) "each case should be
decided on its own facts." MP Libby Davies: "I think it does show
very much a difference, between the old Conservatives and today's
Conservatives, which are hell bent on this ideological agenda".
|
|
(18) WHAT'S SPANISH FOR QUAGMIRE? REASSESSING MEXICO'S WAR ON DRUGS
(Top) |
| Source: | Foreign Policy (US)
|
|---|
| Copyright: | 2010 Foreign Policy
|
|---|
|
Five myths that caused the failed war next door.
|
[snip]
|
The Mexican drug war is costly, unwinnable, and predicated on
dangerous myths. Calderon has deployed everything from distorted
statistics to bad history as weapons to convince the country, and
the world, that the war must be joined.
|
[snip]
|
If anything, the United States seems to be moving in the opposite
direction; that is, toward decriminalization of marijuana, greater
tolerance for safer forms of heroin, an effort to wean people off
methamphetamines, and in general, the adoption of a far more relaxed
attitude toward drugs. Hence the Obama administration's decision not
to enforce federal anti-marijuana laws in states with legalized
"medical" marijuana.
|
It is absurd for hundreds of Mexican soldiers, police officers, and
petty drug dealers to be dying over the drug war in Tijuana when,
100 or so miles to the north in Los Angeles, there are, as the New
York Times reported recently, more legal and public dispensaries of
marijuana than public schools.
|
[snip]
|
In this narrative, almost anything can become a metric of "success."
The Calderon government even maintains that the dramatic growth in
the number of drug-linked killings in Mexico from 2007 to 2009
should be attributed to victories achieved in the war against the
cartels; these unfortunate deaths, it claims, mean that the criminal
organizations are killing each other in desperation as the army
closes in.
|
[snip]
|
Indeed, the success of Mexico's frontal assault on drug production
and trafficking is about as unlikely as the prospect that American
society will clamp down on demand. A wiser course for Mexico would
be to join Americans in lobbying to decriminalize marijuana and
heroin, the two drugs easiest to deal with (the first because it is
the least harmful and the second because it is the most harmful).
Although marijuana legalization may not be imminent, recent polls
show that more than 40 percent of Americans favor it and 54 percent
of Democrats do.
|
[snip]
|
|
|
(19) MORE THAN A DOZEN DIE IN JUAREZ MASSACRE
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Mon, 01 Feb 2010
|
|---|
| Source: | El Paso Times (TX)
|
|---|
| Copyright: | 2010 El Paso Times
|
|---|
| Author: | Diana Washington Valdez
|
|---|
|
14 Others Hurt In Attack At Party
|
Gunmen shot and killed fourteen people and wounded 14 others in an
appalling attack at a birthday party Saturday night in Juarez.
|
[snip]
|
In the other multiple slayings, suspects arrested in the cases led
authorities to believe that the killings at the rehabilitation
centers were directly connected to the drug war between the Juarez
and Sinaloa drug cartels.
|
[snip]
|
Although authorities did not suggest a link between the latest
multiple slayings to the drug violence that has claimed about 4,400
lives since 2008, officials have said warring drug cartels are
responsible for most of the deaths.
|
[snip]
|
El Paso city Rep. Beto O'Rourke said the latest massacre
"underscores that Juarez does not need our sympathy -- Juarez needs
action. This was another day we have allowed these events to
continue."
|
"The prevailing drug-prohibition policy is literally killing the
people of Juarez."
|
[snip]
|
|
|
(20) REPORT TOUTS NEEDLE EXCHANGE
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Tue, 02 Feb 2010
|
|---|
| Source: | Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
|
|---|
| Copyright: | 2010 Canoe Limited Partnership
|
|---|
|
OTTAWA - Needle-exchange programs are a "pragmatic and necessary"
way to stop the spread of deadly and financially draining diseases
like HIV and hepatitis behind bars, according to a report to be
released Tuesday.
|
The 42-page report from the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, called
"Under the Skin," features testimonials from 50 federal and former
inmates and aims to raise public awareness and rally support for
needle and syringe programs in penitentiaries.
|
"We thought it is a way to humanize them and for the public to
realize this could be your brother, your sister," said Sandra Ka Hon
Chu, one of the report authors, who noted HIV and hepatitis C rates
are 10 to 20 times higher in prisons than in the regular population.
|
The inmates describe rampant drug use while incarcerated, using
shared needles and home-made "rigs" from earrings, Q-Tips or the
insides of lighters.
|
"I never wanted to share a needle; I didn't choose to share," Ronald
George Sallenbach of Edmonton said. "But when you need to get a hit
and don't have a rig, you end up sharing."
|
[snip]
|
|
|
(21) MINISTER HAS SWITCHED SIDES ON SENTENCING
(Top) |
| Pubdate: | Tue, 02 Feb 2010
|
|---|
| Source: | Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
|
|---|
| Copyright: | 2010 The Vancouver Sun
|
|---|
| Author: | Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service
|
|---|
|
Rob Nicholson Was Vice-Chairman Of A 1988 Parliamentary Committee
That Opposed Fixed Sentences
|
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, one of Canada's most vocal champions
of fixed minimum prison sentences, once opposed the idea of removing
discretion for judges to sentence as they see fit.
|
As a Tory backbencher in 1988, Nicholson was vice-chairman of a
parliamentary committee that rejected the expansion of automatic
incarceration, asserting that it doesn't work, overcrowds jails and
takes too hefty of a social and financial toll.
|
The sweeping report on sentencing, based on a yearlong study of the
criminal justice system, concluded that judges should follow
guidelines, but that "each case should be decided on its own facts."
|
Two decades later, mandatory minimum jail terms are central to the
Harper government's law-and-order agenda.
|
Nicholson, as justice minister for the last three years, has
aggressively pushed for automatic incarceration for selling drugs,
growing marijuana, white-collar crime and offences involving guns.
|
He has repeatedly accused his political opponents of being soft on
crime for challenging his get-tough approach.
|
Most recently, he blasted the Senate when it amended a key bill
designed to impose automatic prison terms for a variety of
drug-related crimes, by redrafting a component that would jail pot
growers who cultivate as few as five plants.
|
[snip]
|
"I think it does show very much a difference, between the old
Conservatives and today's Conservatives, which are hell bent on this
ideological agenda of being tough on crime," said Davies, who
strongly opposes minimum prison terms for drug crimes.
|
[snip]
|
|
|
HOT OFF THE 'NET
(Top)
|
PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS
|
By Pete Guither, Drugwarrant.com
|
http://www.drugwarrant.com/2010/02/put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is/
|
|
CIA MISLED CONGRESS
|
Dragged Feet on Disciplining Employees in Killings of US Citizens in
Peru Drug War Plane Shootdown
|
Drug War Chronicle, Issue #619, 2/5/10
|
Nearly nine years ago, a Peruvian air force fighter guided by CIA
employees in a spotter plane blew a civilian aircraft out of the sky
over the Amazon, thinking it was shooting down drug smugglers. But the
plane was not carrying drug smugglers; it was carrying American
missionaries Jim and Veronica Bowers, their two children, and a
civilian pilot. Veronica Bowers and her infant daughter were killed.
|
http://mapinc.org/url/bfCd1qRk
|
|
DRUG TRUTH NETWORK
|
Century of Lies - 01/31/10 - Matt Elrod
|
Matt Elrod, Canadian reformer, computer guru for DrugSense.org &
dozens of reform organizations, Full Spectrum Lab raided by DEA in
Denver, Eric Sterling of Criminal Justice Policy Foundation on how we
diminish drug war harms.
|
http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2761
|
Cultural Baggage Radio Show - 01/31/10 - Cynthia Henley
|
Cynthia Henley, past Pres of Hou Criminal Lawyer Assoc, DTN
Editorial/Msg to Houston Council, report from WTKR TV, Roanoake VA,
Phil Smith with Corrupt Cop Stories.
|
http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2760
|
|
DRUG CZAR SHOULD GO
|
By Timothy Lynch, director of the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal
Justice.
|
Voters are disgusted by the reckless spending of politicians in
Washington. The backlash is coming, so policymakers are now scrambling
to do something, or at least be seen as doing something, about the
enormous federal debt. Now is a good time for Congress to abolish
government agencies that are outdated, dysfunctional or just
unnecessary.
|
A prime candidate for abolition is the office of the so-called "drug czar."
|
http://mapinc.org/url/RGLQoDEC
|
|
MICHAEL DOUGLAS'S SON FACES MORE TIME THAN A MURDERER OR A RAPIST
|
By Anthony Papa
|
Michael Douglas's Son Faces More Time Than a Murderer or a Rapist for
a Nonviolent Drug Charge
|
The government is hell-bent on punishing Cameron Douglas for the crime
of being an addict.
|
http://mapinc.org/url/kQm8WM05
|
|
BUSINESSES SHOULD STAY ON MARIJUANA'S GOOD SIDE
|
By Mason Tvert, Executive director and co-founder, SAFER
|
A recent brouhaha between Starbucks Coffee and marijuana legalization
advocates raises an important question for the broader business
community: Can major national companies be successful absent the
patronage of marijuana consumers and others who support marijuana
policy reform?
|
http://mapinc.org/url/vo8OWgW4
|
|
THE OTHER WAR THAT ISN'T COVERED BY OBAMA'S SPENDING FREEZE
|
By Jacob Sullum
|
The Office of National Drug Control Policy released its proposed
budget for fiscal year 2011 on Monday. Over at The Raw Story, Stephen
C. Webster argues that it shows drug czar Gil Kerlikowske was "full of
hot air" when he talked about "handling drug addiction as a medical
problem, moving away from the brash enforcement tactics that
hallmarked prior administrations." Webster certainly has a point,
although he and I might disagree on the question of what exactly Gil
Kerlikowske is full of.
|
http://reason.com/blog/2010/02/04/the-other-war-not-covered-by-o
|
|
WHAT YOUNG SAN FRANCISCANS THINK OF LEGALIZING POT IN SAN FRANCISCO
|
San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi proposed a June ballot measure
to make SF the first city to legalize the sale of marijuana -- a
collection of reactions from young people.
|
http://mapinc.org/url/GZ4pbGbI
|
|
CANNABIZ
|
CBC - Canada's $20 billion-dollar marijuana industry is now at a
violent crossroads between crime and commerce. Impossible to police,
yet steadily gaining public acceptance, the cannabis industry is now
so vast and vital to Canada's national economy that it can no longer
be ignored.
|
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yPNct9zGQo
|
|
AWARD-WINNING IBOGAINE RESEARCHER HOWARD LOTSOF DIES AT 66
|
The drug policy reform movement mourns the passing of Howard S.
Lotsof, 66, the discoverer of the anti-addictive effect of
ibogaine. Lotsof died of liver cancer on Sunday, January 31.
He recently won the Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement
in the Field of Citizen Action at the November 2009 Reform
Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Watch Howard's
acceptance speech.
|
http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/091112Howard_Award.mov
|
|
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK
(Top)
|
WRITE A LETTER
|
Maryland Considers Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
|
A DrugSense Focus Alert
|
http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0431.html
|
|
SCIENTIFIC SURVEY: EVER BEEN IN THE MILITARY? EVER USED CANNABIS?
|
If you're a veteran from any era and have some time to answer
questions about your experiences, your input could be a huge help.
|
A survey from Dr. Mitch Earleywine, a member of the NORML Advisory
Board, addresses cannabis, military experiences, and a whole lot
more. Responses are completely anonymous and there's a chance to
win gift certificates from Amazon.com
|
http://mapinc.org/url/PClO7Boo
|
|
HELP MAKE THE SENATE PAY ATTENTION
|
Last week President Obama quietly announced that he would nominate
Michele Leonhart to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency. Ms. Leonhart,
who was appointed and promoted by George W. Bush, oversaw the Bush
administration's tactic of raiding the homes of desperately ill
individual medical marijuana patients in California.
|
Tell your Senator not to confirm Ms. Leonhart.
|
http://mapinc.org/url/yTweDC9w
|
|
LETTER OF THE WEEK
(Top)
|
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM & CANNABIS
|
By Trevor Douglas
|
Freedom of religion is a topic that was once fought for and helped
to establish the USA. Today, I am being tried for something that has
been a part of my family's religion for generations. Religious
cannabis is nothing new, actually it has been around since before
written history.
|
The use of the plant in rituals, ceremonies, communion and prayer is
mandated by my God, as with many other religions around the world
(Rastafarians for example). Who should be able to control the growth
and possession of a plant that is so healing (As the U.S. Patent for
Medical Marijuana states) and spiritually enlightening, not to
mention a plant that George Washington said " . sow it everywhere."
|
A doctor is able to prescribe medicinal marijuana to hundreds of
patients a day; who is to tell me I cannot use marijuana/ cannabis
as a religious sacrament in the privacy of my own home? If anything,
why don't we try citing the millions of people addicted to much more
dangerous over-the-counter drugs sold every day?
|
This is a plant that's use dates back to 8000 BC in ancient China,
where shamans were using it
the same way I do today. Please help support my case on March 9 at 2
p.m. in the Georgetown Courthouse.
|
Trevor Douglas, Vail
|
| Pubdate: | Sat, 30 Jan 2010
|
|---|
| Source: | Summit Daily News (CO)
|
|---|
|
|
FEATURE ARTICLE
(Top)
|
Open Letter to Change.org
|
By Mary Jane Borden
|
Dear Change.org,
|
I recently received an e-mail from you announcing the launch of
"Ideas for Change in America 2010," a campaign that seeks to
"empower citizens to identify and build momentum behind the
country's best ideas for addressing the major challenges we face."
This noble and worthy effort uses direct democracy to encourage the
online audience to submit and vote for ideas.
|
Here is a snapshot of the campaign from http://www.change.org/ideas
as of 4:30 pm on 2/4/2010:
|
- Second Most Popular Idea Overall: Legalize Recreational Use of
Marijuana (920 votes)
|
- Most Popular Category: Criminal Justice
|
- Top 10 Ideas within the Criminal Justice category: Legalize
Recreational Use of Marijuana; Legalize the Medicinal and
Recreational Use of Marijuana; Rehabilitation, not incarceration;
Legalize and tax marijuana; Remove Marijuana From Schedule I of the
Controlled Substances Act; Legalize Marijuana; Reduce criminal
recidivism; End the war on drugs; End Marijuana Prohibition; and
Make Marijuana Legal.
|
"Marijuana" owned 7 of the top 10 Ideas in the above category with
combined vote tallies over 2,500 and counting. Of the 44 Ideas
submitted in Criminal Justice that had more than 20 votes, 31 (70%)
pertained in some way to marijuana. These 31 also accounted for 80%
of the total votes in that category. Add Ideas to generally change
drug policy, and these percentages topped 90%.
|
No other single idea captures more overall votes or consumes more of
a single category than "Marijuana."
|
Is the "online audience" trying to tell you something?
|
Consider the following:
|
On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, CitizenTube streamed the State of
the Union address live on its YouTube site and allowed viewers to
submit and vote on questions to ask President Obama. "Marijuana
Legalization" outdistanced all other questions by a margin of more
than 2 to 1. President Obama never had the opportunity to answer
this most popular question - YouTube never asked it.
http://www.youtube.com/CitizenTube#p/c/EB843ABAF59735FD
|
In December 2009, JP Morgan Chase & Co. organized a competition to
award grants to 100 charitable organizations that received the most
votes on Chase's Facebook fan page. Two drug-policy focused groups -
Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the Marijuana Policy Project -
were among the top vote getters, but Chase disqualified them from
the final tally without explanation.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n1131/a07.html
|
Shortly after the 2008 presidential election, the Obama
Administration established "Open for Questions" on
http://www.change.gov, which morphed into
http://www.whitehouse.gov/openforquestions. Three rounds of voting
by over 200,000 people, who submitted over 150,000 questions and
cast over 7 million votes, found "Legalizing Marijuana" in first
place within each of the top five categories. At his March 26, 2009
press conference, President Obama addressed this phenomenal response
by quipping, "I don't know what this says about the online
audience," before dismissing the idea.
|
Do you see a pattern?
|
As a Change.org member, I'm dismayed that "Marijuana" (medical,
recreational, or hemp) garners only a fraction of the coverage that
a topic with its level of popularity should otherwise expect. Even
though "Marijuana" has received 80% of the votes in your Criminal
Justice category, few stories concerning it have appeared on
Criminal Justice news or as Featured Ideas. "Legalize Marijuana" is
your third most popular petition with 16,000 signers. Isn't that
home page material?
|
Change.org appears to endorse a free and fair voting process as
reflected in the "Governmental Reform and Transparency" category. It
rightly decries bias against people of color, gays, and the
homeless. It embraces human rights. Yet, these noble ideals become
diminished by brushing aside the most popular issue.
|
I'm pleased that corporations, non-profits, and governments are
leveraging the power of the Internet's online audience to engage in
direct democracy. In a democratic society, the will of the people
should be the driving force. Generally that will is made real by the
most votes.
|
However, when the results are not fairly reported and implemented,
campaigns like Ideas for Change and those of YouTube, Chase Bank,
and the Obama Administration do little to foster public
participation in the democratic process and much to further the
public's cynicism of it.
|
Speaking on behalf of the "online audience," I wish for my voice to
be heard - for it to sing as loudly as my worthy counterparts. I'm
tired of being ignored, as if I'll just disappear when I'm not
noticed.
|
Here's an Idea! Please accurately report and implement the results
for the 2010 Ideas for Change in America. Promote all Ideas equally.
Treat submitted Ideas with the respect they deserve, even the one
that wins the competition, hands down.
|
Please note that this Idea is #154 in the Government Reform and
Transparency Category. http://drugsense.org/url/NgppFWQ4
|
Sincerely,
|
Mary Jane
|
Top Ideas for Change in America:
http://www.change.org/ideas?order=top
|
Change.org's Criminal Justice category:
http://www.change.org/ideas/browse/criminal_justice
|
Submit your Idea for Change in America:
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Mary Jane Borden is writer, artist, drug policy reform activist, and
regular voter from Westerville, Ohio. She serves as Business
Manager/Fundraising Specialist for DrugSense and as the Editor of
Drug War Facts http://www.drugwarfacts.org
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
(Top)
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"The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single
dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free
nations and free men." - John F. Kennedy
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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 Doug Snead (),
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.
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