In Need Of Weed We Can Help.

Message-ID: <d84u0l+lrgd@eGroups.com>
User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Length: 65
X-Mailer: Yahoo Groups Message Poster
X-Yahoo-Post-IP: 209.30.228.215
X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: groups-compose
Sender: notify@yahoogroups.com
X-Yahoo-GPoster: I0b9_WfvtjgW2Ho1


Just email us at HelpingHandsHelpingTheHelpless at yahoo . com

Newshawk: Please Help Keep DSW On Line www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
Pubdate: Fri, 3 Jun 2005
Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW)
Webpage: http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n402.html
Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
Note: Below is the Table of Contents for today's issue of the DrugSense
Weekly. Please use the links below to access the DSW sections.

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY, JUNE 3, 2005 #402

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n402.html#sec1

(1) 9th Circuit Splits On Resentencing (2) Supporters Of Drug Smuggler
Suspected In Embassy Attack (3) Former DA Gets Five Years On Federal Charge
(4) Parents Add Drug Tests To Shopping Lists

* Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n402.html#sec2

Drug Policy

(5) Police Oppose Youth Bill (6) Police Pursuing Leads In Slayings (7) Drug
Users Bank On You (8) Purdue Pharma, H.D. Smith Plan Test Of Electronic
Tracking Of Drugs

Law Enforcement & Prisons

(9) Substance Seized In Drug Arrest Proves To Be Laundry Detergent (10)
Corruption Crosses The Border With Agent Bribes (11) 5th Lawman Involved In
Beatings Sent To Jail (12) OPED: System's 'Back End' Neglected (13) County
Officer Certified To Stop And Search Trucks

Cannabis & Hemp

(14) Milton Friedman: Legalize It! (15) Law Chief Wants Life Term Imposed
(16) Corby Pardon Talk Unhelpful: PM (17) Paraphe-Nail-Ya (18) Doctor
Speaks Out Over Cannabis Ruling

International News

(19) Cebu's Vigilante Killings Rise To 59 (20) Police Intensify Anti-Drug
Campaign (21) Build A Road, And We'll Stop Planting Marijuana Villagers
(22) China Admits Drug War Is Failing

* Hot Off The 'Net http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n402.html#sec3

American Style Drug War Begins In China? / By Loretta Nall

MPP Job Openings

The MarijuanaNews World Report / With Richard Cowan

O'Reilly Factor Sides with the Alliance on "Snitch" Bill

NORML Comments On Pending Supreme Court Medical Cannabis Ruling

Cultural Baggage Radio Show

* Letter Of The Week http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n402.html#sec4

Cut The Red Tape Around Medical Pot / By Rick Steeb

* Feature Article http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n402.html#sec5

The High Cost Of Marijuana Prohibition / By Bruce Mirken

* Quote of the Week http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n402.html#sec6

Frank Zappa

Pubdate: Fri, 20 May 2005
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2005 Southam Inc.
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Author: Anne Marie Owens, National Post
Cited: internet websites: http://www.schapelle.com/
http://schapellecorby.com.au/ http://www.dontshootschapelle.com/
http://www.baliboycott.com/ http://www.freeschapelle.com/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Schapelle+Corby
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

DRUG SMUGGLING TRIAL GRIPS AUSTRALIANS

Interest Hits Fever Pitch As Verdict Expected Next Week in Indonesia

AUSTRALIA - She has long been the water-cooler topic du jour here, her
plight the focus of everyone from Australia's highest politicians to the
humblest labourers, but last night Schapelle Corby was finally afforded the
kind of treatment for which her case seems tailor-made.

In the manner of the top-rated Australian Idol and Dancing with the Stars,
the young woman accused of smuggling drugs into Bali was the subject of a
reality-TV-style show, which assembled a studio audience to vote on whether
she was innocent or guilty, then tallied up the votes of callers watching
across the country.

It was just the latest bizarre twist in a case that has gripped Australia
in a way that seems more reality-TV than real.

And while the "randomly selected" studio audience voted overwhelmingly,
91%, for Ms. Corby's innocence, the reality of her situation will only hit
home when a panel of Indonesian judges renders a verdict next week.

The 27-year-old from Queensland's Gold Coast was charged with drug
trafficking after Indonesian customs officials discovered 4.1 kilograms of
marijuana in her body-surfboard bag. She maintains her innocence and says
her only crime was not putting locks on her bag to protect it from tampering.

Prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment, although there is the remote
possibility the judges could sentence her to be executed by firing squad.

The inherent drama of the situation has not been lost on the Australian
public, which has made this case, and its repercussions, a national obsession.

The story has spawned T-shirts, hats and a wide range of Free
Schapelle-themed paraphernalia; her case has been the focus of impassioned
discussions by thousands in Internet forums, radio call-in shows, and at
local pubs and clubs. On the Internet alone, there are sites called Free
Schapelle, Don't Shoot Schapelle and the Schapelle Corby Support Site.

Supporters range from a man planning to launch a remixed version of the
Beatles' Let It Be as a fundraiser, to a travel agent who says he will
never send another client to Bali if Ms. Corby is found guilty, to Aussie
actor Russell Crowe, who used his appearance on a talk show recently to
decry the government's lack of action on the case.

For a nation accustomed to seeing its reality-TV stars bare their souls for
the cameras, Ms. Corby is ideal: She is a long-haired attractive surfer,
with a perpetual little-girl-lost demeanour in interviews. She is seen
either as a happy-go-lucky woman jolted from the reality of working in her
mother's takeaway fish and chip shop or as a skittish young woman
ill-equipped to handle the harsh rigours of the Indonesian prison system.

Her emotional outbursts have made for riveting media coverage: She
collapsed en route to the court hearing during the trial; she broke down in
tears on the stand one day, sobbing she did not know how long she could
cope with the stress of her imprisonment; and she delivered a rousing plea
for mercy to the judges on the final day of submissions.

"My life at the moment is in your hands, but I'd prefer it if my life was
in your hearts," she said, her voice breaking, in a brief, tearful address
that has been played over and over again on television and radio shows
dedicated to the story.

Her plea to her own Prime Minister, John Howard, was similarly impassioned:
"Mr. Howard, as a father and as a leader, I plead for your help. I did not
do this. I beg for justice."

On last night's reality-TV special, Schapelle's Nightmare: The Untold
Story, journalist Liz Hayes, who interviewed Ms. Corby in jail late last
year, said there's no doubt the young woman's looks and raw emotions have
bolstered support for her at home.

"Schapelle Corby is displaying real tears and real fears," she said.

"She is wearing her emotions on her sleeve.... The reality is there are
many Australians in Bali jails and we have never heard of them, and will
never hear of them."

Regardless of the outcome of next week's judgment in Bali, it is unlikely
to be the last that Australia hears of Schapelle Corby.

Hey everyone, we just started this movement and are trying to gain
support for all of the medical marijuana bills that are in front of so
many states right now.  Help us make marijuana legal all around the
world and buy a THINKGREEN band.  By two and give one to your
friends.  By 100 and use them as a fund raising effort (we'll give you
a discount).  Let's make this a global movement that unites all of our
efforts....www.thinkgreenband.com.

Newshawk: Please Help Keep DSW On Line www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
Pubdate: Fri, 29 Apr 2005
Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW)
Webpage: http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n397.html
Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
Note: Below is the Table of Contents for today's issue of the DrugSense
Weekly. Please use the links below to access the DSW sections.

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY, APRIL 29, 2005 #397

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n397.html#sec1

(1) US Again Dismisses Lax Ganja Talks (2) US AL: Medical Marijuana
Legislation Approved By House (3) Drug Czar Plays Defense (4) US CA:
Editorial: DEA On The Wrong Trail

* Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n397.html#sec2

Drug Policy

(5) 1 In 5 Teens Abused Prescription Drugs (6) 'Generation Rx' Label
Dazzles Media (7) Ecstasy's Lost 'Its Panache' Among Teens (8) Drugstore
Chain Under Fire In Sales Of Pseudoephedrine

Law Enforcement & Prisons

(9) U.S. Prisons Swell In '04 (10) State Tops In Prison Population Increase
(11) System Strained As More Women Are Imprisoned (12) Tazewell County
Sheriff Says Time Article Misleading

Cannabis & Hemp

(13) Full House For Pot Club Hearing (14) Some MDs Recommending Marijuana
For Medical Use (15) Pot Charge Pains Mom (16) Grow Ops -- An Inside Look
(17) Film Star Russell Crowe Jumps To Corby Defence

International News

(18) Expanded RP-Sino Cooperation Vs Illegal Drugs Sought (19) Ex-Con Shot
Dead While Asleep (20) Afghan Farmers Defy U.S. Opium Clampdown (21)
Abbotsford May Ban Needle Sites

* Hot Off The 'Net http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n397.html#sec3

DrugSense Virtual Conference Room Schedule

Drug War Casualty Statistical Graphs Updated

Ephedra Buzz / By Jacob Sullum

Tea Break / By Jacob Sullum

Cultural Baggage Radio Show

Marijuana News World Report For April 28th 2005 / By Richard Cowan

Science, Not Politics, Should Govern Medical Research, Says ACLU

Cannabis Use Not Associated With Injury Among Trauma Patients

* Letter Of The Week http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n397.html#sec4

Meth Laws Proven Effective / By Mett Ausley

* Feature Article http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n397.html#sec5

What's The Drug Czar's Problem? / By Stephen Young

* Quote of the Week http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n397.html#sec6

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happy_420_tent_campers


This group is a national Group for people who like Camping and smoke
pot like you, by Tent, Car, or Pop up trailers and love to have some
great times with close cyber friends!
  Real Camping with experienced Campers or beginners wanting info. Come
Learn the tricks and ins and outs of Camping. ( and other
things..)From a Road trip camping in Tents, to Pop up Campers, that
are  a little bit more basic. It's Camping As It should be. Don't
bogart the blunt, just puff puff pass around the Cyber camp fire, in
the largest network of friends (we all know it's important to have
connections with the same ideas in mind!) Let's make this a large
helpful data base of very Good Friends, fun, nature photography,chat,
Food, drink, fun, .. and at 420 (and maybe a little green bud stinky
skunk smoke.. passed around the camp fire..grin) Let's build one group
with great connections!
All wrapped up in a great REAL Camping list.
There is never any spam,  as this list is moderated for spam
protection, as all my lists are.
I'm a responsible member of NORML.org. Legalize it!
please have a full yahoo profile when joining, or you will not be
approved until that is done correctly and honestly. just basic !.
age.. region and what ever name you want. Don't want any little kids
on here. No cops, and never any spam!
This is an adult Campers lists. no flames,  just respect, 420, drink,
peace, happiness and love!
See you all on the cyber road of camping fun, here at The real happy
Campers list!
I'm in west Tn, I would love to meet people in the AL, MS, TN, GA, Mo.
I hope to see you there!... Let's make it happen!
R.J.

http://www.e-thepeople.org/poll/23540/view

The US is the #1 consumer, grower, and importer of marijuana. The US
Government has been waging a war on its own people for well over 30
years now, doing more damage then the drug itself. This is a war on
us, not the drug. The government keeps locking up and killing its
own people over this plant that is more abundant then ever before in
America's history. As the marijuana grows so grows the prison system
The land of the free is not free! We hold 25% of the world prison
population behind bars. We have incarcerated 5% of the American
population, 80% being non-violent criminals. Are you so blinded by
the US Governments marijuana propaganda that you think marijuana
prohibition is really working? Or would you like to see fewer
prisons, and better funded schools, and hospitals? (15 votes)

(Smokin2u, 3/17/05)

Set Us Free 93 %

Build more Prisons 7 %


Total Votes:  15


  This poll is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those
Internet users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be
assumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, nor
the public as a whole.
http://www.e-thepeople.org/poll/23540/view

--- In MASHAction@yahoogroups.com, "Richard J. Rawlings"
<richard.rawlings@s...> wrote:
>
> Do you think cannabis should be made legal
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/cannabis/medical.shtml
>
> Should states be allowed to legalize medical marijuana without
> federal legalization?
> http://www.collegiatetimes.com/index.php?url=76

Do you think cannabis should be made legal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/cannabis/medical.shtml

Should states be allowed to legalize medical marijuana without
federal legalization?
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/index.php?url=76

WILL WE SEE YOU AT A CONFERENCE?

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #302 - Wednesday, March 2, 2005

As an internet based organization DrugSense folks - the volunteers and
activists who make us what we are - seldom meet unless it is at a
conference. This year there are two superb conferences. We hope to see you
at one, if not both.

Below is a message from Keith Stroup about the NORML conference as well as
an agenda.

The second conference is:

The 2005 International Drug Policy Reform Conference "Building a Movement
for Reason, Compassion and Justice"

November 10, 11, & 12, 2005, Beginning with a reception on the evening of
November 9. Westin Hotel, Long Beach, California

More details on this conference will be available in the months ahead. We
have been told that there will be a limited number of scholarships
available. The web link about this conference is
http://drugpolicy.org/events/dpa2005/

**********************************************************************

2005 NORML Conference: Register now ... rooms going fast!

Dear NORML Supporter,

Hurry up! Do not delay in booking your room and pre-registering for the
2005 NORML conference in San Francisco, March 31 - April 2, 2005. NORML's
staff informs me that we've already sold 150% of the organization's
allotted discounted room block at the Cathedral Hill Hotel.

If you don't want to miss out staying at the conference hotel, call
1-800-622-0855 (use the code: 'NORML'). We've still got great nightly deals
on hotel rooms in downtown San Francisco at $99/standard and $109/deluxe!

To learn more about NORML's 2005 conference, checkout:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6437

What can you expect at NORML 2005?

The wider world knows Rick Steves as one of America's most successful
travel authors and a popular TV show host. This year's NORML conference
keynote speaker aptly serves as NORML's world ambassador, passionately
advocating for a sane cannabis policy encompassing legal and responsible
adult use. Rick is a generous, funny, famous and deeply moving speaker. I'm
so very glad that he's accepted the director's invitation to speak at NORML
2005.

Expect speakers such as: NORML's new executive director Allen St. Pierre,
Drug Policy Alliance's Drs. Ethan Nadelmann and Marsha Rosenbaum, medical
marijuana activists Angel Reich and Diane Monson (the 'dynamic duo' whose
pending US Supreme Court decision in their landmark case has the marijuana
law reform movement waiting on pins and needles); also featured at NORML
2005 are numerous and informative panels for cannabis consumers
highlighting physicians, lawyers, medical and health researchers,
representatives from medical marijuana dispensaries, cultivation experts,
young and seasoned activists, High Times Magazine editors and members of
NORML's staff and national board of directors.

Over two dozen drug policy reform organizations are represented, including:
Drug Policy Alliance, Canada NORML, Efficacy, Americans for Safe Access,
Vancouver Island Compassionate Club, Marijuana Policy Project, MAPinc,
DrugSense, ReConsiDer, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Students for a
Sensible Drug Policy, CHEAR, DRCNet and many others.

Since 1972, NORML's annual conferences have become THE central place for
the marijuana law reform movement to meet, build community and strategize
on the ways and means to successfully bring an end to marijuana prohibition.

Pre-register online for the conference by visiting:
https://secure.norml.org/conference/

Also, you can call 202-483-5500 and register over the phone.

I look forward to seeing many old friends and making new acquaintances at
NORML 2005 in San Francisco<one of America's most cannabis friendly cities.

Regards,

R. Keith Stroup, Esq. Of Counsel (and NORML founder)

p.s. The entire NORML staff just booked flights from the Washington,
DC-area to San Francisco for under $200/person. Very affordable flights
still remain into San Francisco and Oakland from all over the US and Canada.

If you're driving to the NORML conference from CA, WA, OR, NV or from
wherever, and staying at the Cathedral Hill Hotel, parking is free. Bonus!

**********************************************************************

NORML Conference Agenda as of 2 March from
http://www.norml.com/index.cfm?Group_ID=6440

Wednesday, March 30

6:00 - 8:00pm Early Conference Registration and Happy Hour

Thursday, March 31 First Day

9:00-9:90am Welcome - Steve Dillon, Esq., Chair, NORML board of directors

9:20-9:40am Cannabis Convocation - Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director, NORML

9:40-11:00am 2004 Pro-Cannabis Initiatives: The Review

Alaska (TBA)

Oregon/Lee Berger, Esq.

Montana (TBA)

Massachusetts/Steve Epstein, Esq.

Columbia, MO - Med Mj. Initiative/Sterling Neeb - Decrim. Initiative/Dan
Viets, Esq.

Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI/Timothy Beck

Oakland - Judy Appel, Esq.

Moderator: Dominic Holden, WA NORML/ Sensible Seattle

11:15-1:00pm Drug Policy Reform: Taking it directly to the people

Jack Cole, LEAP

Roger Goodman, Esq., Voluntary Lawyer Comm.

Nick Eyle, ReConsider

Mikki Norris, Cannabis Consumer Campaign

Keith Saunders, Ph.D, MassCANN/NORML

Moderator: Clifford Thornton, Efficacy/ NORML national board of directors

2:00-2:30pm Teens and Drugs: Reports from the Field

Marsha Rosenbaum, Ph.D, Deputy Director, Drug Policy Alliance

2:30-4:00pm Cannabis Prohibition Victims: Recent, Current and Prospective

Diane Munson, Raich/Munson v. Ashcroft)

Valerie Leveroni Corral, WAMM, national NORML board of directors

Angel Raich, Raich/Munson v. Ashcroft

Brian Epis

Todd McCormick

Marissa Garcia

Moderator: Steph Sherer, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Access

4:00-6:00pm Breakout Sessions

Student Activism: Stoking the Reefer Revolution

Christopher Mulligan, CHEAR/national NORML board of directors

Scarlett Swerdlow, SSDP

Abby Bair, SSDP

Josh Manning, Univ. of FL NORML

Matt Jones, Univ. of FL NORML

Moderator: Kris Krane, Associate Director, NORML

Police Tactics: Don't Become a Statistic

Anthony Feldstein, Esq.

Omar Figaroa, Esq.

Peter Vilkelis, Esq.

Vaporizers & FDA Research: The Future of 'Smoking' Cannabis

Rick Doblin, Ph.D, MAPS

Moderator: Dale Gieringer, Ph.D, Director CA NORML

6:30-9:00pm NORML/High Times Annual Art Auction and Activist Awards

Friday, April 1 Second Day

9:00-9:45am Challenges and Opportunities in Drug Policy Reform - Ethan
Nadelmann, Ph.D Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance

9:45-11:00am In the Cross Hair: Medi-pot Docs

Tod Mikuriya, M.D.

Frank Lucido, M.D.

David Bearman, M.D.

Mollie Fry, M.D.

Claudia Jensen, M.D.

David Hadorn, M.D.

Phil Denny, M.D.

Moderator: Fred Gardner, California Medical Marijuana Research Group

11:15-1:00pm Marijuana and Good Health: Who Knew?

Robert Malamede, Ph.D, University of CO

Donald Abrams, MD, University of CA, SF

Mitch Earlywine, Ph.D, USC

Greg Carter, M.D.,University of Washington

Moderator: Dale Gieringer, Ph.D, Director CA NORML national board of directors

1:00-2:30pm Luncheon and Keynote Speaker:

Rick Steves, Best selling travel author, TV show host and NORML Advisory
Board member

2:30-3:15pm Cannabis Arrest Report and Use Analysis

Jon Gettman, Ph.D. Former NORML Director; Fellow, George Mason Univ.

3:15-4:00pm High Times' History of The 'Bud' Shot: A Pictorial and Cultural
Anthology

Steve Bloom, Senior Editor

Richard Cusick, Senior Editor

David Bienstock, Senior Editor

4:00-6:00pm Breakout Sessions

Cannabis Cultivation: The How, Why and for What

Kyle Kushman, High Times

Moderator: Chris Conrad, ChrisConrad.com

Medical Marijuana: State of the Law From the Pros

William McPike, Esq.

Lee Berger, Esq.

David Michaels, Esq.

Moderator: William Panzer, Esq.

Hemp: A Fruitful or Frightful Future?

Eric Steenstra, Votehemp.com

Jack Herer, The Emperor of Hemp

Moderator: David Bronner, Dr. Bronner's Soaps, HIA

8:00-10:00pm Cannabis-oriented Entertainment

Saturday, April 2 Third Day

9:00-10:00am Registration Desk Open and NORML Product Sales

10:00-11:15am Drugged Driving Tests: The Science and Policies What You Need
to Know-Right Now!

Dale Gieringer, Ph.D, CA NORML

Ed Orlett, Drug Policy Alliance of Ohio

Caren Woodson, Drug Policy Alliance

Moderator: Paul Armentano, Senior Policy Analyst, NORML

11:15-12:00pm Drug Policy: Then and Now

Arnold Trebach. Ph.D Founder of the Drug Policy Foundation, Trebach Institute

12:15-2:00pm Oh Canada! Separating Myth From Reality

Richard Cowan, marijuananews.com

Moderator: Phillipe Lucas, VICS, Canada NORML

3:00-4:15pm Lessons Learned: Cannabis Prohibition and Censorship

Michael Gray, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Michael Aldrich, Ph.D

Marsha Rosenbaum, Ph.D, Deputy Director, Drug Policy Alliance

Debby Goldsberry

Mikki Norris, Cannabis Consumer Campaign

Moderator: Keith Saunders, Ph.D, MassCANN/NORML

4:15-6:00pm The Future is Now: Growing Grassroots Online

Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director, NORML

Dave Borden, Executive Director, DRCNet

Steven Heath, MAPinc

Matt Elrod, MAPinc

Moderator: Richard Cowan, former NORML Director, marijuananews.com

8:00-??? $75/person private benefit for NORML and the NORML Foundation

**********************************************************************

Prepared by: Stephen Heath http://www.mapinc.org/resource/maf_bio.htm

Newshawk: NORML Conference http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6437
Pubdate: Fri, 25 Feb 2005
Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW)
Webpage: http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n389.html
Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
Note: Below is the Table of Contents for today's issue of the DrugSense
Weekly. Please use the links below to access the DSW sections.

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY, FEB. 25, 2005 #389

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n389.html#sec1

(1) Street Price Of Cocaine Falls Despite U.S. Efforts (2) U.S. Seeks
Colombian Help On Drugs (3) Study: Marijuana Slows Alzheimer's Decline (4)
Harvard Seeks To Test Ecstasy Drug On The Dying

* Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n389.html#sec2

Drug Policy

(5) Attorneys General Step Into Pain Prescribing Debate (6) ONDCP Trial:
Seifert Takes the Stand (7) Prepackaged News Gets GAO Rebuke (8) Drug Court
Pioneer Under Fire (9) Virginia House OKs Emergency Clause For Methadone
Moratorium

Law Enforcement & Prisons

(10) Campbell Officers To Plead Guilty (11) Autopsy: Gray Hit 5 Times By 3
Shots (12) State Wants Former Inmate To Pay Cost Of Incarceration (13) Is
State Going Overboard?

Cannabis & Hemp

(14) Vermont Senators Sign On To Marijuana Bill (15) Highlights Thursday
  From Texas Legislature (16) State Will Issue ID Cards To Medical Marijuana
Users This Summer (17) On Secret Tape, Bush Implies He Used Marijuana (18)
Liberals To Debate Legal, Taxable Pot

International News

(19) Ban On Death Penalty Stays, But Not For Drugs, Kidnapping (20) Inmates
Undercut Drug War (21) 'Laughing Gas' Sale Could Be Curbed (22) U.S. Bounty
Hunters Sentenced In Kidnapping

* Hot Off The 'Net http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n389.html#sec3

Educate Illinois Media About Medical Marijuana

An Audio Web Chat With Dr. Sasha Shulgin and Ann Shulgin

Cultural-Baggage Radio Show

Job Openings At MPP

White House Drug Czar Launches Blog

Blogger's Head Explodes

Web Site Looks At Marijuana Use By Students

Walters Testifies On Illnois Medical Cannabis Act

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - Another Inspiration Gone

* Letter Of The Week http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n389.html#sec4

'Drug Testing Is A Bad Idea' / By Harold Caldwell

* Feature Article http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n389.html#sec5

Remember Nguyen Tuong Van? / By Gary Meyerhoff

* Quote of the Week http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n389.html#sec6

Hunter S. Thompson

Hello,

We are sending this message to invite those of you who have had an
out-of-body experience to participate in an on-line web survey
regarding their experiences, beliefs and perceptions of their body.
We are particularly interested in out-of-body experiences induced by
cannabis use. The questionnaire will take 20 minutes to complete.
Once the research data has been analysed we hope to be able to
report patterns in people's body experiences. We will make the
results of these analyses available to interested respondents in the
near future.

If you would like to know more about the study before participating
please contact me.

The questionnaire can be found at the web address below:

http://www.psy3.man.ac.uk/projects/s12-04.htm

Best wishes,

Craig Murray

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: Fri, 07 Jan 2005
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: A17
Copyright: 2005 The Washington Post Company
Contact: letters@...
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Ceci Connolly, Washington Post Staff Writer
Cited: Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/
Cited: Office of National Drug Control Policy
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/ONDCP (ONDCP)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/propaganda (Propaganda)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Drug+Czar (Drug Czar)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

DRUG CONTROL OFFICE FAULTED FOR ISSUING FAKE NEWS TAPES

Shortly before last year's Super Bowl, local news stations across the
country aired a story by Mike Morris describing plans for a new White House
ad campaign on the dangers of drug abuse.

What viewers did not know was that Morris is not a journalist and his
"report" was produced by the government, actions that constituted illegal
"covert propaganda," according to an investigation by the Government
Accountability Office.

In the second ruling of its kind, the investigative arm of Congress this
week scolded the Bush administration for distributing phony prepackaged
news reports that include a "suggested live intro" for anchors to read,
interviews with Washington officials and a closing that mimics a typical
broadcast news sign off.

Although television stations knew the materials were produced by the Office
of National Drug Control Policy, there was nothing in the two-minute,
prepackaged reports that would indicate to viewers that they came from the
government or that Morris, a former journalist, was working under contract
for the government.

"You think you are getting a news story, but what you are getting is a paid
announcement," said Susan A. Poling, managing associate general counsel at
the GAO. "What is objectionable about these is the fact the viewer has no
idea their tax dollars are being used to write and produce this video segment."

In May, the GAO concluded that the Department of Health and Human Services
violated two federal laws with similar fake news reports touting the
administration's new Medicare drug benefit. When that opinion was released,
officials at the drug control office decided to stop the practice,
spokesman Thomas A. Riley said.

"Our lawyers disagree with the GAO interpretation," he said. Nevertheless,
if the video releases were going to be "controversial or create an
appearance of a problem," the agency decided it was not worth pursuing, he
said.

The prepackaged news pieces represent a fraction of the anti-drug messages
distributed by the office, Riley said. Production and distribution of the
video news releases cost about $155,000.

Riley said broadcast stations were fully aware they were receiving
materials akin to printed news releases that producers could "slice and
dice it however they want."

In one video, titled "Urging Parents to Get the Facts Straight on Teen
Marijuana Use," news stations were provided a script for the news anchor.
It reads: "Despite the fact that marijuana is the most widely used illicit
drug among today's youth, many parents admit they're still not taking the
drug seriously. Now, the nation's experts in health, education and safety
have joined the Drug Czar to speak directly to parents about the very real
risks of teen marijuana use. Mike Morris has more."

After interview snippets with "Drug Czar" John Walters, who heads the drug
control policy office, and other experts, the story closes with the
voiceover: "This is Mike Morris reporting."

In another, the announcer appears to be "reporting" on a news conference by
drug control officials, when "in reality, they are just paid to say a
script," Poling said. "In essence, they're actors."

The drug control agency distributed at least seven prepackaged news reports
to 770 TV stations. At least 300 news shows used some portion of the
materials, though it was impossible to determine how many aired the full
prepackaged story or just portions such as "sound bites," Riley said.

If the videos had been identified as coming from the federal agency, that
would have been legal, Poling said. But the television package looks like
authentic independent journalism.

"The critical element of covert propaganda is the concealment of the
agency's role in sponsoring the materials," GAO wrote to Rep. Henry A.
Waxman (D-Calif.), who requested the Jan. 4 report.

"It is illegal to use taxpayer dollars to influence public opinion
surreptitiously," Waxman said yesterday. "Unfortunately, this is the second
time in less than a year that GAO has caught the Bush administration
violating a fundamental principle of open government."

Note: forwarded message attached.


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Pubdate: Fri, 31 Dec 2004
Source: DrugSense Weekly
Section: Feature Article
Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm

2004 IN THE NEWS

Below is a selection from the most viewed news clippings of the year. With
an average of over 1,600 clippings MAP archived each month, the choices
were not easy. You, our readers, helped with the choices, as all are among
the top 10% in terms of the number of times the selected clippings have
been accessed. From that group we selected what we hope is a good cross
section, leaning towards the more in depth items.

Thank You to the volunteer MAP newshawks, editors, letter to the editor
writers, and all who donate so generously of their time and funds to make
this effort, entering it's tenth year, possible!

JANUARY

US: Feds To Revamp Drug Testing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n097/a02.html

Canada: Huge Marijuana Factory Was One Strange Joint
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n079/a06.html

US: Montel Williams Goes to Pot
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n046/a05.html

US MN: Wheeler Dealer
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n040/a10.html

UK: OPED: One In Four Believe Sale Of Cannabis Should Be Legalized
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n172/a04.html

FEBRUARY

Sweden: Web: Drug Deaths Quadruple
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n262/a05.html

US SC: High School Drug Raid Rattles Town
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n278/a07.html

US WA: DEA's Hangup Over Industrial Hemp Isn't Healthy
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n325/a03.html

US UT: Column: Congress Fights Drug War By Blunting Reform Efforts
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n342/a03.html

UK: Goodbye Ecstasy, Hello 5-Meo-DMT
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n281/a10.html

MARCH

US OK: Series: When Meth Hits Home
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n433/a09.html

US: The Ecstasy Factor
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n407/a06.html

Switzerland: Web: UN Drugs Body Slams Switzerland
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n384/a06.html

US: Documenting The Agony Of Ecstasy
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n513/a10.html

US NV: Legalizing Marijuana May Not Change Much, Researcher Says
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n511/a11.html

APRIL

US: Transcript: Hearing on Medical Marijuana
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n553/a05.html

US IL: On Streets, Drug Trade the Only Game in Town
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n596/a10.html

US MI: Pot, Pain and Politics
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n542/a05.html

US: Ruling in Suit Charging Censorship Could Affect Transit Systems
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n661/a05.html

Canada: Activist: Ottawa's Pot Not Worth Smoking
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n653/a03.html

MAY

US: Mistreatment of Prisoners Is Called Routine in U.S
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n691/a10.html

New Zealand: Weighing Up The Risks Of Drug Testing At Work
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n708/a08.html

Afghanistan: Heroin Trade Booms In Afghanistan
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n706/a11.html

US: Where There's Smoke
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n763/a06.html

US: Drug Bill Makes Bands Pay for Fans' Pot Use
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n774/a06.html

JUNE

US: Series: Denied by the Drug Provision, a Personal Narrative
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n804/a09.html

CN BC: Legalize, Tax Lucrative Pot Industry: Study
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n843/a06.html

US: 0-2 in 9th, Ashcroft May Seek Review
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n843/a08.html

US: Scientists Sue To Get Medical Marijuana
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1040/a07.html

Mexico: Betrayal On The Mexican Border
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n889/a01.html

JULY

US: An End To Marijuana Prohibition
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n939/a04.html

US WV: 20-Year Drug Sentence Tossed Over Supreme Court Ruling
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n938/a10.html

Colombia: FARC and the Paramilitaries Take Over Colombia's Drug Trade
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n976/a05.html

US CO: Conflict Over Legalization a Growing Part of Drug War
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n988/a07.html

Canada: Pot Use Doubles Since '89
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1043/a09.html

AUGUST

CN ON: OPED: Drug Laws Make The Body A Battleground
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1092/a03.html

UK: Herbal Craze Puts Drug Users On a Legal High
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1139/a01.html

US: Push To Legalize Medicinal Pot Stalls In Congress
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1197/a11.html

CN NF: The Other Side Of Oxycontin
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1250/a02.html

US GA: Who Was Kenny Walker?
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1245/a01.html

SEPTEMBER

Netherlands: Growing Marijuana, With Dutch Government Help
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1324/a02.html

CN BC: Free Crack Pipes on the Way
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1347/a08.html

CN BC: Marijuana Candidate Bringing Cannabis Cafe Debate
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1364/a11.html

US NY Edu: Column: New York Drug Laws Too Strict
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1438/a08.html

US AK: If the Voters Plant It, Will It Grow?
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1395/a11.html

OCTOBER

US: Justices Show Inclination To Scrap Sentencing Rules
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n000/a316.html

US: Web: How the Government Lost the Drug War in Cyberspace
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1415/a04.html

US MA: Districts Polled On Marijuana Law
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n000/a318.html

US: A Measured Response
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1473/a05.html

US CA: Column: Dr. Leveque's License Revoked
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1762/a04.html

NOVEMBER

US: Web: Drugs And The Nation
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1592/a02.html

Canada: Ombudsman Calls For Inmate Needle Exchange
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1647/a05.html

US WI: Series: More Prison Time Doesn't Always Result in Less Crime
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1722/a03.html

US FL: Editorial: A 55-Year Sentence for Selling a Few Joints' Worth
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n000/a284.html

US NY: OPED: Southern Quagmire
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1741/a12.html

DECEMBER

US: The Brain's Own Marijuana
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1742/a03.html

US CA: Shattered Grass?
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1769/a02.html

US WI: Doctors, Drug Agency At Odds On Pain Relief
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1768/a06.html

US CA: Column: Health Canada Okays Sativex
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1827/a10.html

US  NY: Column: Why Some Politicians Need Their Prisons to Stay Full
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1845/a07.html

Newshawk: Remembering Gil Puder http://www.leap.cc/puder/
Pubdate: Fri, 12 Nov 2004
Source: DrugSense Weekly
Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
Note: Below is the Table of Contents for today's issue of the DrugSense
Weekly which may be read on-line at the URLs shown.

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY, NOV. 12, 2004 #375

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm#sec1

(1) Justices Hear Case On Drug-Detection Dogs (2) Canada: We'll Make Pot
Laws, PM Tells Cellucci (3) Two Marijuana Proponents Convicted Of
Possession (4) Editorial: Ashcroft II

* Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm#sec2

Drug Policy

(5) Medical Marijuana Vote Called Invalid (6) Pressed To Do Well On
Admissions Tests, Students Take Drugs (7) Oxycontin Lawsuit Settled (8)
U.S. Calls Doctor Dealer, Not Healer

Law Enforcement & Prisons

(9) Despite Drop In Crime, An Increase In Inmates (10) More Women Fill
Prisons (11) Governor Seeks Rise In Prison Spending (12) The Usual Suspects
(13) Police Say Suspects Chose Site

Cannabis & Hemp

(14) Drugs And The Nation (15) Nearly Three-Fourths Of West Has Medical
Marijuana Laws (16) Researchers Buzzing About Marijuana-Derived Medicines
(17) Pot Bill Could Mean Trade Slowdown - Congressman (18) B.C. Considers
Regulating Hydroponic Equipment

International News

(19) Canadians Sentenced To 16 Years For Peddling Ecstasy In Vietnam (20)
Drug Trafficking On The Rise, Warns Ali (21) The War On Drugs Is 'Lost'
(22) Public-Private Jail Proposal Sets Off Alarms

* Hot Off The 'Net http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm#sec3

Remembrance And Ignorance: In Afghan Fields The Poppies Grow...

Jean Cooper Arrest Protest - Up In Smoke Cafe

Cultural Baggage Radio Show

Keep The Government Out Of Your Medicine Cabinet

Better Waking Through Chemistry

Judging Prohibition

Veterans For Medical Marijuana

The D.A.R.E. Generation Returns to D.C.

* Letter Of The Week http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm#sec4

Drug Laws A Threat To Individual Rights / By Chris Buors

* Feature Article http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm#sec5

Playing Cops And Dealers At School / By Stephen Young

* Quote of the Week http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm#sec6

Brehon Somervell

"Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."
- Harry J. Anslinger, Federal Bureau of Narcotics Chief, 1929
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/culture/media/4/4218.gif

Ganjawarnews: 11-6-4 http://tinyurl.com/5ald9
Illustrated: http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/msg1x75578.shtml

Florida's Journey for Justice
Across Florida the medical marijuana patients marched:  past swamps, rusting
railroad
tracks, shotgun shacks  and hog farms, dodging dogs in small towns booming
  with income from new prisons.

In wheelchairs, cars, recreational vehicles, even a scale  model jail cell towed
on a
donated trailer, the Journey for Justice med-pot caravan sojourned two hundred
miles in
seven days of northern Florida springtime.

Thousands of bemused but friendly Floridians, in rural towns, or driving by on
two lane
roads, saw activist Kay Lee, wearing a striped prisoner's uniform, walking miles
for
justice. They saw Eddie Smith, a cancer and AIDS survivor, wheeling down the
grassy
roadside in sheets of blinding rain.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1592.html

Murli at Fort Ganja: Cannabis commune raided several times.
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/75/75578.jpg

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I
have
said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense”-
Buddha

Woody Guthrie
http://www.woodyguthrie.com

This photo of Woody Guthrie and his guitar with "This Machine Kills Fascists"
sign, was taken between the years 1941-45 for the film "Hear My Banjo Sing."
The photographer is unknown.
http://www.cannabinoid.com/wwwboard/politics/binaries/27/27442.jpg
*****************************************************
Ganjawarnews: 11-5-4 http://tinyurl.com/5ahdd
Illustrated: http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/msg1x75533.shtml

“If the jury have no right to judge the justice of a law of the government, they
plainly can do nothing to protect the people against the oppressions of the
government;
for there are no oppressions which the government may not authorize by law.”
- Lysander Spooner, "Trial by Jury"

Before Prohibition
http://wings.buffalo.edu/aru/preprohibition.htm

Vin Mariani was the leading coca wine. This advertisement features an
endorsement from
Berthelier, a popular late 19th century actor. The caption immediately below the
photograph reads, "Your marvelous Tonic needs certainly no further
recommendation as
everyone is familiar with it, and no one would be without it. I claim 'VIN
MARIANI' can
have no equal; it will live forever." The caption also proclaims "over 7,000
written
endorsements from prominent physicians in Europe and America" and that the
product has
had acclaim for 30 years.
(From Harper's Magazine, March, 1894.)

In addition to endorsements from  celebrities, physicians, and scientists,
Pope Leo XIII also endorsed the popular  product for its beneficial effects.
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/75/75533.jpg

=====
Safe Sacramental Cannabis, Food, Fuel, Fiber, FARM-aceuticals
Hardrug, Booze & Petro-Chem Alternative
Eliminated by Legislation and Administrated Education Depravation!
Welcome
http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/ddc/index.html



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page.
www.yahoo.com

***********************************************************************

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY

***********************************************************************

DrugSense Weekly,               Nov. 5, 2004                       #374

Read This Publication On-line at:  http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm

------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In

      (1) US: Drug Trial Of Former Pain Doctor Opens Today
      (2) US CA: Critics Of '3 Strikes' Law Plan To Continue Push For Change
      (3) New Zealand: Medical Cannabis Out, Says Anderton
      (4) US KY: Bullitt School Drug Sweeps Bring 1 Arrest, 9 Citations

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

      (5) Roll, Roll Up, For The Dope Opera
      (6) Ex-Drug Task Force Chief Pleads Guilty
      (7) Editorial: An Information War On Drugs
      (8) Syringe Law Not Making An Impact

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

      (9) Man Gets 99 Years For Drug Deal
      (10) Police Arrests Of Black Men Ripped
      (11) Detective Turned Son Into Dealer
      (12) Deputy Charged With Intent To Distribute Cocaine

Cannabis & Hemp-

      (13) At Least 17 Of 20 Marijuana Initiatives Pass
      (14) Liberals Unveil Pot Bill For Second Time
      (15) Let's Remember Prohibition - And Legalize Marijuana
      (16) Top Court Frees Police To Use Infrared Devices

International News-

      (17) Karzai Declares War On Drugs
      (18) The Mystery Of The Coca Plant That Wouldn't Die
      (19) Crack Kits Hit B.C.'S Streets
      (20) Outrage At Jailing Of Invalid

* Hot Off The 'Net

      Drugs and the Nation / By Steven Wishnia, AlterNet
      Dr. Mikuriya's Medicine / By Peter Gorman, AlterNet
      DanceSafe DVD Offer
      After the War on Drugs - Options for Control
      Walters And Me
      Canadian House of Commons Debates Cannabis Bill
      Eight Reforms for Our Next President
      Working Under Fire: Drug User Health and Justice 2004
      Marijuana Residue Present On US Currency, Study Says
      Marijuana-Like Compounds May Aid Array Of Debilitating Conditions
      Drivers on Pot - Issues and Options

* Letter Of The Week

      Colombia Drug Disaster / By Martin Lepkowski

* Feature Article

      In The War On Drugs, Europe Must Make A Separate Peace
      / By  Polly Toynbee

* Quote of the Week

      George W. Bush

***********************************************************************

THIS JUST IN
==========================================================

(1) US: DRUG TRIAL OF FORMER PAIN DOCTOR OPENS TODAY

A  prominent  former pain doctor from McLean will go on trial today in
federal  court in Alexandria, accused of leading a broad conspiracy to
traffic  in  prescription  narcotics  that  prosecutors say led to the
deaths of three patients.

The  case against William E. Hurwitz has drawn national attention from
advocates  for  patients  with chronic pain, who decry it as a zealous
attempt  to  criminalize  what  they  consider  good medical practice.
Government officials say the prosecutions of Hurwitz and other doctors
has helped stem growing abuse of OxyContin and other potent
prescription painkillers.

Hurwitz, 59, is charged in a 62-count indictment that includes charges
of  drug  trafficking  resulting  in  death and serious bodily injury,
conspiracy  to traffic in controlled substances and health care fraud.
Prosecutors  allege  that  Hurwitz  prescribed excessive quantities of
dangerous  narcotics  to patients who were then selling the drugs on a
lucrative  black  market.  His  dosages,  they  said,  led  to serious
injuries and the three deaths.

The  trial is the culmination of a two-year federal investigation into
doctors,  pharmacists  and  patients  suspected  of selling potent and
addictive  painkillers.  About  50  people  have  been  convicted. Law
enforcement  sources said the probe is ongoing, though Hurwitz was one
of the ultimate targets.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 04 Nov 2004
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2004 The Washington Post Company
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Jerry Markon, Washington Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1572.a01.html

===

(2) US CA: CRITICS OF '3 STRIKES' LAW PLAN TO CONTINUE PUSH FOR CHANGE

Californians  will  never  know  whether  Proposition 66, a measure to
reform  the state's "three strikes" law, would have led to the release
of thousands of "murderers, rapists and child molesters."

But  using that imagery in a multimillion-dollar television blitz last
week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his unrivaled political clout to
persuade  scores  of  California voters to change their minds and vote
down Proposition 66 by a 53 to 47 percent ratio.

Now,  the  decade-old  fight  over  the toughest sentencing law in the
nation  is  back to square one. Even critics of Proposition 66 concede
the  hard-fought campaign is likely to produce reforms to a law put in
place  after  the  Polly  Klaas kidnapping and murder by felon Richard
Allen Davis.

"Nobody  is  under  the  delusion that because this thing didn't pass,
this is going to be the end of it," said Santa Clara County prosecutor
David  Tomkins,  a  three-strikes  expert  who opposed Proposition 66.
"This sniping over three strikes needs to end."

Schwarzenegger  himself said Wednesday that he planned to consult with
Attorney General Bill Lockyer and legislators on possible improvements
to the law.

"If  there's  something  wrong  with  it  you  know  that  needs to be
adjusted, then we should do that," he said.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Thu,  4 Nov 2004
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2004 San Jose Mercury News
Website: http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Howard Mintz
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1571.a10.html

===

(3) NEW ZEALAND: MEDICAL CANNABIS OUT, SAYS ANDERTON

Associate  Minister  of Health Jim Anderton says he will not support a
bill allowing the cultivation of cannabis for pain relief.

But Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons believes the drug should
be allowed for medical reasons.

The  issue has arisen after Christchurch man Neville Yates was sent to
jail  for  five  months  by  Christchurch  District  Court Judge David
Holderness  for  growing  cannabis  he  says  he uses for pain relief.

Yates,  who is wheelchair-bound and brain-damaged after being hit by a
truck  30  years  ago,  had  been  sent  to  jail in 1999 for the same
offence.

Mr  Anderton,  chairman  of  the ministerial committee on drug policy,
said  yesterday  that  he  would  not support a bill allowing cannabis
cultivation for pain relief.

"The Ministry of Health is looking into this issue but it has to do it
on  a  careful basis. It has to have clinical evidence and advice that
using  cannabis  for  pain  relief  is  safe," he told National Radio.

Mr  Anderton said the effects of smoking cannabis were even worse than
tobacco.

He  said  if cannabis was to be allowed for medical reasons, it had to
be properly administered and trialled clinically to ensure it did have
the benefits claimed.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 04 Nov 2004
Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2004 New Zealand Herald
Website: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/300
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1564/a10.html
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1569.a05.html

===

(4) US KY: BULLITT SCHOOL DRUG SWEEPS BRING 1 ARREST, 9 CITATIONS

Kentucky State Police arrested one student and cited nine others last
week in drug sweeps at Bullitt County's three high schools.

Police  arrived unannounced at Bullitt Central, Bullitt East and North
Bullitt  high  schools  Friday  and  used  seven drug-sniffing dogs to
search lockers, classrooms and parking lots for illegal drugs, Trooper
John  Nokes  said.  They found small amounts of marijuana and about 25
pills,  all  prescription  muscle  relaxants,  at  Bullitt Central and
Bullitt East.

   [snip]

Nokes said the amount of drugs confiscated wasn't any larger than they
typically find during school sweeps.

School  officials requested the action after being offered the service
by  the  state  police,  said  Pat  Smith-Darnell, the school system's
director of anti-drug programs.

That  offer  was  made  to  school  systems two years ago, after state
police added 16 German shepherds to their statewide dog unit, bringing
the total to 25.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 04 Nov 2004
Source: Courier-Journal, The (KY)
Copyright: 2004 The Courier-Journal
Website: http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Author: Tonia Holbrook, The Courier-Journa
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1575.a02.html

***********************************************************************

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

===========================================================

Domestic News- Policy
----------------------------------

COMMENT: (5-8)

   European  viewers  of MTV will see a new drama about cannabis dealers
   next  month.  An MTV executive says it will be educational. "It's the
   perfect  time  to  do  a  programme about this because it's something
   people  are  confused  about. People may know cannabis has been taken
   down  a  notch legally but they don't know what that means," he said.

   We'll  see  what people learn from it, but I hope something like this
   makes  it  way  across  the  ocean.  Any  network  could make a great
   reality  series  about  a  typical  drug  task  force.  If it's truly
   realistic,  there  will  be  corruption  like  that found in Alabama,
   where  a  task  force chief has been convicted of extortion and other
   crimes related to his position.

   A  typical pro-drug-war editorial in Virginia acknowledged that a new
   prescription  drug database isn't working to stop drug-related crime,
   but  then  argued  the  program  should  be  expanded.  Finally,  few
   Illinois  residents seem to be taking advantage of liberalized needle
   purchase laws.

===

(5) ROLL, ROLL UP, FOR THE DOPE OPERA

MTV  has  found  a  way  to stay ahead of the pack - a new drama about
drug dealers

MTV  reckons  that if it wants to be down with the kids and remain the
most-watched  music  channel  among  16-  to  24-year-olds,  it has to
stick  its  neck  out.  Hence  the first-ever drama to be shown on the
channel  will  be based, controversially, on the life and times of two
cannabis  dealers.  "It's  a  departure for us," says Richard Godfrey,
senior  vice  president of MTV Productions Europe, of the "dope opera"
-  called  Top  Buzzer - which begins next month.From the early rushes
,TopBuzzer  looks  like  nothing  else you'd see on TV, nothing like a
BBC3  or  Channel  4  show,"  says  Godfrey, revealing precisely which
channels he's benchmarking his output against.

Asked  why  the  music  channel  has gone for drama he replies: "We've
taken  the  decision  to  invest  in original programme development in
the UK and we need a balance of projects."

   [snip]

"It's based on a culture that exists and it's a perfectly
justifiable  one  on  which  to  base a show," says Godfrey. "It's the
perfect  time  to  do  a  programme  about this because it's something
people  are  confused  about.  People may know cannabis has been taken
down a notch legally but they don't know what that means."

   [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 25 Oct 2004
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2004 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Lucy Rouse
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1536/a06.html

===

(6) EX-DRUG TASK FORCE CHIEF PLEADS GUILTY

The  former  head  of  the  Lauderdale  County Drug Task Force pleaded
guilty  Tuesday  to  extortion,  lying to the FBI and misappropriating
funds in his work as task force director.

David  Lynn  Scogin, 44, of Florence has also agreed to pay $20,000 in
restitution.  U.S.  District  Judge Robert B. Propst will sentence him
Dec. 16.

Scogin  was  originally  charged  in  a 10-count indictment last July.
But on Tuesday, he agreed to plead guilty to three counts.

According to the indictment, Scogin extorted $5,000 from an
individual  in  April 2002 by forcing the person to give the drug task
force the money to avoid an arrest.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 03 Nov 2004
Source: Birmingham News, The (AL)
Copyright: 2004 The Birmingham News
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/45
Author: Chanda Temple
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1567/a01.html

===

(7) EDITORIAL: AN INFORMATION WAR ON DRUGS

Virginia  needs  its pilot prescription-monitoring program not only to
continue, but to expand beyond its current limited reach.

Since  Virginia  started  a  pilot  prescription-monitoring program in
Southwest  Virginia  about  a  year  ago,  the  region's  wave of drug
addiction and related crime has not subsided.

That  is  not  an  argument  for ending the program, but for expanding
it.  The  General  Assembly  should make the pilot project permanent -
right  after  reluctant  lawmakers  take  the  steps needed to make it
fully effective.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 28 Oct 2004
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2004 Roanoke Times
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1530/a07.html

===

(8) SYRINGE LAW NOT MAKING AN IMPACT

SPRINGFIELD  --  Relatively  few  people appear to be taking advantage
of  a  new  state law that allows them to purchase up to 20 hypodermic
syringes without a prescription, one of the state's largest
pharmacies said Tuesday.

Gov.  Blagojevich  enacted  the  law  in  July of last year amid heavy
lobbying  from  the  AIDS Foundation of Chicago, which pushed the idea
as  a  means  to  reduce the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C among
intravenous drug users.

"I  don't  think  there has been a real large difference for us so far
in  the  sale  of  syringes," said Walgreens spokesman Michael Polzin.
"It's  not  like  all  of  a sudden our sales have doubled. That's not
the case.

"A  lot  of that is because there's still some education that needs to
be  done  among  the  public  that  they don't need a prescription for
that," he said.

Citing  proprietary  concerns,  Walgreens  would not divulge its sales
for  prescription-free  syringes  under  the new law, which was pushed
by  state  Sen.  Donne Trotter (D-Chicago). The Illinois Department of
Public  Health  does  not  track  how  many people buy needles without
prescriptions, an agency spokesman said.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 27 Oct 2004
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2004 The Sun-Times Co.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Dave McKinney, Sun-Times Springfield Bureau
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1535/a01.html

===================================================

Law Enforcement & Prisons
-------------------------

COMMENT: (9-12)

   About  $1,000  worth of crack in a set-up drug sting netted a 99-year
   sentence  in  Texas.  Sadly,  the case doesn't seem to be an anomaly.
   The  Texas  drug  war  is  skewed  by  race,  and  there's  a similar
   situation  in  Toronto,  according  some  Canadian  judges. Also this
   week,  more prohibition-related corruption, including a heart-warming
   family story.

===

(9) MAN GETS 99 YEARS FOR DRUG DEAL

A  Matagorda  County  jury  handed a Bay City man the maximum possible
punishment  --  99 years in prison -- on a conviction of selling crack
cocaine  Wednesday  --  the  second  such  sentence  in as many weeks.

Johnnie  Jones,  27,  of  Bay City, was convicted of unlawful delivery
of a controlled substance in a drug free zone.

In  addition  to  the 99-year sentence, the jury also assessed Jones a
$20,000 fine.

Jones  resisted  authorities  during  the  trial -- refusing to change
out  of  his  jail outfit and forcing deputies to physically carry him
into the courtroom, deputies said.

Jones  also  struggled with officers later during fingerprinting after
his sentencing, deputies said.

Jones  was  accused  of  selling  2.5  ounces  of  crack cocaine to an
undercover  officer  with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

The  DPS  officer  negotiated the sale with Jones on March 10, 2003 in
the  Roland  Hillard  Memorial  Apartments  at  1408  Whitson  Street,
according to the indictment.

The  apartments  are  within  1,000 feet of Linnie Roberts Elementary,
and  convictions  for  selling drugs within that distance of a school,
by state law, draw a stiffer felony classification.

Jones  told  the  undercover  officer that he would sell the drugs for
$400 an ounce.

After  the  officer  asked  to  see them, Jones gave the officer three
individually  wrapped  bags  containing  the  drugs,  records  show.

The  officer  paid  $1,000  for the bags, and left the complex to meet
with  a  federal  Drug  Enforcement  Agency  (DEA) agent who took them
into evidence, indictment records show.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 24 Oct 2004
Source: Bay City Tribune, The (TX)
Copyright: 2004 Bay City Tribune
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3004
Author: Michael Smith, Bay City Tribune
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?217 (Drug-Free Zones)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1547/a07.html

===

(10) POLICE ARRESTS OF BLACK MEN RIPPED

JUDGES  HAVE  been  sharply critical recently of police conduct during
searches  and  arrests  of  young  black  men.  Last  week,  the Crown
attorney  decided  to  stay  and withdraw drug dealing charges against
admitted  drug  dealer Sheldon Jackson, 28, who was pulled over in his
new  750  BMW  in  2001  on  St.  Clair Ave. W. by Det. Glenn Asselin.

Asselin  is  the same officer named in the Kevin Khan case, considered
the first "Driving While Black" case ruling in Canada.

Khan, a real estate broker, was acquitted last month of a
drug-trafficking  charge.  Justice  Anne  Molloy  said Asselin and his
partner  "fabricated  significant aspects of their evidence" when they
pulled  the  28-year-old  over  on  Marlee  Ave.  on  Oct.  22,  2001.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 29 Oct 2004
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2004, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Sam Pazzano, Courts Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1535/a05.html

====

(11) DETECTIVE TURNED SON INTO DEALER

A  detective  who  recruited his son to pull off a drugs deal has been
jailed.  Suspicious  colleagues  bugged  William Jones, 47, for months
during  forbidden  contacts  with  a police informant who was involved
in  the  drugs  conspiracy.  At Harrow Crown Court on Friday Jones, of
Ware,  Herts,  admitted  conspiracy  to  supply  cannabis  and willful
misconduct  in  a  public office. The former Scotland Yard officer and
father-of-three was jailed for three years and nine months.

Jurors  heard  conversations  were secretly taped in his police car as
he  promised  former  robber Anselm Peries, 35, of Bushey, information
about a multi-million pound hold-up.

'Wicked  behaviour'  They  then  heard  Jones briefing his son about a
drugs  deal  in  which  he wanted him to buy UKP 425 of cannabis resin
from a house linked to the informant and sell it in a pub.

When  fellow  officers  investigated  the  detective's background they
found  he  had also indirectly accepted UKP 12,500 from Peries to help
set up a cafe in Borehamwood.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 29 Oct 2004
Source: BBC News (UK Web)
Copyright: 2004 BBC
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/558
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1543/a10.html

===

(12) DEPUTY CHARGED WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE COCAINE

Roanoke  Sheriff's  Deputy Tierre Allen McGinnis was supplying inmates
with cocaine, a police investigation alleges.

By Lindsey Nair 981-3334 The Roanoke Times

A  former  Roanoke Sheriff's deputy was indicted on two felony charges
Monday  after  a  two-month  investigation  alleges  that  he  sneaked
cocaine into the jail.

Tierre  Allen  McGinnis,  25,  is  charged  with possession of cocaine
with  the  intent  to  distribute and possession of a firearm while in
the  possession  of  cocaine.  The  second  charge carries a mandatory
minimum sentence of five years in prison.

Roanoke  Sheriff  George  McMillan  said the investigation began about
the first of September after three separate tips came in to
authorities  that  a  deputy was delivering drugs to inmates. One came
from  an  inmate  at  the jail, one went to the Roanoke police and one
to the Drug Enforcement Agency, he said.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 02 Nov 2004
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2004 Roanoke Times
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Author: Lindsey Nair
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1566/a09.html

====================================================

Cannabis & Hemp-
---------------------------

COMMENT: (13- 16)

   I'd  like  to  begin  this  week  with  a  moment  of silence for the
   Democratic Party and for liberal values such as equality,
   compassion,  social  justice, secularism, and diplomacy; all of which
   just  died  at  the hands of a conservative electorate bent on 4 more
   years  of  international  isolation,  radical  right-wing  ideology,
   religious  revivalism,  increased  drug  prohibition  spending  and
   enforcement, social and sexual inequality, and flat out
   war-mongering.

   [silence]

   Now  let's  get  back  to  business.  The  U.S.  election featured 20
   cannabis  ballot  initiatives,  ranging  from full-on legalization in
   Alaska  to smaller municipal medical initiatives such as those in Ann
   Arbor  Michigan  and  Columbia,  Missouri.  I  consider  all of these
   groundbreaking  and meriting of notice, and so in a bit of a twist on
   our  normal  compilation  of news articles, we will start this week's
   section  with  a  press  release  by  the  Marijuana  Policy  Project
   outlining  the results of all 20 ballot measures. MPP reports that 17
   of  20  initiatives  were  passed by voters, including record support
   for  a  medical  marijuana  program  in Montana. This becomes all the
   more  significant in light of the Bush victory in that state, going a
   long  to prove that compassionate access to medicinal cannabis is one
   of the only truly bi-partisan issues in this country.

   And  there  was  also  some  interesting  news from Canada this week,
   where  the  ruling  Liberal  party  once  again unveiled a bill which
   would  decriminalize  the  minor  possession  of  cannabis while also
   doubling the penalty for cultivation. Bill C-17 would make
   possession  of 15 grams or less of cannabis by an adult punishable by
   a  fine  of  $150 ($100 for youth), but would also double the maximum
   penalty  for  cultivation  of over 50 plants to a maximum of 14 years
   in  prison. The Liberals also attempted to deflect police concerns by
   simultaneously  introducing a new drugged-driving bill that gives law
   enforcement  more power to test and detain those suspected of driving
   under the influence of drugs.

   Our  next  article  is an editorial by Canada's leading daily calling
   for the legalization of cannabis. While supporting the
   decriminalization  of  personal  possession,  the  Globe  and  Mail
   questions  the  constitutionality  of  the  proposed  drugged-driving
   bill,  and urges the government to move towards - the legalization of
   cannabis.  Meanwhile  the  Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the
   police  use  of  infrared  technology  to identify potential grow-ops
   without  obtaining  a  warrant  does not violate a suspect's right to
   privacy.  So  while the U.S. faces another 4 years of rule by the far
   right,  Canada is allowing law enforcement to control the drug policy
   debate.  Just  how  much  are  flights  to Holland this time of year?

===

(13) AT LEAST 17 OF 20 MARIJUANA INITIATIVES PASS

Proposals  to  reform  marijuana  laws  racked  up record-setting vote
totals  across  the  country  Tuesday,  leaving  reformers  cheering
despite a few setbacks.

Montana  voters  approved a medical marijuana measure, Initiative 148,
by  an  overwhelming 62% to 38%, eclipsing the previous record for any
state's  first  vote  on  a  medical  marijuana  initiative,  the  61%
support  received  by  a  medical  marijuana measure in Maine in 1999.

In  Alaska,  Measure  2  scored  the  highest  vote  percentage  ever
achieved  by  a  statewide  proposal  to abolish marijuana prohibition
entirely  and  replace it with a system of regulation. With 43% of the
vote,  Measure  2  outpolled  previous  attempts  in  Alaska,  Nevada,
California,  and  Oregon  -  - none of which received more than 41% of
the vote.

Efforts  to  replace prohibition with regulation got a huge boost from
Oakland  voters,  who  approved  Measure  Z by 64% to 36%. The measure
commits the city of Oakland to supporting the taxation and
regulation  of  marijuana  in  California and makes personal marijuana
offenses the lowest priority for Oakland law enforcement.

In  Ann  Arbor, Michigan, voters overwhelmingly passed a local medical
marijuana  initiative,  Measure  C,  74%  to  26%.  In August, Detroit
voters passed a similar measure by a 60% to 40% margin.

Voters  in  Columbia, Missouri, gave big wins to two separate reforms:
A  medical  marijuana  proposal,  Proposition 1, passed by 69% to 31%;
and  Proposition  2, which replaces jail time with a maximum $250 fine
for  marijuana  possession, also received a solid endorsement with 61%
of the vote.

   [snip]

Continues: http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr110204b.html

===

(14) LIBERALS UNVEIL POT BILL FOR SECOND TIME

Paul  Martin's  Liberals reintroduced a controversial bill Monday that
would  decriminalize  marijuana  possession  and  replace  criminal
charges  with  fines  for  anyone  caught  with  up to 15 grams of the
drug.

The  new  possession bill comes with the same old warning from Justice
Minister  Irwin  Cotler: This doesn't mean marijuana will be legalized
in Canada.

"Marijuana  use  is  and remains illegal," he said. "What we have done
here is alter penalty frameworks."

If  the  bill passes, adults who are caught with less than 15 grams of
marijuana  could  be  fined  up  to $400, but would not be left with a
criminal record.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 01 Nov 2004
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Canada Web)
Copyright: 2004 CBC
Note: Written by CBC News Online staff
Related: http://www.cfdp.ca/mj2003.htm
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1558.a09.html

===

(15) LET'S REMEMBER PROHIBITION - AND LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

The  commercial  cultivation  of  marijuana,  once largely confined to
British  Columbia,  has spread nationwide. In Ontario, the harvest has
grown  by  an  estimated  250  per  cent in the past two years. Police
recently  raided  grow-ops in Moncton. In Edmonton, real-estate agents
are  exploring  their  legal  liability for selling a house that turns
out to have been a nursery.

Remember this, when you consider Bill C-17.

The  Liberal  government's  third attempt at decriminalizing marijuana
possession  was  introduced  in  the House yesterday. Whether the bill
makes  it  into  law  will  largely depend on whether Parliament lasts
long enough to get it through.

   [snip]

In  an  effort  to  control  the  spread  of grow-ops, governments are
skirting  with  unconstitutional  laws.  The  Ontario  government  has
introduced  legislation  that would permit authorities to cut power to
homes suspected of growing marijuana.

At the federal level, Bill C-16, which was also introduced
yesterday,  will  expand  police  powers  to  compel  blood, saliva or
urine  tests  for suspected drugged drivers. Both laws may well offend
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 02 Nov 2004
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2004, The Globe and Mail Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: John Ibbitson
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1561.a02.html

===

(16) TOP COURT FREES POLICE TO USE INFRARED DEVICES

The  Supreme  Court  of  Canada  put  marijuana  enforcement  ahead of
privacy yesterday, freeing police to use sophisticated
heat-detection  equipment  to  ferret  out  indoor growing operations.

The  7-0  decision reversed an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that had
urged  a  more  liberal  attitude toward marijuana and the right to be
free of unfair search and seizure.

   [snip]

Peter  Zaduk,  a  Toronto  lawyer  who  has defended scores of grow-op
charges,  predicted  that  police forces will silently rejoice. "I can
see  them  systematically  flying over whole neighbourhoods," he said.
"Their  mindset  is  that  marijuana grow houses are an epidemic. They
are obsessed with the idea of them being on every block.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Sat, 30 Oct 2004
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2004, The Globe and Mail Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Kirk Makin, Justice Reporter
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1543.a02.html

===============================================

International News
---------------------------

COMMENT: (17-20)

   The  Afghan government really means business, this time. According to
   wire  reports  last  week,  a  senior Afghan official from the ruling
   Karzai  regime  sternly warned a seminar in Kabul that no opium would
   be  grown.  "Growers  must  not  plant  poppies  this year," Interior
   Minister  Ali.  A.  Jalali commanded. Opium production in Afghanistan
   had  fallen  to  record  lows  before  the  U.S.-led  invasion of the
   landlocked  Asian  nation in 2001. Since that time, opium growing has
   soared  to  the  highest  levels  ever.  The government threatened to
   destroy  all opium crops this year, and to skip paying farmers even a
   token  amount  in compensation for destroyed crops, as in past years.

   While  U.S.  drug  czars  ballyhoo  an abstract "tipping point" (just
   around  the corner) where suddenly prohibition will become effective,
   on the ground in Colombia, there are indications a new
   herbicide-resistant  coca plant that survives glyphosate (Roundup) is
   spreading.  A  feature  article  from Wired magazine reports that the
   new coca strain (known as "supercoca", "la millonaria", or
   "Boliviana  negra")  also produces more leaves than other strains, as
   well  as  being  resistant  to the herbicide used against it. The new
   strain  was  believed  to  have  been  a  natural  resistance-giving
   mutation that was noticed and propagated by farmers.

   In Vancouver, Canada, a crack-user's support group is now
   distributing  free  crack pipes. The "kits advance harm reduction and
   prevent  the  spread  of  HIV  and  hepatitis  C," said Rob Morgan, a
   self-described  crack  cocaine addict. Private donations paid for the
   kits  some  500  of  which  have  been  handed out so far. Officials,
   including  Mayor  of  Vancouver, Larry Campbell, had earlier endorsed
   the  creation  of  a  crack  smoking  room for Vancouver. The city of
   Vancouver  also  has  a  "safe-injection"  site,  the  first in North
   America.

   And  finally  this week, a report from The Press in New Zealand, that
   a  brain-damaged  man  there was sentenced to five months in jail for
   growing  medical  cannabis.  The  cannabis,  said  the  man, relieved
   chronic  pain  from  an  accident  30  years  ago which left him in a
   wheelchair  ever  since.  The  judge  lashed  out  at  "pro-cannabis
   advocates"  at  the  sentencing, and scolded the man for not pleading
   guilty. Christchurch District Court Judge David Holderness
   proclaimed  that  not  jailing  the  brain-damaged,  wheelchair-bound
   patient,  "in  this  case  would  be  to  suggest  that there is some
   special  category  of cannabis-cultivation offenders -- those who use
   it for medicinal purposes."

===

(17) KARZAI DECLARES WAR ON DRUGS

Kabul,  Afghanistan,  Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Afghan Interior Minister Ali. A.
Jalali  told  provincial security chiefs Monday that poppy cultivation
must stop and future crops would be destroyed.

The  announcement  was  made  at  the  ministry  in  Kabul  during  an
anti-narcotics  seminar  attended  by  provincial  security chiefs and
senior government officials.

   [snip]

"Growers  must  not  plant  poppies this year," Minister Jalali warned
the  officers.  He  told  them  to  return to their provinces and tell
growers  that  cultivating  poppies  was  against Islam, and beginning
this year the government would destroy their crops without
compensation.

The  ministry  said the government is committed to destroying the drug
economy, and that if the security chiefs fail to stop poppy
cultivation  in  their provinces, the government's eradication program
will begin

Pubdate: Tue, 02 Nov 2004
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2004 News World Communications, Inc.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1566.a11.html

===

(18) THE MYSTERY OF THE COCA PLANT THAT WOULDN'T DIE

   [snip]

Over  the  past  three  years,  rumors  of  a  new strain of coca have
circulated  in  the  Colombian  military.  The  new  plant, samples of
which  are  spread  out  on  this  table,  goes  by  different  names:
supercoca,  la  millonaria.  Here in the southern region it's known as
Boliviana  negra.  The  most  impressive characteristic is not that it
produces  more  leaves  -  - though it does - but that it is resistant
to  glyphosate.  The  herbicide,  known by its brand name, Roundup, is
the  key  ingredient  in  the  US-financed, billion-dollar aerial coca
fumigation  campaign  that is a cornerstone of America's war on drugs.

One  possible  explanation:  The  farmers  of the region may have used
selective  breeding  to  develop  a hardier strain of coca. If a plant
happened  to  demonstrate  herbicide  resistance,  it  would  be  more
widely  cultivated,  and  clippings  would  be either sold or, in many
cases, given away or even stolen by other farmers. Such a
peer-to-peer  network  could,  over  time,  result in a coca crop that
can withstand large-scale aerial spraying campaigns.

   [snip]

We  hike  up  the  ridge,  and  suddenly there are healthy coca plants
stretching  to  the  horizon.  On  one  side  of  an  imaginary  line,
devastation.  On  the  other, billowing, neck-high coca plants dotting
hillsides  that  are  denuded  of  all  other  vegetation.  "Boliviana
negra,"  Don  Miguel  says,  pointing  at the large bushes. "They were
sprayed as well."

   [snip]

The  new  strain  is  disseminated via cuttings; farmers cut off stems
and  sell  them. Some farmers, looking to make more money, travel with
their  cuttings  and  peddle them around the region. And once a farmer
grows  a  new  plant, he can sell his own cuttings. It's file-swapping
brought to the jungle - a highly efficient decentralized
distribution chain.

Don  Miguel  doesn't  know  where  the strain originated. He has heard
rumors  of  a  group of mysterious agronomists who develop better coca
plants  for  the  traffickers,  but  he doesn't know where they are or
anything about them.

He  does  have  a  clear  sense  of how the new plant is affecting his
region.  At  first,  he  says, the aerial spraying was successful, but
now,  with  the  arrival of Boliviana negra, it's affecting only those
who  are  growing  lawful  crops.  "The  truth  is that the fumigation
drives  us  to the one thing that will survive - and that is Boliviana
negra," he says. "Not bananas, not yucca, not maize."

   [snip]

This  technique  -  applied  over  four years - is now the most likely
explanation  for  the  arrival of Boliviana negra. By spraying so much
territory,  the  US  significantly  increased  the  odds of generating
beneficial  mutations.  There  are  numerous  species of coca, further
increasing  the  diversity of possible mutations. And in the Amazonian
region, nature is particularly adaptive and resilient.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 01 Nov 2004
Source: Wired Magazine (CA)
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/505
Author: Joshua Davis
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/mycoherbicide
(mycoherbicide)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1556.a06.html

===

(19) CRACK KITS HIT B.C.'S STREETS

VANCOUVER  --  A  support  group  for  drug  users  began distributing
hundreds  of  free  crack pipes over the weekend in an initiative they
say  will  slow the spread of disease among drug users. Over 500 crack
kits  were  handed  out  Friday and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug
Users  plans  to  hand  out  hundreds  more  in  the coming days, said
network  president  Rob  Morgan.  The  group  wants  public funding to
maintain the program.

"In  the  same  way  as  handing  out needles, these kits advance harm
reduction  and  prevent  the  spread  of  HIV  and  hepatitis C," said
Morgan, a self-described crack cocaine addict.

Each  kit  contains a glass pipe, mouthpieces, condoms, alcohol swabs,
matches,  and  smoking  instructions.  Money to buy the kits came from
private  organizations  and  street  donations. Morgan said drug users
are  asked  to  donate  at least $1 for the kits. "But we're not going
to turn people away," he said.

Health  officials  are  also  being  lobbied to create a crack smoking
room  in  the  city's  controversial safe injection site, the first of
its kind in North America.

Pubdate: Mon, 01 Nov 2004
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2004, Canoe Limited Partnership
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Canadian Press
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1558.a01.html

===

(20) OUTRAGE AT JAILING OF INVALID

Wheelchair-bound  and  brain-damaged beneficiary Neville Yates is back
in  prison  as  accusations  fly  over  him  becoming  a  pawn  in the
cannabis debate.

Christchurch  District  Court  Judge  David  Holderness  yesterday
sentenced  Yates  to  five months jail for growing cannabis, which the
sickness  beneficiary  uses to relieve the chronic pain he has endured
since being hit by a truck 30 years ago.

As  the  judge  acknowledged that Yates would find jail hard, he had a
swipe  at  the  cannabis  activists  in court who had played a part in
Yates's doomed defence of medical necessity.

They  included  Blair  Anderson,  who  stood  for  the  Christchurch
mayoralty  on  a  policy  of repealing the prohibition on cannabis and
who acted as in-court assistant to Yates.

"You  were  not  greatly  assisted  by (Anderson) and other members of
the  group  who  were,  plainly,  pro-cannabis  advocates,"  the judge
said.

   [snip]

Yesterday's  sentence  provoked  violent  scenes, with abuse yelled at
the  judge  and  angry  protesters  forced  from the court building by
security staff.

   [snip]

Garrett,  prosecutor  Craig  Ruane  and  the  probation  officer  who
prepared  the  pre-sentence  report  had all supported a non-custodial
penalty.

   [snip]

"I  don't  overlook  that  a further prison term will be difficult for
you  and  I  have  regard  to  your  physical  difficulties  and  your
significant problem with pain," he said.

"However,  in  my  view,  to  impose  a non-custodial sentence in this
case  would  be  to  suggest  that  there  is some special category of
cannabis-cultivation  offenders  -  those  who  use  it  for medicinal
purposes.

   [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 03 Nov 2004
Source: Press, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2004 The Christchurch Press Company Ltd.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/349
Author: John Henzell
Photo: http://www.mapinc.org/images/Yates.jpg
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1564.a10.html

***********************************************************************

HOT OFF THE 'NET
-------------------------------

DRUGS AND THE NATION

By Steven Wishnia, AlterNet. Posted November 4, 2004.

The  election  results  show  there  is  still substantial support for
liberalizing  the  nation's  drug laws ? just not too far or too fast.

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/20408/

===

DR. MIKURIYA'S MEDICINE

By Peter Gorman, AlterNet. Posted November 3, 2004.

The  prime  target of the government's campaign against physicians who
recommend  medical  marijuana  is  fighting  for  his patients and his
professional life.

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/20407/

===

DANCESAFE DVD OFFER

"Most  non-violent  drug  offenders would have avoided my courtroom if
they  had  seen  BUSTED."  -- Robert W. Sweet, US District Court Judge

This  45  minute  DVD  graphically  demonstrates  how  to  best handle
yourself  in  the three most common police encounters you?re likely to
face. Whether police pull you over, stop you on the street, or show up
at  your doorstep -- you can be ready with the information you need to
legally  protect  yourself.  For  a  $25 donation to DanceSafe you can
help  protect  the  constitutional  rights of your friends, family and
community.

http://dancesafe.org/busted/

===

AFTER THE WAR ON DRUGS - OPTIONS FOR CONTROL

'After  the  War on Drugs - Options for Control' is a major new report
examining  the  key themes in the drug policy reform debate, detailing
how  legal  regulation  of  drug markets will operate, and providing a
roadmap and time line for reform.

http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_AftertheWaronDrugsReport.htm

===

WALTERS AND ME

Remember  how  Michael Moore tracked down the CEO of GM to ask why his
town  had  been  ruined  in  Roger  And Me? This Moore-esque hour-long
Potumentary  follows  the  history  of the Canadian "decrim" bill, now
called C-17.

http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-3163.html

===

CANADIAN HOUSE OF COMMONS DEBATES CANNABIS BILL

Comments  from  members  of  parliament Libby Davies, Randy White and
Keith Martin.

http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-3160.html

===

EIGHT REFORMS FOR OUR NEXT PRESIDENT

The  Drug  Policy  Alliance recommends eight reforms to make our drug
policies more rational, fiscally responsible, and fair.

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/11_02_04eightreforms.cfm

===

WORKING UNDER FIRE: DRUG USER HEALTH AND JUSTICE 2004

5th National Harm Reduction Conference

New Orleans November 11-14, 2004.

http://www.harmreduction.org/conf2004/

===

MARIJUANA RESIDUE PRESENT ON US CURRENCY, STUDY SAYS

November 4, 2004 - Cleveland, OH, USA

Cleveland, OH: Trace levels of THC and other cannabinoids are present
in  United States paper currency, according to the findings of a study
published  in  the  September  issue  of  the  Journal  of Analytical
Toxicology.

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6325

===

MARIJUANA-LIKE  COMPOUNDS  MAY  AID  ARRAY OF DEBILITATING CONDITIONS
RANGING FROM PARKINSON'S DISEASE TO PAIN

No  longer  a  pipe  dream,  new  animal  research now indicates that
marijuana-like  compounds  can aid a bevy of debilitating conditions,
ranging  from  brain  disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS) and Parkinson's disease, to pain and obesity.

http://apu.sfn.org/content/AboutSFN1/NewsReleases/am2004_cannabinoids.html

===

DRIVERS ON POT - ISSUES AND OPTIONS

On  November  1,  Canada's federal government introduced a legislative
scheme  to deal with drug-impaired (read "cannabis-impaired") driving.

http://www.cfdp.ca/mj2003.htm#c16

The  Canada Safety Council has come out with a sensible alternative to
this intrusive bill, along with an issues paper that looks at cannabis
and impaired driving.

http://www.cfdp.ca/mj2003.htm#csc

***********************************************************************

LETTER OF THE WEEK
------------------------------------

COLOMBIA DRUG DISASTER

By Martin Lepkowski

I  am  pleased that Rafael Lemaitre, the deputy press secretary in the
White  House  Office  of National Drug Policy, took notice of my Sept.
14  Commentary  column,  "Plan  Colombia: Poisoning a country," in his
Sept. 23 letter, "Plan Colombia a clear success."

A  few  facts:  To  say  that  the glyphosate used in Colombia is your
garden-variety  herbicide  is,  to put it kindly, untrue. Mr. Lemaitre
and  company  know that the glyphosate used in Colombia is being mixed
with  other  chemicals that have not been approved, or even tested for
harmful  effects.  The  chemical  company Monsanto specifically states
not  to  mix  glyphosate  ( Roundup ) with other chemicals. It goes on
to  say  that  users  of  its  product  should wear gloves, protective
clothing, and, especially, eye protection, because of the
possibility  of  severe  eye  damage. Try telling this to a child when
the  planes  come  to  spread  their  chemical brew on the Colombians'
fields, homes and schools.

It  is  true  that there has been a reduction of coca in some parts of
Colombia.  However,  Accion  Andina,  an independent agency monitoring
growth  and  production of coca, reports that before fumigation began,
coca  could  be  found  in 12 Colombian provinces; now it can be found
in 20.

The  agency  also  reports  an  increase  in the production of coca in
nearby  countries.  One  wonders:  Is  the  White  House contemplating
spraying  in  these  countries,  too?  Will  our fumigating planes fly
deeper into the Amazon forest?

I  wonder  if  the  White House reads its own State Department report,
dated  March  2004,  stating  that  the price of coca is not rising in
Colombia,  and  that  coca  cultivation  is increasing elsewhere. Even
"Drug  Czar"  John Walters has said that fumigation has failed to make
a  significant  dent in the amount of cocaine flowing out of Colombia.

Colombia's  President  Alavaro  Uribe  has  provided  some  Colombian
families  with  alternative-development  aid.  However,  he  should be
aware  that  some  of  these  funded  projects  have  been  fumigated.
According to a U.N. report, fumigation has destroyed 11
government-sponsored  substitution  and alternative-to-coca-production
programs.  Also  note  that  10,000 complaints of food-crop fumigation
have been filed with the U.S. Embassy in Colombia.

It  is  worth  noting,  too,  that some Colombian government officials
have  ties  to  paramilitary  narco-traffickers. President Uribe could
be doing more to weed out these corrupt politicians.

In  conclusion,  I  refer  the  White  House  Office  of National Drug
Policy  to  a  Rand  Corporation study that states that prevention and
drug-treatment therapies are 23 times more effective than
drug-eradication  programs.  To  date,  U.S. taxpayers have spent $3.3
billion  on  Plan  Colombia.  I  think  another  approach is in order.

Martin Lepkowski
Wakefield

Pubdate: Sat, 30 Oct 2004
Author: Martin Lepkowski
Source: Providence Journal, The (RI)

***********************************************************************

FEATURE ARTICLE
-------------------------------

IN THE WAR ON DRUGS, EUROPE MUST MAKE A SEPARATE PEACE

By  Polly Toynbee

Give  Addicts  a  Prescription  and  End the Crime Wave Destroying Our
Cities

Waiting  to  see  who  has  won  the  most important U.S. election for
decades,  the  world  has  been  an  anguished  bystander, pressing up
against  the  window  of  the superpower. So much depends on America -
from  climate  change  to  terms  of global trade and haphazard forays
into global policing.

But  one  policy on which the U.S. has always had an iron grip was not
mentioned  at  all  -  because both candidates would agree on it. Both
would  say  the  global "war on drugs" must go on. Since 1961 the U.S.
has  strong-armed  most  countries into signing UN conventions to join
this  futile  and  destructive battle. Drug prohibition has torn apart
poor  drug-producing  countries and wreaked drug-fuelled terror on the
streets  of  every  city  in  the world. It has created crazed addicts
lurking in dark streets everywhere from Rio to Russia.

"A  drugs-free  world  - we can do it!" is the slogan of the UN Office
on  Drugs  and  Crime.  It is, it says daftly, "on target to reach its
goals".  What  goals?  To  eradicate drug abuse and the cultivation of
coca,  cannabis  and  opium by the year 2008. Yes, in just four years.

Prohibition  not  only  hasn't  worked, it makes things ever worse. If
ever  there  was a good example of a policy where Europe needs to make
its  own  way,  this  is  it.  The  former Interpol chief (and now its
honorary  secretary  general)  Raymond  Kendall  has  broken  official
silence in Europe over this.

Writing  in  Le Monde, in a preview of a key lecture later this month,
he  declared  the  drugs  war  lost and said that enforcement policies
had  failed  to  protect  the  world from drugs. It was time for "harm
reduction"  instead  of the UN's "obsolete international conventions".
He  called  for  Europe  to take the lead in an international movement
to  reform  policy  when the UN's drug conventions come up for renewal
in 2008.

Under  the  conventions,  all countries are obliged to pursue growers,
dealers and users in an expensive attempt to hold back an
unstoppable  tide.  Prohibition  has  bred  crime  on  an unimaginable
global  scale.  Bravely,  most countries have to pretend that they are
winning  -  when  it  is  painfully  obvious  there  are  only losers.

Look  at  the  absurdity  of  our  own  Home  Office's five-year plan,
published  this  summer.  Here  are  its  drug  targets:  "We  aim  to
increase  the  proportion  of heroin seized from 10% in 2003 to 16% in
2006  and  cocaine from 12% to 26%. We will make the UK a more hostile
environment for organised drugs trafficking."

These  figures  are  almost  touchingly  barmy. The Home Office has no
idea  what  proportion  of  any  drug  it is seizing. If it does seize
more,  it  may  only  be a bad sign that there is more on the streets.

The  Home  Office  appears  not  to  have  read  the  prime minister's
strategy  unit  report  (unpublished),  which  found  that  UK  police
enforcement  had  failed to have any meaningful impact on illegal drug
supply.  Sadly,  this  report  took  fright  at  the  logic of its own
findings,  and  ended  up  calling  for mandatory treatment for heroin
addicts  -  now  expected  in  the  Queen's  Speech. Evidence suggests
forced  treatment  rarely  works:  even  the  results  for  voluntary
treatment are not always brilliant.

Meanwhile,  out  there  in  the  real world far from UN or Home Office
fantasy  targets,  Time  magazine  reports that the revenue from opium
grown  in  Afghanistan  this year is $30bn already; 95% of the crop is
destined  for  Europe,  and  it  is  the  source of most of the heroin
arriving  in  Britain. But how is Hamid Karzai supposed to prevent it?
Who  can  stop the poorest country on earth from growing the only crop
that brings in wealth? In the chaos of the Iraq war and its
aftermath,  the  Jordanian  anti-narcotics  department is alarmed, the
BBC reports, to find a new and unfamiliar sea of drugs from
Afghanistan  pouring  across  its  borders  and out across the region.

Look  at  other  opium-growing regions, and it's the same story. Their
governments  are  obliged  to crack down as best they can or risk U.S.
revenge  in  loss  of  aid,  trade  and  other  penalties.  Drugs harm
individuals,  but  it  is  not drugs that cause social calamity. It is
their  prohibition  that  brings a wave of criminality and corruption,
chasing profits of up to 3,000%.

What  the  former  head of Interpol is saying echoes the excellent new
report  by  the  Transform  Drug  Policy  Foundation,  setting  out  a
step-by-step  route  map towards controlled legalisation. There is now
a  free  market  in  the  most  dangerous  drugs  -  absurdly known as
"controlled  drugs"  when the opposite is the case. Their availability
is  in  the  hands  of  the  worst  people on any street corner on the
globe.  A  rational,  evidence-based  policy  would  seek  to kill the
market,  put  dealers  out  of business and put control of these drugs
into the safe hands of pharmacists.

Raymond  Kendall  calls  for  Europe to "medicalise" drugs, instead of
criminalising  them.  He  cites British research that finds every UKP1
spent  on  treatment  saves  UKP3  in  the criminal justice system. By
prescribing  pharmaceutical  opiates,  he  says there is an 80% cut in
addict  deaths,  a  drop  in  the  spread of disease and, above all, a
"sharp cut in the delinquency rates of drug addicts".

He  has  spent  his working life trying to cut off supply, only to see
it  soar,  prices drop and the number of addicts rise. Now he comes to
the  only  sensible  conclusion:  the  war on drugs doesn't work. Give
all  addicts  a  prescription,  and  they  can  lead reasonably normal
lives,  with  no  need  to  commit  crime.  The UKP300bn global market
would  grind  to  a  stop  with  an  end  to its violence, corruption,
fraud, money laundering and financing of terrorism.

In  Britain,  drugs  are  cheaper  than  ever.  The  lowest  estimate
suggests  half  of  all  prisoners  are jailed for offences related to
their  need  to  sustain  a  habit  of,  on  average, UKP50 a day. The
government  spends  far  more  on  enforcement  than on treatment. But
treatment  is  not  the whole answer: sometimes it works, sometimes it
doesn't.  For  many  addicts,  maintenance  is  the  best option. Most
citizens  only  care  about  stopping  addicts  committing  crimes and
rescuing  inner-city  zones  that  have  become battlegrounds for drug
gangs  and  pimps  running  drug-addicted  prostitutes.  No  one  is
suggesting  selling  the  stuff  in  corner  shops, but destroying the
market  by  making  it easy to register for controlled drug use is the
only hope left.

No  American  politician  would  find it easy to start a revolutionary
rethink  on  the  drugs  war. But Europe can and should; Holland began
and  now  has  a  shrinking, ageing number of addicts. Together the EU
could  move  step  by  step to rationalise drug policy; it is just one
example  of  what  Europe  could do together to offer another, non-US,
liberal model of democracy.

Pubdate: Wed, 03 Nov 2004
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Polly Toynbee
Cited: http://www.tdpf.org.uk

***********************************************************************

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
------------------------------------

"One  of  the  interesting  questions  facing baby boomers is, have we
grown  up?  Are we willing to share the wisdom of past mistakes? And I
think the message ought to be to all children, 'Don't use drugs. Don't
abuse  alcohol.'  That's  what  leadership is all about." -- George W.
Bush, Boston Globe, p. A3 Aug 22, 1999

***********************************************************************

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 Please utilize the following URL

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

CREDITS:

Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen
Young , Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas ,
International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead, Layout by Matt
Elrod

We  wish  to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

Note: forwarded message attached.


=====
Safe Sacramental Cannabis, Food, Fuel, Fiber, FARM-aceuticals
Hardrug, Booze & Petro-Chem Alternative
Eliminated by Legislation and Administrated Education Depravation!
Welcome
http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/ddc/index.html

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Thread: 74% of Ann Arbor Voters Called Invalid...
Ann Arbor Police Chief Dan (Anslinger) Oates said in a written statement he has
directed his officers to continue enforcement of all marijuana sale and
possession
offenses as they did before the vote. Oates' decision came after City Attorney
Stephen
(Jim Crow) Postema said Wednesday that Ann Arbor's new medical marijuana
initiative is
invalid. Although the initiative was legally and appropriately placed on the
ballot
after a petition drive, Postema said 27-year-old case law dictates that city
officials
can refer complaints for prosecution under state law even though it would be
contrary
to the city's new charter language... snip

... "But the citizens of Ann Arbor have spoken just as clearly,"  "And people
who would
like to be employed by the city should either listen to the voice of the people
when
they vote or they should seek employment ... in another community. If the people
of Ann
Arbor didn't speak clearly yesterday, then I don't know what it takes." Scio
Township
Trustee Chuck Ream,
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/msg7x4978.shtml

Medical Marijuana Gets 74% Approval
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19760.shtml

Ganjawarnews: 11-4-4: http://tinyurl.com/4xuny
Illustrated: http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/msg1x75489.shtml

Ann Arbor of Old
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/culture/media/4/4978.jpg

=====
Safe Sacramental Cannabis, Food, Fuel, Fiber, FARM-aceuticals
Hardrug, Booze & Petro-Chem Alternative
Eliminated by Legislation and Administrated Education Depravation!
Welcome
http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/ddc/index.html



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page.
www.yahoo.com

"I'm for legalizing marijuana. Why pick on those drugs? Valium is legal. You
just go to
a doctor and get it and overdose on it - what's the difference? Prozac, all that
stuff,
so why not marijuana? Who cares? It's something that grows out of the ground -
why not?
Go smoke a head of cabbage. I don't care what you smoke."
- Howard Stern

Ganjawarnews: 11-03-4 http://tinyurl.com/4ulap
Illustrated: http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/msg1x75421.shtml

Both Pot Propositions Pass by a Large Margin By Luke Distefano
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19763.shtml
*******
A2 Voters Pass Initiative To Legalize MMJ By Leslie Rott
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19766.shtml
*******
Marijuana Measures Pass Handily By Dave Moore
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19765.shtml
*******
Voters: Make Pot a Low Priority By Heather MacDonald
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19762.shtml
*******
Medical Marijuana Approved By Allison Farrell
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19761.shtml
*******
Medical Marijuana Gets 74% Approval By Tom Gantert
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19760.shtml
*******
Voters Support Ballot Questions on Marijuana By Brian Eastwood
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19759.shtml
*******
Voters Pass Medical Marijuana Ballot By Susan Gallagher
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19758.shtml
*******
The Marijuana Conspiracy By Tara Apperson
CN Source: Lumberjack November 02, 2004
President Rollin Richmond thinks marijuana should be legalized. I agree with
him. In an
October meeting with The Lumberjack staff Richmond said, “My own personal view
is that
marijuana, like alcohol, should be legalized and should be taxed.”  Marijuana is
illegal for political reasons, not legitimate health reasons. Marijuana is far
less
harmful than alcohol, or even cigarettes. For those who don’t agree with the
recreational use of marijuana, just look at the hemp industry.
Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19757.shtml

=====
Safe Sacramental Cannabis, Food, Fuel, Fiber, FARM-aceuticals
Hardrug, Booze & Petro-Chem Alternative
Eliminated by Legislation and Administrated Education Depravation!
Welcome
http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/ddc/index.html



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page.
www.yahoo.com