> Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 12:35:48 -0700
> From: webmaster@... (Drug Sense)
> Subject: DrugSense Weekly, May 4, 2007, #497
>
>
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>
> DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
>
>
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>
> DrugSense Weekly,               May 4, 2007
>              #497
>
> Read This Publication On-line at:
> http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
>
> ------------------
>
> TABLE OF CONTENTS:
>
> * This Just In
>
>     (1) Cost Of Caribbean Crime Grows
>     (2) Judge Questions Police Methods,
> Effectiveness Of Drug War
>     (3) Drug Tests In Question
>     (4) As Funding Increases, Afghan Forces Range
> From Ragtag To Ready
>
> * Weekly News in Review
>
> Drug Policy-
>
>     (5) Police Benefit From Castoff Military Gear
>     (6) Police Go Too Far in Undercover Stings, SSDP
> Says
>     (7) Jackson Township Council Members Take Random
> Drug-Screening Test
>     (8) Needle Exchange Approved
>
> Law Enforcement & Prisons-
>
>     (9) Prosecutors Say Corruption in Atlanta Police
> Dept. Is Widespread
>     (10) Scared Police 'Snitch' To Sue
>     (11) Drug Ring, Tour Buses Linked
>     (12) Corruption Trial
>
> Cannabis & Hemp-
>
>     (13) House Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
>     (14) Will Our Leaders Be Dopes?
>     (15) Why Medical Marijuana Is Wrong For
> Minnesota
>     (16) Hanover Will Vote On Medical Marijuana
>     (17) New Studies Destroy The Last Objection To
> Medical Marijuana
>
> International News-
>
>     (18) Tall Poppies Another Headache For The US
>     (19) Does White House Letter Show War On Cocaine
> A Failure?
>     (20) Does Harper's Message Match The Statistics?
>     (21) Harper Wrong To Ask Police To Lobby
>
> * Hot Off The 'Net
>
>     Don't Believe Everything You Read
>     Good Cop, Bad Doctor / By Jacob Sullum
>     A New Bottom Line For The War On Drugs / By Bill
> Piper
>     Vaporizer Update / By Mitch Earleywine
>     Pot Use Doesn't Exacerbate Symptoms Of
> Schizophrenia, Study Says
>     Cultural Baggage Radio Show
>
> * What You Can Do This Week
>
>     Global Marijuana March
>
> * Letter Of The Week
>
>     Denying Marijuana For Cancer Increases Suffering
> / Harlan Miller
>
> * Feature Article
>
>     Stupidest Drug Story Of The Week / Jack Shafer
>
> * Quote of the Week
>
>     Mark Twain
>
> DrugSense  needs  your  support  to  continue this
> newsletter and many
> other important projects - see how you can help at
> http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
>
>
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>
> THIS JUST IN
>
=======================================================================
>
> (1) COST OF CARIBBEAN CRIME GROWS
>
> Drug  Trafficking  Exacts  Social,  Economic  Toll,
> World Bank Reports
>
> KINGSTON,  Jamaica  -- Economists investigating the
> impact of crime in
> the developing world are yielding some harsh
> findings.
>
> The social and economic costs are growing and are
> compounded with each
> generation, feeding further cycles of violence.
>
> And  America's closest neighbors have it worst, the
> World Bank says. A
> report  to  be  released by the bank today says
> Jamaica is emerging as
> the  murder  capital  of  the Americas, while the
> Caribbean region now
> ranks  as the world's most crime-ridden area,
> excluding places torn by
> civil  war.  Hijacking,  burglary, kidnapping and
> rape are also on the
> rise,  as  a  result  of  the  region's role in the
> global drug trade.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 04 May 2007
> Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
> Website: http://www.wsj.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
> Author: Joel Millman
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n556.a02.html
>
> ===
>
> (2) JUDGE QUESTIONS POLICE METHODS, EFFECTIVENESS OF
> DRUG WAR
>
> It  was a routine misdemeanor
> possession-of-marijuana case. But County
> Court  Judge  Barry Cohen rendered anything but a
> routine verdict last
> week,  questioning whether the national war on drugs
> is effective, and
> whether  investigating minor motor vehicle
> violations is a good use of
> officers  assigned to the Palm Beach County Violent
> Crimes Task Force.
>
> The judge, in his written not-guilty verdict, also
> raised the question
> of  whether  the  drug  war  has led to an
> increasing perception among
> blacks  that they can be stopped in their vehicles
> for merely "driving
> while  black."  The  case involved a longtime Palm
> Beach International
> Airport  skycap  in  whose car marijuana was found
> when he was stopped
> for a minor equipment violation.
>
> "My  written  verdict  was  intended  only  to
> stimulate  a civilized
> dialogue as to the collateral consequences of the
> War on Drugs," Cohen
> said by e-mail.
>
> He  succeeded.  State  Attorney  Barry Krischer
> wrote a lengthy e-mail
> response  to  Cohen's  order,  saying  he  was
> "bewildered"  by  it.
>
> Krischer  noted  that the multi-agency task force,
> revived more than a
> year  ago,  is  engaged  in a battle against street
> gangs that kill to
> protect  their  drug  trade. "Any effort to make the
> gang members more
> afraid  of  law  enforcement  than  killing  each
> other  and innocent
> bystanders  will  by  necessity  be  aggressive,"
> he  wrote to Cohen.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 04 May 2007
> Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
> Website: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
> Author: Larry Keller
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n556.a04.html
>
> ===
>
> (3) DRUG TESTS IN QUESTION
>
> The  Clause  In The New Teachers' Contract Could
> Affect Hiring, HSTA's
> Director Says
>
> A  top union official is worried that Hawaii could
> have trouble hiring
> teachers  under  a  new  contract  mandating  random
>  and  reasonable-
> suspicion drug testing.
>
> "I  think  you  are  going to have a lot of very
> angry teachers," Joan
> Husted,  executive  director of the Hawaii State
> Teachers Association,
> said  yesterday.  "We  believe  it  will  have  a
> chilling  effect on
> recruiting."
>
> Island  teachers will face drug testing starting in
> the 2008-09 school
> year  under a new contract that gives them 4 percent
> raises in each of
> the next two school years.
>
> The  deal  will  bring  the  pay  of  an
> entry-level  teacher  with a
> bachelor's  degree  to  $43,157, up from $39,901,
> and increase the top
> teacher  salary  to $79,170 from $73,197. It also
> awards most teachers
> one  step  up  in the pay scale in the second
> semester, giving them an
> additional 3 percent hike.
>
> The  American Federation of Teachers, a national
> teachers union, ranks
> Hawaii  15th  in the nation among average teacher
> pay. But critics say
> teachers  here  spend  more  money  on  everything
> from  food to gas.
>
> Hawaii  needs  to  hire  about  3,400  teachers in
> the next two years,
> Husted  said, noting that the state would be joining
> only a handful of
> other school districts that test teachers for drugs.
>
> "I  didn't  find  too many teachers out there who
> were really thrilled
> with this whole idea," she said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI)
> Website: http://www.starbulletin.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/196
> Author: Alexandre Da Silva
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug
> Tests)
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n553.a07.html
>
> ===
>
> (4) AS FUNDING INCREASES, AFGHAN FORCES RANGE FROM
> RAGTAG TO READY
>
> KABUL,  Afghanistan  --  Faizal  Karim,  a
> sophomore  at the National
> Military  Academy here, stood outside a classroom
> holding his English-
> language  homework assignment. For a group of cadets
> nearby, a lecture
> in physics was ending.
>
> Bright-eyed,  articulate  and  in a four-year course
> modeled after the
> United  States  Military Academy at West Point, Mr.
> Karim is a hopeful
> face  in  Afghanistan's nascent national security
> forces. He is 21 and
> rejects  the  Taliban. "I want to serve my country's
> people," he said,
> speaking in confident English.
>
> But several days before, an altogether different
> side of Afghanistan's
> security  forces  was evident when a Dutch and
> Afghan patrol visited a
> police  compound  in  Oruzgan Province. The police
> officers there were
> cultivating poppy within the compound's walls,
> openly participating in
> the heroin trade. The Afghan Army squad that visited
> them, itself only
> partly equipped, did nothing.
>
> These  wildly  contrasting  glimpses  of
> Afghanistan's security forces
> illustrate  the  mix  of  achievements  and
> frustrations  that  have
> accompanied  international efforts to create a
> capable Afghan Army and
> a police force after decades of disorder and war.
> They also underscore
> the  urgency behind the renewed push to recruit and
> train these units,
> which  is  now  under  way  with  an  influx of
> equipment and training
> approved by the Bush administration last year.
>
> Yet, even after several years of efforts to create
> new army and police
> units,  it  remains  difficult  to  fully assess
> their readiness. Some
> units,  especially in the army, are motivated and
> much better equipped
> than  any Afghan forces were five years ago. Others,
> especially in the
> police,  remain  visibly  ragtag,  underequipped,
> disorganized,  of
> uncertain loyalty and with links to organized drug
> rings.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2007
> Source: New York Times (NY)
> Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
> Author: C. J. Chivers
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a09.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
>
=======================================================================
>
> Domestic News- Policy
> ----------------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (5-8)
>
>  In  the  months  following  the shooting death of
> 92-year-old Kathryn
>  Johnston  by  Atlanta  Police,  it's been difficult
> to find good news
>  about  the  Atlanta  Police  Department  (see  the
> Police and Prisons
>  section  of  DrugSense  Weekly below for more bad
> news). Which is why
>  this  week's lead story is interesting, even though
> it's a story that
>  has  been written hundreds of times before in other
> newspapers around
>  the country. The story, published in the
> Atlanta-Journal
>  Constitution,  details  the great federal program
> through which local
>  police  departments  get  combat-grade  surplus
> military equipment at
>  almost  no cost. The story offers no criticism of
> the program. At the
>  same  time,  the  paper  has  been  analyzing
> shortcomings Atlanta's
>  police  department  and  wondering  why there's
> such distance between
>  police  and  the  community.  Could  it be that all
> this paramilitary
>  get-up,  usually  justified  as  a necessary part
> of drug prohibition
>  enforcement,  makes  some  communities  feel  as
> if  they  are being
>  occupied, instead of protected?
>
>  Also  last  week:  A  Students  for  Sensible  Drug
> Policy chapter in
>  Maryland  challenged  unethical  tactics by
> university drug police; a
>  city  council  in  New  Jersey  was  drug-tested
> before  its  latest
>  meeting;  and  the last state holding out on needle
> exchange programs
>  sees some action in the legislature.
>
> ===
>
> (5) POLICE BENEFIT FROM CASTOFF MILITARY GEAR
>
> Armored Vehicles Get a New Civilian Life
>
> For  many  law  enforcement  agencies  in  Georgia,
> the  Pentagon has
> become  a  Costco  for  military  surplus:  quality
> merchandise  at
> can't-beat-it  prices.  For  more  than 15 years,
> police and sheriff's
> departments  across  the  state  have used the
> Department of Defense's
> excess  property  program  to  stock  their arsenals
> with new and used
> equipment  that  ordinarily  would  have  been  out
> of their budgetary
> reach.
>
> The  Doraville  Police Department's SWAT team got an
> armored personnel
> carrier  --  worth  about  $400,000 when it was new
> a few years ago --
> at  virtually  no  cost  to  taxpayers  to  aid
> officers  in  hostage
> situations.  Columbus  police  picked  up  a used
> helicopter last year
> and saved the city nearly $200,000.
>
> Newnan  police  have  gotten  everything  from
> M-16s  to  camouflage
> uniforms  to  vehicles  and a boat with a motor and
> a trailer, much of
> it for counter-drug operations.
>
> Newnan  Chief  Douglas  Meadows  estimates  his
> department,  with  an
> annual  budget  of  about  $5  million, has received
> $750,000 worth of
> excess  military  equipment  over  the last 10 years
> simply by asking.
>
> "It's  a  darned  good  program," Meadows said. Last
> year, Georgia law
> enforcement  agencies  received  nearly  $2  million
>  worth of surplus
> equipment, according to the Defense Logistics
> Agency, which
> administers the program nationwide.
>
> That's  money  saved  by  local  city  councils or
> county commissions.
> And, ultimately, by local taxpayers.
>
> Since  Sept.  11,  2001, more than $22 million in
> excess equipment has
> come  to  Georgia  for homeland security or drug
> interdiction. In most
> cases,  the  surplus  equipment  is  outdated  or
> has  been otherwise
> replaced by upgrades that better fit the military's
> needs.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 30 Apr 2007
> Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
> Author: Ron Martz, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n539/a11.html
>
> ===
>
> (6) POLICE GO TOO FAR IN UNDERCOVER STINGS, SSDP
> SAYS
>
> Student  activists  are  accusing  University
> Police  of  violating
> students'  privacy  with overly aggressive drug
> enforcement tactics in
> the  wake  of several incidents in which officers
> posed as students or
> drug dealers.
>
> Undercover  officers  frequently  patrol  hallways
> in dorms searching
> for  would-be  narcotics  buyers,  University
> Police spokeswoman Maj.
> Cathy  Atwell  said. But the activist group Students
> for Sensible Drug
> Policy  said  police  crossed  the  line  when an
> officer attempted to
> join  their  Facebook  group  under  an  assumed
> name.  The  students
> discovered  the  officer when they cross-referenced
> her e-mail address
> in the university directory.
>
> Atwell said she did not know of the Facebook
> incident SSDP
> mentioned,  but  she  defended  officers' approach
> to busting students
> for drugs in student housing.
>
> "This  has  always  been  a  tactic that we've
> used," she said, noting
> that  drug  enforcement is a particular priority for
> University Police
> because  drug  use  often  leads  to other types of
> crime. "Our police
> are  committed  to  upholding  the drug and alcohol
> policy. ... What's
> unreasonable about upholding the law?"
>
> The  Diamondback  confirmed  the  officer's identity
> after viewing the
> notice  of  the  officer's request to join the SSDP
> group and checking
> her identity in the directory. SSDP also produced
> e-mail
> correspondence  with  Facebook  employees,  who
> canceled  the  police
> officer's  Facebook  account  after finding the
> officer, whose name is
> Julia  Heng,  was  violating  the  social
> networking  site's terms of
> service by using the name Joy Oliver.
>
> Heng  did  not  return messages left at the
> University Police station.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 01 May 2007
> Source: Diamondback, The (U of MD Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 Diamondback
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/758
> Author: David Minsky
> Cited: http://www.ssdp.org/
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n543/a08.html
>
> ===
>
> (7) JACKSON TOWNSHIP COUNCIL MEMBERS TAKE RANDOM
> DRUG-SCREENING TEST
>
> Mayor Misses Meeting Because Of Business Obligation
>
> JACKSON  --  For the second time since adopting the
> practice, township
> officials have undergone an unscheduled drug test.
>
> Jackson  has  contracted  with a drug-testing
> company to show up twice
> a  year,  on  random  dates  before Township Council
> meetings, to test
> the  mayor  and  council,  Township Administrator
> William Santos said.
>
> The  company,  DSI Medical of Pennsylvania,
> administered a test to all
> five  council  members  before  their  Tuesday
> night  meeting, Santos
> confirmed.
>
> Mayor  Mark  A.  Seda  did  not attend the meeting
> and was not tested.
> Seda  said  he  could  not  make  the  meeting
> because his commercial
> air-conditioning company was finishing a job in New
> York.
>
> "I  didn't  know  there was a test taking place,"
> Seda said. "I had no
> idea."
>
> Santos  said  that  no  one in the township, not
> even his office, knew
> DSI planned to administer a drug test this week.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2007
> Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
> Copyright: 2007 Asbury Park Press
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/26
> Author: Fraidy Reiss
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n529/a07.html
>
> ===
>
> (8) NEEDLE EXCHANGE APPROVED
>
> AUSTIN  -  Texans could save a lot of money if
> illegal drug users were
> allowed  to  exchange  clean  needles,  Sen.  Bob
> Deuell said Thursday
> before the Senate approved such a program.
>
> Texas  is  the  only state in the country that does
> not allow a needle
> exchange program for drug users.
>
> The  Senate  voted  22-7  for  the  measure, which
> has not cleared the
> House.
>
> "It brings people in to get rehabilitated. It
> lessens the
> contaminated  needles  in  the  drug-using
> community. It cuts down on
> diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B and C," said
> Deuell, a
> physician  and  Republican  from Greenville. "And,
> in the long run, it
> will save the state money."
>
> The bill did not trigger debate.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2007
> Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
> Copyright: 2007 San Antonio Express-News
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384
> Author: Gary Scharrer, Austin bureau
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n531/a03.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> Law Enforcement & Prisons
> -------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (9-12)
>
>  More  fallout  from the Kathryn Johnston shooting
> in Atlanta. Federal
>  officials  investigating the Atlanta Police say
> they have evidence of
>  widespread  corruption  in  the  department.  While
>  investigators
>  theorize  that the corruption started in the
> narcotics division, that
>  corruption  soon spread around the whole
> department, even to officers
>  who  never served in the narcotics division - a
> warning sign to other
>  police  departments. Also, the police informant who
> was pushed to lie
>  about  the  incident  (who  can only communicate to
> the press from an
>  undisclosed  location)  now plans to sue police
> because he can't make
>  money as an informant any more.
>
>  Also  last  week:  Another  novel  scheme for
> transporting drugs; and
>  another  small town corruption trial ends, this
> time with fairly long
>  sentences.
>
> ===
>
> (9) PROSECUTORS SAY CORRUPTION IN ATLANTA POLICE
> DEPT. IS WIDESPREAD
>
> ATLANTA  --  After  the fatal police shooting of an
> elderly woman in a
> botched  drug  raid,  the  United  States  attorney
> here said Thursday
> that  prosecutors  were investigating a "culture of
> misconduct" in the
> Atlanta Police Department.
>
> In  court  documents,  prosecutors  said  Atlanta
> police  officers
> regularly lied to obtain search warrants and
> fabricated
> documentation  of  drug  purchases,  as  they had
> when they raided the
> home  of  the  woman,  Kathryn Johnston, in
> November, killing her in a
> hail of bullets.
>
> Narcotics  officers  have  admitted  to  planting
> marijuana  in  Ms.
> Johnston's  home  after  her  death and submitting
> as evidence cocaine
> they  falsely  claimed  had been bought at her
> house, according to the
> court filings.
>
> Two  of  the  three  officers  indicted in the
> shooting, Gregg Junnier
> and  Jason  R.  Smith,  pleaded  guilty  on
> Thursday to state charges
> including  involuntary  manslaughter and federal
> charges of conspiracy
> to violate Ms. Johnston's civil rights.
>
> "Former  officers  Junnier  and  Smith  will also
> help us continue our
> very  active  ongoing  investigation into just how
> wide the culture of
> misconduct  that  led  to  this  tragedy  extends
> within  the Atlanta
> Police  Department,"  said  David Nahmias, the
> United States attorney.
>
> Asked  how  widespread  such  practices  might  be,
> Mr.  Nahmias said
> investigators  were  looking  at  narcotics
> officers, officers who had
> once  served  in  the narcotics unit and "officers
> that had never been
> in that unit but may have adopted that practice."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2007
> Source: New York Times (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 The New York Times Company
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
> Authors: Shaila Dewan and Brenda Goodman
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n529/a01.html
>
> ===
>
> (10) SCARED POLICE 'SNITCH' TO SUE
>
> Drug Informant Exposed Cover-Up
>
> Whoever said crime doesn't pay hasn't met Alexis
> White.
>
> While  others  shuffle  off  to work to early
> morning desk jobs, White
> has  slept  late and made a living buying drugs
> throughout the city as
> a police informant.
>
> That  work,  which  netted  White  between $20,000
> and $30,000 a year,
> came  to  an abrupt halt in November when an elderly
> Atlanta woman was
> fatally  shot  by  police  during  a  botched  drug
> bust near White's
> neighborhood.  Narcotics  officers  asked  White,
> 45,  to lie to help
> them  with  a cover-up, but he called authorities
> and exposed renegade
> cops.  Three  officers  were  indicted  this week in
> the case, and two
> have  pleaded  guilty  to  killing  92-year-old
> Kathryn  Johnston.
>
> White  plans  to  sue  police  and  the  city  for
> his loss of income,
> according  to  a  notice  his  attorney,  Fenn
> Little, hand-delivered
> Friday  to  the  offices  of the mayor, city
> attorney, Municipal Court
> clerk  and  police  chief.  But  aside  from  his
> job,  which  can be
> replaced,  he's  also  suing  because  of his
> ever-present fear, which
> can't be erased.
>
> White  has  been  officially  outed  as  an
> informant,  more commonly
> called  a  "snitch" or "rat." He feels this makes
> him Public Enemy No.
> 1  for  street  thugs  and some police officers. His
> photo has been in
> the newspaper and he's been interviewed on
> television.
>
> "The  word  'scared'  doesn't even cover it," White
> said Friday during
> a  telephone  interview  from  an  undisclosed
> location. "It's crazy.
> Nightmares."
>
> White,  in  federal  protective  custody,  has  been
>  hiding  out in a
> budget  motel  for  the  past  five  months while
> the FBI continues to
> investigate  Atlanta  Police's narcotics unit. Due
> to safety concerns,
> White  has  barely  seen his mother, who lives in
> East Atlanta, or his
> wife and 7-year-old girl.
>
> [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 28 Apr 2007
> Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
> Author: Beth Warren, The Atlanta
> Journal-Constitution
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n532/a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (11) DRUG RING, TOUR BUSES LINKED
>
> Area  Residents  Paid  to  Pose  As  Passengers,
> Federal Officials Say
>
> Using  a  pair  of  tour buses and people paid to
> pose as travelers, a
> group  of  men has been running millions of dollars
> worth of marijuana
> from  Arizona  to Detroit for more than a year,
> according to a federal
> investigation announced in Milwaukee Friday.
>
> On  Wednesday,  federal agents surrounded one of the
> buses in Arizona,
> seized  $1.4  million in cash and arrested three
> men. Agents caught up
> with a second bus in Oklahoma City, where four
> duffel bags
> containing  $1.2  million  were  pulled  out  of
> the external luggage
> compartment,  according  to  the  criminal
> complaint and news release
> from  the  U.S.  attorney's  office.  Agents  did
> not seize any drugs,
> just cash.
>
> [redacted]  are  charged with conspiracy to
> distribute more than 1,000
> kilograms  of  marijuana  and  appeared in court in
> Arizona Friday. If
> convicted,  they  face  a  maximum  sentence  of
> life in prison and $4
> million in fines.
>
> The  case  will  be  prosecuted here because the
> investigation started
> after  a  Wisconsin  drug  agent  learned  about
> the  operation.  An
> informant  in  Milwaukee  told  the agent that
> someone had robbed drug
> dealers  on  a  bus of $1.3 million. Also, bus
> drivers and riders were
> recruited  out  of Milwaukee, and several area
> residents were on board
> Wednesday, officials said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 28 Apr 2007
> Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
> Copyright: 2007 Journal Sentinel Inc.
> Author: John Diedrich
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n535/a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (12) CORRUPTION TRIAL
>
> CABOT,  Ark  -  A  former  small-town  police  chief
> and his wife were
> sentenced  to  long  prison  terms  Tuesday  for
> running  a  criminal
> organization  dealing  in  drugs  and  jewelry.
> Prosecutors portrayed
> former  Lonoke  Chief Jay Campbell as running his
> department as a king
> and  ignoring  claims  that  his  wife,  Kelly,  was
>  having  a sexual
> relationship with an inmate.
>
> Special  Circuit  Judge  John  Cole  followed jury
> recommendations and
> sentenced  the  former chief to 40 years in prison,
> Kelly Campbell was
> sentenced to 20 years.
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 25 Apr 2007
> Source: Ogdensburg Journal/Advance News (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 Johnson Newspaper Corp.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/689
> Author: Associated Press
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n538/a04.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> Cannabis & Hemp-
> ---------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (13-17)
>
>  Other  state  legislatures  are  following  the
> lead of New Mexico in
>  attempting  to  legalize  the  use  of  medical
> marijuana. The Rhode
>  Island  legislature  is  extending  and  improving
> its law, which the
>  Governor  says  he  will  veto.  But  the
> legislature  is  likely to
>  override the veto.
>
>  A  bill  in  Illinois  bill  faces  an  uncertain
> future, as a health
>  reporter states.
>
>  If  the  Minnesota  bill  reaches the governor, it
> will be vetoed. An
>  OPED  by  a state senator shows that reefer madness
> is alive and well
>  in Minnesota.
>
>  When  efforts  at  the  state level are not
> successful, activists may
>  turn  to  the  local  level.  Such  is  the  case
> in  New Hampshire.
>
>  While  we  could  wish otherwise, not all superb
> articles are printed
>  in  major  newspapers.  The  vaporization  article
> at the end of this
>  section is an example of one of them.
>
> ===
>
> (13) HOUSE APPROVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL
>
> With two months to spare, the House of
> Representatives
> overwhelmingly voted yesterday to make permanent a
> law that
> legalizes  marijuana  for  medicinal purposes. The
> Senate is scheduled
> to  vote  on  the  bill today -- and is expected to
> approve it easily.
>
> Rhode  Island  became  the  11th  state  to legalize
> medical marijuana
> last  year;  since  then  New  Mexico  has passed
> similar legislation.
> However,  Rhode  Island's  pioneering move had an
> expiration date. The
> law  has  a  built-in  sunset  clause  for June 30,
> unless legislators
> make it permanent.
>
> Governor  Carcieri  will  likely  veto  the bill,
> for the same reasons
> that  he  vetoed  it  last  year, said his
> spokesman, Jeff Neal. While
> the state law legalizes marijuana possession for
> authorized
> caregivers  and  patients  with  doctors'  approval,
>  the  only way to
> actually get the seeds or plants is to buy it
> illegally.
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  bill  doubles  the amount of marijuana the
> caregiver can possess,
> to  24  marijuana  plants and 5 ounces of usable
> marijuana, for his or
> her qualifying patients. The bill also requires the
> Health
> Department to report on the medical-marijuana
> program every
> odd-numbered  year  to  the  House  Committee on
> Health, Education and
> Welfare and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
>
> Already,  there  are  257  Rhode  Islanders  who are
> registered to use
> medical  marijuana.  Medical  studies have been
> issued, as recently as
> a  few  months  ago, that show marked relief for
> people suffering from
> chronic debilitating diseases.
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Providence Journal, The (RI)
> Copyright: 2007 The Providence Journal Company
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/352
> Author: Amanda Milkovits, Journal Staff Writer
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n554/a05.html
>
> ===
>
> (14) WILL OUR LEADERS BE DOPES?
>
> Or  Will  They  Have  the  Courage  to  Legalize
> Medical  Marijuana?
>
> Multiple  sclerosis  patient  Julie Falco makes a
> compelling case that
> Illinois should legalize marijuana for medical uses.
>
> Three  times  a  day,  Falco eats a small marijuana
> brownie to relieve
> tingling,  numbness,  spasticity,  bladder
> problems,  insomnia  and
> depression.  Pot  works  so  well  she has tossed
> out her prescription
> drugs.
>
> "I'm  in  a  better  place  physically,  mentally
> and spiritually from
> taking this," she says.
>
> Falco,  42,  recently testified for a bill that
> would legalize medical
> marijuana. A Senate vote could come as early as
> today.
>
> But  the  bill  faces  significant  opposition  from
>  Republicans  and
> Downstate Democrats.
>
> "Legislators  tend  to be unnecessarily nervous,"
> says Bruce Mirken of
> the  Marijuana  Policy  Project.  "It  may  take a
> couple of years for
> them to get the courage for a floor vote to pass."
>
> Regardless  of  what  happens  in  Springfield,
> momentum appears to be
> building for medical marijuana.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
> Copyright: 2007 The Sun-Times Co.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
> Author: Jim Ritter, Health Reporter
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n554/a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (15) WHY MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS WRONG FOR MINNESOTA
>
> I  have  voted  "no"  five  times  on  the "medical
> marijuana" bill in
> Senate Committees and now on the Senate floor. I
> feel great
> compassion  and  concern  for the Minnesota
> residents who believe that
> marijuana  might  help  them to relieve their pain
> at the end of their
> life. Nonetheless, I cannot help them.
>
> The  Federal  Drug  Administration  (FDA  has never
> approved marijuana
> for medicinal use; accordingly, doctors are
> prohibited from
> prescribing  it,  and pharmacists may not dispense
> it. There is no way
> for  the  terminally  ill  to  obtain marijuana
> except from an illegal
> source.
>
>  [snip]
>
> This  proposal  sends  a  horribly  mixed  set  of
> messages -- to law
> enforcement,  to  kids,  to drug dealers, and to
> law-abiding residents
> of  our  state.  Imagine  what our world would look
> like if an officer
> pulls  over  someone  and  finds  2.5 ounces of
> marijuana on the front
> seat.  The  driver  pulls  out  a "user card," so
> now the officer must
> stop  his  work.  The  officer  would  need separate
> probable cause to
> search  for  a  gun  or  other  drugs  in the
> vehicle. How do we train
> officers  for  dealing  with  the  crime  that will
> occur around these
> dispensaries, when many of the people at these
> so-called
> "businesses"  will  have  a  "user  card,"  creating
>  legal  immunity?
>
> Do  we  really  think that the same people who might
> need this drug to
> address  their  illness  might  not  also need money
> and be willing to
> sell  their  excess marijuana? Do we really think
> that those intending
> to  buy  and sell marijuana to feed their own habits
> of crack and meth
> won't  find  a way to steal it or buy it from the
> vulnerable? And what
> about  the  violent gang members who make it their
> business to buy and
> sell  drugs?  Last  year  there  were  more  than
> two dozen murders in
> Minneapolis where marijuana transactions were
> involved.
>
> Imagine  a  world  where  school  teachers, bus
> drivers and custodians
> can  legally  possess  marijuana, and the
> superintendent, parents, and
> school  board  don't  know.  Imagine a world where
> sickly grandparents
> and  patients  in  nursing  homes have marijuana in
> their drawers. Our
> children  know  how  to  find  ways  to  buy
> alcohol  and  cigarettes
> illegally, and they know how to sneak liquor from
> cabinets.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Winona Daily News (MN)
> Copyright: 2007 Winona Daily News
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3177
> Author: Julianne Ortman, Guest columnist
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n554/a07.html
>
> ===
>
> (16) HANOVER WILL VOTE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
>
> Hanover  --  A  New Hampshire group pushing for
> changes to drug policy
> has  placed  an  article  on the Town Meeting
> warrant asking voters to
> allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
>
> The  article  states  that  Hanover police officers
> "are urged" not to
> arrest  anybody  over  the  age  of 21 for marijuana
> possession if the
> person  can  "produce  written  certification,"
> signed  by  a doctor,
> stating  that  the  drug  is for a therapeutic use.
> It would not apply
> to  "distribution,  cultivation,  or sale" of the
> drug, nor to driving
> under the influence.
>
> Town  Manager  Julia Griffin said that while the
> article may provoke a
> lively  discussion,  voters should understand that
> it would be dead on
> arrival,  even  if  approved.  State law makes
> possession of marijuana
> --  for  medical  or  other  purposes -- illegal,
> and the state's drug
> policy in this case would supersede that of the
> town.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Valley News, The (White River Junction, VT)
> Copyright: 2007 The Valley News
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2423
> Author: Peter Jamison, Valley News Staff Writer
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n554/a08.html
>
> ===
>
> (17) NEW STUDIES DESTROY THE LAST OBJECTION TO
> MEDICAL MARIJUANA
>
> Anyone  who  advocates for medical marijuana sooner
> or later runs into
> arguments  about  smoking:  "No  real medicine is
> smoked." "Smoking is
> bad  for  the  lungs;  why  would  any  doctor
> recommend something so
> harmful?"  It's  a  line of reasoning that medical
> marijuana opponents
> have  used  to  great  effect  in  Congress,  state
> legislatures, and
> elsewhere.  Indeed,  the  FDA's  controversial 2006
> statement opposing
> medical  marijuana  was  couched  in  repeated
> references  to "smoked
> marijuana."
>
> But  new  research  demonstrates  that  all  those
> fears  of  "smoked
> marijuana" as medicine are 100 percent obsolete.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Back  in  1999,  the  Institute of Medicine's White
> House-commissioned
> report  on  medical  marijuana  conceded marijuana's
> medical benefits,
> saying  that  what  is  needed is "a nonsmoked
> rapid-onset cannabinoid
> drug delivery system."
>
> The  new  studies  --  one  from  the  University
> of  California, San
> Francisco,  and  the  other  from  the  University
> at  Albany,  State
> University  of  New  York  -- confirm that such a
> system is here. It's
> called  vaporization,  and  has  been  familiar  to
> medical marijuana
> patients  for  many  years,  but  few  outside  the
> medical marijuana
> community  know  it  exists. Unlike smoking, a
> vaporizer does not burn
> the  plant  material,  but heats it just to the
> point at which the THC
> and  the  other cannabinoids vaporize. In the
> Volcano vaporizer tested
> at  UCSF,  the vapors are collected in a detachable
> plastic bag with a
> mouthpiece for inhalation.
>
> The  UCSF  study,  conducted  by  Dr. Donald Abrams
> and colleagues and
> just  published  online  by  the  journal  Clinical
> Pharmacology  and
> Therapeutics  (  to  appear  in  the  journal's
> print edition on May )
> compared  a  commercially  available  vaporizer
> called the Volcano to
> smoking  in  18  volunteers.  The  subjects  inhaled
>  three  different
> strengths  of  marijuana  either  as  smoked
> cigarettes  or vaporized
> using the Volcano.
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  two  methods  produced  similar  THC  levels,
> with  vaporization
> producing  somewhat  higher  levels, and were judged
> equally efficient
> for  administration  of  cannabinoids.  The  big
> difference  was  in
> expired  carbon  monoxide.  As expected, there was a
> sharp increase in
> carbon  monoxide  levels after smoking, while
> "little if any" increase
> was  detected  after  vaporization.  "This
> indicates  little  or  no
> exposure  to  gaseous  combustion  toxins,"  the
> researchers  wrote.
> "Vaporization  of  marijuana does not result in
> exposure to combustion
> gases,  and  therefore  is  expected  to  be  much
> safer than smoking
> marijuana cigarettes."
>
>  [snip]
>
> A  second  study, by Dr. Mitch Earleywine at the
> University at Albany,
> State  University  of  New York, involved an
> Internet survey of nearly
> 7,000  marijuana  users.  Participants  were  asked
> to identify their
> primary  method  of  using  marijuana  (  joints,
> pipe,  vaporizer,
> edibles,  etc.)  and  were  asked  six  questions
> about  respiratory
> symptoms.  After  adjusting  for  variables  such as
> age and cigarette
> use,  vaporizer  users  were  60  percent  less
> likely than smokers to
> report  respiratory  symptoms  such  as  cough,
> chest  tightness  or
> phlegm.  The  effect  of  vaporizer use was more
> pronounced the larger
> the amount of marijuana used.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2007
> Source: AlterNet (US Web)
> Copyright: 2007 Independent Media Institute
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1451
> Author: Bruce Mirken
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n545/a11.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> International News
> ---------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (18-21)
>
>  The  repeated  failure of U.S. counter-narcotic
> (prohibition) efforts
>  in  Afghanistan  is  highlighted  in  an  excellent
>  piece  from  UK
>  journalist  Gwynne  Dyer, carried in Canadian and
> New Zealand papers.
>  Dyer  revealed a PSYOP snafu last week, when
> British forces broadcast
>  that  "many  people of Afghanistan have no choice
> but to grow poppy,"
>  only  to  later retract the message, promising to
> instead crack down.
>  Dyer  concludes:  "buying  up  the opium crop is
> about the only thing
>  that  would  give  the  [occupying  armies]  a
> chance of winning its
>  increasingly  nasty  little war." But don't expect
> U.S. drug warriors
>  to  give  up  their  profitable  little  drug wars
> anytime soon; that
>  might send the wrong message.
>
>  Speaking  of  failure and foreign drug war
> adventures, U.S. drug czar
>  (ONDCP chief) John Walters was caught trying to
> spin the disaster
>  that  Plan  Colombia  has become, reported the
> Houston Chronicle this
>  week.  Even  though  the  U.S. has burnt $4 billion
> dousing Colombian
>  campesinos  and  rainforests  with  glyphosate
> (plant  poison), more
>  coca  is  grown  there  than ever, and cocaine is
> cheap and plentiful
>  back  in  the U.S.A. But don't expect the drug czar
> (read: propaganda
>  meister)  to  talk  about  that.  "When the data
> show a brief rise in
>  cocaine prices, the drug czar holds a high-profile
> press
>  conference,"  noted  one  analyst. "But when the
> trend goes back down
>  again,  the  drug czar sends it in a letter to one
> senator." Notably,
>  even  Charles  Grassley,  Republican co-chair of
> the Senate Caucus on
>  International  Narcotics  Control, was forced to
> admit the ONDCP "has
>  gotten quite good at spinning the numbers".
>
>  What  would  you  think  if  a  minority
> right-wing  government  was
>  elected,  and  began  handing  over  power  to  the
> police as fast as
>  possible?  What  would you think if that government
> then attempted to
>  jail  increasingly  petty drug "criminals" (under
> the guise of making
>  the  streets  safe),  packing  judicial  panels
> and  committees with
>  police  and  private  prison  profiteers? What
> would you think if the
>  same  right-wing  government  stoked  fears  of
> rising violent crime
>  (when it was actually falling!) and then, further,
> urged police to
>  lobby  for  that party and that leader? We conclude
> with two articles
>  about  Canada's  right-wing  Prime  Minister
> Stephen  Harper,  who,
>  believe  it  or  not,  has done all of the above in
> his short tenure.
>  The  first,  from  the  Globe  and  Mail, revealed
> Harper's continual
>  carping  about  "very  high"  crime  rates  to be
> pure bunk, crime in
>  Canada  has  been  falling  for  over  a decade.
> And an OPED from the
>  Edmonton  Journal this week castigated Harper for
> recruiting Canada's
>  police  forces  to  lobby  for  the Tory party's
> agenda to profitably
>  jail more Canadians for "crime" (drugs).
>
> ===
>
> (18) TALL POPPIES ANOTHER HEADACHE FOR THE US
>
> Respected  people  of Helmand," the radio message
> began. "The soldiers
> of  the  International  Security  Assistance  Force
> and  the  Afghan
> National  Army  do  not  destroy  poppy  fields.
> They  know that many
> people  of  Afghanistan have no choice but to grow
> poppy. The ISAF and
> the  ANA  do  not want to stop people from earning
> their livelihoods."
>
> It  was  such  a  sensible message that it almost
> had to be a mistake,
> and  of  course  it  was.  The message, written by
> an ISAF officer and
> broadcast  in  Helmand province last week on two
> local radio stations,
> was  immediately  condemned  by  Afghan  and
> American  officials from
> President Hamid Karzai on down.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Next  year,  of  course,  Afghan  farmers  would
> plant  twice as many
> poppies so the costs of the operation would rise
> over time.
>
> And  nothing  will  stop the flow of heroin to the
> West: even if poppy
> production  were  entirely  suppressed  in
> Afghanistan it would simply
> move  somewhere  else,  like  the  Golden  Triangle
> in Southeast Asia.
>
> But  buying  up the opium crop is about the only
> thing that would give
> the  ISAF  a  chance  of  winning  its  increasingly
> nasty little war.
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2007
> Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
> Copyright: 2007 New Zealand Herald
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/300
> Author: Gwynne Dyer
> Note: Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent
> journalist.
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n543.a10.html
>
> ===
>
> (19) DOES WHITE HOUSE LETTER SHOW WAR ON COCAINE A
> FAILURE?
>
> BOGOTA, Colombia -- The street price of cocaine fell
> in
> the United States last year as purity rose, the
> White
> House drug czar said in a private letter to a
> senator,
> indicating increasing supply and seemingly
> contradicting U.S. claims that $4 billion in aid to
> Colombia is stemming the flow.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Walters  made  the  disclosure  in  a  January
> letter to Sen. Charles
> Grassley, the Republican co-chair of the Senate
> Caucus on
> International  Narcotics  Control.  The  Washington
> Office  on  Latin
> America,  a  lobby group, obtained the letter and
> made it available to
> The Associated Press.
>
> Rafael  Lemaitre,  a  spokesman for the White House
> Office of National
> Drug  Control  Policy,  told  the AP that Walters
> would not comment on
> the  letter,  but  Lemaitre described it as "an
> accurate reflection of
> our agency's thoughts on the issue."
>
>  [snip]
>
> U.S.  officials  have  insisted  that  Plan
> Colombia  is reducing the
> quality  and  availability of cocaine in the United
> States, which gets
> 90 percent of its cocaine from Colombia.
>
> But  Grassley,  in an e-mailed statement to The
> Associated Press, said
> the  letter  is  "all  the  proof  that  anybody
> needs" that the White
> House  drug  office  "has  gotten  quite good at
> spinning the numbers,
> but  cooking  the  books  doesn't help our efforts
> to curb cocaine and
> heroin production and consumption."
>
> The  numbers  cited  by  Walters  contradict upbeat
> appraisals made by
> U.S.  officials  as  recently  in  March  -- two
> months after Walters'
> letter.
>
>  [snip]
>
> "When  the  data  show  a  brief rise in cocaine
> prices, the drug czar
> holds  a  high-profile  press  conference,"  said
> Adam  Isacson,  an
> analyst  at  the  Washington-based  Center  for
> International Policy.
> "But  when  the  trend goes back down again, the
> drug czar sends it in
> a letter to one senator. Why is that?"
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 28 Apr 2007
> Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
> Copyright: 2007 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
> Division,
> Hearst Newspaper
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
> Author: Joshua Goodman, Associated Press
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n545.a02.html
>
> ===
>
> (20) DOES HARPER'S MESSAGE MATCH THE STATISTICS?
>
> Recent  Figures  Seem  to  Contradict PM's
> Assertions About High Rates
> and Trend Toward Serious Offences
>
> OTTAWA  --  As  the  Conservatives set out to focus
> on crime this week
> in  Parliament,  Prime  Minister  Stephen  Harper
> delivered a kickoff
> speech  on  Thursday  arguing  that  crime  rates
> are high by historic
> standards and there is now a trend to more serious
> crime.
>
> But does the Prime Minister's message match the
> statistics?
>
> Reported  crime  rates  have  generally fallen over
> the past 15 years.
> In  his  speech,  however,  Mr. Harper remarked on
> how crime has risen
> since he was a boy in the 1960s.
>
> "Even  if  Canada's  crime  rates  are low by
> international standards,
> they  are  still  very  high  by  our  own
> historical standards," Mr.
> Harper  told  an  awards  dinner  for  the York
> Regional Police Force.
>
>  [snip]
>
> There  was  a  dramatic increase in the 1960s and
> 1970s in most of the
> Western  world,  which  may be partly ascribed to a
> younger population
> because  of  the  baby  boomers,  but  it  has
> never  been adequately
> explained,  University  of  Toronto  criminologist
> Anthony Doob said.
>
> "They  peaked  in  the  early  1990s,  and  then
> drifted downward," he
> said.
>
> That's  especially  true  of the overall crime rate,
> which fell almost
> 25  per  cent  from  10,342 crime incidents per
> 100,000 people in 1991
> to  7,761  in  2005, the last year reported by the
> Canadian Centre for
> Justice Statistics.
>
> The  rate  of  violent  crime fell less
> dramatically, by 7.6 per cent,
> since 1992.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 30 Apr 2007
> Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> Copyright: 2007, The Globe and Mail Company
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
> Author: Campbell Clark
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n543.a07.html
>
> ===
>
> (21) HARPER WRONG TO ASK POLICE TO LOBBY
>
> Police  officers  across Canada should politely
> decline Prime Minister
> Stephen  Harper's  invitation to become active
> political allies in his
> quest to toughen an array of criminal laws.
>
> In  a  speech  Thursday,  Harper  urged  police
> officers to use their
> considerable  numbers  and  position  in  society
> to lobby opposition
> parties.  But  such  a  call to arms, metaphorically
> speaking, is both
> inappropriate  and  dangerous.  It  could  fuel
> speculation  that the
> prime  minister  has far too cosy a relationship
> with the top brass of
> the RCMP and other police forces.
>
> The  Canadian  public  deserves  to  feel  confident
> that their police
> forces  keep  to  their  assigned  role as
> objective, apolitical peace
> officers who respect the rule and the spirit of the
> law.
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 29 Apr 2007
> Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Edmonton Journal
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n538.a05.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> HOT OFF THE 'NET
> -------------------------------
>
> DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ
>
> By Cathie From Canada
>
>
http://cathiefromcanada.blogspot.com/2007/05/dont-believe-everything-you-read.ht\
ml
>
> ===
>
> GOOD COP, BAD DOCTOR
>
> William  Hurwitz's  conviction  tells  physicians to
> put drug control
> above pain control.
>
> By Jacob Sullum
>
> http://www.reason.com/news/show/119963.html
>
> ===
>
> A NEW BOTTOM LINE FOR THE WAR ON DRUGS
>
> By Bill Piper
>
> Now  that  two  of the Atlanta police officers
> responsible for killing
> 92-year-old  Kathryn  Johnston  have  pled  guilty
> to  manslaughter,
> planting  evidence  and  a  cover-up,  it  is time
> for policymakers to
> change the policies that led to her death.
>
>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-piper/a-new-bottom-line-for-the_b_47640.html
>
> ===
>
> VAPORIZER UPDATE
>
> By Mitch Earleywine
>
> Opponents  of  medical  cannabis  continue  to
> emphasize that a smoked
> medicine  must  be  a  bad idea. I'm happy to say
> that recent work on
> the vaporizer should put this argument to rest.
>
> http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/050207mitch.cfm
>
> ===
>
> POT  USE  DOESN'T  EXACERBATE  SYMPTOMS  OF
> SCHIZOPHRENIA, STUDY SAYS
>
> Marijuana use is not associated with heightened
> symptoms of
> schizophrenia,  according  to  data  to  be
> published  in the journal
> Schizophrenia Research.
>
> http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7253
>
> ===
>
> CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
>
> Tonight: 05/04/07 Five Houston City Council
> candidates discuss the
> drug laws LIVE!
>
> Listen  Live  Fridays  8:00  PM,  ET,  7:00  CT,
> 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
> http://www.kpft.org/
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> GLOBAL MARIJUANA MARCH
>
> Marijuana  law  reform  activists  in over 230
> cities across the globe
> will  hold marches this weekend to protest the
> criminal prohibition of
> cannabis.
>
> http://www.globalmarijuanamarch.org/
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> LETTER OF THE WEEK
> ------------------------------------
>
> DENYING MARIJUANA FOR CANCER INCREASES SUFFERING
>
> By Harlan Miller
>
> The  news  hits  you like a freight train as the
> doctor tells you that
> you have been diagnosed with leukemia.
>
> He  informs  you the most effective treatment is to
> start chemotherapy
> treatments  immediately  to  try and combat the
> invading death that is
> upon you.
>
> With  the  treatment  will be terrible side effects,
> including extreme
> nausea and crippling pain.
>
> He  informs  you  that  he  can  treat  you with a
> synthetic drug that
> contains  THC,  the  active  chemical  in
> marijuana,  but it only has
> about a quarter of the effectiveness of natural
> marijuana.
>
> Even  though  he can't "recommend" it because it is
> currently illegal,
> he  suggests  "off  the  record"  that  if  you know
> of anyone who has
> access to marijuana, it might be a good idea to get
> some.
>
> You  are  a  law-abiding citizen, so you stick with
> the pharmaceutical
> medication.
>
> As  the  treatments  of  chemo  continue, your
> nausea is so severe you
> can't eat anything with out violently throwing up.
>
> Your  body  is  racked  with  severe  pain to the
> point you have to be
> heavily sedated.
>
> Your  existence  is reduced to a point where you do
> nothing but lay in
> bed,  slowly  withering  away without nutrition, the
> chemo killing you
> as well as the cancer.
>
> You  can't  interact  with  your  loving  husband,
> your kids and your
> closest friends.
>
> You die alone months before your physical body
> perishes.
>
> If  only  you  could  have had legal access to the
> one medically known
> chemical  that  could  have  alleviated  or  greatly
>  diminished these
> horrible side effects.
>
> But  instead  some  other  human  who  is
> representing you decided you
> were not deserving of this last bit of happiness.
>
> Why?
>
> Harlan Miller
> Minneapolis
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 25 Apr 2007
> Source: Saint Cloud Times (MN)
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> FEATURE ARTICLE
> -------------------------------
>
> STUPIDEST DRUG STORY OF THE WEEK
>
> By Jack Shafer
>
> Is Reuters Drinking Bong Water?
>
> Why  don't  the  hacks who cover the illicit-drug
> beat just turn their
> keyboards over to the drug-abuse industrial complex
> and let them write
> the stories?
>
> This  week,  Reuters moved a story based on a
> government press release
> about  marijuana potency issued by the Office of
> National Drug Control
> Policy--the  office  of "drug czar" John P. Walters.
> The press release
> and  the  Reuters  story  state that marijuana
> potency has reached its
> highest  level  since the government started
> monitoring it in the late
> 1970s.  The  average  levels  of  THC  in  marijuana
>  now stand at 8.5
> percent.  (  THC is the primary active ingredient in
> marijuana. ) This
> compares  to  a  little  less  than  the  4  percent
> measured in 1983.
>
> Headlined  "U.S.  Marijuana  Even  Stronger  Than
> Before:  Report" on
> Reuters' Web site, the piece quotes nobody outside
> of government as it
> channels drug warrior hysteria.
>
> As  this  drug-czar  chart  shows,  the  average
> percentage of THC in
> cannabis  samples analyzed by the ongoing Marijuana
> Potency Monitoring
> Project at the University of Mississippi has
> increased over the years.
> Assuming  for  just  a  moment  that these findings
> accurately reflect
> marijuana potency, I've got a question: So what?
>
> Back  in 2002, when Czar Walters warned of the
> dangers of stronger pot
> in  a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed, drug scholar
> Mark A.R. Kleiman of
> UCLA responded with this item in his blog:
>
> "What  matters  isn't  how strong the material is,
> but how intoxicated
> the  users get. And there's lots of evidence that
> marijuana users tend
> to have a target level of intoxication and learn how
> to titrate dosage
> to  reach that level. Studies that ask marijuana
> users to roll a joint
> have found that the average size has halved, from
> about half a gram to
> about a quarter of a gram, and there's anecdotal
> evidence that sharing
> a single joint has become more common."
>
> So much for the inherent dangers of superpotent
> weed. But how accurate
> are  the  government's  measurements  of  average
> THC? Writer Brian C.
> Bennett notes that the number of drug samples tested
> in the government
> study  has varied widely, making meaningful
> comparisons of increased (
> or  decreased  )  potency difficult. The collection
> of samples doesn't
> appear  to  be  as  scientific  as it does
> anecdotal. The czar's press
> release  asserts  that  two-thirds of the samples
> analyzed in the most
> recent study came from law enforcement seizures and
> purchases, and the
> rest from domestic eradications.
>
> Bennett writes that the kinds of marijuana seized
> and tested vary from
> year  to  year,  also. In 2000, sinsemilla, the
> extra-potent flowering
> tops  of  the  marijuana plant, constituted 3.66
> percent of the tested
> samples.  In 2004, 18.39 percent of the samples were
> sinsemilla. Guess
> which  year  produced  a  higher  average measure of
> THC? In 2000, the
> figure was about 5 percent. In 2004, about 7
> percent.
>
> The  Reuters article also conveys the views of a
> National Institute on
> Drug  Abuse  official in reporting that "60 percent
> of teens receiving
> treatment  for  drug  abuse  or  dependence  report
> marijuana as their
> primary  drug  of abuse." Kleiman's blog puts the
> treatment numbers in
> perspective  by  pointing  to  the University of
> Maryland's Center for
> Substance Abuse Research, which reports that the
> increase in marijuana
> treatment  admission  is  driven  by  the increase
> in criminal justice
> referrals.  Marijuana  arrests  "have  roughly
> doubled  over the past
> fifteen  years,"  Kleiman  writes  in his blog,
> "with the vast bulk of
> those  arrests  ... for simple possession. Other
> studies show that for
> juveniles,  most  non-criminal-justice  referrals
> reflect  parental
> pressure."
>
> None  of  this  is  to  champion  the  use  of
> marijuana. I just want
> journalists  to  stop  regurgitating  whatever  the
> drug warriors tell
> them.  Bennett  catalogs  some  of  the  most
> ridiculous claims about
> marijuana  potency made by officials and published
> in the press during
> the  last  40  years.  If  you  take these
> statements at face value, a
> single joint rolled from today's marijuana should
> carry a bigger punch
> than several tons of yesteryear's Mexican grass
>
> I've  never  smoked  marijuana  and  I  don't
> advocate  its  use. For
> compelling  health  reasons, kids should avoid it,
> and many seem to do
> just  that.  According to a Monitoring the Future
> study, the number of
> high-school  pot  smokers  remains  flat or down
> over the last decade.
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2007
> Source: Slate (US Web)
> Copyright: 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
> Co. LLC
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/982
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> QUOTE OF THE WEEK
> ------------------------------------
>
> "If  you  tell  the  truth  you  don't  have  to
> remember anything."
> - Mark Twain
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> DS  Weekly  is  one  of  the  many free educational
> services DrugSense
> offers  our  members.  Watch  this  feature  to
> learn more about what
> DrugSense can do for you.
>
> TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL
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> Please utilize the following URLs
>
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>
> CREDITS:
>
> Policy  and  Law  Enforcement/Prison content
> selection and analysis by
> Stephen  Young  (steve@...), Cannabis/Hemp
> content selection
> and  analysis  by  Richard  Lake
> (rlake@...),  International
> content  selection  and  analysis  by Doug Snead
> (doug@...),
> Layout  by  Matt  Elrod  (webmaster@...).
> Analysis comments
> represent  the  personal  views  of  editors,  and
> not necessarily the
> views of DrugSense.
>
> We  wish  to thank all our contributors, editors,
> NewsHawks and letter
> writing  activists.  Please help us help reform.
> Become a NewsHawk See
> http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm  for  info  on
> contributing clippings.
>
> ===
>
> NOTICE:
>
> In  accordance  with  Title  17  U.S.C.  Section
> 107, this material is
> distributed  without  profit  to  those  who  have
> expressed  a prior
> interest  in  receiving  the  included  information
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> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 12:55:21 -0700
> From: Beth Wehrman <beth@...>
> Subject: MAP: Hemp March To Be Banned In Moscow -
> Security Chief
>
> MOSCOW, May 3 (RIA Novosti) - An application to hold
> a march to
> legalize marijuana in Moscow at the weekend will be
> refused, the
> Moscow security chief said Thursday.
>
> The Cannabis Legalize League, a public organization,
> has submitted an
> application to hold a 'hemp march' May 5 in Moscow,
> where even
> possession of cannabis for personal use is illegal,
> to the Moscow
> City administration, Nikolai Kulikov said.
>
> "After consideration, the event organizers received
> an official
> refusal as the march would represent the propaganda
> of narcotics and
> is in breach of Russian laws," Kulikov said.
>
> He pledged that if the rally is held unsanctioned,
> the police would
> disperse the march.
>
> Kulikov was echoed by the Federal Drug Control
> Service. "I cannot
> rule out that they [the organizers] will be called
> to account, and I
> don't think the organizers or participants in the
> march are law
> abiding people," said Vladimir Zubrin, a deputy head
> of the service.
>
> It is the fourth attempt to hold a rally to legalize
> marijuana in
> Moscow. Last year, the organizers applied for a
> 2,000-strong march.
> Despite a refusal by the authorities, they held an
> unsanctioned rally.
>
> The first march, also an unsanctioned one, was held
> in 2004 attended
> by some 200 people. The police arrested 65
> participants.
>
> The cannabis-related event takes place on the first
> Saturday of May
> and is part of the Global Marijuana March, which has
> been held in
> over 400 cities in different parts of the world
> since 1999. It
> features rallies, raves, concerts, and festivals to
> promote cannabis
> culture as a personal lifestyle choice.
>
> The propaganda of narcotics is not the only excuse
> for Moscow
> authorities to prohibit rallies. Last year plans to
> hold a gay pride
> parade in Moscow crashed after a refusal by the city
> government and
> the mayor's personal condemnation of such events,
> referring to them
> as "Satanic". The Russian Orthodox Church also
> criticized the plans.
> All subsequent appeals against the decision were
> turned down.
>
> Despite the ban, about 200 people took to the
> streets May 27, 2006 in
> an unsanctioned demonstration to mark the 13th
> anniversary of the
> decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia.
>
> The attempt resulted in violent clashes between
> sexual minorities and
> their opponents - representatives of a number of
> political parties,
> religious and radical movements - and the detention
> of some 120
> people from both sides, most of whom were later
> released.
>
> http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070503/64837337.html



________________________________________________________________________________\
____
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> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:18:57 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #552
>
> Drugnews-Digest         Thursday, May 3 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 552
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n552/
>
> 001 CN BC: Health Authority Dismisses Report Ripping
> Insite
>      Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> 002 CN BC: PUB LTE: Needle Exchange Saves Lives
>      Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> 003 US GA: Atlanta Police Chief Denies Charges Of
> Arrest Quotas
>      Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
> 004 CN AB: PUB LTE: A Waste Of Crime-Fighting
> Dollars On 4-20
>      Source: Daily Herald-Tribune, The (CN AB)
> 005 US NC: Drug Abuse Play Changed Opinions, Survey
> Finds
>      Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> 006 US GA: Drugs Snitch Wants To Tell All In DC
>      Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
> 007 Mexico: Security Business Booms In Mexico In
> Midst Of Fear
>      Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
> 008 US PA: Police: Pittsburgh Street War Risks
> Innocent Lives
>      Source: Tribune Review (Pittsburgh, PA)
> 009 US NY: As Funding Increases, Afghan Forces Range
> From Ragtag
>      Source: New York Times (NY)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 CN BC: Health Authority Dismisses Report
> Ripping Insite
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:03 -0700
> Size: 37 lines   1356 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a01.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=237703b5-6e91-48f8-91a0-0bd\
ac616424b
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=237703b5-6e91-48f8-91a0-0bd\
ac616424b
> Copyright: 2007 The Province
> Contact: provletters@...
> Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
> Author: Matthew Ramsey, The Province
>
> HEALTH AUTHORITY DISMISSES REPORT RIPPING INSITE
> FACILITY
>
> The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority is dismissing
> a report that
> paints a dim picture of the InSite safe-injection
> facility.
>
> The report, available online at
> www.globaldrugpolicy.org, is
> published in the Journal of Global Drug Policy and
> Practice.
>
> The critique by Dr. Colin Mangham, research director
> with the Drug
> Prevention Network of Canada, notes what he says is
> evidence of bias
> in previous evaluations of InSite.
>
> He also said there is underreporting of negative
> findings and that
> the safe-injection site fails to attract younger
> drug users,
> therefore failing to promote drug-use prevention in
> the long term.
>
> Network president Randy White said the report shows
> resources are
> being misdirected when it comes to addressing drug
> abuse.
>
> "All the attention and money that has gone into this
> program by city
> and provincial governments, with assistance from the
> federal
> government, could have and should have been put into
> prevention," White said.
>
> But the health authority disagrees with the
> conclusions.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 CN BC: PUB LTE: Needle Exchange Saves
> Lives
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:04 -0700
> Size: 68 lines   2587 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
> Author: Marilyn Callahan
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle
> Exchange)
>
> NEEDLE EXCHANGE SAVES LIVES
>
> Re: "AIDS organization's facilities seem fine,"
> April 29.
>
> The letter raised questions about why AIDS Vancouver
> Island's needle
> exchange, which operated successfully until 2001 in
> Commercial Alley,
> is now struggling at its location on Cormorant
> Street.
>
> Times have changed, and in some respects not for the
> better. By the
> time we moved from Commercial Alley, the area had
> become the heart of
> the city's restaurant and shopping district. At that
> time we
> exchanged about 400,000 syringes a year, less than
> half the volume we
> exchange today. (We remain proud of the 95-per-cent
> return rate.)
>
> Since then there has been an unprecedented increase
> in
> street-associated substance use, homelessness and
> associated mental
> health and public safety issues.
>
> [continues: 40 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US GA: Atlanta Police Chief Denies Charges
> Of Arrest Quotas
> From: http://www.november.org
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:11 -0700
> Size: 96 lines   4496 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a03.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/05/01/0502metcouncil\
.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/05/01/0502metcouncil\
.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Contact:
>
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/letters/sendletter.html
> Website: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
> Author: Rhonda Cook, The Atlanta
> Journal-Constitution
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug
> Raids)
>
> ATLANTA POLICE CHIEF DENIES CHARGES OF ARREST QUOTAS
>
> The question of whether police have arrest quotas
> continued to follow
> Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington no matter
> where he went in
> City Hall on Tuesday.
>
> He insisted that officers do not have to make a
> minimum number of
> arrests to avoid punishment; they do have
> "performance standards."
> After fielding questions on the subject at a news
> conference,
> Pennington was under fire as the head of the police
> union and some
> City Council members questioned the difference
> between the two terms.
>
> "Where's the fine line between performance
> evaluations and quotas?"
> asked Sgt. Scott Kreher, president of the Atlanta
> chapter of the
> International Brotherhood of Police Officers.
>
> [continues: 68 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN AB: PUB LTE: A Waste Of Crime-Fighting
> Dollars On 4-20
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:02 -0700
> Size: 65 lines   2892 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2007
> Source: Daily Herald-Tribune, The (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Daily Herald-Tribune
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/804
> Author: Allan Comeau
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> A WASTE OF CRIME-FIGHTING DOLLARS ON 4-20
>
> As I open the paper on April 21, I saw a familiar
> headline. "Man in
> crack house dies of stab wound." Then on my way to
> work, in the
> downtown area, I see a familiar sight - a dozen or
> so crack dealers
> plying their trade on the street corners. So I begin
> to wonder: "Why
> was practically our entire police force set up at
> Muskoseepi park,
> hassling the peaceful 4-20 protest the day before?"
>
> In years past, April 20 was a time to celebrate the
> coming of spring,
> listening to music, and partaking in a worldwide
> peaceful protest
> against the out-dated marijuana laws.
>
> I know a lot of people who read this think that the
> law is the law,
> and we all must do what Big Brother tells us to. I
> for one, as a
> taxpaying citizen, want value for my crime-fighting
> dollar!
>
> [continues: 37 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 US NC: Drug Abuse Play Changed Opinions,
> Survey Finds
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:19 -0700
> Size: 51 lines   2091 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a05.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/life/story.html?id=4aacf84b-c83\
c-48f4-9a37-c052b1d84f1e
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/life/story.html?id=4aacf84b-c83\
c-48f4-9a37-c052b1d84f1e
> Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
> Author: Reuters
>
> DRUG ABUSE PLAY CHANGED OPINIONS, SURVEY FINDS
>
> NEW YORK -- A dramatic play about drug abuse can
> change the opinions
> of the audience and even prompt them to donate money
> to prevention
> programs, researchers said.
>
> They found that even three months after seeing the
> play entitled
> Tunnels it had an impact on viewers, who said they
> had talked to
> friends or family about substance abuse.
>
> "In a play with scenes and vignettes that have some
> kind of
> association with something that is around you and
> available all the
> time, such as the drug dealer, that opens up a sense
> of discussion,"
> said Dr. Allyn Howlett of Wake Forest University
> School of Medicine
> in North Carolina.
>
> [continues: 24 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 US GA: Drugs Snitch Wants To Tell All In
> DC
> From: http://www.november.org
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:15 -0700
> Size: 65 lines   2725 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a06.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/05/02/0502metjohnsto\
n.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
> Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/05/02/0502metjohnsto\
n.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Contact:
>
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/letters/sendletter.html
> Website: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
> Author: S.A. Reid
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
>
> DRUGS SNITCH WANTS TO TELL ALL IN DC
>
> Police informant Alexis White and the Rev. Markel
> Hutchins head to
> Washington Wednesday to meet with congressional
> leaders about police
> use of confidential informants in drug cases.
>
> White, the 45-year-old snitch who says he was asked
> to lie to help
> Atlanta police narcotics officers cover up a botched
> drug bust in
> which an elderly Atlanta woman was killed, is not
> scheduled to
> testify while in Washington.
>
> The day of talks includes scheduled visits with
> members of the House
> Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee on crime
> terrorism and
> homeland security. They also hope to meet with
> federal Drug
> Enforcement Administration and Department of Justice
> officials.
>
> [continues: 37 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 Mexico: Security Business Booms In Mexico
> In Midst Of Fear
> From: Kirk
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:10 -0700
> Size: 172 lines   7521 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a07.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0502insecure-nation-ON.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2007
> Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0502insecure-nation-ON.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Arizona Republic
> Contact: opinions@...
> Website: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
> Author: Chris Hawley
>
> SECURITY BUSINESS BOOMS IN MEXICO IN MIDST OF FEAR
>
> Republic Mexico City Bureau
>
> MEXICO CITY - It was enough to give James Bond envy:
> a veritable
> supermarket of security gadgets, all laid out for
> sale at a Mexico
> City trade fair aimed at addressing a rising sense
> of insecurity in Mexico.
>
> There were smokescreen generators and security
> cameras hidden in
> pencil sharpeners. There were portable bomb
> sniffers, bulletproof
> doors and tiny tracking devices meant to foil
> kidnappers.
>
> "This is a home electric fence," said vendor Miguel
> Martinez, waving
> at six silvery wires that snaked around his booth at
> the
> Expo-Seguridad Trade Fair. "You mount it on your
> outside wall.
> They're becoming very popular." advertisement
>
> [continues: 145 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US PA: Police: Pittsburgh Street War Risks
> Innocent Lives
> From: http://www.november.org
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:15:18 -0700
> Size: 74 lines   3471 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2007
> Source: Tribune Review (Pittsburgh, PA)
> Copyright: 2007 Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
> Contact: opinion@...
> Website:
> http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/460
> Author: Jill King Greenwood, Tribune-Review
>
> POLICE: PITTSBURGH STREET WAR RISKS INNOCENT LIVES
>
> Rival groups and drug dealers are using Pittsburgh's
> streets to fight
> a war, with retaliatory shootings that put innocent
> people at risk,
> police and violence prevention experts said Tuesday.
>
> A fatal shooting last month outside a busy Downtown
> daycare center --
> which led to a Washington County man being gunned
> down in a case of
> mistaken identity -- was one of 23 homicides in the
> city this year,
> compared to 13 at this time in 2006, according to
> Pittsburgh police.
>
> In April, city police responded to nine homicides
> and more than a
> half-dozen shootings that critically injured the
> victims.
>
> "April was a deadly, bloody month," said Pittsburgh
> police Cmdr.
> Thomas Stangrecki.
>
> "A lot of these shootings stem from rivalries
> between neighborhoods
> and groups, turf wars and drugs.
>
> [continues: 46 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 US NY: As Funding Increases, Afghan Forces
> Range From Ragtag
> From: Beth
> Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 05:18:29 -0700
> Size: 161 lines   8333 bytes
> File: v07.n552.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n552.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2007
> Source: New York Times (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 The New York Times Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
> Author: C. J. Chivers
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
>
> AS FUNDING INCREASES, AFGHAN FORCES RANGE FROM
> RAGTAG TO READY
>
> KABUL, Afghanistan -- Faizal Karim, a sophomore at
> the National
> Military Academy here, stood outside a classroom
> holding his
> English-language homework assignment. For a group of
> cadets nearby, a
> lecture in physics was ending. Skip to next
> paragraph Multimedia
> Slide Show Building Up Afghan Forces
>
> Bright-eyed, articulate and in a four-year course
> modeled after the
> United States Military Academy at West Point, Mr.
> Karim is a hopeful
> face in Afghanistan's nascent national security
> forces. He is 21 and
> rejects the Taliban. "I want to serve my country's
> people," he said,
> speaking in confident English.
>
> But several days before, an altogether different
> side of
> Afghanistan's security forces was evident when a
> Dutch and Afghan
> patrol visited a police compound in Oruzgan
> Province.
>
> [continues: 134 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #552
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

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> Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 07:55:14 -0700
> From: Rick Steeb <rsteeb@...>
> Subject: MAP: Comments @ Mercury News
>
> re: Ed Rosenthal asks judge to dismiss remaining
> marijuana charges
> http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_5788151
>
> It's a shame the taxpayers are sentenced to
> subsidize this ostentatious
> persecution. It was a farcical "trial" in which any
> mention of
> "medicinal" was excluded-- the solemn oath to
> disclose "the whole
> truth" was literally perverted by the court. The
> jury repudiated their
> own verdict they day it was read-- doesn't THAT
> raise any alarm?

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> Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 04:51:38 -0700
> From: Beth Wehrman <beth@...>
> Subject: MAP: Online article
>
>
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=7c3a2857-c218-4b24-99ae-f804\
27d856e7
>
> This printable article is taken from California
> Catholic Daily
> www.calcatholic.com
> Published: April 23, 2007
>
> "Sowers of violence and terror"
>
> Leftists in Mexico propose legalizing drugs ­ and
> surrender to the narco-mafia
>
> While the new government's offensive against
> organized crime is going
> through its most critical and decisive phase, with
> important blows by
> the police and military against narco-traffickers
> and increasingly
> violent reactions from drug gangs, some are
> beginning to say the war
> on drugs is a failure -- and that it's time to quit
> the battle and
> capitulate to the enemy.
>
> [[Calderon.jpg]]"Violence provoked by the drug mafia
> won't end until
> more radical measures are implemented, such as
> legalizing drugs,
> first in the United States, because it's the biggest
> market, and then
> in Mexico," Javier Gonzalez Garza, legislative
> coordinator of the
> left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution in
> the federal
> Assembly, said on April 17. Three days later, Sen.
> Rene Arce Islas,
> secretary of the Senate's Public Security
> Commission, proposed a
> National Agreement to Combat Drugs," including drug
> legalization at a
> continental level.
>
> The calls for surrender come while the government
> has begun winning
> important battles in a war on drugs that began just
> four months ago.
> Joint military-police operations in several regions
> of the country
> have struck at the drug cartels' command structure,
> including the
> extradition of several top capos to the United
> States. Key
> territories previously dominated by the mafia have
> been recovered,
> and tens of thousands of acres of drug crops have
> been destroyed,
> while police networks that were working under the
> mafia's payroll
> have been dismantled.
>
> Organized crime groups are suffering a severe
> crisis" in their
> profits and in their ability to carry out criminal
> activities because
> cocaine consumption is decreasing in the United
> States, and because
> of the strikes we have blown to them" in Mexico,
> attorney general and
> former secretary of public security Eduardo Medina
> Mora said on April 19.
>
> On the other hand, violence by the drug gangs has
> increased
> notoriously in recent days. On April 16, it reached
> a record number
> of 20 executions between diverse drug cartels, for a
> total of more
> than 500 deaths thus far in 2007. Macabre "mail
> corpses," left lying
> in the streets with clear signs of torture and
> bearing written
> messages to adversary gangs, are one of the latest
> techniques used by
> the drug mafia to terrorize those who would oppose
> them.
>
> Confrontations between criminal armed commandos and
> security forces,
> such as one that occurred on April 17 at Tijuana's
> General Hospital,
> have become increasingly violent. On that occasion,
> a group of gunmen
> tried to rescue one of their members wounded in a
> previous shooting,
> resulting in three deaths ­ two police officers and
> one criminal.
> Hundreds of patients were evacuated and several
> people were arrested.
>
> Drug cartels never defied the government so openly
> in the past. Their
> goal now is apparently to create the impression that
> the state lacks
> the means and determination to dismantle them, to
> cut off their
> economic capacity, and to destroy them as a
> "parallel power."
>
> In the middle of all this, Carlos Navarrete,
> legislative leader of
> the Party of the Democratic Revolution in the
> Mexican Senate,
> declared that the government's anti-drug operations
> were a total
> failure, and that the government is cornered by the
> drug cartels. "We
> all are in danger, including the president," he
> said. At the same
> time, other members of his party in Congress were
> proposing drug legalization.
>
> In face of this pressure from the left to surrender,
> President Felipe
> Calderon of the conservative National Action Party
> said at an April
> 21 military ceremony "to collude with the ones that
> are damaging
> public security is to betray Mexico." Calderon
> warned he "won't give
> up any stronghold to the enemy," and called for the
> formation of an
> alliance between society, political and economic
> powers and all
> levels of government to fight the drug traffickers.
>
> Mexico's bishops, in the meantime, applauded the
> government's effort
> to salvage the rule of law." They asked the Mexican
> people not to
> support in any way the "sowers of violence and
> terror."
>
> (c) California Catholic Daily 2007. All Rights
> Reserved.

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> Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:49:01 -0700
> From: webmaster@... (Drug Sense)
> Subject: DrugSense Weekly, Apr. 27, 2007, #496
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> DrugSense Weekly,               Apr. 27, 2007
>               #496
>
> Read This Publication On-line at:
> http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
>
> ------------------
>
> TABLE OF CONTENTS:
>
> * This Just In
>
>     (1) Pleas Won't End Probe Of Atlanta Police
>     (2) Court Upholds Marijuana Conviction
>     (3) Inside Dope On Cannabis
>     (4) Crack Habit A Disability, Ex-Officer's
> Appeal Says
>
> * Weekly News in Review
>
> Drug Policy-
>
>     (5) Schools Urged Into Divisive Drug Crackdown
>     (6) Broad School Drug Test Studied
>     (7) Williamsburg School Board Hears Complaints
> About Drug Search
>     (8) Teachers Call Drug Tests A Deal-Breaker For
> State
>
> Law Enforcement & Prisons-
>
>     (9) Editorial: Fully Fund Prop. 36
>     (10) OPED: Solution To Inmate Overcrowding Is
> More Prisons ...
>     (11) Prison Costs Shackling Oregon
>     (12) Hollywood Officers Plead Not Guilty
>
> Cannabis & Hemp-
>
>     (13) Marijuana Martyr
>     (14) Drug Possession Charges Against Alex City
> Gubernatorial Candidate Dropped
>     (15) Music Legend Fined In Marijuana Case
>     (16) Connoisseurs Of Cannabis
>     (17) Heavy Cannabis Use By Teens Is More
> Dangerous Than Alcohol
>
> International News-
>
>     (18) Editorial: Looking Behind The Bars
>     (19) Squad Fights Ice
>     (20) Britain's Cocaine Use Hits New High
>     (21) Oxford Don - Cigarettes More Dangerous Than
> Ecstasy
>
> * Hot Off The 'Net
>
>     U.S. Border Patrol Bars Canadian Psychotherapist
>     Coca  Growers  Shake  The  Andes  Once  Again  /
>  By  Jose  Arenas
>     420 At The Vancouver Art Gallery 2007
>     Interaction Between Opiates And Cannabinoids
>     ONDCP's Reluctant Update On Cocaine Price And
> Purity
>     Study  Finds  Highest  Levels  Of  THC  In  U.S.
> Marijuana To Date
>
> * What You Can Do This Week
>
>     Raise Your Voice
>     Damage Done - The Drug War Odyssey
>
> * Letter Of The Week
>
>     Testing Won't Stop Students' Drug Use / Dan Linn
>
> * Feature Article
>
>     An Embarrassment For The Drug Czar / By Pete
> Guither
>
> * Quote of the Week
>
>     Martin Luther King, Jr.
>
>  DrugSense  needs  your  support  to continue this
> newsletter and many
>  other important projects - see how you can help at
>  http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> THIS JUST IN
>
=======================================================================
>
> (1) PLEAS WON'T END PROBE OF ATLANTA POLICE
>
> Two Atlanta Cops Plead Guilty in Woman's Death
>
> What  started  with  a  few  bags  of  marijuana
> being planted near a
> suspected  street  dealer  quickly  spiraled out of
> control. Narcotics
> officers  lied  to  a  judge, illegally broke into
> 92-year-old Kathryn
> Johnston's house, fired 39 shots at her -- and then
> one handcuffed her
> as  she  lay  bleeding  before  he  planted  drugs
> in  her  basement.
>
> The  events  of  Nov.  21, outlined in court
> documents, were almost an
> "inevitable"  outcome  of a troubled police unit, a
> federal prosecutor
> said  Thursday as two former Atlanta narcotics
> officers pleaded guilty
> and  promised  to  cooperate  in  a  wider  probe
> of  the department.
>
> According  to  investigators,  Atlanta  narcotics
> officers  hoped  to
> satisfy  goals  set by police commanders by
> repeatedly lying to obtain
> search warrants, barging into homes and sometimes
> restraining innocent
> people, an atmosphere that led to tragedy.
>
> The  sweeping  accusations  were made in the
> guilty-plea agreements of
> Gregg  Junnier and Jason R. Smith, two on a team of
> officers that took
> part in the botched raid at Johnston's home.
>
> The  deceit  Nov.  21  didn't  end with a faked
> warrant, according the
> officers'  plea agreements -- they conspired to
> cover their actions by
> asking  a  confidential  informant  to  lie  for
> them.  Instead,  the
> informant  went  to  authorities,  giving  birth to
> one of the biggest
> scandals to hit the Atlanta Police Department in
> years.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2007
> Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
> Website: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
> Author: Bill Torpy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kathryn+Johnston
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug
> Raids)
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n527.a03.html
>
> ===
>
> (2) COURT UPHOLDS MARIJUANA CONVICTION
>
> Coos  County  -  Judges  Say  Helping  a Friend Move
> Medical Plants Is
> Possession
>
> Helping  a  friend move some medical marijuana
> plants has proved quite
> costly for Thomas Patrick Fries.
>
> Although  Fries,  38,  had  no  criminal  record,  a
> Coos County judge
> convicted him of felony drug possession in 2003.
>
> And  on  Wednesday,  a  divided  Oregon Court of
> Appeals upheld Fries'
> conviction, saying that Oregon's drug laws provide
> some exemptions but
> helping  a  friend  move  marijuana  plants to a new
> home isn't one of
> them.
>
> "The Legislature knows how to create exemptions to
> criminal
> responsibility  for  those  who  knowingly have
> physical possession of
> controlled substances," Judge Walt Edmonds wrote for
> the 6-4 majority.
> "Because it did not create an exemption that applies
> to the
> circumstances  of  defendant  in  this  case,  we
> must infer that the
> Legislature's omission was deliberate."
>
> Four  dissenting judges argued that Fries didn't
> possess the marijuana
> in  a  legal  sense  because  he acted at the
> direction of his friend,
> Richard L. Albritton, 25, who had a legal right to
> have the marijuana.
>
> "The  marijuana  plants  were never outright
> contraband, and Albritton
> never  ceded  to  defendant  any right to control or
> dispose of them,"
> Judge  Rex  Armstrong  wrote  in  dissent.  "In
> showing that defendant
> transported  the  plants  with  Albritton  as his
> passenger, the state
> demonstrated  only  that  defendant undertook to
> deliver the plants to
> Albritton's new residence at Albritton's direction."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 26 Apr 2007
> Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
> Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
> Author: Ashbel S. Green, The Oregonian
> Cited:
> http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/A124253.htm
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana -
> Medicinal)
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n525.a11.html
>
> ===
>
> (3) INSIDE DOPE ON CANNABIS
>
> Indoor Marijuana Farming Becoming More Widespread
>
> From  California to Connecticut, marijuana plants
> are budding behind a
> veil of suburban normalcy.
>
> Protected  from  neighbors,  insects  and  weather,
> the indoor pot is
> flourishing among humidifiers, high-watt lamps and
> ventilation systems
> that filter and disperse the telling aroma.
>
> In the last several months in the Los Angeles area,
> authorities raided
> several upscale homes and found marijuana "grows"
> valued at a total of
> about  $50 million. Similar operations also were
> uncovered recently in
> Georgia and New Hampshire. In Connecticut in 2004,
> police seized 1,200
> plants  valued  at  $500,000  from  swanky  homes
> in  Southington and
> Burlington.
>
> Legalization  advocates  say  there's  a lot more
> indoor weed the cops
> don't  know  about,  both in large grows and
> clusters of plants tucked
> into  back  rooms.  And  all  signs, they say, show
> an upward trend in
> housing the nation's most popular illegal drug.
>
> "It's  a  straight-up curve," said Allen St. Pierre,
> spokesman for the
> National  Organization  for  the  Reform  of
> Marijuana Laws, or NORML.
>
> Reasons  for  the  move indoors, according to a
> variety of sources and
> published  reports,  include  the  lesser  chance of
> getting caught or
> having  plants  stolen; tighter borders since Sept.
> 11, 2001, that are
> squeezing  imports  from  Mexico and Canada; the
> ability to grow high-
> quality  marijuana in a controlled environment; the
> reluctance of some
> smokers  to  buy  pot from dealers; the wide array
> of seeds available,
> particularly  from  the  Netherlands  and Canada;
> and the ease and low
> cost  of  setting  up  an indoor greenhouse for
> personal use or sales.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 26 Apr 2007
> Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
> Website: http://www.courant.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183
> Author: Jesse Leavenworth, Courant Staff Writer
> Cited: http://www.norml.org/
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n524.a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (4) CRACK HABIT A DISABILITY, EX-OFFICER'S APPEAL
> SAYS
>
> An  Ottawa  police  officer  who  was ordered to
> resign from the force
> after  stealing  crack  cocaine  and  smoking  it
> himself will have an
> appeal of his dismissal heard in Toronto today.
>
> Const.  Kevin  Hall is scheduled to go before a
> panel of board members
> of the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police
> Services in an attempt to
> overturn the dismissal.
>
> In  early December, hearing officer Terence Kelly
> ordered the 43-year-
> old constable to resign from the Ottawa police
> within seven days or be
> fired.
>
> Const.  Hall  admitted  to becoming addicted to
> crack cocaine after he
> tried  the  drug for the first time after seizing it
> from a suspect on
> Nov. 9, 2004.
>
> In addition to buying the drug while on and off
> duty, Const. Hall also
> admitted  to  stealing  crack  cocaine  from  an
> evidence envelope and
> taking drugs that were to be destroyed.
>
> In  his notice of appeal, Const. Hall alleged Mr.
> Kelly failed to give
> "proper  weight and consideration" to the idea that
> his drug addiction
> should be considered a disability under the Ontario
> Human Rights Code.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 26 Apr 2007
> Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
> Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
> Author: Andrew Seymour, The Ottawa Citizen
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n525.a07.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
>
=======================================================================
>
> Domestic News- Policy
> ----------------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (5-8)
>
>  It has certainly been a drug testing kind of week!
>
>  Public  school  students  are  increasingly  being
> subjected to drug
>  testing  even though the effectiveness of these
> programs has not been
>  proven.  The ONDCP continues to aggressively
> "market" these intrusive
>  searches  using  selective studies, dangling
> federal grant money and,
>  of  course,  fanning  the  flames  of fear in
> parents across America.
>
>  Thankfully,  a  U.S. Supreme Court ruling prevents
> this practice from
>  reaching  the  entire  school body and can "only"
> be used on students
>  who wish to participate in extracurricular
> activities.
>
>  An  Ohio  school board is considering inviting
> parents to voluntarily
>  place  their  children  into  their random drug
> testing program which
>  they  believe  will not conflict with this ruling.
> Meanwhile, a South
>  Carolina  school  bus  driver  drove students to
> the local jail to be
>  searched for drugs because she smelled marijuana
> smoke.
>
>  Teachers  may soon be forced to join the crowd as
> the State of Hawaii
>  is  holding  salary increases hostage in return for
> implementation of
>  teacher  drug  testing.  With  only the HSTA
> President voting against
>  it,  the  teacher's  negotiating team sent the
> tentative agreement to
>  the  members  without  a  recommendation  on
> whether  to vote for or
>  against it.
>
> ===
>
> (5) SCHOOLS URGED INTO DIVISIVE DRUG CRACKDOWN
>
> FOR  its  supporters,  random  drug  testing  sends
> out  an important
> message  to  schoolchildren.  "It  provides them
> with a suit of armour
> against  peer  pressure,  enabling them to say no to
> drugs," says John
> P.  Walters,  director  of  the  White  House
> Office of National Drug
> Control  Policy  (ONDCP).  Since  2002,  when  the
> Supreme Court ruled
> that  schools  could  drug-test  middle  and
> high-school  students
> participating  in  extracurricular  activities,  the
>  U.S.  has seen a
> rapid increase in such testing.
>
> However,  scientists  have  repeatedly  called  into
>  question  the
> effectiveness  of  such  tests.  Last  month  the
> American Academy of
> Pediatrics  (AAP)  reaffirmed  its  position  that
> drug testing should
> not  be  widely  implemented  without  additional
> evaluation  of  its
> safety  and  efficacy.  It  also  recommended
> making  drug  treatment
> services more readily available for teens
> (Pediatrics, DOI:
> 10.1542/peds.2006-2278).
>
> In  spite  of  the  criticisms,  proponents  are
> already pushing ahead
> with  plans  to  expand  testing  in  schools.  On
> 24  April,  school
> administrators  from  across  the  south-west  U.S.
> will gather in Las
> Vegas,  Nevada,  to  hear ONDCP representatives
> speak in the fourth in
> a  series  of  drug  policy "summits" this year.
> Speakers will explain
> how  schools  can  join  the  nearly  1000  that
> have already started
> random  testing,  and  compete  for a slice of $1.6
> million in federal
> support for such programmes.
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  ONDCP  and  others  in  favour  of testing
> claim that a number of
> studies  have  shown  it works. These include a
> survey in which 80 per
> cent  of  high-school  principals  in  Indiana
> reported an increase in
> drug  use  after  the  cessation  of a state-wide
> testing programme in
> 2000;  a  study  by  the  U.S.  Department of
> Defense which found that
> drug  use  among military personnel decreased from
> 27 per cent to less
> than  1  per cent in the 25 years following the
> introduction of random
> drug  tests;  and  research  by  Oregon Health &
> Science University in
> Portland  which  found that drug use was 14 per cent
> lower in a school
> that  used  random  drug  testing  compared  with
> one  that  didn't -
> although it only compared these two schools.
>
> "I  think  that  what  is  being  presented is
> seductive," says Sharon
> Levy, director of the Adolescent Substance Abuse
> Program at
> Children's Hospital Boston. However, she believes
> the ONDCP
> overstates  the  effectiveness  of drug testing, and
> she is not alone.
> A  2005  survey  of  359  U.S.  physicians
> specialising in paediatric,
> adolescent  and  family  medicine, found that 80 per
> cent disagreed or
> strongly disagreed with the ONDCP's recommendation
> that all
> adolescent  students  be  tested  for  drugs.  John
> Knight,  also  of
> Children's  Hospital  Boston,  says  there  are only
> two peer-reviewed
> articles.  "One  showed essentially no correlation
> between testing and
> drug  use  rates,  the  other  showed  a  slight
> decline,"  he  says.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 21 Apr 2007
> Source: New Scientist (UK)
> Copyright: New Scientist, RBI Limited 2007
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/294
> Author: Phil McKenna
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n502.a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (6) BROAD SCHOOL DRUG TEST STUDIED
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  law  allows  schools  to  require  drug
> testing  only in certain
> circumstances,  such  as  participation  in
> after-school  activities.
>
> But  the  law  doesn't  prevent  parents from
> voluntarily asking their
> child be tested, Farrell said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> School  board  members  told  Farrell  to include
> language in the next
> draft  to  allow  parents to put their minor child
> in the drug-testing
> pool. Parents would not be allowed to volunteer
> their adult
> children,  but  students  18  and  older  could
> volunteer themselves.
>
> Board  President  Mark  Morris  raised  several
> questions  about  the
> proposed  policy,  including  asking  staff  for
> copies  of  studies
> showing  that  random  testing  actually deters
> student drug abuse. So
> far,  the  only  studies  he  has  found show that
> random drug testing
> does not deter drug use, he said.
>
> "Do  we  have any evidence anywhere that suggests
> this will do what we
> want it to do?" Morris said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Parent  Heidi  Bruzina,  who has five children, said
> she supported the
> board's  stance,  but  had  some  concerns  with
> drug  screens, which
> sometimes showed false-positive results.
>
> "There  are  some  issues with interfering
> substances that could cause
> a  test  to  show  positive for certain substances,"
> said Bruzina, who
> has  worked  in  the  medical  diagnostic  field
> for nearly 20 years.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 21 Apr 2007
> Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
> Copyright: 2007 The Cincinnati Enquirer
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
> Author: Sue Kiesewetter, Enquirer Contributor
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n506.a10.html
>
> ===
>
> (7) WILLIAMSBURG SCHOOL BOARD HEARS COMPLAINTS ABOUT
> DRUG SEARCH OF
> STUDENTS
>
> KINGSTREE  -  Community  members filled the
> Williamsburg County School
> District  board/staff  development  meeting  room
> during  a  regular
> meeting  Monday  to voice their concerns about
> several items including
> an  incident  where  a  Kingstree  bus driver took
> her students to the
> Williamsburg  County  Detention  center and had
> police search them for
> drugs.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Mayers  said  he  was  told  by students involved in
> the incident that
> the  driver  told  police  she  smelled marijuana on
> the bus. Students
> were  taken  off  the  bus and told to open their
> bookbags, purses and
> pockets.  Mayers  said about 40 students between the
> ages of 11 and 17
> were  "patted  down" by male officers, which made
> some female students
> uncomfortable.  According  to WCSC Live 5 News,
> Kingstree Police Chief
> Robert  Ford  says  the  search  was  legal because
> the driver smelled
> drugs,  which  gave  them  probable  cause to search
> the bus. "The bus
> driver,  because  of  what was happening on the bus,
> did what she felt
> was  in  the  best  interest of the safety of all
> the children on that
> bus,"  Williamsburg  County  School  District
> Superintendent  Ralph
> Fennell said.
>
> Fennell  said  officers  found  a  cigar, some
> cigarettes, lighters, a
> knife and some marijuana.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2007
> Source: Florence Morning News, The (SC)
> Copyright: 2007 Media General, Inc.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1525
> Author: Shireese Bell
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n519.a09.html
>
> ===
>
> (8) TEACHERS CALL DRUG TESTS A DEAL-BREAKER FOR
> STATE
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  state  made drug and alcohol testing of public
> school teachers "a
> non-negotiable  demand"  when  settling  on  a new
> contract last week,
> according to the Hawaii State Teachers Association.
>
> If  the  teachers  union had objected to drug
> testing, the state would
> not  have  agreed  to  a  tentative  contract
> offering  some  13,000
> teachers  4  percent  raises  in  each of the next
> two years and other
> benefits, according to a video posted on the HSTA
> Web site.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Without  giving  details,  Yamasaki  [chairwoman  of
>  the negotiations
> committee  for  the union] said the union and the
> state would devise a
> drug-testing program that would protect teachers'
> rights.
>
> State  chief  negotiator  Marie  Laderta  would not
> comment on why the
> administration wanted drug testing.
>
>  [snip]
>
> On  Wednesday,  HSTA  President  Roger Takabayashi
> was the only member
> of  the  union's  board  of  directors  to  vote
> against  sending the
> contract  for  ratification.  Twenty-six  members
> backed the contract
> and one abstained.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Teachers  will  vote  on  the contract Thursday
> afternoon. If the vote
> fails,  the  union  likely  will miss a legislative
> deadline to submit
> the  contract  to  lawmakers  to  fund  pay raises,
> and the HSTA would
> have to go back to the bargaining table with the
> state.
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2007
> Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI)
> Copyright: 2007 Honolulu Star-Bulletin
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/196
> Author: Alexandre Da Silva
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n518.a01.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> Law Enforcement & Prisons
> -------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (9-12)
>
>  I  clearly  remember  seeing  temporary 65 mph
> signs while driving up
>  the  101 the day after California lifted the
> decades-old 55 mph speed
>  limits.  It was certainly proof that a law can be
> executed quickly if
>  officials  agree  with it. This has not,
> unfortunately, been the case
>  with  updated  drug  laws.  A  sign  of  the
> continued  struggles is
>  revealed  with  the  juxtaposition of a LA Times
> Editorial supporting
>  Prop.  36  and  a  Modesto  Bee  OPED  demanding
> more jails be built.
>
>  In  1994  Oregon voters passed a ballot initiative,
> Measure 11, which
>  required  longer prison sentences for violent
> offenders. An Oregonian
>  reporter thoroughly examines the effects of this
> law.
>
>  Closing  this section with an example of how drug
> prohibition profits
>  continue  to  lure  in the very people who have
> sworn to uphold those
>  laws.
>
> ===
>
> (9) EDITORIAL: FULLY FUND PROP. 36
>
> Voters  Approved  the Measure to Give Drug Offenders
> Treatment Instead
> of  Prison  Time,  but the Governor Wants to Cut or
> Even Eliminate the
> Program.
>
> PROPOSITION  36,  the voter initiative that mandated
> treatment instead
> of  jail  for  drug  users, is under funding
> pressure from Gov. Arnold
> Schwarzenegger  and  under  fire  from  critics who
> say the program is
> failing.  A  Times  study  showed  that nearly half
> of those sentenced
> never  complete  their  treatment regimen and that
> more than a quarter
> fail  to  even  show  up  for  rehab.  A  recently
> released UCLA study
> showed  that  even  more  drug  users  are
> rearrested now than was the
> case before voters adopted the experiment in 2000.
>
> There's  not  much  point  running  a rehab program
> if no one shows up
> for  treatment.  Schwarzenegger,  to  his  credit,
> says  he  wants to
> increase  participation.  But  he  also  wants  to
> slash  funding and
> return  a  dose of jail to treatment protocol.
> That's the wrong way to
> go.
>
> The  UCLA  study flagged numerous shortcomings in
> Proposition 36, most
> of  which  point  to a need for longer, more
> intensive treatment. That
> means  more  funding,  not  less.  It makes no sense
> to expect that an
> offender  with  a  lifelong  drug  problem  will
> drop  into rehab and
> emerge  three  months  later completely free of the
> habit and ready to
> start  life  over.  It's  encouraging, in fact, that
> as many as 25% of
> offenders  ordered  into  rehab in lieu of jail
> completed their course
> of  treatment.  That qualified success suggests that
> offenders need to
> get  to  rehab  quicker,  for  longer,  and with
> follow-up monitoring,
> which is now nonexistent.
>
> Schwarzenegger  instead  is  cutting  funding  from
> this  year's $120
> million  to  a  proposed  $60  million  in  the
> coming budget. Or even
> nothing,  if  offenders continue to shirk their
> programs or re-offend.
> Instead,  the  governor  wants to put the money in a
> parallel program,
> one  that  currently  supplements  counties  that
> spend  all of their
> Proposition 36 allocation. But that program comes
> with
> prescriptions,  such  as  jail, that directly
> contradict the intent of
> voters.  Californians  have reasonably concluded
> that incarceration is
> no longer a tenable treatment for drug addiction.
> This is a
> conclusion the governor may not ignore.
>
> There  are  those  who  insist that only the threat
> of jail will bring
> an  addict  the  necessary  moment  of  clarity and
> spur him or her to
> show  up  for  treatment.  For  some, that may be
> the case. Voters did
> not  put  jail  out of reach -- the initiative gives
> an offender three
> chances.  But  the  governor  is wrong to introduce
> jail back into the
> mix  earlier  and  to  threaten  an innovative
> program that is showing
> real progress.
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2007
> Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n516.a08.html
>
> ===
>
> (10) OPED: SOLUTION TO INMATE OVERCROWDING IS MORE
> PRISONS, NOT
> FEWER PRISONERS
>
> California's  prison  system  is  literally
> bursting at the seams and
> stands at the point of crisis.
>
> A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join my
> Assembly
> Republican  colleagues  on a tour of Folsom State
> Prison. Going behind
> the  iron  gates,  we saw the overcrowded facilities
> and learned about
> the  less-than-effective  rehabilitation  programs
> and  health  care
> programs  that  have  come  under scrutiny from the
> federal courts. We
> learned  that  at  some  prisons,  inmates  are
> even  being housed in
> dayrooms and gymnasiums, which are less than secure
> and put
> correctional officers at risk.
>
> For too long, the Legislature has virtually ignored
> prison
> overcrowding.  In  fact,  just  one  new 3,000-bed
> prison facility has
> been  built  in  the  state  over  the past 15
> years, despite the fact
> that the prison population has grown significantly.
> Gov.
> Schwarzenegger  declared  a special legislative
> session last summer to
> address  the  prison  crisis,  but  his reforms were
> all rejected with
> little debate.
>
>  [snip]
>
> After  months  of  inaction,  some  in  Sacramento
> have  proposed  a
> sentencing  review  commission  as  their  solution
> to  reduce prison
> overcrowding,  arguing  that our prisons are nearly
> full today because
> too  many  "nonviolent"  prisoners  are  serving
> time under mandatory
> sentencing  laws.  They  contend  that  these felons
> pose no danger to
> society  and  should  be released into the community
> to free up prison
> beds.
>
> Make  no  mistake,  when we talk about a sentencing
> review commission,
> we  are  not  talking  about  releasing  those
> convicted  of  parking
> violations,  but  rather  the  early  release  of
> serious  and repeat
> criminals into communities across the state.
> Consider that
> California  prisons  are  home  to  some  of  the
> most  dangerous and
> violent  criminals  in the entire country -- with
> more than 80 percent
> of  inmates  having  been  convicted  of  at  least
> one prior felony,
> according  to  the  Department  of Corrections. Even
> worse, 12 percent
> have had an astonishing 11 or more prior
> convictions.
>
> I  don't  believe  giving  thousands of serious and
> repeat criminals a
> get-out-of-jail-early  card  is  the  responsible
> way  to  solve  our
> prison  problems.  Our  prisons  are  not
> overcrowded  because we are
> locking  up  too  many  murderers,  rapists  and
> sexual predators, but
> rather because we have not built enough capacity.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 23 Apr 2007
> Source: Modesto Bee, The (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Modesto Bee
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/271
> Author: Tom Berryhill
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n515.a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (11) PRISON COSTS SHACKLING OREGON
>
> The  Benefits  of  Tough Sentencing Laws Diminish As
> the Prison System
> Expands, Researchers Say
>
> Oregon  is  on  the  verge  of a milestone: In the
> next two years, the
> state  will  spend  tens  of millions more tax money
> to lock up prison
> inmates  than  it  does  to educate students at
> community colleges and
> state universities.
>
> The  trend  results from more than a decade of
> explosive prison growth
> largely  fueled  by  Measure  11,  the  1994  ballot
>  initiative  that
> mandated  lengthy  sentences  for  violent  crimes.
> Since  then,  the
> number  of  inmates  has  nearly  doubled  and
> spending on prisons has
> nearly tripled.
>
> As  legislators  and  the  governor  debate how much
> money to spend on
> schools  and  higher education, there is little
> discussion in Salem on
> spiraling prison costs.
>
> Oregon  taxpayers  now  spend  roughly  the  same
> money to incarcerate
> 13,401 inmates as they do to educate 438,000
> university and
> community  college  students.  But spending on
> prisons is growing at a
> faster rate than education and other state services.
>
> The  Department  of  Corrections  and Oregon Youth
> Authority budget is
> projected  to  grow  19  percent  in  the  next  two
>  years,  to $1.66
> billion,  under  Gov.  Ted  Kulongoski's  budget  --
> $174 million more
> than  what  Kulongoski proposes to spend on
> universities and colleges.
>
>  [snip]
>
> With  so  many  criminals  locked  up, both Oregon
> and the nation have
> seen  a  steady  decline in violent crime rates. In
> Oregon, there were
> about  five  violent  crimes -- homicide, rape,
> robbery and aggravated
> assault  --  per  1,000  population  in  the  1980s
> compared with 2.8
> crimes in 2005.
>
> But  the  decline has leveled off in recent years. A
> growing consensus
> among  researchers  concludes  that  the  benefits
> of longer sentences
> diminish  as  a  state  prison  system  grows. Their
> studies show that
> each  new  cell added to a prison system has less
> impact on crime than
> earlier  additions  because  so  many  career
> criminals  already  are
> locked up.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 22 Apr 2007
> Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
> Copyright: 2007 The Oregonian
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
> Author: Edward Walsh, The Oregonian
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n509.a02.html
>
> ===
>
> (12) HOLLYWOOD OFFICERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY
>
> Four  Hollywood  [FL]  police officers are ready to
> admit they brought
> a  large  shipment of heroin into the city,
> prosecutors said Thursday,
> but  the  men gave no hint whether they'll try to
> bring down others in
> a department long plagued by allegations of
> corruption.
>
> Sgt.  Jeffry  Courtney,  Detectives Kevin Companion
> and Thomas Simcox,
> and  Officer  Stephen  Harrison  pleaded  not guilty
> to a single drug-
> trafficking  charge  in  U.S.  District  Court on
> Thursday, almost two
> months  after  they  were  accused  of running a
> protection racket for
> FBI agents posing as mobsters.
>
> Shortly  after  the  plea,  Assistant  U.S.
> Attorney  Edward  Stamm
> announced  the  men  will soon plead guilty to the
> charge, which could
> land them in prison for more than a decade.
>
> Prosecutors  said  they  will  pursue  no  other
> charges  against the
> officers.  Neither  the  officers  nor  their
> attorneys would comment.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Prosecutors  and  FBI  agents  have  said  that  in
> late January, they
> convinced  Simcox  to work undercover as an
> informant as they tried to
> expand their investigation deeper into the
> department.
>
> Those  efforts  collapsed  in early February after
> someone leaked news
> of  the  investigation,  forcing  prosecutors  to
> shut down the probe.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Until  Thursday,  prosecutors  had  been  treating
> Simcox differently,
> letting  him  surrender  a  day  after  his  alleged
> conspirators were
> arrested  Feb.  22  and  holding  a separate hearing
> for him in March.
> But  under  federal guidelines, all men face prison
> terms ranging from
> about  nine  to  14  years  if  they  plead to the
> trafficking charge.
>
> They  faced  life  sentences  if found guilty of the
> original criminal
> complaints,  which  included  running  stolen
> diamonds from New Jersey
> to  Florida,  protecting  loads  of stolen
> cigarettes and operating as
> enforcers at a rigged, high-stakes card game on a
> yacht.
>
> Police  Chief  James Scarberry said Thursday that he
> believes the four
> officers  can  provide  no  information to federal
> prosecutors because
> there  is  no  more  corruption  in  his department.
> And he reiterated
> that  he  won't  discipline  any  ranking  officers
> who  supervised
> Courtney,  Harrison,  Simcox  and Companion during
> their alleged crime
> spree, which FBI agents said lasted more than two
> years.
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  one  question  hovering  over the investigation
> and possible plea
> deal  is  who  leaked news of the probe. FBI agents
> informed Scarberry
> in  January,  and  he said he relayed the
> information to eight people:
> his  command  staff,  Mayor  Mara  Giulianti  and
> City Manager Cameron
> Benson.
>
> Scarberry  said  Thursday  that the information was
> leaked to Courtney
> and  insisted  federal  investigators  --  not
> Hollywood  officers or
> officials -- were responsible.
>
> "I  just  hope  that  when  the real source of the
> leak comes out, the
> same  people  who  have  been  accusing  me and the
> department will be
> just as quick to say we did nothing wrong,"
> Scarberry said.
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2007
> Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
> Copyright: 2007 Sun-Sentinel Company
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
> Author: John Holland, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n500.a15.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> Cannabis & Hemp-
> ---------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (13-17)
>
>  Bernie  Ellis, a professional public health
> consultant who resides in
>  Tennessee,  has  worked  for anti-substance abuse
> programs across the
>  country.  He  was  also  unrepentant about growing
> and providing free
>  cannabis  to terminally ill patients, so the cold,
> heartless feds are
>  determined  he  pays  an  exorbitant  price for his
> compassion - they
>  want his farm.
>
>  The  outstanding  Alabama  activist  and
> gubernatorial  candidate,
>  Loretta  Nall, had great reason to celebrate 420 -
> in court on Friday
>  she  was  finally  cleared  of  cannabis possession
> charges that have
>  been dogging her for several years.
>
>  In  other  celebrity  news,  Willie Nelson pleaded
> guilty to cannabis
>  possession,  and  was  ordered  to  pay  $1,024
> along with six months
>  unsupervised  probation.  Though  the  fine  is
> heftier than normal,
>  luckily  he was not charged with a felony for the
> one and half pounds
>  found on the tour bus.
>
>  Cannabis  in  the  US/Canada has evolved from the
> two kinds of pot in
>  the  70's  -  good  or bad - to hundreds of
> exquisite, potent hybrids
>  for  consumers  to  partake  of.  Like anything
> that people develop a
>  taste  for,  cannabis  has spawned an elite, very
> knowledgeable class
>  of  connoisseurs  who  embrace  the  very  essence
> of their culture.
>
>  In  not-so-jolly  England,  the  relentless  wave
> of  reefer-madness
>  brainwashing  continues  unabated, this time
> flogging a 10 year study
>  from  reefer-mad Australia that concludes that teen
> pot consumers are
>  destined  to  become  losers,  but  drinkers turn
> out just fine. Huh?
>
> ===
>
> (13) MARIJUANA MARTYR
>
> Bernie  Ellis  Gave Comfort to the Sick and Dying.
> For That Crime, the
> Government Means to Take Everything He's Got.
>
>  [snip]
>
> It  must  have  been  a  real  disappointment.
> Ellis, a public health
> epidemiologist,  readily  acknowledged  that  he
> was  growing a small
> amount  of  medical marijuana to cope with a
> degenerative condition in
> his  hips  and  spine.  He was giving pot away to a
> few terminally ill
> people  too.  There  were  only  a  couple  dozen
> plants  of any size
> scattered  around  his  place-enough  to produce
> seven or eight pounds
> of marijuana worth about $7,000.
>
> But  for  that  crime-growing  a  little herb to
> ease his own pain and
> the  agony  of  a  few sick and dying people-Ellis
> was prosecuted like
> an  ordinary  drug  pusher.  Actually, if he had
> been one, he probably
> would  have  been treated less harshly. He has
> mounted $70,000 in debt
> to  his  lawyers,  lost  his  livelihood  and spent
> the past 18 months
> living  in  a  Nashville  halfway house. Worst of
> all, he risks losing
> his  beloved  Middle  Tennessee  farm-187 acres of
> rolling green hills
> along  the  Natchez Trace Parkway. Prosecutors are
> trying to seize the
> property  as  a  drug-case  forfeiture,  and Ellis
> is fighting against
> the odds to save his home of nearly 40 years.
>
> "If  I  were  a  rapist,  the government couldn't
> take my farm," Ellis
> says.  "I  grew  cannabis  and  provided  it  free
> of  charge to sick
> people,  so  I  run  the  risk  of  losing
> everything I own. That just
> doesn't compute to me."
>
> But  a  strange  thing  has  happened  while  the
> government has been
> trying  to  make  an  example  out  of  Ellis.
> Colleagues, friends and
> neighbors  are  rallying  around  him-along with a
> whole lot of people
> who  had  never  heard  of  him  before.  The
> balding,  bespectacled
> 57-year-old  with  the  amiable  manner of a
> favorite uncle has become
> an  improbable  cause  celebre. National
> organizations working for the
> liberalization  of  drug  laws  are hailing Ellis as
> a folk hero and a
> martyr of the medical marijuana movement.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 26 Apr 2007
> Source: Nashville Scene (TN)
> Copyright: 2007 Nashville Scene
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2409
> Author: Jeff Woods
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n523.a08.html
>
> ===
>
> (14) DRUG POSSESSION CHARGES AGAINST ALEX CITY
> GUBERNATORIAL
> CANDIDATE DROPPED
>
> After  years  of  court  battles, U.S. Marijuana
> Party founder Loretta
> Nall  of  Alexander City was cleared Friday of drug
> possession charges
> in a Tallapoosa County circuit court.
>
> "I'm  almost  speechless,"  Nall said. "It's been a
> long time coming."
>
> The  Tallapoosa  County  Narcotics  Task  Force
> arrested  Nall  in  a
> November  2002  raid  on  her  house where 0.87
> grams of marijuana was
> discovered.  She  was  convicted  of  misdemeanor
> marijuana possession
> and  possession  of  drug  paraphernalia in district
> court in February
> 2004.  Nall  appealed  the  conviction  to  circuit
> court, seeking to
> suppress  the  evidence used to obtain the search
> warrant for the raid
> on her house.
>
> Investigators  obtained  a  search  warrant  by
> using a letter to the
> editor  that  Nall wrote to the Birmingham News in
> support of changing
> marijuana  laws  and  by  using  statements made by
> Nall's daughter in
> her kindergarten class.
>
> "They  illegally  questioned my daughter and
> violated my right to free
> speech,"  Nall  said.  "The  judge ruled it a bad
> search and the judge
> dropped the charges."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Nall  also  has  aspirations  of  running  against
> Rep. Mike Rogers in
> 2008.
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2007
> Source: Alexander City Outlook, The (AL)
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2401
> Author: Patrick McCreless
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n510.a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (15) MUSIC LEGEND FINED IN MARIJUANA CASE
>
> ST.  MARTINVILLE  --  Country  music legend Willie
> Nelson and his tour
> manager  were  ordered  to  pay  $1,024 each and
> were sentenced to six
> months  of  probation after pleading guilty to
> possession of marijuana
> here Tuesday.
>
> Nelson,  tour  manager  David Anderson, Nelson's
> sister and two of the
> singer's  tour  bus  drivers were cited on
> misdemeanor drug charges in
> September  while  traveling  on  Interstate  10
> through  St.  Martin
> Parish.
>
> State  Police  investigators said they found 1 1/2
> pounds of marijuana
> and  a  small  amount of hallucinogenic mushrooms in
> a search prompted
> by  a  "strong  odor  of  marijuana"  during  a
> routine  motor  coach
> inspection stop of his tour bus.
>
> Nelson  and  Anderson,  both of Texas, entered their
> guilty pleas on a
> regular  court  day in St. Martinville, arriving
> with their attorney a
> few  minutes  before the plea hearing and taking
> seats at the front of
> a courtroom filled with other defendants.
>
>  [snip]
>
> A  criminal  background  check  indicated that
> Nelson, who has made no
> secret  of  his  marijuana  use,  had never before
> been convicted on a
> drug charge, according to Cedars.
>
> "We  did  something  apparently  nobody  else  has
> done,"  he  said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 25 Apr 2007
> Source: Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Advocate, Capital City Press
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n520.a01.html
>
> ===
>
> (16) CONNOISSEURS OF CANNABIS
>
> Like  Fine  Wine,  Growing Medicinal Weed Has Become
> So Specialized As
> to Inspire Tastings and a New Vocabulary
>
> Stephen  DeAngelo  bent  and  sniffed  deeply  over
> a clump of frizzy
> purple  nuggets  in  a  petri dish, one of eight
> sitting in the middle
> of  a  long  refectory table. They were not labeled
> or arranged in any
> particular  order,  although  to  the  experts
> assembled in DeAngelo's
> Oakland  loft  --  "cannabis is my calling," he says
> -- their identity
> was no mystery.
>
> "I  would  describe  this  as grapey, candy-like,
> sweet, with a slight
> undertone  of  spice,"  said  DeAngelo,  a  longtime
> activist and hemp
> promoter  who  is  now  chief  executive  officer of
> Harborside Health
> Center,  a  medical  marijuana  dispensary  in
> Oakland. He was holding
> the  tasting  at  home where he could properly and
> legally -- at least
> in  the  eyes of California, if not the federal
> government -- evaluate
> some  samples.  To  prepare,  he'd  taken  off  his
> green tweed coat,
> loosened  his  tie  and  settled  in  a  chair  near
> his vaporizer, an
> apparatus  that  allows him to breathe vapor instead
> of smoke, because
> it's less harsh.
>
>  [snip]
>
> As  the  quality  and  variety of marijuana products
> in pot clubs have
> grown,  so  too  has an emerging marijuana
> connoisseurship or, as some
> call  it,  "cannasseurship."  "I  guess,"  said
> DeAngelo,  when asked
> about  the  term after trying several samples, "I'm
> a cannasaurus." In
> medical  marijuana  circles,  the  treatment
> potential  of  a certain
> strain,  whether  it  produces  a  "body  high"  or
> a "head high" that
> dulls pain or stimulates appetite, treats pain,
> nausea,
> sleeplessness  or  other ailments, is paramount. But
> to a distinct and
> discerning subculture, there is another dimension.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Cervantes,  who  now  lives in Spain, says part of
> the publicity about
> new  strains  can  come  down  to  "money,  money,
> money" in America.
> Consumers  in  Northern  California,  for  example,
> are  crazy  about
> purple  strains,  he  said. In general, they're not
> as high quality as
> green  varieties,  but  someone  has  figured out
> that "purple sells."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 22 Apr 2007
> Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 Hearst Communications Inc.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
> Author: Katherine Seligman
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n504.a09.html
>
> ===
>
> (17) HEAVY CANNABIS USE BY TEENS IS MORE DANGEROUS
> THAN ALCOHOL
>
> Ten-Year  Study  Finds  Long-Term Users Have
> Problems With Work and in
> Relationships
>
> People  who  start  using  cannabis  as teenagers
> are more likely than
> drinkers  to  suffer  from mental illness, have
> relationship problems,
> and  fail  to  get  decent  qualifications or jobs,
> according to a new
> study by academics.
>
> "Cannabis  really  does look like the drug of choice
> for life's future
> losers,"  says  Professor  George  Patton,  who
> conducted the 10-year
> study  that  followed  the fortunes of 1,900
> schoolchildren until they
> were  25.  "It's  the  young  people  who were using
> cannabis in their
> teens  who  were  doing  really badly in terms of
> their mental health.
> They  were  also  less likely to be working, have
> qualifications or be
> in  a  relationship  and  more  likely  to  be
> taking  other  drugs."
>
> The  10-year  study  is the first of its kind to
> compare drinkers with
> cannabis  users.  Almost  two-thirds  of  people
> had  tried  cannabis
> before they turned 18.
>
> Heavy  users  of the drug were between three and six
> times more likely
> to  use  other  drugs,  compared with drinkers, less
> likely to be in a
> stable  relationship  and  up to three times more
> likely than drinkers
> to have dropped out of education or be unemployed.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 22 Apr 2007
> Source: Independent on Sunday (UK)
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/208
> Author: Jonathan Owen
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n515.a02.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> International News
> ---------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (18-21)
>
>  Led  by  prime  minister  Stephen Harper, Canadian
> conservatives have
>  tried to paint crime as 'out of control'. Only the
> fist of
>  authority,  says  Canada's  ruling conservative
> party, in the form of
>  "get  tough" jail sentences for "crime" (read:
> marijuana) will do. In
>  March,  a  Tory-created  $3.5  million  panel  was
> seated  to review
>  Canada's  jails.  Led  by  Rob  Sampson, a former
> Ontario corrections
>  minister  who  spearheaded  prison  privatization
> there, the federal
>  panel  is  expected  to echo the Harper
> conservatives' calls for more
>  prisons.  While "privatization is expressly
> excluded from the panel's
>  mandate,"  reported the Ottawa Citizen, other
> observers see the panel
>  as  a  rubber  stamp  for  expanding  for-profit
> prisons  in Canada.
>
>  Historically,  politicians  can  easily  sound
> "tough"  by lavishing
>  taxpayer money on police, in the name of fighting
> "drugs."
>  Australian  Prime Minister John Howard is no
> different, and last week
>  announced  the  creation  of  a  $150 million elite
> "flying squad" of
>  narcotics police who will target the production of
>  illegally-produced  methamphetamine. (This is not
> to be confused with
>  the  legal  form  of  methamphetamine,  which  is
> prescribed and sold
>  under  the  trade-name  Desoxyn.) Howard's
> widely-announced move came
>  on  the  heels  of  a  study  claiming  Australians
>  have the highest
>  per-capita  usage  of  illicit methamphetamines
> (called "ice" there),
>  in the world.
>
>  The UK Drug Policy Commission's recent report
> continues to
>  reverberate  in  the  press.  The New Zealand
> Herald this week, while
>  stressing  the numbers of British who say they take
> cocaine, let slip
>  the  "street  price  has  dropped from UKP 69
> ($187) to UKP 49 a gram
>  over  the  past six years," yet another stark
> failure of prohibition.
>  Government  "attempts  to  stem  the  use  of
> illegal substances have
>  failed",  noted the Herald. On top of that, most
> use of illegal drugs
>  isn't  even a problem. Admitted the Herald, "most
> try cannabis only a
>  few  times  with a small minority going on to be
> problematic users of
>  harder drugs."
>
>  If  you thought that Ecstasy (MDMA) must be more
> dangerous than booze
>  or  cigarettes  -- because after all MDMA is
> illegal, and tobacco and
>  alcohol  are  legal  --  then  you'd  be  wrong,
> according to Oxford
>  Professor  Colin Blakemore. Blakemore co-wrote a
> report in the Lancet
>  last  March, which ranked drugs according to their
> harms. The "system
>  pays  too  much  attention to adverse reactions
> which affect very few
>  people...  The  clearest  message that came out of
> our report is that
>  we  must  consider  the  real  social  harms
> caused  by  alcohol and
>  tobacco...  90%  of all drug related deaths are
> caused by alcohol and
>  tobacco."
>
> ===
>
> (18) EDITORIAL: LOOKING BEHIND THE BARS
>
> Prisons  figure  large  in  the  federal
> Conservative  plan to tackle
> crime.  If  Canada  starts  locking  up  more
> criminals  for  longer
> sentences,  it  had better make sure the prisons are
> working properly.
>
>  [snip]
>
> The total budget could reach $3.5 million.
>
> Mr.  Sampson's  appointment  has  worried some
> because of his openness
> to  private-sector  involvement  in  the
> corrections  system.  But
> privatization  is  expressly  excluded  from  the
> panel's  mandate.
>
>  [snip]
>
> It  will  also  examine  the effectiveness of
> rehabilitation programs.
> About  36  per  cent  of federal offenders are
> convicted of new crimes
> within  two  years  of completing their sentences.
> About five per cent
> of  offenders  commit  new violent offences within
> two years. That's a
> small  number,  but  it's  enough to make
> rehabilitation a key part of
> justice policy, and the priority for this panel.
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 23 Apr 2007
> Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Ottawa Citizen
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n513.a03.html
>
> ===
>
> (19) SQUAD FIGHTS ICE
>
> THE  Federal  Government  is  to  establish  an
> international "flying
> squad"  of  elite  police  to  target  production
> of  the killer drug
> crystal  methamphetamine,  or "ice". The new
> Australian Federal Police
> squad  will  be  announced by Prime Minister John
> Howard today as part
> of an additional $150 million over four years to
> boost the
> Government's "tough on drugs" strategy.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Some  of  the  largest  ice  factories  supplying
> Australia  are  in
> South-East  Asian  countries  such as Indonesia. The
> new international
> AFP  squad,  to  be known as the Regional Deployment
> Team, will aim to
> intercept the drug before it reaches Australia.
>
> The  team  will  operate via an international
> liaison officer network,
> and travel to regional sites of drug production if
> the case
> requires.
>
> The  package  to be announced by Mr Howard will also
> include money for
> the  Australian  Crime  Commission  aimed  at
> improving its technical
> communications interception capabilities.
>
>  [snip]
>
> It  will  recognise  that  the treatment of ice
> addicts often requires
> specialist  skills,  because  chronic  users  can
> be  psychotic  and
> violent.
>
> An  international  study  released  two weeks ago
> showed Australia had
> the  highest  per-capita  ice  usage  in  the
> English-speaking world.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 22 Apr 2007
> Source: Courier-Mail, The (Australia)
> Copyright: 2007 Queensland Newspapers
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/98
> Author: Glenn Milne
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n506.a03.html
>
> ===
>
> (20) BRITAIN'S COCAINE USE HITS NEW HIGH
>
> More  than  750,000  people  take  cocaine at least
> once a year as its
> price  falls  and  ecstasy  loses  its  popularity
> among  clubbers,
> according to a wide-ranging study of drug abuse in
> Britain.
>
> Official  attempts  to stem the use of illegal
> substances have failed,
> with  cocaine  soaring in popularity and addiction
> to heroin remaining
> stubbornly high.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Cocaine  use  among  young  people has tripled since
> the late 1990s to
> more  than  750,000 in 2005-2006, the study for the
> new UK Drug Policy
> Commission says.
>
> Nearly  5  per  cent of people entering drug
> rehabilitation programmes
> say  their  main problem is with cocaine. The
> average street price has
> dropped  from  UKP 69 ($187) to UKP 49 a gram over
> the past six years.
>
>  [snip]
>
> It  said  one  in four people aged 26 to 30 have
> tried a class A drug,
> such as heroin, cocaine or ecstasy, at least once.
>
> The  number  of  heroin  users  has  risen  from
> 5000  in  1975 to an
> estimated  281,000  in  England  and  50,000  in
> Scotland. It has now
> stabilised at "levels that are very high by
> international
> standards".
>
> With  around  20  per cent of people arrested
> dependent on heroin, the
> cost  of  drug-related crime in England and Wales is
> estimated at more
> than UKP 13 billion.
>
> Drug  use  is  now  of  common  experience for
> people born since 1970,
> although  most  try  cannabis  only  a few times
> with a small minority
> going on to be problematic users of harder drugs.
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2007
> Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
> Copyright: 2007 New Zealand Herald
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/300
> Author: Nigel Morris
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n512.a05.html
>
> ===
>
> (21) OXFORD DON - CIGARETTES MORE DANGEROUS THAN
> ECSTASY
>
> An  Oxford  Professor has co-written a report which
> ranked ecstasy and
> cannobis  [sic]  below  alcohol and tobacco in terms
> of individual and
> social  harm. The report, published by The Lancet in
> March, criticises
> the current ABC system of classification of drugs in
> the UK. It claims
> to "suggest a new system for assessing the potential
> harms of drugs on
> the  basis  of  fact  and  scientific  knowledge".
> Three categories --
> physical  harm,  dependence  and  social  harm  --
> were  established.
>
> Each  drug  was  given  a score in each category and
> these scores were
> added  up  to  produce  a  final result. Heroin was
> ranked as the most
> dangerous  drug.  Controversially,  ecstasy  was
> ranked  18th  and
> cannobis  11th  whilst  tobacco  was  ranked  9th
> and  alcohol  5th.
> Professor  Colin  Blakemore,  of  Magdalen  College
> and  chief of the
> Medical  Research  Council,  said,  "The  current
> ABC system pays too
> much  attention  to  adverse  reactions  which
> affect very few people.
>
> Class  A  drugs  have  been  demonised by the media,
> who have not been
> terribly  responsible  by  focusing  on cases such
> as Leah Betts. They
> do  not  say  that  this  is  one  of  a  very few
> people who die from
> ecstasy  compared  with  the  tens  of  thousands
> who die from alcohol
> consumption  --  one has to get these things into
> balance. "90% of all
> drug  related  deaths  are caused by alcohol and
> tobacco and we accept
> it  because  they  are  legal, we think we can't do
> anything about it.
> Well, we should.
>
> The  clearest  message  that  came  out  of our
> report is that we must
> consider  the  real  social  harms  caused  by
> alcohol  and tobacco."
> Professor  Blakemore  also  criticised  the
> government's  policy  on
> drugs.  "Their  scare  tactics  simply do not work,
> as the facts show.
> Half  a  million to a million young people will use
> ecstasy on any one
> weekend.  They  are using their personal experience
> to guide them when
> they should have objective evidence at their
> disposal.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Oxford Student (UK Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 Oxford Student Services Limited
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4154
> Author: Katie Cotton
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n506.a01.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> HOT OFF THE 'NET
> -------------------------------
>
> U.S. BORDER PATROL BARS CANADIAN PSYCHOTHERAPIST
>
> U.S.  Border  Patrol Bars Canadian Psychotherapist
> With Drug Research
> Far in His Past
>
> By Linda Solomon, The Tyee. Posted April 25, 2007.
>
> A  Canadian psychotherapist who conducted research
> with LSD was denied
> entry  to  the  United  States  after a border guard
> Googled his work.
>
> http://alternet.org/drugreporter/50948/
>
> ===
>
> COCA GROWERS SHAKE THE ANDES ONCE AGAIN
>
> Struggles Heat Up in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia
>
> By Jose Arenas, Former Colombian Congressman
>
> During  the  last  few  days,  coca  growers,
> especially  in Peru and
> Colombia, have been in the news again, as their
> actions have given the
> media something to talk about.
>
> http://narconews.com/Issue45/article2636.html
>
> ===
>
> 420 AT THE VANCOUVER ART GALLERY 2007
>
> Cannabis  users  observe  4:20  as  a time to smoke
> communally. It has
> evolved  into  a  counterculture holiday. A
> gathering to celebrate and
> consume cannabis.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyRSW0yvZ7M
>
> ===
>
> INTERACTION BETWEEN OPIATES AND CANNABINOIDS
>
> by Sandra Welch
>
> Presented  to  2004 Cannabis Therapeutics
> Conference, Sandra Welch,PhD
> examines  the analgesic effects of combining
> Cannabinoids and Opiates.
>
>
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7462551044217885349
>
> ===
>
> CONNECTING THE DOTS
>
> ONDCP'S Reluctant Update On Cocaine Price And Purity
>
> A Report by the Drug Policy Program of the
> Washington Office on Latin
> America / By John M. Walsh, Senior Associate, WOLA
>
> Preliminary U.S. government data, quietly disclosed
> by ONDCP, indicate
> that cocaine's price per pure gram on U.S. streets
> fell in 2006, while
> its  purity  increased.  These  latest estimates,
> continuing a 25-year
> trend,  suggest  that  cocaine supplies are stable
> or even increasing.
>
>
http://wola.org/media/Connecting%20the%20Dots%204-23-2007.pdf
>
> ===
>
> STUDY FINDS HIGHEST LEVELS OF THC IN U.S. MARIJUANA
> TO DATE
>
> 20  Year  Analysis  of  Marijuana  Seizures  Reveals
> a Doubling in Pot
> Potency Since Mid-80's;
>
> New  Strains  of  Marijuana  May  Be Behind Increase
> in Teen Marijuana
> Treatment  Admissions  and  Rise in Emergency Room
> Episodes Related to
> Marijuana
>
> White  House  Drug  Czar  Warns: "This isn't your
> father's marijuana."
>
>
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press07/042507_2.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> RAISE YOUR VOICE
>
> Don't let Congress hold education funding hostage to
> drug war politics!
>
> Calls and E-Mails Needed in These States: Alaska,
> Colorado,
> Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
> Maryland, Massachusetts,
> New  Hampshire,  New Mexico, New York, North
> Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma,
> Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington,
> Wyoming
>
> http://www.raiseyourvoice.com/
>
> ===
>
> DAMAGE DONE - THE DRUG WAR ODYSSEY
>
> After 30 years of drug war, illegal narcotics are
> decreasing in price,
> increasing  in  purity  and  demand continues to
> surge.  The heroes of
> this  film  are  veterans of the drug war and they
> urge us to consider
> ending drug prohibition.
>
> Saturday, April 28, 2007
>
> 7:00 pm on Global Television (Canada)
>
> http://www.drugwarodyssey.com/home.php
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> LETTER OF THE WEEK
> ------------------------------------
>
> TESTING WON'T STOP STUDENTS' DRUG USE
>
> By Dan Linn
>
> In response to the article, "Most Antioch high
> school board
> candidates  want  drug testing expanded," I would
> like to comment that
> such  a  policy  of  drug  testing  all  students
> would  not  only be
> expensive  and  ineffective,  but  could  also  lead
> to more drug use.
>
> Drug  testing  is  not  effective  because  it
> often  severs the very
> relationships  between  adults  and  students  that
> are  effective at
> curbing drug use.
>
> Last  month,  the  American  Association  of
> Pediatrics  released its
> opposition to random drug testing in its monthly
> journal.
>
> Parents  and  educators  should  turn to Safety
> First: A Reality-Based
> Approach  to  Teens  and  Drugs (safety1st.org) when
> trying to prevent
> teen  drug  use.  An  open  and  honest  discussion
> between adults and
> teens  about  the  potential  harms  of  drugs and
> the likelihood that
> teens  will  come  into  a  situation  where  drugs
> will be offered to
> them,  without  the  teens  being  afraid  of  a
> harsh  punishment is
> crucial.
>
> Safety  is  at  the  heart  of  the  issue when
> dealing with teens and
> drugs;  a  preventive  measure  that  simply  makes
> the  consequences
> harsher  and  more likely has not been effective and
> will continue not
> to be effective.
>
> Allowing teens to discuss drugs among their peers
> under the
> supervision  of  an  adult  is  a  better  solution
> than drug testing.
> Plus,  if  a  teen  does not join an extracurricular
> activity for fear
> of  failing  a  drug  test,  how does that prevent
> the teen from using
> drugs in the future?
>
> If  the  student  were  allowed  into  the
> extracurricular  activity
> without  a  drug  test,  then  maybe his or her free
> time after school
> would  be  taken  up  in  a  productive activity as
> opposed to being a
> prime time for drug use.
>
> All  in  all,  drug  testing  will not stop drug use
> among students at
> any  high  school,  but  an  honest approach to
> drugs by adults can at
> least  focus  on  the  most  important  aspect  and
> that  is  safety.
>
> Dan Linn
>
> Executive Director
>
> Illinois NORML
>
> Antioch
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 21 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> FEATURE ARTICLE
> -------------------------------
>
> AN EMBARRASSMENT FOR THE DRUG CZAR
>
> By Pete Guither
>
> White  House  letter:  U.S. cocaine prices drop
> despite billions spent
> on drug war
>
(http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=438560):
>
> "The  street  price  of cocaine fell in the United
> States last year as
> purity  rose,  the White House drug czar said in a
> private letter to a
> key  senator,  seemingly  contradicting  U.S. claims
> that US$4 billion
> (euro2.9 billion) in aid to Colombia is stemming the
> flow. The drug
> czar,  John  Walters,  wrote  that  retail  cocaine
> prices fell by 11
> percent  from  February 2005 to October 2006, to
> about US$135 (euro99)
> per  gram  of  pure  cocaine.  That's way below the
> US$600 a gram pure
> cocaine  fetched  in  1981,  when the U.S.
> government began collecting
> data,  and  near  the  level  it  has  been  at
> since the early 1990s.
>
> During  the  same  period, analysis of data
> collected by the U.S. Drug
> Enforcement  Administration  showed  that after a
> drop in 2005, levels
> of  purity  "have  trended  somewhat  toward  former
>  levels," Walters
> said.
>
> Walters  made  the  disclosure  in  a  January
> letter to Sen. Charles
> Grassley, the Republican co-chair of the Senate
> Caucus on
> International  Narcotics  Control.  The  Washington
> Office  on  Latin
> America,  a  think  tank, obtained the letter and
> made it available to
> The Associated Press."
>
> Oops.
>
> "...  Grassley,  in an e-mailed statement, said the
> letter is 'all the
> proof  that  anybody  needs"  that  the  White
> House drug office "has
> gotten  quite  good  at  spinning  the  numbers, but
> cooking the books
> doesn't  help  our  efforts  to curb cocaine and
> heroin production and
> consumption.'
>
> The  numbers  cited  by  Walters  contradict upbeat
> appraisals made by
> U.S.  officials  as  recently  in  March  _  two
> months after Walters'
> letter."
>
> Wait  a  second. I think I just heard... Was that
> the sound of someone
> calling Walters a liar?
>
> "Rep.  Jim  McGovern,  a  Massachusetts  Democrat,
> said  despite  the
> existence  of  the  new  estimates,  senior  U.S.
> Embassy  officials
> provided  him  with  older,  more  upbeat data
> during a March visit to
> Bogota."
>
> More lying?
>
> So far, this story has shown up in Taiwan and France
>
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/27/america/LA-GEN-Colombia-Drug-War.php
> Wonder  when  it'll hit here? And what this will do
> to funding for the
> Colombian drug war?
>
> Update: Huffington Post has it.
>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/04/26/us-spends-billions-as-dru_n_46988.html
>
> Pete  Guither  is  the author of Drug War Rant -
> www.drugwarrant.com -
> a  weblog  at  the front lines of the drug war,
> where this piece first
> appeared.
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> QUOTE OF THE WEEK
> ------------------------------------
>
> "Injustice  anywhere  is  a  threat  to  justice
> everywhere." - Martin
> Luther King, Jr.
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> DS  Weekly  is  one  of  the  many free educational
> services DrugSense
> offers  our  members.  Watch  this  feature  to
> learn more about what
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>
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> Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:35:55 -0700
> From: Herb <regularguy@...>
> Subject: MAP: Denver Police Arrest 78 People At
> Marijuana Rally
>
>
http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_110225932.html
>
>


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> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:53:37 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #496
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Thursday, April 19 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 496
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n496/
>
> 001 CN BC: Gov't Fleecing Pot Patients
>      Source: Goldstream Gazette (Victoria, CN BC)
> 002 US OK: Edu: Column: World Goes Up In Smoke Each
> April 20
>      Source: Daily O'Collegian (OK State U, OK Edu)
> 003 US NC: Brunswick Mulls Student Drug Testing
>      Source: Star-News (NC)
> 004 CN BC: Editorial: Needle Exchange Failure
>      Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> 005 US HI: 2 Educators On Kauai Held On Pot Charges
>      Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI)
> 006 CN BC: Former Lacrosse Star Arrested For Grow Op
>      Source: Record, The (CN BC)
> 007 US CA: Many Queasy Over Pot Shop In Templeton
>      Source: Tribune, The (San Luis Obispo, CA)
> 008 CN ON: City Hit By Drug Plague
>      Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
> 009 CN SN: Christianity Helped Addict Reform
>      Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
> 010 CN SN: PUB LTE: Biased Stories On Salvia Follow
> Tack On
>      Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
> 011 US SD: Court Asked To Revive Challenge To
> Student Loan
>      Source: Sioux City Journal (IA)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 CN BC: Gov't Fleecing Pot Patients
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:38:37 -0700
> Size: 60 lines   2447 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Goldstream Gazette (Victoria, CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Goldstream News Gazette
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.goldstreamgazette.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1291
> Author: Rudy Haugender
>
> GOV'T FLEECING POT PATIENTS
>
> The amount the federal government overcharges
> patients  legally using
> medical marijuana is deplorable, say the
> Conservative and Liberal
> candidates for Esquimalt-Juan  de Fuca.
>
> "Outrageous," says Conservative candidate Troy
> DeSouza.  Sitting
> Liberal MP Keith Martin described the new  charges
> as "usurous."
>
> Ottawa charges patients 15 times more for the bulk,
> certified
> medical marijuana than Health Canada pays its
> official supplier,
> newly released documents show.
>
> But sympathy for sick patients who have been
> prescribed  marijuana by
> doctors is the only thing Martin, a  medical doctor,
> and DeSouza agree on.
>
> DeSouza doesn't want marijuana decriminalized
> because  "I don't want
> to see kids getting involved (smoking  marijuana)
> and I'm not in
> favour of legalizing it."
>
> [continues: 31 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 US OK: Edu: Column: World Goes Up In Smoke
> Each April 20
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:38:44 -0700
> Size: 88 lines   3691 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily O'Collegian (OK State U, OK Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 Oklahoma State University
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.ocolly.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1275
> Author: Greg Gotcher, Opinion Columnist
>
> WORLD GOES UP IN SMOKE EACH APRIL 20
>
> Tomorrow seems like just another day to the average
> person, but to a
> number of people, tomorrow's date  marks a special
> occasion where all
> responsibilities and  worries go up in smoke.
>
> Why is there such a fuss about April 20? Why do all
> the  slackers
> always seem to hype this date? When April 20
> finally comes around
> they are nowhere to be found. What  are they doing?
>
> Perhaps they are just taking a day of rest to stay
> inside, take it
> easy and study.
>
> However, this doesn't seem likely considering the
> origins of 420
> (it's pronounced "four-twenty," not  "four hundred
> and twenty").
> April 20 is called 420  because April is the fourth
> month of the
> year, and it's  the twentieth day of the month.
>
> [continues: 61 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US NC: Brunswick Mulls Student Drug
> Testing
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:38:43 -0700
> Size: 58 lines   2626 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Star-News (NC)
> Copyright: 2007 Wilmington Morning Star
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500
> Author: Ana Ribeiro, Staff Writer
>
> BRUNSWICK MULLS STUDENT DRUG TESTING
>
> As the Brunswick Board of Education prepares  to
> vote on a policy to
> require all the school system's  employees to
> undergo drug testing,
> it may want students  to head in the same direction.
>
> During a meeting held Tuesday at the county
> government  complex,
> staff and board members discussed this and  other
> policy and
> curriculum issues. Another hot topic  was the most
> recent county data
> showing a substantial  gap between black and white
> students' test
> scores: 27.6 percentage points in math and 13.4
> points in
> reading,  for grades three through eight. Although
> the school  system
> has adopted customized learning programs and  seen
> some improvement
> since the 2004-05 school year,  it's still seeking
> reasons for the
> gap, schools spokesman Adam Henning said.
>
> A lengthy discussion on drug screenings preceded the
>  presentation on
> test scores.
>
> [continues: 31 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN BC: Editorial: Needle Exchange Failure
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:38:34 -0700
> Size: 58 lines   2243 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a04.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=d3f7a12d-\
9aa5-490f-9ae7-7c97d32d2b63
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=d3f7a12d-\
9aa5-490f-9ae7-7c97d32d2b63
> Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
>
> NEEDLE EXCHANGE FAILURE
>
> It all seemed tremendously urgent back in January
> when concerns about
> the needle exchange's effects on the Cormorant
> Street neighbourhood
> came to the boil.
>
> Everyone -- health officials, police, city council,
> the business
> community, AIDS Vancouver Island -- came together
> and agreed the
> location was unsuitable and something had to be
> done. Everyone
> professed a great desire to fix the problem.
>
> Or almost everyone. The Vancouver Island Health
> Authority,
> responsible for addiction services, was
> conspicuously absent.
>
> Moving the needle exchange to a more appropriate
> location and
> facility would cost more money. VIHA was in fact
> proposing to cut
> funding for AIDS services in the capital region by
> one-third.
>
> [continues: 30 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 US HI: 2 Educators On Kauai Held On Pot
> Charges
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:38:42 -0700
> Size: 61 lines   2493 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI)
> Copyright: 2007 Honolulu Star-Bulletin
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.starbulletin.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/196
> Author: Tom Finnegan
>
> 2 EDUCATORS ON KAUAI HELD ON POT CHARGES
>
> Kula Schools' Vice Principal and a Science Teacher
> Face Marijuana Charges
>
> MOLOAA, Kauai ; A science teacher and the athletic
> director of an
> expensive private North Shore school  were arrested
> last week for
> allegedly growing marijuana  at their home.
>
> Alan Bertolino, 43, the science teacher at Kula
> Intermediate and
> High School, was charged with  second-degree
> commercial production of
> marijuana, among  other charges. He worked at the
> school for about two months.
>
> Bertolino, who is being held in lieu of bail, was
> fired  Monday, Kula
> High Principal David Mireles said.
>
> Kula Vice Principal and Athletic Director David
> Rojeck,  42, was
> charged with third-degree promotion of a
> detrimental drug, a petty
> misdemeanor.
>
> [continues: 33 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN BC: Former Lacrosse Star Arrested For
> Grow Op
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:38:34 -0700
> Size: 81 lines   3262 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Record, The (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website: http://www.royalcityrecord.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1654
> Author: Mia Thomas
>
> FORMER LACROSSE STAR ARRESTED FOR GROW OP
>
> A former all-star New Westminster Salmonbellie has
> been arrested
> after police found a marijuana grow operation in his
> North Delta home
> last week.
>
> The 44-year-old man, who can't be named because he
> hasn't been
> charged, was a Western Lacrosse Association all-star
> for three years
> during his career as a men's senior A box lacrosse
> player.
>
> He played with the Salmonbellies for seven full
> seasons in the 1990s.
>
> Charges are expected by the end of the week,
> although police hadn't
> submitted their report to Crown counsel as of Monday
> afternoon.
>
> Delta police had received information about the grow
> operation,
> spokesperson Const. Sharlene Brooks said in a press
> release.
>
> [continues: 54 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US CA: Many Queasy Over Pot Shop In
> Templeton
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:46:14 -0700
> Size: 123 lines   5322 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Tribune, The (San Luis Obispo, CA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Tribune
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/391
> Author: Stephen Curran
>
> MANY QUEASY OVER POT SHOP IN TEMPLETON
>
> Town's Advisory Group Set to Discuss the Proposed
> Dispensary Thursday
>
> Community and business leaders in Templeton say
> they'll fight a
> proposal for a medical marijuana dispensary on the
> town's north side.
>
> Templeton schools Superintendent Deborah Bowers and
> others argue that
> allowing a dispensary in an industrial park at 3850
> Ramada Drive
> would undermine Templeton's anti-drug efforts and
> thrust the
> community into an ongoing legal battle over medical
> marijuana.
>
> Property owner and applicant Kent Connella has
> proposed a
> 1,450-square-foot medical marijuana co-op in the
> single-story complex.
>
> The Templeton Area Advisory Group is slated to
> discuss Thursday night
> whether the proposed business meets a set of
> guidelines spelled out
> in a county ordinance governing medical cannabis
> dispensaries.
>
> [continues: 95 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 CN ON: City Hit By Drug Plague
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:46:13 -0700
> Size: 78 lines   2965 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 Canoe Limited Partnership
> Contact: oped@...
> Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
> Author: Donna Casey, Sun Media
>
> CITY HIT BY DRUG PLAGUE
>
> Crack Explosion Overwhelming Downtown
>
> It's a disturbing sight Gord Diamond sees too often
> when he takes his
> dog for a walk around his downtown neighbourhood.
>
> It's a young woman who's "freaked out," stumbling
> down the sidewalk,
> scouring the streets for a fix of crack cocaine.
>
> For Diamond, who's lived with his wife at their
> George St. condo for
> six years, he sees the stumbling, strung-out woman
> and thinks of his
> two daughters -- women in their mid-30s who've had
> the good fortune
> of a loving and supportive home.
>
> 'DESTROYING THEMSELVES'
>
> "These are women who are the same age who are
> destroying themselves
> - -- it bothers me," said Diamond, the former
> director of transit
> services at the City of Ottawa.
>
> [continues: 48 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 CN SN: Christianity Helped Addict Reform
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:46:13 -0700
> Size: 73 lines   2839 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a09.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=1a70e242-c488-41d7-824\
7-fc9cc6ae7104
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=1a70e242-c488-41d7-824\
7-fc9cc6ae7104
> Copyright: 2007 The Leader-Post Ltd.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
> Author: Will Chabun, The Leader-Post
>
> CHRISTIANITY HELPED ADDICT REFORM
>
> Jesus Ran a Gang.
>
> "Hey, I had a Grade 5 education," Serge LeClerc
> said, a little
> apologetically, to the hundreds assembled Wednesday
> for the annual
> Saskatchewan Prayer Breakfast.
>
> "I had to put it into terms that I understood."
>
> What LeClerc understood back in 1985 was crime and
> surviving on the street.
>
> Born to a Cree mother who'd been raped in Toronto's
> seamy core, he
> grew up in that city's housing projects, was sent to
> a religious
> reform school (where he was cruelly beaten) and by
> 15 was carrying a gun.
>
> [continues: 46 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 CN SN: PUB LTE: Biased Stories On Salvia
> Follow Tack On
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:46:12 -0700
> Size: 38 lines   1487 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
> Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
> Contact:
>
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
> Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n450/a07.html
> Author: Tara Kooy
>
> BIASED STORIES ON SALVIA FOLLOW TACK ON MARIJUANA
>
> Re: Police powerless as psychedelic herb remains
> legal (SP, April 9).
> After another ridiculous article on salvia, I
> thought it was time to
> write. I am not trying to promote or support use of
> salvia, but the
> last two SP stories on it have been unnecessary and
> biased.
>
> In Legal hallucinogen concerns police (SP, Dec. 16),
> Saskatoon police
> admitted to not having any recorded issues with
> salvia use yet they
> apparently consider it a major problem in the city.
>
> It's highly confusing that people are choosing to
> attack this
> little-known substance with few documented incidents
> of danger.
> Meanwhile, alcohol kills people daily in multiple
> forms, be it from
> drunk driving, related physical abuse, fetal alcohol
> syndrome,
> alcohol poisoning or liver disease.
>
> Playing a blame game is pointless, but where is the
> logic in Canada's
> choices in the legality of mind and body altering
> substances? We are
> lucky enough to be able to legally kill ourselves
> with liquor and
> cigarettes, but the simple escape of salvia or
> marijuana are only for
> the "criminal."
>
> Tara Kooy
>
> Saskatoon
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Elaine
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 011 US SD: Court Asked To Revive Challenge To
> Student Loan
> From: Students Fight Back -
> www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:52:19 -0700
> Size: 83 lines   3918 bytes
> File: v07.n496.a11
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n496.a11.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Sioux City Journal (IA)
> Copyright: 2007 Sioux City Journal
> Contact: mikegors@...
> Website: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/945
>
> COURT ASKED TO REVIVE CHALLENGE TO STUDENT LOAN
> RESTRICTIONS
>
> PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A federal appeals court has
> been asked to
> reinstate a lawsuit that seeks to strike down a law
> denying federal
> financial aid to students convicted of drug
> offenses.
>
> The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties
> Union on behalf of
> students who lost their eligibility for college
> loans, argues that
> the federal law violates the constitutional ban on
> double jeopardy by
> subjecting students to a second criminal punishment
> after they have
> already served a court-imposed sentence.
>
> In the past six years, the law has prevented more
> than 200,000
> students or would-be students from getting grants,
> loans or other
> financial assistance, according to the ACLU.
>
> U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann of Aberdeen
> dismissed the
> lawsuit in October, ruling that the law does not
> violate the
> Constitution's provisions requiring equal protection
> and prohibiting
> double jeopardy.
>
> [continues: 54 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #496
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

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> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:58:34 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #493
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Thursday, April 19 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 493
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n493/
>
> 001 US FL: Crist Restored Civil Rights and Ended
> Effects of
>      Source: Business Journal (FL)
> 002 Canada: Canadian, American Cops Say It's Time To
> End Drug
>      Source: Brandon Sun (CN MB)
> 003 US TX: Drug Cases In Neglect
>      Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
> 004 CN NT: PUB LTE: Drug Prosecutions Are Not The
> Solution
>      Source: Yellowknifer (CN NT)
> 005 US WI: A Sweet Anniversary
>      Source: Shepherd Express (Milwaukee, WI)
> 006 CN ON: Groups Take On Growing Drug Problem
> Officials Gathered
>      Source: Observer, The (CN ON)
> 007 Canada: Medical Marijuana Markup Exorbitant
>      Source: Red Deer Advocate (CN AB)
> 008 UK: Labour's Ten-year Drugs War Has Achieved
> Nothing
>      Source: Evening Standard (London, UK)
> 009 CN NS: Firefighters Learn Drug Dangers
>      Source: Digby Courier, The (CN NS)
> 010 CN AB: Council Supports Poppy Plan
>      Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US FL: Crist Restored Civil Rights and
> Ended Effects of
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:14:48 -0700
> Size: 106 lines   4678 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Business Journal (FL)
> Copyright: 2007 American City Business Journals Inc.
> Contact: jacksonville@...
> Website:
> http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1262
> Author: Tonyaa Weathersbee, The Florida Times-Union
>
> CRIST RESTORED CIVIL RIGHTS AND ENDED EFFECTS OF JIM
> CROW LAW
>
> Perhaps Gov. Charlie Crist was thinking of Harry T.
> Moore when he
> forced Florida to shake off its Jim Crow past by
> automatically
> restoring civil rights to all but the most violent
> felons who have
> served their sentences.
>
> Moore, a teacher and field secretary for the Florida
> NAACP, and his
> wife Harriette were killed in their beds Christmas
> night in 1951.
>
> Their home in Mims near Titusville was bombed -
> apparently in
> retaliation for his relentlessness in registering
> black voters and
> fighting for an end to the all-white primary, as
> well as his push to
> stop lynchings and other horrors and indignities
> that held a ghastly
> grip on black people's lives.
>
> As attorney general, Crist's office logged numerous
> hours
> investigating the murders of Moore and his wife.
>
> [continues: 79 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 Canada: Canadian, American Cops Say It's
> Time To End Drug
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:40:30 -0700
> Size: 135 lines   5726 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Brandon Sun (CN MB)
> Copyright: 2007, Brandon Sun
> Contact: opinion@...
> Website: http://www.brandonsun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2437
>
> CANADIAN, AMERICAN COPS SAY IT'S TIME TO END DRUG
> PROHIBITION, SAVE LIVES
>
> VANCOUVER (CP) - It's a familiar scene on TV
> newscasts: wads of cash,
> rows of guns and bags full of drugs displayed neatly
> on a table by
> police officers seemingly posing by their latest set
> of trophies.
>
> One more drug bust, another haul, and big-time
> traffickers facing the
> prospect of hefty jail time.
>
> But some former law enforcement officials in Canada
> and the United
> States who have spent years fighting the ongoing war
> on drugs say it's
> a losing battle.
>
> Their views about how prohibition has failed to make
> a
> dent in the drug supply while millions of dollars
> continue to be wasted on criminalizing recreational
> drug users are told in the National Film Board
> documentary Damage Done: The Drug War Odyssey.
>
> [continues: 108 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US TX: Drug Cases In Neglect
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:42:50 -0700
> Size: 62 lines   2491 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a03.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-drugc\
ases_15tex.ART.State.Edition1.42dccc3.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-drugc\
ases_15tex.ART.State.Edition1.42dccc3.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Dallas Morning News
> Contact: letterstoeditor@...
> Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
>
> DRUG CASES IN NEGLECT
>
> HOUSTON -- A shortage of federal prosecutors and an
> emphasis on
> immigration violations has pulled resources away
> from prosecuting drug
> smugglers, according to memos released by the
> Justice Department.
>
> Federal prosecutors in southern Arizona declined to
> prosecute some
> marijuana smugglers carrying less than 500 pounds,
> according to the
> memos, which were released as part of the
> investigation into the
> firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
>
> Memos show federal officials warning that the
> thresholds were "simply
> going to be a fact of life" because U.S. attorneys'
> offices along the
> border were "absolutely stretched to the limit."
>
> The cases are then referred to state prosecutors,
> who often do not
> have the resources to take on those cases, a former
> U.S. Drug
> Enforcement Administration official told the Houston
> Chronicle.
>
> [continues: 33 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN NT: PUB LTE: Drug Prosecutions Are Not
> The Solution
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 02:53:46 -0700
> Size: 42 lines   1749 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Yellowknifer (CN NT)
> Copyright: 2007 Yellowknifer
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website:
>
http://www.nnsl.com/members/newspapers/newsnorth/sideindexsetupYK.html
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4270
> Author: Moe Brondum
>
> DRUG PROSECUTIONS ARE NOT THE SOLUTION
>
> It seems to me that the RCMP have sold Yellowknife
> city council a
> bottle of snake oil in the form of drug free zones
> (Drug-free Zone
> Launched, April 11). How will a drug free zone help?
> Does not drug
> prohibition already make Canada a drug free zone?
>
> By placing a drug free zone around a school, police
> are indicating
> that they are going to arrest and punish teenagers
> harder than the
> rest of the drug users in Yellowknife. In other
> words, Yellowknife has
> decided that teenagers can be the scapegoat for the
> sins of the
> parents. With more than 50 per cent of Canadians
> reporting that they
> have used marijuana in the previous year, teenagers
> can't be the
> principle problem.
>
> It seems to me that a community that cared to deal
> with this issue
> would seek new methods rather than relying on ideas
> that have failed
> to achieve a single beneficial outcome in almost a
> century. Holland
> effectively reduced teen drug use to nearly a third
> of that reported
> in Canada through harm reduction, tolerance, and
> compassion for those
> who need help.
>
> Recognizing that prohibition is the problem is the
> first step to
> recovery. It is not too late to return the snake oil
> and put the
> refund into affordable recreational opportunities
> and public health
> services for youths. Making the lives of youth
> better is the way to
> positive change, more youth in prison is the path to
> a bleak future.
>
> Moe Brondum,
>
> vice-president, Saskatchewan Marijuana Party
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Derek
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 US WI: A Sweet Anniversary
> From: Is My Medicine Legal YET? www.immly.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:06:12 -0700
> Size: 24 lines   961 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Shepherd Express (Milwaukee, WI)
> Copyright: 2007 Alternative Publications Inc.
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.shepherd-express.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/414
>
> A SWEET ANNIVERSARY
>
> Last week marked the 30th anniversary of Madison's
> ordinance that
> legalized the possession of small amounts of pot or
> hash in a private
> residence. This rule conflicts with state and
> federal laws, but the
> Madison ordinance was influential in relaxing
> marijuana laws around
> the nation.
>
> Hopefully, Wisconsin will legalize medical marijuana
> sometime soon, as
> roughly 80% of Wisconsin residents would like to see
> happen. But Rep.
> Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), head of the Assembly
> Committee on Health
> and Health Care Reform, isn't so compassionate.
> "This is nothing more
> than a backdoor attempt to legalize marijuana, which
> is not going to
> happen on my watch," she told a Madison paper.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Derek
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN ON: Groups Take On Growing Drug Problem
> Officials Gathered
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:08:11 -0700
> Size: 51 lines   1956 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Observer, The (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007, OSPREY Media Group Inc.
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website: http://www.theobserver.ca
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1676
> Author: Neil Bowen
>
> GROUPS TAKE ON GROWING DRUG PROBLEM; OFFICIALS
> GATHERED
> TUESDAY
>
> Community professionals gathered at the University
> of Western Ontario
> Research Park Tuesday to tackle a growing local
> substance abuse problem.
>
> Statistics show drug and alcohol abuse is increasing
> in southwestern
> Ontario, which translates into increased spending on
> health care,
> policing and court services, said Dave Brown,
> executive director of
> the United Way, which organized the event in
> partnership with the
> research park.
>
> Recovering drug user Jay Fewkes, 27, of the
> Kitchener area, was among
> the 50 people who attended and made suggestions for
> an action plan.
> The group included police officers, members of the
> Crown attorneys'
> office and treatment agency workers.
>
> An action plan will be presented to the same group
> in the coming
> months.
>
> [continues: 22 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 Canada: Medical Marijuana Markup
> Exorbitant
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:09:21 -0700
> Size: 48 lines   2107 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Red Deer Advocate (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 Red Deer Advocate
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website: http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2492
> Author: Dean Beeby
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis
> - Medicinal - Canada)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic
> Pain)
>
> MEDICAL MARIJUANA MARKUP EXORBITANT
>
> OTTAWA -- The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> The company currently has a $10.3-million contract
> with Health Canada,
> which expires at the end of September, to grow
> standardized medical
> marijuana in an abandoned mine shaft in Flin Flon,
> Man.
>
> [continues: 18 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 UK: Labour's Ten-year Drugs War Has
> Achieved Nothing
> From: Kirk
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:13:28 -0700
> Size: 101 lines   4447 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2007
> Source: Evening Standard (London, UK)
> Copyright: 2007 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/914
>
> LABOUR'S TEN-YEAR DRUGS WAR HAS ACHIEVED NOTHING
> BUT LOWER STREET PRICES, SAYS EXPERTS
>
> A decade of Labour's war on drugs has done nothing
> to curb the
> misery and crime caused by abuse, a research group
> declared yesterday.
>
> Propaganda campaigns, law enforcement and
> imprisonment for drug
> dealers have had no effect on levels of drug use, it
> said.
>
> Police activity against drug markets and seizures of
> smuggled drugs
> have resulted only in lower street prices.
>
> The scathing criticism came in a report by the UK
> Drug Policy
> Commission, an independently funded group which
> intends to press the
> Government to try harder to tackle huge levels of
> damage caused by
> drug users.
>
> It said that one in four people in their late 20s
> have tried a hard
> drug such as heroin or cocaine at least once; that
> nearly half of all
> young people have used cannabis; and that the drug
> addiction rate in
> Britain is more than twice the levels of France,
> Germany, Sweden or
> Holland.
>
> [continues: 70 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 CN NS: Firefighters Learn Drug Dangers
> From: http://www.medpot.net/
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:54:34 -0700
> Size: 132 lines   5217 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: Digby Courier, The (CN NS)
> Copyright: 2007 Media Transcontinental
> Contact: info@...
> Website:
>
http://www.novanewsnow.com/rubrique-720-Digby-County.html
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4444
> Author: Jonathan Riley
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
> (Methamphetamine)
>
> FIREFIGHTERS LEARN DRUG DANGERS
>
> Digby area firefighters learned a lot about growing
> marijauna and
> cooking methamphetamines last week.
>
> Three officers from special RCMP drug units spoke at
> the Digby Fire
> Hall on Tuesday, March 27 about the dangers of grow
> ops and meth labs.
>
> "If you take anything out of this lecture," said
> Constable Paul
> Robinson, "it should be just how dangerous these
> labs are. These are
> life threatening. If you open a door and see what
> you think is a lab,
> just turn around and walk out."
>
> For example Robinson explained that phosphine gas,
> one of the
> products of the chemical reactions, is lethal at
> concentrations of
> only three parts per million.
>
> [continues: 105 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 CN AB: Council Supports Poppy Plan
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:54:36 -0700
> Size: 73 lines   3472 bytes
> File: v07.n493.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n493.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Lethbridge Herald
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/239
> Author: Delon Shurtz
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
>
> COUNCIL SUPPORTS POPPY PLAN
>
> City Businessman Wants To Grow Poppies To Reduce
> Reliance On Imports
> Of Medicinal Drugs
>
> A Lethbridge businessman hoping to bring poppy
> farming to Canada has
> received enthusiastic support from the city. "I have
> a lot of
> enthusiasm for this project," Mayor Bob Tarleck said
> earlier this
> week when Glen Metzler asked council for its
> support.
>
> Tarleck said the new crop would decrease the amount
> of medicinal
> drugs Canada must import and increase jobs locally.
> And while he is
> concerned poppies could "get in the hands of bike
> gangs and organized
> crime," he said security issues would be addressed
> by government authorities.
>
> Metzler, of Metzler Trading Company, assured council
> the poppies he
> wants farmers to grow in Canada and southern Alberta
> are not easily
> converted into heroin by the average person.
>
> [continues: 45 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #493
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

__________________________________________________
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> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:16:45 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #492
>
> Drugnews-Digest       Wednesday, April 18 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 492
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n492/
>
> 001 Mexico: Drug War Claims More Victims As Police
> Find 17 Bodies
>      Source: News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA)
> 002 Canada: Medical Marijuana Markup Decried
>      Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
> 003 Canada: Markup On Gov't Dope Is 1,500 Per Cent
>      Source: Whitehorse Star (CN YK)
> 004 US IL: Rockford Pastor Supports Use Of Medical
> Marijuana
>      Source: Rockford Register Star (IL)
> 005 Canada: Health Canada Marks Up Its Medical
> Marijuana 1,500%
>      Source: Sault Star, The (CN ON)
> 006 Canada: Huge Markup On Legal Dope
>      Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON)
> 007 Canada: Markup On Marijuana
>      Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON)
> 008 CN ON: Organized Crime Likely Put Cameras In
> East End Grow Ops
>      Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
> 009 Mexico: 100 Police Officers Held In Mexico
>      Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
> 010 US AZ: Anti-Meth Drive Previews At Cocopah
>      Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
> 011 US AZ: Ad Campaign Reveals Horrors Of 'Devil's
> Drug'
>      Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
> 012 CN BC: Lte: Pot Busts And Police Propaganda
>      Source: Ladysmith Chronicle (CN BC)
> 013 US IL: Editorial: Legalize Medical Marijuana
>      Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 Mexico: Drug War Claims More Victims As
> Police Find 17 Bodies
> From: Kirk
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:42:54 -0700
> Size: 25 lines   827 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a01.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.thenewstribune.com/358/v-printerfriendly/story/40891.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.thenewstribune.com/358/v-printerfriendly/story/40891.html
> Copyright: 2007 Tacoma News Inc.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.thenewstribune.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/442
>
> Mexico City
>
> DRUG WAR CLAIMS MORE VICTIMS AS POLICE FIND 17
> BODIES
>
> Police found 17 bodies stuffed in cars or dumped on
> streets in
> garbage bags across Mexico on Monday in the latest
> wave of violence
> apparently triggered by warring drug gangs.
>
> Federal investigators say the Sinaloa cartel is
> fighting a bloody
> turf war with the Gulf Cartel and their army of
> enforcers known as
> the Zetas over billion-dollar drug trafficking
> routes to the United States.
>
> According to a tally kept by Mexico City daily El
> Universal there
> have been more than 700 drug slayings since January.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 Canada: Medical Marijuana Markup Decried
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:43:48 -0700
> Size: 62 lines   2827 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Kingston Whig-Standard
> Contact: whiged@...
> Website: http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
> Author: Dean Beeby
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> MEDICAL MARIJUANA MARKUP DECRIED
>
> 1,500-Per-Cent Profit On Legal Pot: Records
>
> OTTAWA - The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> [continues: 35 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 Canada: Markup On Gov't Dope Is 1,500 Per
> Cent
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:43:54 -0700
> Size: 21 lines   736 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: Whitehorse Star (CN YK)
> Copyright: 2007 Whitehorse Star
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.whitehorsestar.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1493
> Author: Canadian Press
>
> MARKUP ON GOV'T DOPE IS 1,500 PER CENT
>
> OTTAWA - The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US IL: Rockford Pastor Supports Use Of
> Medical Marijuana
> From: Kirk
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:42:58 -0700
> Size: 41 lines   1691 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a04.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070417/NEWS0107/104170051/100\
4/NEWS
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: Rockford Register Star (IL)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070417/NEWS0107/104170051/100\
4/NEWS
> Copyright: 2007 Rockford Register Star
> Contact:
>
http://www.rrstar.com/ezaccess/contactus/lettertotheeditor.shtml
> Website: http://www.rrstar.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/370
> Author: Aaron Chambers, Register Star Springfield
> Bureau
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis -
> Medicinal)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> ROCKFORD PASTOR SUPPORTS USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
>
> SPRINGFIELD -- During his 30 years as a Presbyterian
> pastor, the Rev.
> Bob Hillenbrand said, he encountered a number of
> folks whose
> treatment could have been enhanced by medical
> marijuana.
>
> Hillenbrand, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church
> in Rockford,
> recently joined an effort to allow those with
> debilitating medical
> conditions to legally possess the drug in Illinois.
>
> "I think there's a lot of ignorance about this," he
> said Monday. "I'm
> certainly not an expert myself, but I have heard
> quite a number of
> doctors say -- and I happen to agree with them --
> that treatment like
> this might very well be in order."
>
> Legislation to legalize medical marijuana is pending
> before the
> Illinois Senate. Even if Illinois policymakers
> approve the measure,
> the federal government insists marijuana -- even for
> medical
> treatment -- is illegal.
>
> "I think that medical treatments need to be
> determined by scientific
> evidence and by the doctor/patient relationship, not
> by somebody's
> fear of prejudice outside that relationship,"
> Hillenbrand said.
>
> He said he made a few phone calls to help mobilize
> other clergy
> behind the legislation, but he declined to identify
> them.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 Canada: Health Canada Marks Up Its Medical
> Marijuana 1,500%
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:51:40 -0700
> Size: 67 lines   3038 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Sault Star, The (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Sault Star
> Contact: ssmstar@...
> Website: http://www.saultstar.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1071
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> HEALTH CANADA MARKS UP ITS MEDICAL MARIJUANA 1,500%
>
> Third Of Registered Users Cut Off, In Hock To Ottawa
>
> OTTAWA - The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> The company currently has a $10.3-million contract
> with Health
> Canada, which expires at the end of September, to
> grow standardized
> medical marijuana in an abandoned mine shaft in Flin
> Flon, Man.
>
> [continues: 37 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 Canada: Huge Markup On Legal Dope
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:53:21 -0700
> Size: 50 lines   2192 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 Osprey Media Group Inc.
> Contact: mdentandt@...
> Website: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1544
>
> HUGE MARKUP ON LEGAL DOPE
>
> Government Charging 1,500 Per Cent Markup
>
> OTTAWA - The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> The company currently has a $10.3-million contract
> with Health
> Canada, which expires at the end of September, to
> grow standardized
> medical marijuana in an abandoned mine shaft in Flin
> Flon, Man.
>
> [continues: 21 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 Canada: Markup On Marijuana
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 08:07:31 -0700
> Size: 33 lines   1406 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 Osprey Media Group Inc.
> Contact: news1@...
> Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> MARKUP ON MARIJUANA
>
> OTTAWA - The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> The company currently has a $10.3-million contract
> with Health
> Canada, which expires at the end of September, to
> grow standardized
> medical marijuana in an abandoned mine shaft in Flin
> Flon, Man.
> Health Canada sells the marijuana to a small group
> of authorized
> users for $150 - plus GST - for each 30-gram bag of
> ground-up
> flowering tops. That works out to $5,000 for each
> kilogram, or a
> markup of more than 1,500 per cent.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 CN ON: Organized Crime Likely Put Cameras
> In East End Grow Ops
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:29:41 -0700
> Size: 67 lines   3047 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Hamilton Spectator
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
> Author: Daniel Nolan
>
> ORGANIZED CRIME LIKELY PUT CAMERAS IN EAST END GROW
> OPS
>
> Hamilton police were likely being watched on
> computer monitors when
> they shut down the largest grow operation in the
> city's history last month.
>
> Apart from the $12 million in marijuana spread among
> 49 apartments in
> three east end apartment buildings, plus thousands
> of dollars of grow
> op equipment, police say they found TV cameras in
> six units. Police
> say it's the first time they have found this in
> tackling the
> burgeoning grow op industry.
>
> "We've gone through grow ops where they've been
> booby trapped and
> they've had issues and alarms there that would have
> triggered someone
> was there, but this is the first time we've actually
> seen video
> cameras that were on site and directed to another
> source to let
> someone know someone was in their grow op," Deputy
> Chief Ken
> Leendertse told reporters yesterday after he made a
> brief
> presentation on the bust to the police services
> board.
>
> [continues: 39 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 Mexico: 100 Police Officers Held In Mexico
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:29:39 -0700
> Size: 63 lines   2587 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a09.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/041707dnintmexico\
.299cd8f.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/041707dnintmexico\
.299cd8f.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Dallas Morning News
> Contact: letterstoeditor@...
> Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
> Author: Laurence Iliff, The Dallas Morning News
>
> 100 POLICE OFFICERS HELD IN MEXICO
>
> Military, AG Target Drug Corruption In Border State
>
> MEXICO CITY -- Mexican soldiers detained more than
> 100 police
> officers Monday in the Texas border state of Nuevo
> Leon, and
> authorities said the officers would be held in
> custody and
> investigated for allegedly helping drug traffickers.
>
> The joint operation between the army and state
> attorney general's
> office targeted allegedly corrupt police in a dozen
> towns, and also
> in the state security ministry and the state police,
> authorities said
> in a statement.
>
> The officers were identified as a result of recent
> information
> obtained in the town of Marin, and more arrests in
> additional towns
> could be in the offing as a result of the ongoing
> investigation, the
> statement said.
>
> [continues: 33 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 US AZ: Anti-Meth Drive Previews At Cocopah
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:39:34 -0700
> Size: 61 lines   2381 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
> Copyright: 2007 East Valley Tribune.
> Contact: forum@...
> Website: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
> Author: Amanda Keim
>
> ANTI-METH DRIVE PREVIEWS AT COCOPAH
>
> The girl was going to try meth -- just once. Then
> steal -- just once.
> Then sleep with someone for the drug -- just once.
>
> But it was the last scene of the advertisement, one
> of four
> television ads that will air across the state
> starting today, that
> really caught 14-year-old Kayla Newnam's attention.
> The girl's
> younger sister decided to try the drug, too.
>
> "I'd never want my brother to end up like that. That
> would be
> horrible. And I'd never want to end up like that,"
> Kayla said. "The
> scare tactic is working."
>
> Kayla was one of 30 eighthgraders at Scottsdale's
> Cocopah Middle
> School who previewed the Arizona Meth Project
> campaign Tuesday.
>
> Based on the Montana Meth Project, the campaign
> features television
> and print ads with gritty images of teens picking at
> their scabbed
> skin, stealing to support their habit and being
> hospitalized.
>
> [continues: 31 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 011 US AZ: Ad Campaign Reveals Horrors Of
> 'Devil's Drug'
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:46:07 -0700
> Size: 124 lines   5449 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a11
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a11.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0418meth0418.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0418meth0418.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Arizona Republic
> Contact: opinions@...
> Website: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
> Author: Lindsey Collom
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
> (Methamphetamine)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> AD CAMPAIGN REVEALS HORRORS OF 'DEVIL'S DRUG'
>
> 10 Arizona Counties Banding Together To Combat Meth
> Use
>
> A blond girl getting ready for a night out recoils
> in terror as she
> sees an image of herself as a bruised, bleeding
> addict huddled on the
> shower floor.
>
> An agitated boy runs through a laundry facility,
> attacking people and
> demanding money, when he encounters his former self
> and screams,
> "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
>
> These are just some of the graphic images that are
> part of an ad
> campaign hitting the airwaves, billboards and
> newspapers today to
> show the real-life horrors of methamphetamine use.
>
> [continues: 97 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 012 CN BC: Lte: Pot Busts And Police
> Propaganda
> From: http://medpot.net/
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:01:11 -0700
> Size: 64 lines   2480 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a12
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a12.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: Ladysmith Chronicle (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 BC Newspaper Group & New Media
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.ladysmithchronicle.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1279
> Author: Laura Bohun
>
> POT BUSTS AND POLICE PROPAGANDA
>
> Editor:
>
> Re: 'Saltair pot bust nets 60 plants' (The
> Chronicle, April 10).
>
> Ladysmith RCMP Cpl. Rob Graves stated the net street
> value of 60
> plants seized in the arrest was approximately
> $70,000.
>
> Such a claim leads me to two obvious conclusions.
>
> 1) Corporal Graves and his "Green Team" task force
> from the Nanaimo
> RCMP have been smoking the proceeds of [drug busts]
> to derive such a
> net worth from 60 plants, as they seem to believe
> one plant has a
> street value of more than $1,000 dollars.
>
> 2) The RCMP [intentionally] exaggerate the value of
> seized marijuana
> crops by more than 90 per cent when it is seized as
> undried plants and
> have been doing so for years.
>
> [continues: 35 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 013 US IL: Editorial: Legalize Medical
> Marijuana
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:14:54 -0700
> Size: 56 lines   2748 bytes
> File: v07.n492.a13
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n492.a13.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
> Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
> Copyright: 2007 The Sun-Times Co.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis -
> Medicinal)
>
> LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA
>
> We've all seen the images and heard the testimony of
> ailing Americans
> who gain relief from their chronic pain or
> discomfort by smoking
> marijuana -- who, in fact, have no other remedy at
> their disposal.
> People can't help chuckling over pictures of
> grandmoms and granddads
> smoking a "j" -- Cheech and Chong they're not. But
> of course there's
> nothing funny about these sufferers' need for
> medical marijuana -- for
> marijuana that has been prescribed for them by a
> doctor -- or the
> federal government's unmerciful threat to prosecute
> users even in
> states where it is not against the law.
>
> Since a 2006 Supreme Court ruling against people who
> use prescription
> pot, numerous states have passed bills protecting
> them from
> prosecution. In states that do allow it -- with New
> Mexico's recent
> passing of what Gov. Bill Richardson called "a
> humane piece of
> legislation," there are now 12 -- the federal
> government generally
> does not look to arrest anyone on an individual
> basis.
>
> [continues: 28 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #492
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

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> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:35:38 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #491
>
> Drugnews-Digest       Wednesday, April 18 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 491
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n491/
>
> 001 UK: A Heroin Overdraft
>      Source: Times, The (UK)
> 002 US TX: Lethal Heroin Drug Mix Plagues Dallas
> Schools
>      Source: Seattle Times (WA)
> 003 US CT: Overdose Deaths Spark Concern
>      Source: Stamford Advocate, The (CT)
> 004 US NE: Methamphetamine Has Immediate And
> Long-Term Effects On
>      Source: Grand Island Independent (NE)
> 005 US FL: Edu: OPED: Ecstasy Article Makes Big Deal
> Out Of
>      Source: Independent  Florida Alligator, The (FL
> Edu)
> 006 CN BC: Ex-Mayor Addresses Film Crowd
>      Source: Metro (CN BC)
> 007 Australia: Family First Slams Greens Deals
>      Source: Australian, The (Australia)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 UK: A Heroin Overdraft
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:07:35 -0700
> Size: 380 lines   21534 bytes
> File: v07.n491.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n491.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: Times, The (UK)
> Copyright: 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.the-times.co.uk/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/454
> Author: Carol Midgley and James Charles
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
>
> A HEROIN OVERDRAFT
>
> NatWest had been told that Hannah Mayne was a drug
> addict on
> benefits. So why did it give her UKP850, which she
> blew on drugs?
>
> In October last year Hannah Mayne walked into the
> local branch of
> NatWest Bank and asked for an overdraft of UKP50.
> Although she was an
> unemployed teenager whose only income was from
> benefits, the man
> behind the counter said that would be no problem. In
> fact, she could
> have UKP1,200 if she wanted. Ten minutes later
> Hannah walked out with
> UKP850 in cash in her pocket and the facility to
> access UKP350 more.
> Three weeks after that she took a heroin overdose.
> She had spent
> every penny of NatWest's money on drugs.
>
> Taken on its own, the irresponsible way in which a
> bank will lend to
> a young person with no discernible way of paying it
> back these days
> is a worrying enough story.
>
> [continues: 353 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 US TX: Lethal Heroin Drug Mix Plagues
> Dallas Schools
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:08:07 -0700
> Size: 121 lines   4703 bytes
> File: v07.n491.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n491.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Seattle Times (WA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Seattle Times Company
> Contact: opinion@...
> Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
> Author: Tawnell D. Hobbs and Jason Trahan, The
> Dallas Morning News
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> LETHAL HEROIN DRUG MIX PLAGUES DALLAS SCHOOLS
>
> DALLAS -- The number of Dallas students getting
> hooked on a new drug
> called "cheese" is skyrocketing, with arrests for
> the heroin mix up
> 82 percent this school year.
>
> Dallas Independent School District police made 122
> arrests through
> February for students either possessing or dealing
> the drug. At that
> time last school year, 67 cheese-related arrests had
> been made. The
> total reached 90 by summer.
>
> School district officials have said they were slow
> to see cheese as a
> threat when it was detected in fall 2005 because
> they didn't know
> what it was. They say arrests increased because they
> now know what
> they're looking for.
>
> [continues: 94 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US CT: Overdose Deaths Spark Concern
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:08:13 -0700
> Size: 89 lines   3538 bytes
> File: v07.n491.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n491.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Stamford Advocate, The (CT)
> Copyright: 2007 Southern Connecticut Newspaper, Inc.
> Contact: letters.advocate@...
> Website: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1522
> Author: Zach Lowe
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin
> Overdose)
>
> OVERDOSE DEATHS SPARK CONCERN
>
> STAMFORD - City police are investigating two
> suspicious drug overdose
> deaths in the last 10 days, and New York City police
> have arrested a
> man who was with a Stamford teen when she fatally
> overdosed in
> Manhattan last month, authorities said.
>
> Stamford police are awaiting toxicology reports to
> determine what
> killed two city men in their 30s, one on April 7 and
> the other on
> Thursday, said Capt. Richard Conklin, head of the
> detective bureau.
>
> New York City-area police are investigating the
> possibility that a
> batch of heroin laced with a potent painkiller
> entered the local
> market in the last month, he said.
>
> But Conklin said it is too early to say that dirty
> heroin killed the
> two city men in the past week.
>
> [continues: 60 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US NE: Methamphetamine Has Immediate And
> Long-Term Effects On
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:33:40 -0700
> Size: 86 lines   3401 bytes
> File: v07.n491.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n491.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Grand Island Independent (NE)
> Copyright: 2007 Grand Island Independent
> Contact: ayoub@...
> Website: http://www.theindependent.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1023
> Author: Sarah Schulz
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
> (Methamphetamine)
>
> METHAMPHETAMINE HAS IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS
> ON USERS
>
> Methamphetamine is a powerful synthetic drug that
> affects the body's
> central nervous system.
>
> The drug is illegally manufactured using ephedrine
> or pseudoephedrine
> with a combination of other explosive and toxic
> chemicals that are
> available over the counter. Meth is often produced
> in home labs that
> are extremely volatile, according to the Midwest
> High Intensity Drug
> Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
>
> The organization also provided the following
> information:
>
> The high from meth is caused by the brain firing
> more dopamine -- the
> feel-good chemical that is critical to normal brain
> function. With
> repeated use, meth kills dopamine cells, leading to
> a chemical change
> in the brain.
>
> [continues: 59 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 US FL: Edu: OPED: Ecstasy Article Makes
> Big Deal Out Of
> From: allan
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:34:17 -0700
> Size: 70 lines   3491 bytes
> File: v07.n491.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n491.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Independent  Florida Alligator, The (FL Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 Campus Communications, Inc
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.alligator.org/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/760
> Author: Dave Khey and Bryan Miller
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> ECSTASY ARTICLE MAKES BIG DEAL OUT OF LESS-POPULAR
> DRUG
>
> The media attention given to the drug Ecstasy is
> nothing new to
> Gainesville. When one of us transferred to UF in
> 1999 from Miami, the
> controversy over Ecstasy - more specifically, MDMA -
> was in full
> swing in this college town.
>
> The rave scene that had sprung up in the mid to late
> '90s, centering
> around a notorious club named Simon's, brought
> night-crawling raver
> youths to Gainesville in droves. But this scene
> dissolved due to new
> legislation that shifted bar and club closing times
> to 2 a.m.
>
> Since the demise of the rave scene, the popularity
> of its hallmark
> drug has seen a similar fate, and nationwide
> statistics suggest this
> pattern.
>
> [continues: 43 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN BC: Ex-Mayor Addresses Film Crowd
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:33:37 -0700
> Size: 36 lines   1488 bytes
> File: v07.n491.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n491.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Metro (CN BC)
> Copyright: Metro 2007
> Contact: vancouverletters@...
> Website:
> http://www.metronews.ca/home.aspx?city=vancouver
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775
> Author: Jared Ferrie
> Note: Picture caption: "The United States is the
> bully of the world,"
> said Campbell yesterday in an interview before
> addressing a crowd
> gathered for the Vancouver premier of the National
> Film Board
> documentary Damage Done: The Drug War Odyssey.
>
> EX-MAYOR ADDRESSES FILM CROWD
>
> Canada should legalize and tax marijuana according
> to Senator Larry
> Campbell, who blamed the U.S. for pressuring Ottawa
> to follow its war
> on drugs approach.
>
> Marijuana smoke hung thick in the air outside the
> Vancouver
> International Film Centre (1181 Seymour St.), and
> joints were being
> rolled openly on the counter just inside the
> entrance.
>
> Campbell, a former Vancouver drug cop and mayor,
> said science has
> proven that the substance is relatively harmless.
>
> "Nobody's ever died from marijuana, so what's the
> big deal?" said
> Campbell, who is featured in the documentary.
> America found allies in
> Ottawa with last year's election of a Conservative
> government, he added.
>
> He said the Tories wanted to shut down Vancouver's
> safe heroin
> injection site despite numerous scientific studies
> proving its
> effectiveness. Campbell said drugs like heroin and
> cocaine should be
> controlled, but their use should not be treated as a
> criminal offence.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 Australia: Family First Slams Greens Deals
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:33:36 -0700
> Size: 70 lines   3117 bytes
> File: v07.n491.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n491.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Australian, The (Australia)
> Copyright: 2007sThe Australian
> Contact:
>
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/files/aus-letters.htm
> Website: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/35
> Author: Selina Mitchell
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> FAMILY FIRST SLAMS GREENS DEALS
>
> THE Liberal and Labor parties have been told it
> would be absurd for
> them to direct preferences to the Greens in the
> federal election
> because it would be sending children the message it
> was acceptable to
> use drugs.  In an attempt to gain crucial support
> for his party at
> the next election, expected in October or November,
> Family First's
> only federal representative, Steve Fielding, has
> warned the major
> parties against any association with the Greens.
>
> In response to Greens leader Bob Brown's call for
> Labor preferences,
> Senator Fielding said the Greens were pushing
> dangerous views on
> drugs and had no sensible policies on families or
> small business.
>
> A party that promoted extremism should not be
> allowed to hold the
> balance of power and any mainstream party that
> supported the Greens
> would be tainted by association, he said.
>
> [continues: 42 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #491
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

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> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:52:29 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #485
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Tuesday, April 17 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 485
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n485/
>
> 001 Canada: Health Canada Mark-Up on Government
> Certified Reefer
>      Source: Truro Daily News (CN NS)
> 002 Canada: High Markup On Feds' Medicinal Pot
>      Source: Daily News, The (CN NS)
> 003 Canada: Gov't Marijuana Marked Up 1,500 Per Cent
>      Source: Medicine Hat News (CN AB)
> 004 Canada: Markup Price Charged For Medical
> Marijuana
>      Source: Western Star, The (CN NF)
> 005 Canada: Fed Gov't's Pot Sky-High in Price
>      Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
> 006 US NY: Revolving Door for Addicts Adds to
> Medicaid Cost
>      Source: New York Times (NY)
> 007 US: Niacin to Pass a Drug Test Can Have
> Dangerous Results
>      Source: New York Times (NY)
> 008 Indonesia: LTE: Drugs In Schools
>      Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
> 009 CN BC: Editorial: Drugs And Death Aren't Part Of
> The Jo
>      Source: Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC)
> 010 CN BC: Recovery Home Eyes A New Neighbourhood
>      Source: Richmond Review, The (CN BC)
> 011 New Zealand: Revealed - Prisoners' Tricks For
> Smuggling
>      Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 Canada: Health Canada Mark-Up on
> Government Certified Reefer
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:44:29 -0700
> Size: 52 lines   2405 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Truro Daily News (CN NS)
> Page: 11
> Copyright: 2007 The Daily News
> Contact: mturner@...
> Website: http://www.trurodaily.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1159
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Marijuana
> - Medicinal - Canada)
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Prairie+Plant+Systems
>
> HEALTH CANADA MARK-UP ON GOVERNMENT CERTIFIED REEFER
> 1,500 PER CENT: DOCUMENTS
>
> Ottawa - The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> The company currently has a $10.3-million contract
> with Health Canada,
> which expires at the end of September, to grow
> standardized medical
> marijuana in an abandoned mine shaft in Flin Flon,
> Man.
>
> [continues: 23 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 Canada: High Markup On Feds' Medicinal Pot
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:44:22 -0700
> Size: 67 lines   2758 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily News, The (CN NS)
> Page: 7
> Copyright: 2007 The Daily News
> Contact: letterstoeditor@...
> Website: http://www.hfxnews.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/179
> Author: Dean Beeby, CP
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Prairie+Plant+Systems
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Marijuana
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> HIGH MARKUP ON FEDS' MEDICINAL POT
>
> And It's Not Even Good Stuff, Prospect Bay Man Says
>
> The federal government charges patients 15 times
> more for certified
> medical marijuana than it pays to buy the weed in
> bulk from its
> official supplier, newly released documents show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> [continues: 38 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 Canada: Gov't Marijuana Marked Up 1,500
> Per Cent
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:44:19 -0700
> Size: 46 lines   2067 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Medicine Hat News (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1833
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Prairie+Plant+Systems
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Marijuana
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> GOV'T MARIJUANA MARKED UP 1,500 PER CENT
>
> OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government charges
> patients 15 times more
> for certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy
> the weed in bulk
> from its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> The company currently has a $10.3-million contract
> with Health Canada,
> which expires at the end of September, to grow
> standardized medical
> marijuana in an abandoned mine shaft in Flin Flon,
> Man.
>
> [continues: 17 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 Canada: Markup Price Charged For Medical
> Marijuana
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:44:24 -0700
> Size: 57 lines   2387 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Western Star, The (CN NF)
> Page: 5
> Copyright: 2007 The Western Star
> Contact: rsweetapple@...
> Website: http://www.thewesternstar.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2523
> Author: Dean Beeby, CP
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Prairie+Plant+Systems
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Marijuana
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> MARKUP PRICE CHARGED FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA
>
> OTTAWA - The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> [continues: 30 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 Canada: Fed Gov't's Pot Sky-High in Price
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:44:27 -0700
> Size: 71 lines   2712 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 Canoe Limited Partnership.
> Contact: mailbag@...
> Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
> Author: Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Marijuana
> - Medicinal - Canada)
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Prairie+Plant+Systems
>
> FED GOV'T'S POT SKY-HIGH IN PRICE
>
> OTTAWA -- The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> $328.75 Per Kilo
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> [continues: 43 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 US NY: Revolving Door for Addicts Adds to
> Medicaid Cost
> From: Please Write a LTE
> www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides
> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:18:00 -0700
> Size: 192 lines   9659 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: New York Times (NY)
> Page: Front Page
> Copyright: 2007 The New York Times Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
> Author: Richard Perez-Pena
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm
> (Treatment)
>
> REVOLVING DOOR FOR ADDICTS ADDS TO MEDICAID COST
>
> With grim humor, some doctors in New York call them
> "frequent fliers"
> - -- addicts who check into hospital detoxification
> units so often that
> dozens of them spend more than 100 nights a year in
> those wards.
>
> Through its Medicaid program, New York spends far
> more than other
> states on drug and alcohol treatment, including more
> than $300
> million a year paid to hospitals for more than
> 30,000 detox patients.
> One reason for the high cost is that $50 million is
> spent just on the
> 500 most expensive patients, at a cost of about
> $100,000 a person.
> These patients check in and out of detox wards, on
> average, more than
> a dozen times a year -- a practice that experts say
> would not be
> tolerated in most states.
>
> In the state's 2004 fiscal year, one patient was
> admitted to such
> units 26 times at 17 different hospitals around New
> York City,
> spending a total of 204 nights, Medicaid records
> show.
>
> [continues: 163 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US: Niacin to Pass a Drug Test Can Have
> Dangerous Results
> From: Why Donate to DrugSense?
> http://drugsense.org/why_donate.htm
> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:21:40 -0700
> Size: 49 lines   1798 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: New York Times (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 The New York Times Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
> Author: Eric Nagourney
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug
> Testing)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
>
> Hazards:
>
> NIACIN TO PASS A DRUG TEST CAN HAVE DANGEROUS
> RESULTS
>
> Heard the one about how taking a lot of vitamin B3
> can help you pass a
> drug test, even if you have been using marijuana or
> cocaine?
>
> It doesn't. But it might send you to the emergency
> room.
>
> The Annals of Emergency Medicine reports in its
> online edition on
> several cases in which patients arrived at a
> hospital suffering ill
> effects from the vitamin, also known as niacin. The
> lead author is Dr.
> Manoj K. Mittal of the Children's Hospital of
> Pennsylvania.
>
> [continues: 22 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 Indonesia: LTE: Drugs In Schools
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 02:58:20 -0700
> Size: 50 lines   2125 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
> Copyright: The Jakarta Post
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website: http://www.thejakartapost.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/645
> Author: Gene Netto
>
> DRUGS IN SCHOOLS
>
> A total of 81,702 students used illegal drugs in
> 2006  (The Jakarta
> Post, April 11). The National Narcotics  Agency
> (BNN) reports that
> 8,449 of those drug users  were elementary school
> students, and those
> are the ones  we know about. With the assumption
> that those who were
> detected represent the tip of the iceberg, just how
> many children in
> this country are taking illegal drugs?
>
> First, where did they get the money from? I'm
> assuming  that illegal
> drugs are not that cheap. Second, where  did they
> get the drugs from?
> Are drug dealers standing  outside schools beside
> the snack vendors?
> ("Meatballs,  ice cream, ecstasy!") Are other kids
> selling the drugs
> inside the schools? How? Considering the small size
> of  most schools
> and the large number of students, it's not  as
> though there are many
> private places for child drug  dealers to hide.
>
> Third, when and where are these children using
> drugs?  At home, a
> friend's home, at school or on the street?  None of
> these locations
> seems like an optimal location  for using drugs
> without being detected.
>
> [continues: 20 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 CN BC: Editorial: Drugs And Death Aren't
> Part Of The Jo
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:01:00 -0700
> Size: 75 lines   2966 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Williams Lake Tribune
> Contact: newsroom@...
> Website: http://www.wltribune.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1226
>
> DRUGS AND DEATH AREN'T PART OF THE JOB
>
> Talk about ridiculous.
>
> The Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT) has
> ruled that the
> families of two Terrace men killed by a drugged
> truck driver near
> Williams Lake in August 2004 are not entitled to
> compensation from
> ICBC or WorkSafe BC.
>
> Why? The driver was so stoned, he couldn't form an
> intent to do
> anything other than his job.
>
> "We have found that the defendant's action or
> conduct that allegedly
> caused a breach of duty arose out of and in the
> course of his
> employment," the panel ruled.
>
> In other words, it's OK to load up on amphetamines
> and cocaine and get
> behind the wheel of a semi.
>
> [continues: 48 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 CN BC: Recovery Home Eyes A New
> Neighbourhood
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:47:47 -0700
> Size: 93 lines   3838 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Richmond Review, The (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Richmond Public Library
> Contact: news@...
> Website: http://www.richmondreview.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/704
> Author: Matthew Hoekstra
>
> RECOVERY HOME EYES A NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD
>
> A society that helps people overcome addictions to
> alcohol and drugs
> wants to build three recovery houses in a
> single-family neighbourhood
> on Ash Street.
>
> Turning Point Recovery Society is proposing one
> 20-bed,
> 11,000-square-foot house behind two side-by-side
> 3,500-square-foot
> houses, each housing 10 addicts.
>
> A single boarded-up home stands on the property, at
> 8180 Ash St.,
> where the project is proposed. Although it once
> served as a group home
> for youth, Turning Point needs to apply to rezone
> the
> 25,000-square-foot site because of the project's
> size.
>
> The property is surrounded by single-family homes
> and is a block away
> from Howard DeBeck Elementary and DeBeck House, the
> future home of
> Richmond Family Place.
>
> [continues: 65 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 011 New Zealand: Revealed - Prisoners' Tricks
> For Smuggling
> From: http://www.norml.org.nz
> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:51:37 -0700
> Size: 82 lines   3379 bytes
> File: v07.n485.a11
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n485.a11.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2007
> Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
> Copyright: 2007 New Zealand Herald
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/300
> Author: Beck Vass
> Contact: letters@...
>
> REVEALED - PRISONERS' TRICKS FOR SMUGGLING
>
> A kiss on the lips, tennis balls and even a dead
> bird are among the
> crafty methods criminals are using to smuggle drugs
> and cellphone
> equipment into prisons, Department of Corrections
> staff have revealed.
>
> Eight weeks into an inquiry into allegations that
> jail staff have been
> smuggling contraband for prisoners, department chief
> executive Barry
> Matthews has admitted 150 cellphones have been found
> at Rimutaka
> Prison in the past year.
>
> In its efforts to combat the problem, the department
> has spent
> thousands of dollars on equipment to detect
> cellphones and is even
> considering network-disabling technology, although
> this would mean
> prison staff would be unable to use cellphones while
> working.
>
> Mr Matthews said some people might view the 150
> cellphone seizures as
> negative, but it showed the department was making
> inroads into the
> problem.
>
> [continues: 52 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #485
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

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> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:06:08 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #483
>
> Drugnews-Digest         Monday, April 16 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 483
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n483/
>
> 001 US CA: Editorial: Marijuana As Medicine
>      Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA)
> 002 US NC: Edu: PUB LTE: Higher Education Act
> 'Life-Shattering' (1
>      Source: Technician, The (NC State U, NC Edu)
> 003 US PA: OPED: The Time Has Come To Legalize
> Marijuana Use
>      Source: Digital Collegian, The (PA Edu)
> 004 US RI: Edu: SSDP Regional Conference Draws
> Chafee, Loury
>      Source: Brown Daily Herald, The (Brown, RI Edu)
> 005 Canada: Ottawa Puts High Price Tag on Its Pot
>      Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> 006 Colombia: Colombian Officials Probe Uribe Allies
> In His
>      Source: Washington Post (DC)
> 007 US CA: PUB LTE: Politics and Pot
>      Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> 008 UK: Cannabis User in Call for Debate
>      Source: Herald, The (UK)
> 009 US AL: PUB LTE: Leave Prescribing to Physicians
>      Source: Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
> 010 US MI: Theory: Safer to Legalize Drugs
>      Source: Saginaw News (MI)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US CA: Editorial: Marijuana As Medicine
> From: Kirk
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:51:14 -0700
> Size: 48 lines   2111 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
> Contact: http://www.presstelegram.com/writealetter
> Website: http://www.ptconnect.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/244
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis -
> Medicinal)
>
> MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE
>
> Orange County supervisors should honor voters'
> wishes.
>
> Californians want doctors to be able to prescribe
> marijuana to
> patients who would benefit from it, but federal law
> makes it illegal
> to sell or possess it. On Tuesday, Orange County
> supervisors will
> decide what to do about the conflict.
>
> It's easy to argue this one either way, since there
> is no question
> that some people abuse the privilege and turn
> medical marijuana into
> the makings of pot parties. But there is no question
> either than some
> sick people, desperate for relief from pain or
> nausea, find no better
> medication than marijuana, and they should have it.
> That benefit far
> outweighs any disadvantages.
>
> California voters approved medical use of marijuana
> more than 10
> years ago by a comfortable margin, and since then
> polls show even
> stronger support of the idea.
>
> [continues: 20 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 US NC: Edu: PUB LTE: Higher Education Act
> 'Life-Shattering' (1
> From: http://www.drugwarfacts.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:53:10 -0700
> Size: 47 lines   2101 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Technician, The (NC State U, NC Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Technician
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://technicianonline.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2268
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n468/a11.html
> Author: Robert Sharpe
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students
> for Sensible Drug Policy)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher
> Education Act)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students -
> United States)
>
> HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 'LIFE-SHATTERING'
>
> N.C. State's Student Senate is to be commended for
> opposing the
> Higher Education Act's denial of student loans to
> youth convicted of
> drug offenses. Instead of empowering at-risk
> students with a college
> degree, HEA limits career opportunities and
> increases the likelihood
> that those affected will resort to crime. Speaking
> of crime,
> convicted rapists and murderers are still eligible
> for federal student loans.
>
> Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions
> involving illicit
> drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other
> hand, can be
> life-shattering. After admitting to smoking pot (but
> not inhaling),
> former President Bill Clinton opened himself up to
> "soft on drugs"
> criticism.
>
> [continues: 20 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US PA: OPED: The Time Has Come To Legalize
> Marijuana Use
> From: Kirk
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:44:46 -0700
> Size: 117 lines   5531 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Digital Collegian, The (PA Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Digital Collegian
> Contact: collegianletters@...
> Website: http://www.collegian.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3117
> Author: Chris Mueller
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> My Opinion
>
> THE TIME HAS COME TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA USE
>
> With all of the alcohol-related incidents that
> happen both in State
> College and around the United States, one would
> think that making
> alcohol illegal might be a good idea. Certainly,
> there would be fewer
> traffic-related deaths if alcohol were illegal, as
> the National
> Transportation Safety Board said that about 16,000
> fatalities on the
> road are caused by alcohol each year.
>
> Why, then, if alcohol causes so many problems, is
> deterring pot
> smoking the main focus of most drug education
> programs?
>
> I'll say it right out. If alcohol is legal and
> smoking cigarettes is
> legal, then smoking marijuana should be within the
> bounds of the law as well.
>
> [continues: 89 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US RI: Edu: SSDP Regional Conference Draws
> Chafee, Loury
> From: Kirk
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:06:07 -0700
> Size: 119 lines   5768 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Brown Daily Herald, The (Brown, RI Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Brown Daily Herald
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.browndailyherald.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/727
> Author: Olivia Hoffman
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students
> for Sensible Drug Policy)
>
> SSDP REGIONAL CONFERENCE DRAWS CHAFEE, LOURY
>
> The war on drugs must be re-evaluated "methodically
> and clinically,"
> from a global perspective, former Republican Sen.
> Lincoln Chafee '75
> told a MacMillan 117 audience Friday. The speech
> kicked off the
> Students for Sensible Drug Policy Northeast Regional
> Conference,
> hosted at Brown this weekend.
>
> "We need to ask ourselves, is this working?" Chafee,
> a visiting
> fellow at the Watson Institute for International
> Studies, said of
> current drug policies. "We have to be honest with
> ourselves in
> looking at this worldwide problem."
>
> Chafee, who has admitted to experimenting with
> cocaine and marijuana
> while a student at Brown, commented on the
> "destabilizing effect of
> the illicit drug trade on so many countries." He
> said that reforming
> policies "has to be done collectively" and suggested
> the possibility
> of United Nations involvement in this process.
>
> [continues: 90 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 Canada: Ottawa Puts High Price Tag on Its
> Pot
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:35:53 -0700
> Size: 89 lines   3971 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> Copyright: 2007, The Globe and Mail Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
> Author: Dean Beeby, Canadian Press
> Cited: Canadians for Safe Access
> http://www.safeaccess.ca/
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Prairie+Plant+Systems
> Bookmark:
>
http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Canadians+For+Safe+Access
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Marijuana
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> OTTAWA PUTS HIGH PRICE TAG ON ITS POT
>
> OTTAWA -- The federal government charges patients 15
> times more for
> certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the
> weed in bulk from
> its official supplier, newly released documents
> show.
>
> Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high
> a markup to some
> of the country's sickest citizens, who have little
> income and are
> often cut off from their medical marijuana supply
> when they can't pay
> their government dope bills.
>
> Records obtained under the Access to Information Act
> show that Health
> Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk
> medical marijuana
> produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
>
> [continues: 61 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 Colombia: Colombian Officials Probe Uribe
> Allies In His
> From: our story
> www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n480/a07.html
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:49:23 -0700
> Size: 174 lines   8764 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Washington Post (DC)
> Page: A13
> Copyright: 2007 The Washington Post Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
> Author: Juan Forero, Washington Post Foreign Service
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Colombia
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption
> - Outside U.S.)
>
> COLOMBIAN OFFICIALS PROBE URIBE ALLIES IN HIS HOME
> STATE
>
> BOGOTA, Colombia -- An investigation that has
> already bared ties
> between government officials and paramilitary death
> squads in six of
> Colombia's coastal states has now widened to the
> home state of
> President Alvaro Uribe, focusing on his
> administration's politically
> powerful allies, judicial officials say.
>
> The development could further complicate Colombia's
> efforts to secure
> a free-trade pact with the United States, where some
> Democrats on
> Capitol Hill are increasingly concerned about the
> growing scandal.
>
> Colombia's Supreme Court, which is responsible for
> investigating
> malfeasance in Congress, has received detailed
> evidence that has
> spurred an investigation concerning three lawmakers
> from Antioquia
> state, one of them Sen.
>
> [continues: 146 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US CA: PUB LTE: Politics and Pot
> From: End Marijuana Prohibition http://www.mpp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:05:59 -0700
> Size: 32 lines   1096 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n454/a07.html
> Author: Bruce Mirken
>
> POLITICS AND POT
>
> Re "Richardson content to start slow in '08 race,"
> April 10
>
> New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson may want voters to
> believe that it
> was politically "risky" -- and thus courageous --
> for him to support
> and sign medical marijuana legislation in New
> Mexico, but the polls
> show otherwise. The latest national Gallup Poll on
> the issue found
> 78% of voters in support of medical marijuana. So
> Richardson gets to
> have his cake and eat it too by taking a politically
> popular stand
> while getting credit for being brave.
>
> The real lesson is that politicians have finally
> started to catch up
> with public opinion. Journalists and pundits should
> take note.
>
> Bruce Mirken
>
> Washington
>
> The writer is communications director of the
> Marijuana Policy Project
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 UK: Cannabis User in Call for Debate
> From: Alun LCA
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:40:26 -0700
> Size: 63 lines   2321 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Herald, The (UK)
> Copyright: 2007 The Western Morning News Co. Ltd
> Contact: postbag@...
> Website: http://thisisplymouth.co.uk/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4406
> Author: Graham Broach
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis -
> United Kingdom)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis -
> Medicinal)
>
> CANNABIS USER IN CALL FOR DEBATE
>
> A Plymouth man convinced of the medicinal benefits
> of cannabis is
> campaigning for a public debate about use of the
> drug. Stuart Wyatt
> suffers from crippling pain from an undiagnosed
> illness, and says it
> is relieved only by taking cannabis, which he eats
> or inhales through
> a vaporiser.
>
> Mr Wyatt, who lives on income support in a room in
> Morice Town, has
> even been to Charles Cross police station three
> times about cannabis
> issues, on one occasion asking to speak to Chief
> Constable Morris Watts.
>
> He said: "I want to make enough noise to be noticed
> and have a public
> and open debate, and I am trying to get a stall in
> the city centre.
>
> "I don't understand why we are being victimised and
> persecuted for the
> sole crime of wanting to be well.
>
> [continues: 34 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 US AL: PUB LTE: Leave Prescribing to
> Physicians
> From: Index of Online HELP Documents
> www.mapinc.org/help
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:40:28 -0700
> Size: 39 lines   1546 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
> Copyright: 2007 The Advertiser Co.
> Contact:
>
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/customerservice/letter.htm
> Website: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1088
> Note: Letters from the newspaper's circulation area
> receive publishing priority
> Author: Dawn Palmer
>
> LEAVE PRESCRIBING TO PHYSICIANS
>
> A bill called the Compassionate Care Act will be
> presented to the
> House during this legislative session. It is a bill
> that would make it
> possible for medical marijuana to be recommended by
> a physician to his
> patients without prosecution of either party.
> Doesn't it seem insane
> that we have to get politicians to tell us what
> medicine a doctor
> thinks we should take?
>
> For just a moment, let's put aside all the
> propaganda about marijuana
> and look at it for what it is. It is a plant that
> can be used for
> medicine. Yes, it does have side effects just as any
> other medicine
> does. Yes, it can cause dizziness and dry mouth. Are
> these not the
> same side effects we read about on all medications?
> Some medicines
> have a whole page dedicated just to side effects.
>
> Twelve states have seen through all the propaganda
> and have instead
> taken a compassionate approach by letting their
> doctors and their
> patients decide what medicine is best for them. I
> hope Alabama will
> have that same compassion for his fellow man.
>
> Let your legislators know that a sick person
> shouldn't go to jail just
> because of his medicine.
>
> DAWN PALMER
>
> Tarrant
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 US MI: Theory: Safer to Legalize Drugs
> From: Howard J. Wooldridge
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:03:42 -0700
> Size: 89 lines   3450 bytes
> File: v07.n483.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n483.a10.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.mlive.com/saginaw/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-4/117654613874380.xml&\
coll=9
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Saginaw News (MI)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.mlive.com/saginaw/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-4/117654613874380.xml&\
coll=9
> Copyright: 2007 The Saginaw News
> Contact:
>
http://www.mlive.com/mailforms/sanews/letters/index.ssf/
> Website: http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/377
> Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
> http://www.leap.cc
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/people/Howard+Wooldridge
> (Howard Wooldridge)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> THEORY: SAFER TO LEGALIZE DRUGS
>
> The federal government should legalize and regulate
> drugs for
> recreational and medical use because they are too
> dangerous to leave
> in the hands of criminals, a former Michigan lawman
> says.
>
> Howard J. Wooldridge, a self-described education
> specialist in
> Washington, D.C., with the Boston-based Law
> Enforcement Against
> Prohibition, said a $1 trillion war against drugs
> since the 1970s has
> failed to stop the flow of narcotics into the nation
> and that many
> drugs often sell for less, are stronger and are more
> readily available
> than ever.
>
> "These drugs are dangerous, some of them are deadly,
> and that's why we
> (need) the government to control and regulate them"
> through
> legalization, Wooldridge said.
>
> [continues: 60 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #483
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

__________________________________________________
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> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:53:04 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #482
>
> Drugnews-Digest         Monday, April 16 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 482
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n482/
>
> 001 US NC: City Police Chief Asks For $24m More To
> Combat Drugs
>      Source: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC)
> 002 CN ON: Medicinal Pot Advocate Pleads For
> Legalization
>      Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
> 003 US NC: Grants Will Fund Drug Patrols, Youth
> Project
>      Source: Star-News (NC)
> 004 Canada: Health Canada Marks Up Medical Marijuana
> 1,500%
>      Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
> 005 CN BC: Firefighter Busted For Grow-Op
>      Source: Now, The (Surrey, CN BC)
> 006 CN BC: Okanagan Cities Turn To Safety Patrols
>      Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC)
> 007 UK: Editorial: Never Quit Drugs War
>      Source: Mirror, The (UK)
> 008 US NC: Currituck Mulls Drug Tests For Students
>      Source: Daily Advance, The (Elizabeth City, NC)
> 009 US NC: Edu: PUB LTE: Higher Education Act
> Counter-Productive
>      Source: Technician, The (NC State U, NC Edu)
> 010 US WI: Edu: Editorial: A Deal Gone Bad
>      Source: Badger Herald (U of WI, Madison, WI
> Edu)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US NC: City Police Chief Asks For $24m
> More To Combat Drugs
> From: chip
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:30:07 -0700
> Size: 78 lines   3469 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a01.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID0770415028
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID0770415028
> Copyright: 2007 Asheville Citizen-Times
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.citizen-times.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/863
> Author: Joel Burgess
>
> CITY POLICE CHIEF ASKS FOR $24M MORE TO COMBAT DRUGS
>
> ASHEVILLE -- Stepping up the fight against hard-drug
> dealing would cost
> an additional $2.4 million, says Police Chief Bill
> Hogan. Hogan
> presented the price tag as part of an increased drug
> suppression plan
> requested by the top elected city body. In addition
> to putting more
> money into high-crime areas, the city would have to
> look at shifting
> attention from neighborhoods with less crime, he
> said.
>
> Many of the proposed changes would improve policing
> throughout the
> city, he said. But more police attention would
> definitely go to areas
> suffering higher incidences of drugs and violence.
>
> "Police go where crime is. We devote more time,
> spend more time where
> crime occurs," he said after last Tuesday's city
> council meeting. It
> remains to be seen whether the council will fulfill
> the additional
> budget request.
>
> [continues: 51 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 CN ON: Medicinal Pot Advocate Pleads For
> Legalization
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:31:16 -0700
> Size: 59 lines   2177 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The London Free Press
> Contact:
>
http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/comments.cgi?c=letters_editor
> Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
> Author: Kathy Rumleski
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis
> - Medicinal - Canada)
>
> MEDICINAL POT ADVOCATE PLEADS FOR LEGALIZATION
>
> An emotional Pete Young -- one of three people
> charged after a drug
> bust at a so-called medicinal marijuana centre in
> London -- yesterday
> called for support as he prepares for his court date
> on Friday.
>
> Sitting at a picnic table on the Victoria Park
> bandshell stage, the
> 36-year-old fought back tears as he spoke to about
> 30 people, vowing
> to continue the fight to help people who need
> marijuana for medical
> reasons.
>
> "I'm tired of seeing sick, dying people prosecuted
> for (something)
> that the government has stated has medicinal
> values," he said.
>
> Young, 36, owner of the Organic Traveller and a
> director of the London
> Compassion Society, was charged last month with
> several drug-related
> offences, including possession of marijuana for the
> purpose of
> trafficking.
>
> [continues: 30 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US NC: Grants Will Fund Drug Patrols,
> Youth Project
> From: chip
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:32:35 -0700
> Size: 74 lines   3107 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Star-News (NC)
> Copyright: 2007 Wilmington Morning Star
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500
> Author: Paul R. Jefferson
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> GRANTS WILL FUND DRUG PATROLS, YOUTH PROJECT
>
> Southport Police Get $15,500
>
> Southport | With only one police officer dedicated
> solely to
> investigating criminal drug activity, the Southport
> Police Department
> still logged in 67 drug-related arrests last year.
>
> With the likelihood of an increasing number of
> drug-related arrests as
> the city's population grows, Southport Police Chief
> J.V. "Jerry" Dove
> went to the federal well for money to fight drug
> activity in town and
> came up with a bucketful: two grants totaling more
> than $15,500, one
> aimed at crimes of the present and the other to head
> off future bad
> behavior.
>
> Dove said the department has $7,389.89 in federal
> anti-drug money
> coming its way in the fiscal year starting July 1.
> Dove said the money
> will provide added training and overtime for the
> department's 10 sworn
> officers for assignment to local narcotics
> investigations.
>
> [continues: 44 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 Canada: Health Canada Marks Up Medical
> Marijuana 1,500%
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:33:37 -0700
> Size: 78 lines   3538 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
> Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis
> - Medicinal - Canada)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic
> Pain)
>
> HEALTH CANADA MARKS UP MEDICAL MARIJUANA 1,500%
>
> ANDY CAISSE isn't impressed with the quality of the
> marijuana the
> federal government sells as part of a certified
> medical marijuana program.
>
> The 39-year-old Winnipegger who suffers from
> multiple sclerosis, said
> Sunday he uses marijuana as a pain reliever in place
> of morphine. But
> the marijuana grown in Flin Flon that he can buy
> through a federal
> program doesn't measure up to the standard he needs
> or that he could
> achieve if he grew the plant himself, Caisse added.
>
> "The stuff that they have is garbage, plain and
> simple," he said.
> "They put in stalks, stems, seeds and everything.
> They ground it up to
> a fine powder so it's a useless pot."
>
> Now, Caisse has learned he may have another reason
> to give
> government-certified marijuana the thumbs-down.
>
> [continues: 50 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN BC: Firefighter Busted For Grow-Op
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:40:22 -0700
> Size: 111 lines   4581 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Now, The (Surrey, CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 The Now Newspaper
> Contact:
>
http://www.thenownewspaper.com/forms/lettersform.html
> Website: http://www.thenownewspaper.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1462
> Author: Maureen Gulyas, Now Contributor
>
> FIREFIGHTER BUSTED FOR GROW-OP
>
> A Vancouver firefighter was arrested Thursday for
> operating a
> marijuana grow-op at his North Delta home.
>
> Delta police seized 380 plants, with a street value
> of $140,000, from
> the house.
>
> Const. Sharlene Brooks neither confirmed nor denied
> what the
> 44-year-old man did for a living, but reliable
> sources and nearby
> residents confirmed that the man arrested Thursday
> morning is a
> Vancouver firefighter.
>
> Brooks said police are unable to identify the
> individual because
> charges have not yet been laid. That is expected to
> happen sometime
> next week, at which time police will be able to
> release the suspect's name.
>
> Police confirmed officers detained the man for
> several hours as they
> conducted a raid on his home.
>
> [continues: 83 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN BC: Okanagan Cities Turn To Safety
> Patrols
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:50:22 -0700
> Size: 188 lines   7503 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 The Okanagan Valley Group of
> Newspapers
> Contact: Letters@...
> Website: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531
> Author: Darren Handschuh
>
> OKANAGAN CITIES TURN TO SAFETY PATROLS
>
> A decade ago, downtown security patrols were unheard
> of in the Okanagan.
>
> Police provided enough of a presence to give people
> a sense of safety
> and security, but times have changed.
>
> Okanagan communities were smaller then, but today,
> private security
> is a fact of life in a growing city. That growth
> incubates crime and
> a perception that the streets are not as safe as
> they once were.
>
> To deter crime and give people a greater sense of
> security, two
> Okanagan cities have turned to safety patrols that
> roam the streets,
> helping when needed and keeping an eye on known hot
> spots.
>
> They are not police, but provide a sense of security
> for visitors or
> workers in the downtown cores.
>
> [continues: 161 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 UK: Editorial: Never Quit Drugs War
> From: Kirk
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:51:12 -0700
> Size: 43 lines   1505 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Mirror, The (UK)
> Copyright: 2007 The Mirror
> Contact: mailbox@...
> Website: http://www.mirror.co.uk/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1161
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis -
> United Kingdom)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
>
> NEVER QUIT DRUGS WAR
>
> FOR decades governments have set out to win the war
> on drugs with
> hard-hitting campaigns.
>
> But a high-powered commission has concluded that the
> strategy of
> prevention has achieved little.
>
> The impact of drug abuse on society, ranging from
> crime, disorder,
> family breakdown and the enormous cost to taxpayers,
> cannot be over-estimated.
>
> Innocent families have been ripped apart by murders
> committed by drug
> addicts who also suffer mental illnesses.
>
> This week the UK Drugs Policy Commission will warn
> that the
> popularity of illegal substances is soaring.
>
> Cocaine and cannabis use is rising rapidly among
> youngsters and the
> UK has the highest level of problem drug use in
> Europe.
>
> There are signs of hope as the Labour government is
> spending record
> amounts on drug treatment after decades of
> under-investment.
>
> As we wait for evidence of progress, plans must be
> speeded up to put
> more addicts into treatment to stop them stealing to
> feed their habit.
>
> And police must be more effective in putting
> big-time dealers and
> traffickers behind bars.
>
> Desvair can never be allowed to prevail in this
> critical battle
> against a stubborn scourge.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US NC: Currituck Mulls Drug Tests For
> Students
> From: chip
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:51:18 -0700
> Size: 59 lines   2499 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily Advance, The (Elizabeth City, NC)
> Copyright: 2007 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
> Contact: elizabethcity@...
> Website: http://www.dailyadvance.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1700
> Author: Zac Goldstein
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug
> Test)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> CURRITUCK MULLS DRUG TESTS FOR STUDENTS
>
> The Currituck Knights could soon have something in
> common with the
> big leaguers, but it isn't likely to be cause for
> celebration. Like
> their professional counterparts, Currituck County
> High School
> student-athletes could be subject to random drug
> tests under a policy
> Superintendent C. Michael Warren proposed to the
> Currituck County
> Board of Education on Monday. If approved, the
> policy would affect
> high school students with parking permits and
> students who
> participate in voluntary extracurricular activities,
> including
> student-athletes.
>
> Warren said the policy would be modeled after a
> similar measure used
> in Dare County.
>
> "When I talked to (Dare Superintendent) Sue Burgess,
> she said it is
> important that the consequences not be punitive on
> the first offense," he said.
>
> [continues: 30 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 US NC: Edu: PUB LTE: Higher Education Act
> Counter-Productive
> From: http://www.drugwarfacts.org
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:51:08 -0700
> Size: 29 lines   1118 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Technician, The (NC State U, NC Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Technician
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://technicianonline.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2268
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n468/a11.html
> Author: Stan White
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students
> for Sensible Drug Policy)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher
> Education Act)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students -
> United States)
>
> HIGHER EDUCATION ACT COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE
>
> It's commendable that students are working
> nationally to eliminate
> discriminatory amendments in the Higher Education
> Act, that punish
> students for drug law convictions (Students Fight
> Drug Penalty Act,
> April, 12, 2007), including violations relating to
> cannabis, which
> isn't even a drug, but rather a God-given plant. Why
> does Reefer
> Madness government persist on persecuting
> responsible adult citizens
> and students for cannabis use but allow alcohol
> which is considerably
> worse and more dangerous?
>
> Stan White
>
> Dillon, Colorado
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 US WI: Edu: Editorial: A Deal Gone Bad
> From: Madison NORML http://madisonnorml.org/
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:51:28 -0700
> Size: 66 lines   3423 bytes
> File: v07.n482.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n482.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007
> Source: Badger Herald (U of WI, Madison, WI Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 Badger Herald
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.badgerherald.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/711
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students
> for Sensible Drug Policy)
>
> A DEAL GONE BAD
>
> A bill currently under consideration in the state
> Legislature's
> Colleges and Universities Committee would prevent
> convicted drug
> dealers from receiving state financial aid. Assembly
> Bill 151,
> introduced by Rep. Eugene Hahn, R-Cambria, would
> mirror a federal law
> that places similar restrictions on federal
> financial aid
> eligibility. With limited state education funds, Mr.
> Hahn claims the
> bill is necessary to ensure law-abiding students are
> the ones
> receiving financial aid.
>
> Despite Mr. Hahn's feigned concern for fiscal
> responsibility, we have
> a hard time believing this would do anything
> substantive for the
> state's finances. In 2005-06, the state distributed
> $90 million in
> aid to students. In a study analyzing the effects of
> the more severe
> federal financial aid restrictions, Students for
> Sensible Drug Policy
> found that 1 in 400 applicants were denied aid.
>
> [continues: 38 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #482
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

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> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 15:01:01 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #479
>
> Drugnews-Digest         Sunday, April 15 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 479
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n479/
>
> 001 US CA: Official Backs Marijuana Outlet
>      Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
> 002 CN BC: PUB LTE: Get Off The Drug War Gravy Train
>      Source: Campbell River Mirror (CN BC)
> 003 US GA: Column: Bong Hits Made Mommy Boring
>      Source: Savannah Morning News (GA)
> 004 CN BC: High Time For Change?
>      Source: Metro (CN BC)
> 005 CN BC: Firefighter Arrested After Police Raid
> Grow-Op
>      Source: Delta Optimist (CN BC)
> 006 CN BC: Core Monitors
>      Source: Daily Courier, The (Vernon, CN BC)
> 007 CN BC: OPED: Community Court Offers Beacon Of
> Hope In Battle
>      Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> 008 CN BC: Weapons, Drugs, Debt Sheets Found
>      Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC)
> 009 CN BC: Battling Crystal Meth Addiction
>      Source: Xtra West (CN BC)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US CA: Official Backs Marijuana Outlet
> From: Activists Check This Out
> www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n472/a04.html
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:45:30 -0700
> Size: 101 lines   4245 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 Knight Ridder
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.contracostatimes.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/96
> Author: Meera Pal, Contra Costa Times
> Cited: Americans for Safe Access
> http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Compassionate+Use+Act
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana -
> Medicinal)
> Bookmark:
>
http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Americans+for+Safe+Access
>
> OFFICIAL BACKS MARIJUANA OUTLET
>
> Pleasanton: Councilman Studies Issue As Others Seek
> Ban on Medical Dispensaries
>
> Pleasanton Councilman Matt Sullivan would like to
> make a medical
> marijuana dispensary work in the Tri-Valley.
>
> Sullivan convinced the City Council at its April 3
> meeting to
> postpone a decision on whether to enact a ban on
> dispensaries. Since
> then, he has been doing research into how they
> affect the communities
> that have them.
>
> "The last time we looked at this, the staff
> presented all the horror
> stories and the bad experiences," he said.
>
> [continues: 74 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 CN BC: PUB LTE: Get Off The Drug War Gravy
> Train
> From: SKMP
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:19:29 -0700
> Size: 43 lines   1695 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Campbell River Mirror (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Campbell River Mirror
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.campbellrivermirror.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1380
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n446/a09.html
> Author: Moe Brondum
>
> GET OFF THE DRUG WAR GRAVY TRAIN
>
> Russell Barth, in a recent letter to the Campbell
> River Mirror
> (Ignorance, not bliss) makes an astute observation
> about our country's
> approach to certain drugs. We will not have the
> safety for our
> children and communities that we desire until we get
> our politicians
> and police off of the drug war gravy train.
>
> We spend in excess of several billion dollars
> annually in an
> unaccountable and unachievable exercise to rid the
> country of the
> cannabis plant. We jail people, take their children,
> cease their
> homes, threaten to extradite them to foreign
> countries. We make the
> sick and dying suffer a bit more because we feel it
> is our right to
> control what goes into a person's mouth or body. We
> act like bullies
> and thugs to enforce a moral position that it is
> clear most Canadians
> don't hold.
>
> We need to end prohibition and develop new ways of
> dealing with this
> problem. A better way that recognizes the facts and
> realities. This
> would go a long way to reducing the prevalence of
> drugs in our
> communities and make it less likely that my
> children, and your
> reader's children, will encounter the dangers
> created by
> prohibition.
>
> If we don't want our children to use drugs, we need
> to get control. If
> we want control, we need to do something different
> than we are right
> now.
>
> Moe Brondum
>
> VP, Saskatchewan Marijuana Party
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US GA: Column: Bong Hits Made Mommy Boring
> From: JimmyG
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:19:32 -0700
> Size: 110 lines   4459 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Savannah Morning News (GA)
> Copyright: 2007 Savannah Morning News
> Contact: letted@...
> Website: http://www.savannahnow.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/401
> Author: Anne Hart
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory
> Minimum Sentencing)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm
> (Opinion)
>
> BONG HITS MADE MOMMY BORING
>
> Columnist Anne Hart writes April 20, the unofficial
> holiday among pot
> smokers, is a time to talk to your kids about drugs.
> But how do you
> answer the question, "Mommy, did you ever smoke
> grass?"
>
> Friday is a big day for bong hits.
>
> April 20 - "4/20" in stoner code - has long been
> considered an
> unofficial holiday among marijuana users. It's a day
> to gather and
> chant "Free the weed" and write representatives
> calling for the
> decriminalization of pot.
>
> [continues: 83 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN BC: High Time For Change?
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:45:09 -0700
> Size: 64 lines   2615 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Metro (CN BC)
> Copyright: Metro 2007
> Contact: vancouverletters@...
> Website:
> http://www.metronews.ca/home.aspx?city=vancouver
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775
> Cited: http://www.leap.cc/ (Law Enforcement Against
> Prohibition)
>
> HIGH TIME FOR CHANGE?
>
> Prohibition Has Failed,Veterans Of Ongoing War
> Against Dope Use Claim
>
> Some former law enforcement officials in Canada and
> the United States
> who have spent years fighting the ongoing war on
> drugs say it's a
> losing battle.
>
> Their views about how prohibition has failed to
> make a dent in the drug supply while millions of
> dollars continue to be wasted on criminalizing
> recreational drug users are told in the National
> Film Board documentary, Damage Done: The Drug War
> Odyssey.
>
> It premiers in Victoria tomorrow, followed by a
> showing in Vancouver
> on Sunday, before airing on Global TV on April 28.
>
> Most of the police officers featured in the film are
> part of a growing
> U.S.-based organization called LEAP -- Law
> Enforcement Against
> Prohibition -- which also includes corrections
> officers, retired and
> sitting judges and prosecutors.
>
> [continues: 33 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN BC: Firefighter Arrested After Police
> Raid Grow-Op
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:47:21 -0700
> Size: 115 lines   4630 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Delta Optimist (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.delta-optimist.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1265
> Author: Maureen Gulyas
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
>
> FIREFIGHTER ARRESTED AFTER POLICE RAID GROW-OP
>
> A Vancouver firefighter was arrested Thursday for
> operating a
> marijuana grow-op at his North Delta home, the
> Optimist has learned.
>
> Considered a mid-sized operation, Delta police
> seized 380 plants with
> a street value of $140,000.
>
> Const. Sharlene Brooks neither confirmed nor denied
> what the
> 44-year-old man did for a living, but the Optimist
> was able to confirm
> through reliable sources and nearby residents that
> the man arrested
> Thursday morning is a Vancouver firefighter.
>
> Brooks said police are unable to identify the
> individual because
> charges have not yet been laid. That is expected to
> happen sometime
> next week, at which time police will be able to
> release the suspect's
> name.
>
> [continues: 87 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN BC: Core Monitors
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:50:57 -0700
> Size: 192 lines   7410 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily Courier, The (Vernon, CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
> Contact: david.wylie@...
> Website: http://www.dailycourier.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4460
> Author: Darren Handschuh
>
> CORE MONITORS
>
> A decade ago, downtown security patrols were unheard
> of in the
> Okanagan.
>
> Police provided enough of a presence to give people
> a sense of safety
> and security, but times have changed.
>
> Okanagan communities were smaller then, but today,
> private security is
> a fact of life in a growing city. That growth
> incubates crime and a
> perception that the streets are not as safe as they
> once were.
>
> To deter crime and give people a greater sense of
> security, two
> Okanagan cities have turned to safety patrols that
> roam the streets,
> helping when needed and keeping an eye on known hot
> spots.
>
> They are not police, but provide a sense of security
> for visitors or
> workers in the downtown cores.
>
> [continues: 164 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 CN BC: OPED: Community Court Offers Beacon
> Of Hope In Battle
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:55:46 -0700
> Size: 91 lines   3135 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a07.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/editorial/story.html?id=ed951d8d-65a2-4bd\
c-9387-4fae83f93b61
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/editorial/story.html?id=ed951d8d-65a2-4bd\
c-9387-4fae83f93b61
> Copyright: 2007 The Province
> Contact: provletters@...
> Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
> Author: Christy Clark, The Province
>
> COMMUNITY COURT OFFERS BEACON OF HOPE IN BATTLE
> AGAINST PETTY
> CRIME
>
> If your car gets broken into, chances are the person
> who smashed your
> window and ripped you off has done it before.
> Chances are they've done
> it many, many times before.
>
> According to the provincial government's working
> group on street
> crime, the addict who smashed up your car could
> easily have done the
> same to 19 other cars that same day.
>
> And your thief will keep on breaking into cars every
> single day until
> he gets caught.
>
> When he's caught, he'll get hauled into court. He'll
> probably be
> released with a promise to appear another day.
>
> [continues: 64 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 CN BC: Weapons, Drugs, Debt Sheets Found
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:57:11 -0700
> Size: 46 lines   1445 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Abbotsford News
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.abbynews.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155
> Author: Rochelle Baker
>
> WEAPONS, DRUGS, DEBT SHEETS FOUND
>
> Matsqui Institution, a medium security jail for men
> in Abbotsford, has
> been locked down since Monday.
>
> "We are anticipating a return to routine operations
> [today]," said
> assistant warden Randie Scott.
>
> Scott said the lock down at Matsqui was initiated to
> allow a
> wide-scale of the premises after staff uncovered
> stashes of home-made
> weapons, drugs and debt sheets.
>
> We also came across inmates displaying intimidating
> behaviour to other
> inmates, Scott said.
>
> He said the search and lock down were not measures
> the institution
> undertook lightly, and were only instigated if
> circumstances merit
> it.
>
> [continues: 18 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 CN BC: Battling Crystal Meth Addiction
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:59:23 -0700
> Size: 106 lines   5161 bytes
> File: v07.n479.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n479.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Xtra West (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Pink Triangle Press
> Contact: Xtrawest@...
> Website:
> http://www.xtra.ca/site/toronto2/html/city.shtm
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2648
> Author: John Michael, Xtra West
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
> (Methamphetamine)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm
> (Treatment)
>
> BATTLING CRYSTAL METH ADDICTION
>
> HEALTH / GaMMa Partners Launch New Programs
>
> Tackling the problem of crystal methamphetamine use
> among gay men in
> Vancouver has taken a step forward with the recent
> introduction of
> several programs to help users, ex-users and those
> close to them cope
> with the effects of the drug on their lives.
>
> The programs, including peer discussion groups, an
> intensive treatment
> program and a support group for Aboriginal
> two-spirit people, were
> among the topics of discussion at a Mar 30 community
> forum for the Gay
> Men's Methamphetamine (GaMMa) working group held at
> the False Creek
> Community Centre.
>
> The forum was an opportunity for those involved in
> GaMMa's outreach
> project to report back to the community on their
> accomplishments.
>
> [continues: 78 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #479
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

__________________________________________________
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> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:31:38 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #478
>
> Drugnews-Digest         Sunday, April 15 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 478
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n478/
>
> 001 CN BC: LTE: Citizens Should Be Striving For
> Better Society
>      Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> 002 CN AB: Stelmach Talks Tough On Crime
>      Source: Meridian Booster (CN AB)
> 003 CN BC: Homelessness Can Be Narrowed Down To A
> Few Root Causes
>      Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> 004 CN BC: PUB LTE: 4 Should Be Celebrated
>      Source: Ubyssey (CN BC Edu)
> 005 CN BC: PUB LTE: More Addiction Programs Needed
>      Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> 006 CN BC: Review: Plea For A Drug-War Armistice
>      Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> 007 CN YK: LTE: Drugs Are Prevalent Throughout The
> Yukon
>      Source: Whitehorse Star (CN YK)
> 008 CN BC: PUB LTE: Cold-Hearted Attitude Toward
> Homelessness
>      Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> 009 US WV: PUB LTE: Bible Doesn't Limit Uses Of
> Marijuana
>      Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV)
> 010 US WA: Bainbridge Is Home To Students Of
> Substance
>      Source: Kitsap Sun (WA)
> 011 US MD: Teaching Addicts To Stay Alive
>      Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 CN BC: LTE: Citizens Should Be Striving
> For Better Society
> From: http://www.medpot.net/
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:47 -0700
> Size: 59 lines   2220 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007, BC Newspaper Group
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948
> Author: Patricia Caddy
>
> CITIZENS SHOULD BE STRIVING FOR BETTER SOCIETY
>
> To the Editor,
>
> Re: Shame belongs to addicts, not city, News
> Bulletin, April 10.
>
> Bravo, you are right on point.
>
> It is the shame of the homeless and the addicts.
> It's their shame
> every morning they have to wake up in a doorway or
> in a shelter bed
> that isn't theirs.
>
> It is their shame every time they can't resist just
> one more hit.
> It's their shame every time they ask for money that
> isn't theirs from
> people passing by, every time they endure the leers
> and the ridicule.
>
> Can you honestly say that the majority of homeless
> people are
> homeless simply because they are lazy and have no
> willingness to be
> responsible? That they enjoy "panhandling, stealing
> and scamming" to
> get by? That they are so lazy that they'd rather
> have poor hygiene,
> get sick (with no bed to lay up in) or have no
> future to call theirs
> then to go out there and get a job?
>
> [continues: 27 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 CN AB: Stelmach Talks Tough On Crime
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:40 -0700
> Size: 77 lines   3237 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Meridian Booster (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007, The Lloydminster Meridian Booster
> Contact: boosternews@...
> Website: http://www.meridianbooster.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1590
> Author: Christopher Heffernan
>
> STELMACH TALKS TOUGH ON CRIME
>
> Crime fighting has factored prominently on the list
> of discussion for
> both federal and provincial politicians who have
> made recent visits
> to the Border City.
>
> Crime fighting has factored prominently on the list
> of discussion for
> both federal and provincial politicians who have
> made recent visits
> to the Border City.
>
> In his visit to the city last week, Premier Ed
> Stelmach addressed the
> increase of crime.
>
> "Lately, there has been just senseless acts of
> violence and a
> complete lack of respect for life (and) for
> authority," he said.
>
> In their address on Tuesday afternoon, local MPs
> Gerry Ritz and Leon
> Benoit said the federal government is doing its part
> in fighting
> crime by allotting $161 million in the 2007 budget
> to recruit 1,000
> new RCMP officers.
>
> [continues: 47 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 CN BC: Homelessness Can Be Narrowed Down
> To A Few Root Causes
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:47 -0700
> Size: 142 lines   5628 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 07 Apr 2007
> Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007, BC Newspaper Group
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948
> Author: Mitch Wright
>
> HOMELESSNESS CAN BE NARROWED DOWN TO A FEW ROOT
> CAUSES
>
> Drugs and alcohol. Mental illness. Job loss. Abuse.
> Rising rent.
>
> The reasons behind homelessness in Nanaimo seem as
> many and varied as
> there are faces of the homeless.
>
> But what appear to be myriad causes can actually be
> narrowed to a few
> root issues.
>
> The majority of the homeless have an addiction. For
> many, those
> addictions are the result of mental illness. And
> more often than not,
> those two issues lead to financial difficulties.
>
> "That's sort of the three broad strokes," says John
> Horn, Nanaimo's
> social planner.
>
> Mike Kirby, manager of the Living Room drop-in
> centre says even in
> cases where addiction might not have put people on
> the street, it's
> what's keeping them there.
>
> [continues: 112 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN BC: PUB LTE: 4 Should Be Celebrated
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:47 -0700
> Size: 46 lines   2034 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Ubyssey (CN BC Edu)
> Contact: feedback@...
> Website: http://www.ubyssey.bc.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/706
> Author: Moe Brondum
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
>
> 420 SHOULD BE CELEBRATED
>
> 420 is a symbol that connects marijuana smokers from
> all over the
> world to the cannabis culture. You may have seen it,
> read about it or
> heard it referred to by someone you know. Most
> commonly, it marks a
> time of day (4:20) or a date (4/20). On the date,
> April 20, hundreds
> of thousands of Canadians will join millions of
> people around the
> world to gather, in private and in public, to
> celebrate the annual
> cannabis holiday.
>
> Of course, it is not an official holiday yet.
>
> There are probably as many explanations as to why
> April 20 has become
> so significant to the cannabis culture as there are
> people who
> observe the day. But, one thing seems to be common
> among them all: a
> desire for freedom. From the brashest activist to
> the closet toker,
> every marijuana user is acutely aware that they do
> not have it and
> that their involvement with marijuana might result
> in the loss of liberty.
>
> [continues: 18 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN BC: PUB LTE: More Addiction Programs
> Needed
> From: http://www.medpot.net/
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:50 -0700
> Size: 38 lines   1092 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007, BC Newspaper Group
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948
> Author: Marcia Bellerose
>
> MORE ADDICTION PROGRAMS NEEDED
>
> To the Editor,
>
> I would like to know why no one writes about all the
> programs
> available for those people who have drug related
> problems, as well as
> other places that offer help.
>
> If there are no organizations or support programs
> other than detox,
> there should be.
>
> Addiction is growing rapid in Canada.
>
> As stressful as life gets, we all need to deal with
> it and move on to
> the next issue.
>
> That's where addiction hurts these people, because
> they can't cope
> with everyday issues and need to be taught coping
> skills so they can
> move forward instead of staying stagnant or moving
> backwards.
>
> I would like to see a good rehabilitation program
> set up, with a
> screening process so the people who really want to
> get clean can get
> the help they need.
>
> Marcia Bellerose
>
> via e-mail
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN BC: Review: Plea For A Drug-War
> Armistice
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:52 -0700
> Size: 49 lines   2330 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> Copyright: 2007, The Globe and Mail Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
> Author: Rob Howatson
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> PLEA FOR A DRUG-WAR ARMISTICE
>
> It may not be the first documentary to call for the
> decriminalization
> of narcotics, but Damage Done: The Drug War Odyssey
> is the first to
> feature a full slate of ex-cops demanding an end to
> North America's
> seemingly futile crusade against the world's
> $322-billion drug trade.
>
> Most of the opinions expressed in this NFB-ImX
> Communications
> co-production come from representatives of Law
> Enforcement Against
> Prohibition, a U.S.-based group that consists mostly
> of retired
> officers who are sick of the vice farce.
>
> There is the Stetson-wearing, former Texas cop who
> rode his horse
> across America to spread the word that drug
> prohibition does nothing
> to curb addiction rates, but effectively generates
> 75 per cent of
> felony crime. There is the former undercover cop who
> busted a pot
> dealer, but is still haunted by the look of horror
> on the face of the
> suspect's eight-year-old daughter as he pointed his
> gun at her dad's
> head.
>
> [continues: 20 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 CN YK: LTE: Drugs Are Prevalent Throughout
> The Yukon
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:53 -0700
> Size: 43 lines   1482 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Whitehorse Star (CN YK)
> Copyright: 2007 Whitehorse Star
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.whitehorsestar.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1493
> Author: Tammy Sehn
>
> DRUGS ARE PREVALENT THROUGHOUT THE YUKON
>
> Lately, the media have been portraying Porter Creek
> Secondary School
> as a drug-riddled school with so many problems that
> they have to hire
> a "drug dog" to patrol the grounds.
>
> This is not the idea behind Canines for Safer
> Schools. Canines for
> Safer Schools is an education program.
>
> It is naive to think that Porter Creek Secondary
> School is the only
> school that is concerned about drug use. Drugs are
> prevalent
> throughout the Yukon and are in our schools.
>
> By hiring a person trained in educating students
> against the use of
> drugs, Porter Creek Secondary School is taking the
> initiative to stop
> the Yukon-wide drug problem in schools.
>
> The dog is a tool the handler uses to help raise
> awareness and
> educate the students about the consequences of drug
> and alcohol use.
> The dog also acts as a deterrent for those who bring
> drugs into the school.
>
> This is an amazing program, and it won't take long
> for other schools
> to see the benefits and implement it into their
> schools as well.
>
> Please check out the following website with
> information on a program
> in Alberta that has been running since 2005:
>
> http://www.medicinehatpolice.con/crimprev9.html
>
> Tammy Sehn
>
> Whitehorse
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 CN BC: PUB LTE: Cold-Hearted Attitude
> Toward Homelessness
> From: http://www.medpot.net/
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:48 -0700
> Size: 54 lines   1814 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007, BC Newspaper Group
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948
> Author: Frances Ziebart
>
> COLD-HEARTED ATTITUDE TOWARD HOMELESSNESS
>
> To the Editor,
>
> Re: Shame belongs to addicts, not city, News
> Bulletin, April 10.
>
> John is in his forties. Tall, handsome and very
> intelligent. He holds
> the highest certificate issued for the trade he
> works in and is
> considered one of the best.
>
> John is one of the citizens on the Island that J.
> Sharpe is quite
> willing to qualify as an individual who should take
> responsibility
> for his predicament.
>
> You see Mr. Sharpe, John is an addict.
>
> In the city where he lives he has, and likely will
> again, slept in
> vans, cars and benches in our parks.
>
> [continues: 26 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 US WV: PUB LTE: Bible Doesn't Limit Uses
> Of Marijuana
> From: Kirk
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:58 -0700
> Size: 30 lines   1013 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV)
> Copyright: 2007 The Herald-Dispatch
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.hdonline.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454
> Author: Stan White
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> BIBLE DOESN'T LIMIT USES OF MARIJUANA
>
> Howard Wooldridge's message ("Legalizing drugs is
> better way to fight
> problem," April 10), restores credibility and
> respect for police.
>
> At the very minimum, it's time to re-legalize
> cannabis (kaneh
> bosm/marijuana) which is Biblically correct since
> Christ God Our
> Father (The Ecologician) indicates He created all
> the seed-bearing
> plants, saying they are all good, on literally the
> very first page
> (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30).
>
> The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is
> that it is to be
> accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5).
>
> Stan White
>
> Dillon, Colo.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 US WA: Bainbridge Is Home To Students Of
> Substance
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:18:59 -0700
> Size: 149 lines   5758 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Kitsap Sun (WA)
> Copyright: 2007 Kitsap Sun
> Contact: sware@...
> Website: http://www.kitsapsun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4404
> Author: Rachel Pritchett
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> BAINBRIDGE IS HOME TO STUDENTS OF SUBSTANCE
>
> Fifty-Three Percent Of The Island's High School
> Seniors Say They
> Consumed Alcohol Last Fall -- And 27 Percent Say
> They've Been Drunk
> Or High While In School
>
> Bainbridge Island -- Alcohol use among Bainbridge
> High School seniors
> is 25  percent higher than the state average, a new
> study  suggests.
>
> Fifty-three percent of seniors drank sometime during
>  the month
> before they were surveyed last fall, compared  with
> 42 percent across
> the state, according to  just-released results from
> the Healthy Youth
> Survey.  Higher drinking rates among seniors were
> reported
> in  surveys in 2002 and 2004 as well.
>
> "We have really great kids that make really stupid
> decisions,"
> Bainbridge High teacher Josh Zarling told  concerned
> school board
> members Thursday night.
>
> [continues: 121 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 011 US MD: Teaching Addicts To Stay Alive
> From: Beth
> Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:31:09 -0700
> Size: 173 lines   8179 bytes
> File: v07.n478.a11
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n478.a11.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
> Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
> Copyright: 2007 The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror
> Newspaper.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.baltimoresun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
> Author: Jonathan Bor
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm
> Reduction)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm
> (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)
>
> TEACHING ADDICTS TO STAY ALIVE
>
> Death Toll Drops As Baltimore Instructs Inmates How
> To Deal With Overdoses
>
> Standing before 50 men dressed in red jumpsuits,
> drug educator Nathan
> Fields belted out the question of the hour: What are
> the street
> remedies for a heroin overdose?
>
> "Burn their fingertips," said one inmate.
>
> "Walk them around," cried another. "Put ice on the
> genitals," a voice rang out.
>
> "Throw them in the backyard," someone said,
> eliciting a round of laughter.
>
> [continues: 146 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #478
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

__________________________________________________
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> Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 09:22:11 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #473
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Saturday, April 14 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 473
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n473/
>
> 001 US MI: Column: Lights Out on Common Sense
>      Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
> 002 CN YK: Editorial: If You Don't Like It, Quit
>      Source: Yukon News (CN YK)
> 003 CN SN: Crime In P.A.
>      Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
> 004 US MT: PUB LTE: Second Motion on Drug War
>      Source: Billings Outpost, The ( MT )
> 005 CN BC: PUB LTE: Prescription Drugs Partly to
> Blame
>      Source: Victoria News (CN BC)
> 006 Australia: Editorial: A Risky Mission, but One
> Australia Is
>      Source: Age, The (Australia)
> 007 US CA: LTE: Drug Users, Offenders Are Not The
> Same
>      Source: Modesto Bee, The (CA)
> 008 CN ON: Canada's Cracked-out Capital
>      Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US MI: Column: Lights Out on Common Sense
> From: Kirk
> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:35:33 -0700
> Size: 105 lines   5202 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 06 Apr 2007
> Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
> Copyright: 2007 Detroit Free Press
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.freep.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125
> Author: Jeff Gerritt
> Note: Jeff Gerritt is a Free Press editorial writer.
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm
> (Incarceration)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory
> Minimum Sentencing)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug
> Courts)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?247 (Crime
> Policy - United States)
>
> LIGHTS OUT ON COMMON SENSE
>
> Facing a budget crisis, politicians want to cut the
> state prison
> budget. But how they want to do it is like cutting
> calories by washing
> down a dozen chocolate donuts with a diet Vernors.
> Michigan's bloated
> prison system is bankrupting the state. To fix it,
> the state must come
> up with better ideas than unplugging water coolers
> to save
> electricity.
>
> Locking up a record 51,500 inmates costs nearly $2
> billion a year.
> That's about $5 million a day -- more than taxpayers
> spend on higher
> education. Michigan imprisons 40% more people than
> other Great Lakes
> states that have less crime, taking an extra $500
> million a year out
> of the state's general fund.
>
> [continues: 76 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 CN YK: Editorial: If You Don't Like It,
> Quit
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:06:13 -0700
> Size: 222 lines   6853 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Yukon News (CN YK)
> Contact: rmostyn@...
> Copyright: 2007 Yukon News
> Website:  http://www.yukon-news.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1125
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Charter+of+Rights
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana
> - Canada)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?188 (Outlaw
> Bikers)
>
> IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, QUIT
>
> The fight against Whitehorse grow ops suffered a
> setback this
> week.
>
> Cops, Crown prosecutors and others are going to be
> cursing territorial
> court Judge Karen Ruddy as some sort of liberal
> wank.
>
> This week, Ruddy issued an 83-page judgment on the
> admissibility of
> evidence collected by police investigating the
> high-profile Copper
> Ridge grow-op case.
>
> She turfed out a lot of the evidence.
>
> So much evidence, in fact, that it's difficult to
> imagine how the
> Crown can continue prosecuting its case, in which
> 4,500 marijuana
> plants were seized.
>
> [continues: 193 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 CN SN: Crime In P.A.
> From: SKMP
> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:12:47 -0700
> Size: 117 lines   3929 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
> Copyright: 2007 Prince Albert Daily Herald
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website: http://www.paherald.sk.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1918
> Author: Brigette Jobin
>
> CRIME IN P.A
>
> Key Issues In Prince Albert Make For One Of Busiest
> Police Forces In The Province
>
> Crime in P.A. is too high says the police chief, but
> the force is
> making gains. Herald illustration by Brigette Jobin
>
> Prince Albert's police chief has said it over and
> over -- crime is too
> high in the city.
>
> Even though the local force has one of the highest
> rates of solving
> crimes in Canada, chief Dale McFee says there is
> never a shortage of
> new crimes to fight.
>
> "I think (crime) is too high in our city and the
> province which means
> we have to be that much more diligent," said McFee.
>
> [continues: 90 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US MT: PUB LTE: Second Motion on Drug War
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:25:51 -0700
> Size: 57 lines   2119 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Billings Outpost, The ( MT )
> Copyright: 2007 The Billings Outpost
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http:www.billingsnews.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2933
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n436/a05.html
> Author: Kirk Muse
>
> SECOND MOTION ON DRUG WAR
>
> I'm writing about the outstanding letter from Edwin
> L.  Stickney, MD:
> "Keep Clawson, stop the drug war" ( April 5 ).
>
> The so-called war on drugs was lost before it began.
>  No matter how
> much money we throw down the drug war rat hole, we
> will never be able
> to nullify the immutable law of supply and demand.
> As long as people
> want recreational drugs and they are willing to pay
> a substantial
> price for the drugs, somebody will produce them and
> somebody else
> will get the drugs to the willing buyers.
>
> This much we can guarantee.
>
> Almost 100 percent of our so-called "drug-related
> crime" is caused by
> our drug prohibition policies -- not the drugs
> themselves.
>
> [continues: 30 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN BC: PUB LTE: Prescription Drugs Partly
> to Blame
> From: The GCW
> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 22:02:23 -0700
> Size: 91 lines   4426 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Victoria News (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Victoria News
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.vicnews.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1267
> Author: Dan Reist
>
> PRESCRIPTION DRUGS PARTLY TO BLAME
>
> It's easy to see why drugs like heroin, crystal meth
> and crack cocaine
> garner more fear and attention from parents than
> other substances.
> After all, they come with easy-to-vilify
> accessories. Needles.
> Makeshift pipes. Rolled-up dollar bills and razor
> blades. That's the
> stuff of gripping, sometimes gory movies.
>
> But several recent reports remind us that it's the
> drugs that sit
> benignly in the average Canadian's kitchen cupboard
> or bathroom
> cabinet that lead to the most grief-alcohol and
> prescription drugs.
>
> Many parents are aware that alcohol is the leading
> cause of harm among
> Canadian teens. Binge drinking, in particular, has
> been a factor in
> everything from alcohol poisoning to violence and
> sexual assault to
> vehicle-related accidents and deaths. But what about
> opioids (also
> known as prescription painkillers), such as codeine
> and oxycodone? And
> what about other "helpful" medicines, such as
> anti-depressants and
> even Ritalin, the stimulant drug most often
> prescribed to elementary
> school kids with attention deficit hyperactivity
> disorder (ADHD)? Are
> the contents of the family medicine cabinet being
> misused too?
>
> [continues: 60 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 Australia: Editorial: A Risky Mission, but
> One Australia Is
> From: allan
> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 22:14:45 -0700
> Size: 100 lines   4772 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Age, The (Australia)
> Copyright: 2007 The Age Company Ltd
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.theage.com.au/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Afghanistan
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Taliban
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/poppy+farming
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm
> (Opinion)
>
> A RISKY MISSION, BUT ONE AUSTRALIA IS OBLIGED TO
> FULFIL
>
> The Government is right to send extra troops to
> Afghanistan, which
> needs all the help it can get.
>
> WITHIN days, 300 elite Special Forces troops will go
> to Oruzgan
> Province in southern Afghanistan. Later this year,
> 75 RAAF personnel
> will be sent to Kandahar to help with air-traffic
> control, followed by
> a helicopter contingent next year. The dispatch of
> extra troops to
> this long-troubled country, announced on Tuesday by
> Prime Minister
> John Howard, will double Australia's deployment to
> about 1000.
> Presciently but wisely, Mr Howard has warned of the
> dangers faced by
> the troops, who will be under Australian command as
> part of the
> International Security Assistance Force.
>
> [continues: 73 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US CA: LTE: Drug Users, Offenders Are Not
> The Same
> From: allan
> Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 06:10:30 -0700
> Size: 39 lines   1481 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a07.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters/story/13483508p-14092751c.htmlPubdate:
>
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Modesto Bee, The (CA)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters/story/13483508p-14092751c.htmlPubdate:
>
> Fri, 13 Apr 2007Source: Modesto Bee, The (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Modesto Bee
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.modbee.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/271
> Author: Bertha Leandro
>
> DRUG USERS, OFFENDERS ARE NOT THE SAME
>
> After reading "War on drugs the modern-day Jim Crow"
> (April 2, Page
> B-5), I was compelled to write. Arianna Huffington
> wrote from a report
> by the American Civil Liberties Union that blacks
> make up 15 percent
> of drug users, but account for 37 percent of those
> arrested on drug
> charges and 74 percent of drug offenders sent to
> prison.
>
> She should know there is a difference between a
> "drug user" and a
> "drug offender." A drug user is normally a drug
> addict. A drug
> offender could instead be in possession of a
> controlled substance,
> selling illegal drugs or manufacturing drugs. Drug
> offenders usually
> supply users their drug of choice. If Huffington was
> to research the
> geographical areas that heroin, cocaine and meth
> arrive from, she
> would see that a lot comes from Mexico (which would
> account for more
> Latinos being incarcerated as drug offenders).
>
> Until Huffington admits that there is only one race
> -- the human race
> - -- she will never make progress finding a solution
> for the war on
> drugs. I agree a lot of changes need to be made in
> this terrible war,
> but creating distinctions between races only divides
> the real purpose.
>
> Bertha Leandro,
>
> Modesto
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Derek
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 CN ON: Canada's Cracked-out Capital
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 09:21:18 -0700
> Size: 421 lines   21020 bytes
> File: v07.n473.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n473.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2007
> Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> Copyright: 2007, The Globe and Mail Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
> Author: Erin Anderssen
> Note: Erin Anderssen is a senior feature writer for
> The Globe and Mail.
>
> CANADA'S CRACKED-OUT CAPITAL
>
> 'Just Suddenly Overnight It Seemed Like A Ghetto'
>
> OTTAWA - You know you're in Ottawa when the first
> drug dealer you meet
> once worked on Parliament Hill. On a cold Friday
> afternoon, Raymond
> Lambert leans in his black leather jacket against
> the wrought-iron
> gate outside the Shepherds of Good Hope, a homeless
> shelter on the
> edge of the Byward Market, a short walk east of the
> Peace Tower.
>
> It's cheque day, so the crack business will be
> brisk: His regulars
> will have their personal-needs allowances, $4 for
> each night spent at
> a city shelter. Police and shelter staff call it the
> Personal
> Narcotics Allowance. On such days, Frenchy - as he
> is known to
> everyone, even police - can make $150 a half-hour.
>
> In his 20s, he made a living delivering documents
> for MPs and in his
> free time played pool on the top floor of the
> Confederation building.
> Then he started snorting coke.
>
> [continues: 392 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #473
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

__________________________________________________
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> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:46:24 -0700
> From: webmaster@... (Drug Sense)
> Subject: DrugSense Weekly, Apr. 13, 2007, #494
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> DrugSense Weekly,                Apr. 13, 2007
>               #494
>
> Read This Publication On-line at:
> http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
>
> ------------------
>
> TABLE OF CONTENTS:
>
> * This Just In
>
>     (1) Forensics Expert Explains Marijuana Testing
> Myths
>     (2) Drawing The Line On Drugs
>     (3) Parents' Health Advice Under Fire From
> Schools Watchdog
>     (4) Mexican Traffickers Defy Crackdown With Gory
> Public Challenges
>
> * Weekly News in Review
>
> Drug Policy-
>
>     (5) Sharp Joins Independence County Suit
>     (6) OPED: When The Cure Is Not Worth The Cost
>     (7) Brain Scans, Genes Provide Addiction Clues
>     (8) Column: Drug Prohibition -- Lost Liberty,
> Money
>
> Law Enforcement & Prisons-
>
>     (9) County One Of 42 Looking At New Jails
>     (10) Sheriff Speaks From Personal Experience At
> Meth Meetings
>     (11) Editorial: Geriatrics In Jumpsuits
>     (12) Column: Unequal Justice For All
>
> Cannabis & Hemp-
>
>     (13) Some Aren't Stoked About New Tax
>     (14) Board Members Rip Marijuana Prosecution
>     (15) Legal Pot Activists Angry At Police
>     (16) N.H. House Approves Growing Hemp
>
> International News-
>
>     (17) McCaffrey Sees 2007 As A Crucial Year
>     (18) Data Shows Students Taking Illicit Drugs On
> The Rise
>     (19) Police Powerless As Psychedelic Herb
> Remains Legal
>     (20) Hallucinogenic Herb Being Abused By Young
> People - Health Canada
>
> * Hot Off The 'Net
>
>     The  U.S.  "War On Drugs" Is An Assault On South
> America's Poorest
>     Cultural Baggage Radio Show / With Host Dean
> Becker
>     Bush (Still) Loves D.A.R.E. / By Marsha
> Rosenbaum
>     What Does It Mean To Decriminalize Marijuana?
>     Long  Term  Use  Of  Medical  Cannabis  By
> Federal Legal Patients
>
> * What You Can Do This Week
>
>     Celebrate Narco News' 7Th Anniversary In New
> York City
>
> * Letter Of The Week
>
>     Legalizing Drugs Could Stem Crime / John F.
> Ferry, M.D.
>
> * Letter Writer Of The Month - March
>
>     Alan Randell
>
> * Feature Article
>
>     Making the Most of DrugSense / Mary Jane Borden
>
> * Quote of the Week
>
>     Thomas Jefferson
>
> DrugSense  needs  your  support  to  continue this
> newsletter and many
> other important projects - see how you can help at
> http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> THIS JUST IN
>
=======================================================================
>
> (1) FORENSICS EXPERT EXPLAINS MARIJUANA TESTING
> MYTHS
>
> When  a  student is caught in possession of
> marijuana, there is little
> they can use as an excuse to get out of being
> arrested or slapped with
> a  hefty  fine,  according to Mahmoud ElSohly, a
> research professor at
> the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at
> the University of
> Mississippi.
>
> As  part  of  the  Forensic  Science  Seminar
> Series, ElSohly made his
> presentation,  "Marijuana  in  Forensics,"  to
> about  60 students and
> members  of  the  community  in  Pastore  Chemical
> Laboratory Friday.
> Referring  to  his  latest research, ElSohly talked
> about the fact and
> fiction  of  marijuana  usage  and  why  certain
> defenses for positive
> marijuana testing don't hold up in court.
>
> "When  the tests come back positive for marijuana,
> some people say, 'I
> went  to  a  party  and people were smoking pot,'"
> ElSohly said. "This
> issue has been studied to death."
>
> ElSohly  said  the  party  scene  he  described
> would be an example of
> passive inhalation, something that could not cause a
> marijuana test to
> show  up  positive.  "There's  no  way  you'd  be
> up  to the physical
> guidelines," he said.
>
> ElSohly  said  another  excuse that wouldn't hold up
> in court would be
> the  "hemp  seed"  defense. Hemp seed and oil
> contain small amounts of
> THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, which are responsible
> for the
> psychometer effects of marijuana.
>
> According to ElSohly's research, hemp seed and oil
> can be found in 120
> different  products  on the market today. Because
> the amount of THC is
> significantly  less,  however,  ElSohly  said
> students that using hemp
> products  as  an excuse for a positive drug test
> would be disappointed
> in a police officer or an employer's reaction. Like
> passive
> inhalation,  there would not be enough THC in a
> sample after ingesting
> hemp to meet the guidelines for "testing positive."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Good 5 Cent Cigar (U of  RI: Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 Good 5 Cent Cigar
> Website: http://www.ramcigar.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2599
> Author: Brenna McCabe
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug
> Testing)
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n468.a09.html
>
> ===
>
> (2) DRAWING THE LINE ON DRUGS
>
> The  drug prohibition causes crime," proclaims Jerry
> Cameron to a room
> filled  with rapt libertarians. A former police
> chief with FBI and DEA
> training,  Cameron  is  doing  "penance"  for  his
> seventeen-year law
> enforcement  career  in  the "war on drugs." He
> spends an hour setting
> forth  the  case  for  the total decriminalization
> of all drugs to the
> Students for Individual Liberty's delight.
>
> Sadly,  Cameron  takes it too far. Although he
> spends most of his time
> discussing  the  legalization of marijuana, he
> supports legalizing all
> drugs  and  even  wants  the  government  to  hand
> out  free  heroin.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Criminalizing marijuana is simply indefensible. It
> has no serious ill-
> effects, is not physically addictive and to overdose
> you have to smoke
> about  your  own  body  weight in pot (which is
> impossible because you
> will  pass out long before that). Conversely,
> current drug laws end up
> resulting  in  increased  crime,  racist
> enforcement, and overcrowded
> prisons. This is not the case for hard drugs.
>
> They are highly addictive and have been proven to
> cause serious, long-
> term  medical  problems, but Cameron wants the
> government to hand them
> out  for free. As long as libertarians support the
> legalization of all
> drugs,  they'll  continue  to  be  pigeonholed  as
> a one-issue party.
>
> What's  worse,  people  will  continue  to ignore
> the need to legalize
> marijuana.
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Cavalier Daily (U of VA Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Cavalier Daily, Inc.
> Website: http://www.cavalierdaily.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/550
> Author: Josh Levy, Cavalier Daily Opinion Columnist
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a08.html
>
> ===
>
> (3) PARENTS' HEALTH ADVICE UNDER FIRE FROM SCHOOLS
> WATCHDOG
>
> Smoking  and  binge drinking among teenage girls
> have reached worrying
> levels  because  parents  and teachers make the
> health risks seem less
> important  than  those of illegal drugs, the schools
> watchdog, Ofsted,
> said yesterday.
>
> Most  young  people  correctly  saw  cigarettes  and
>  alcohol as a far
> greater  threat and the school curriculum must
> change to reflect that,
> it  said.  Pupils  also  felt let down by adults who
> were reluctant to
> talk  about  sensitive  issues  such  as sex and
> relationships, Ofsted
> said. Instead, young people turned to magazines for
> advice.
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  report  on personal, social and health
> education was based on 350
> school inspections over five years.
>
> It  said:  "Many adults are concerned about young
> people's involvement
> with  illegal  drugs,  but  the  overwhelming
> majority of young people
> identify  correctly  that  tobacco  and alcohol are
> the greatest drug-
> related dangers."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Guardian, The (UK)
> Copyright: 2007 Guardian Newspapers Limited
> Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
> Author: James Merkle, Education Correspondent
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a10.html
>
> ===
>
> (4) MEXICAN TRAFFICKERS DEFY CRACKDOWN WITH GORY
> PUBLIC CHALLENGES
>
> Gangs Use Brazen Displays to Intimidate
>
> MEXICO  CITY  --  Drug  traffickers  are  waging  a
> highly  effective
> publicity  campaign  in  Mexico  that  began  with
> a chilling show of
> brutality  in  Acapulco:  two  police  officers'
> heads, streaming with
> blood,  were  stuck on metal spikes outside a
> downtown building with a
> fluorescent cardboard sign. "So that you learn to
> respect," it read in
> thick black letters.
>
> The  spectacle  a  year  ago  in the Pacific resort
> set off a ghoulish
> trend  among  the  drug  lords  battling  for
> billion-dollar smuggling
> routes  into the United States. They have since left
> a trail of bodies
> and  bloodstained notes across Mexico, with a goal
> of spreading fear -
> --  a  sense  of dread so deep that rivals, police,
> witnesses and even
> President Felipe Calderon won't dare cross them.
>
> Regular citizens used to be left out of crime
> battles.
>
> No  longer.  The  drug  gangs  now  publish
> newspaper  ads  and  tack
> threatening notes to corpses with ice picks or tape
> them to trash bags
> filled  with  body  parts  for public display. They
> are even using the
> Internet,  posting  a  video  on  YouTube.com that
> showed the apparent
> beheading of an alleged hit man.
>
> "Before long, they're going to have their own TV
> program, 'Narconews,'
> where  they  drag  out  their dead for show," drug
> expert Jorge Chabat
> joked grimly.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
> Copyright: 2007 Chicago Tribune Company
> Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
> Author: Julie Watson, Associated Press
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n470.a02.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
>
=======================================================================
>
> Domestic News- Policy
> ----------------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (5-8)
>
>  Just  when  we  thought  ephedrine  was  safely
> tucked  behind  the
>  counter...some  folks  in Arkansas have initiated a
> civil action suit
>  against  pharmaceutical companies for not keeping
> their legal product
>  from meth cooks.
>
>  Both  the  U.S.  Senate  and  House have introduced
> bills which would
>  require  insurance companies to cover mental health
> and addiction the
>  same way they cover physical illnesses. A
> journalist, Maia
>  Szalavitz,  warns  that  treatment  funding  must
> require  proof  of
>  efficacy  or much of the money may be wasted on
> programs which do not
>  work.
>
>  And,  yes,  there  is  actual  scientific  research
> on addiction. The
>  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association
> published an article
>  covering  advances  in  these  studies during the
> past year which can
>  lead to better treatment.
>
>  One  of  our  heroes,  Arianna  Huffington, decried
> the total lack of
>  dialogue  about  our  failed  drug  policies  by
> 2008  presidential
>  hopefuls.  Her column points out that even Obama,
> who actually admits
>  to  a  past  drug  problem,  has not said a word
> and certainly hasn't
>  offered any solutions.
>
>  Closing  this  section  with  a  column  by  a  New
>  York  philosophy
>  professor.  He  makes some excellent points about
> the harms caused by
>  drug  prohibition  but,  unfortunately,  feels  it
> will  never  end.
>
> ===
>
> (5) SHARP JOINS INDEPENDENCE COUNTY SUIT
>
> ASH  FLAT  --  The  Sharp  County  Quorum Court
> voted Monday to join a
> class  action  lawsuit  against  a  pair  of
> pharmaceutical giants and
> some distributors of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.
>
> The vote was 8-0 with one justice absent.
>
> The  purpose  of  the  lawsuit, filed in circuit
> court by Independence
> County  last  month,  is to recoup damages that
> counties have incurred
> while combating methamphetamine use and addiction.
>
> The  suit  contends  that  ephedrine  and
> pseudoephedrine are the only
> ingredients  that  makers  of  the illegal drug
> methamphetamine cannot
> make  on  their  own  but  must  obtain  from  over
> the counter drugs.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Batesville Daily Guard (AR)
> Copyright: 2007 Batesville Guard-Record Co. Inc.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1403
> Author: Larry Stroud, Guard Associated Editor
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n463.a01.html
>
> ===
>
> (6) OPED: WHEN THE CURE IS NOT WORTH THE COST
>
> ON  its  face,  providing  equal  coverage  for
> mental  and  physical
> illnesses  sounds  like  a  good  idea,  something
> only a managed-care
> bean  counter  could oppose. To that end,
> Representatives Jim Ramstad,
> Republican  of  Minnesota,  and  Patrick  Kennedy,
> Democrat  of Rhode
> Island,  have  introduced  the  Paul  Wellstone
> Mental  Health  and
> Addiction Equity Act.
>
> Named  for  the  senator  who  was  long an advocate
> for mental health
> "parity,"  it  would  require  that  private
> insurers pay for as much
> treatment  for  mental illnesses and addiction as
> they do for physical
> illnesses.
>
> Senators  Ted  Kennedy,  Democrat of Massachusetts,
> and Pete Domenici,
> Republican  of  New  Mexico,  have  introduced  a
> similar bill in the
> Senate.  President  Bush  has  said he will sign the
> legislation if it
> passes.
>
> Unfortunately,  this  change  would  not  be  as
> benign as it appears.
> Unless  mental  health  parity is tied to
> evidence-based treatment and
> positive  outcomes,  generous benefits may become a
> profit bonanza for
> providers that does little to help patients.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Without  financial  incentives to provide treatments
> that are known to
> work,  many  mental health professionals stick with
> what they know, or
> pick  up  on  the  latest  fad,  or  even introduce
> their own untested
> innovations  -  which in turn are spread by
> testimonials and credulous
> news media coverage.
>
>  [snip]
>
> According  to  a  review  by  the  Institute of
> Medicine in 2006, only
> 10.5  percent  of alcoholics received "care
> consistent with scientific
> knowledge"  of  the  disorder;  similarly,  43
> percent of children in
> psychiatric  hospitals  are given antipsychotic
> medication despite not
> suffering  from  psychosis.  Tough boot camps for
> troubled teenagers -
> which  have  been  proven  to be ineffective and
> potentially harmful -
> thrive,  while  "multisystemic  family  therapy,"
> which  effectively
> treats  teenagers  at  home,  is  available  only
> through the juvenile
> justice system.
>
>  [snip]
>
> If  we  want to provide genuine help for the 33
> million Americans with
> mental  health  and  drug  problems,  giving  more
> no-strings-attached
> money  to  providers  via  insurance mandates is not
> the answer. It is
> dangerous  to  blindly  bolster  useless  and  even
> harmful treatments
> while  failing  to  support proven therapies.
> Coverage must be tied to
> outcomes  and  evidence.  And payment should be
> dependent, at least in
> part,  on  health  improvements,  not  just services
> received. We need
> parity in evidence-based treatment, not just in
> coverage.
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: New York Times (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 The New York Times Company
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
> Author: Maia Szalavitz
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n462.a07.html
>
> ===
>
> (7) BRAIN SCANS, GENES PROVIDE ADDICTION CLUES
>
> Scientists  using  advanced brain imaging and
> genetic testing to probe
> the  physiological  basis  of addiction are gleaning
> new insights into
> these disorders and how to treat them.
>
> A  symposium  sponsored by Brookhaven National
> Laboratory (Upton, NY),
> held in conjunction with the American Association
> for the
> Advancement of Science's annual meeting in San
> Francisco in
> February,  highlighted  several  advances  in
> addiction  science made
> over  the  past  year.  Researchers  presented
> findings  from  brain
> imaging  studies  revealing  the importance of
> memory and drug-related
> cues in addiction, the role of monoamine
> oxidase-inhibiting
> compounds  in  cigarette  smoking,  the  damage to
> inhibitory controls
> caused  by  methamphetamine  use,  as  well  as
> results  from studies
> suggesting  that  genomics  could  be  used to
> better tailor addiction
> therapies.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Harder  to  explain is another key component of
> addiction: the intense
> craving  or  desire that addicted individuals
> experience when they are
> exposed  to  drug-associated cues, such as persons
> with whom they used
> the  drug,  places  where they used the drugs, and
> drug paraphernalia.
> Now,  however,  brain  imaging  techniques  are
> giving  scientists  a
> window  on  what  happens  in  an  individual's
> brain during craving.
>
> To  probe  this  response,  Volkow  and  her
> colleagues at Brookhaven
> National  Laboratory  used positron emission
> tomography (PET) scans to
> obtain  an  indirect  measurement  of dopamine
> levels in the brains of
> 18  cocaine-addicted  individuals under two
> conditions: while watching
> videos  of  people  buying  and  using cocaine and
> also while watching
> videos featuring nature scenes (Volkow et al. J
> Neurosci.
> 2006;26:6583-6588).
>
>  [snip]
>
> Brain imaging studies also are providing evidence
> that
> methamphetamine  use  may  cause  functional  and
> structural deficits
> that  interfere  with  users'  ability  to  control
> negative emotions.
>
> Edythe  D.  London,  PhD,  of  the Semel Institute
> of Neuroscience and
> Biobehavioral  Science  at  the  University  of
> California  in  Los
> Angeles,  and  colleagues have used PET scans and
> radiolabeled glucose
> to  monitor  and  compare  brain  activity in
> methamphetamine-addicted
> individuals  who  have  abstained  from the drug for
> 4 to 11 days with
> that of controls (London ED et al. Arch Gen
> Psychiatry.
> 2004;61:73-84).  They  found  abnormally  low
> levels  of activity (as
> measured  by  glucose  metabolism)  in  the
> cerebral  cortex that was
> related to symptoms of depression.
>
>  [snip]
>
> London  said  the findings suggest that
> methamphetamine use leads to a
> loss  of  function  in  parts of the brain that
> control emotion. This,
> she  said,  may  explain  why methamphetamine users
> often are involved
> with  serious  crimes  and  violence  and  why  they
>  have  difficulty
> abstaining.  "It  could  be  that  they
> misinterpret  environmental
> stimuli and react in a strong way," she said.
>
> She  and  her  colleagues  are  now studying whether
> modafinil, a drug
> used  to  treat  narcolepsy,  might  help  in
> treating methamphetamine
> dependence.  The  drug has been shown to improve
> inhibitory control in
> healthy individuals and in those with
> attention-deficit/hyperactivity  disorder.  Such  a
> means to control a
> problematic  symptom  of  methamphetamine  abuse
> may  improve  the
> effectiveness  of  existing  therapies,  such  as
> behavioral therapy.
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 04 Apr 2007
> Source: Journal of the American Medical Association
> (US)
> Copyright: 2007 American Medical Association.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/219
> Author: Bridget M. Kuehn
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n462.a13.html
>
> ===
>
> (8) Column: DRUG PROHIBITION -- LOST LIBERTY, MONEY
>
> As  the  Iraq  War  drags  into  its  fifth  year,
> there is a far more
> destructive policy that has been going on for
> decades, drug
> prohibition.  This  prohibition  is  offensive  in
> at  least  in part
> because of its utter contempt for liberty.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Some  nanny-types  argue  that drug use isn't
> harmless because persons
> harm  others  through  impaired  driving,  stealing
> to  support their
> habit,  drug-fueled  violence,  etc. There are a
> couple things to note
> about  this  argument. First, these activities are
> already illegal and
> can  be  combated  by  directly  targeting  them. In
> fact, the massive
> resources  used  to  track down drugs might end up
> diverting resources
> needed to prevent violent crime.
>
> For  example,  according  to  anthropologist
> Michael  P.  Ghiglieri,
> citing  Bureau  of  Justice Statistics, in the 90's,
> only about 38% of
> murderers were sentenced to prison.
>
> Second,  if  this  argument  warrants drug
> prohibition, it provides an
> even  stronger  case  for  alcohol  probation.  It's
>  hard  to imagine
> anyone  who  isn't  a  blood  enemy  of liberty
> wanting to criminalize
> alcohol again.
>
> Third, if we allow the criminal law to protect
> against
> externalities,  that  is,  when  one person's
> conduct imposes costs on
> others,  the  state  could  mandate  jogging,  body
> weight,  sexual
> practices,  etc.  The harm principle (when narrowed
> to focus on direct
> harm  to  others)  is  a  bulwark against such an
> invasion of liberty.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Even  if  drug  prohibition  didn't involve a
> dizzying lack of respect
> for liberty, it probably doesn't pass a simple
> cost-benefit
> analysis.
>
>  [snip]
>
> The  federal  drug  control  budget  in  2006 was
> $12.5 billion. Since
> numerous  state  and  local  agencies  also spend
> vast amounts of time
> and  energy  pursuing  marijuana  and other threats
> to the free world,
> one  can  imagine that the costs here are
> considerably greater than my
> low-end estimate of $34.5 billion.
>
> Worthy  of  special  contempt  is  the  Drug  Abuse
> Resistance Program
> (DARE) program. According to a 1998 study by
> Professors Ronsenbaum
> and  Hanson  of  the  University  of  Illinois at
> Chicago, DARE has no
> impact  on  the  long-term rate of drug use by
> children who go through
> it.  Other  sources  claim  that  this is the same
> result found in all
> major  research  into  DARE's  effectiveness.
> Despite  the  lack  of
> evidence  for  its  effectiveness,  in 1996 it was
> administered in 70%
> of  the  nation's  school  districts,  reaching  25
> million students.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Another  significant  cost  is  the  shredding  of
> the Constitution in
> pursuit of recreational drugs.
>
>  [snip]
>
> In the absence of convincing evidence that the
> benefits of
> prohibition  outweigh  its  costs,  it's  better to
> err on the side of
> liberty.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Like  alcohol  prohibition,  drug  prohibition
> tramples on liberty and
> doesn't  clearly  past  the  cost-benefit  test.
> Sadly, it's probably
> here to stay anyway.
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Observer, The (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 The Observer
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2118
> Author: Stephen Kershnar
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n467.a06.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> Law Enforcement & Prisons
> -------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (9-12)
>
>  It  has  long  been  evident that we just can not
> incarcerate our way
>  out  of  drug  usage. There are daily reports about
> overcrowded jails
>  and  prisons  shifting  "criminals"  from  one
> cage to another in an
>  attempt  to  avoid judicial wrath. Surely we can
> not be far away from
>  the day when citizens will insist on better
> answers.
>
>  One  of those citizens, though, will not be the
> Texas Sheriff who had
>  his  son  arrested  for  using  meth. The Sheriff
> claims his only two
>  choices  were  prison  or  death. He 'hopes' his
> son will not relapse
>  and I hope they might both discover the treatment
> option.
>
>  A  Daily Tar Heel editorial correctly claims the
> increasing number of
>  older  inmates  behind  bars  will soon need to be
> addressed. All the
>  contractors  enjoying  prison  building profits may
> need to switch to
>  secure nursing home construction.
>
>  One  of  our  heroes,  Arianna  Huffington, decried
> the total lack of
>  dialogue about our failed drug policies by
> Democratic 2008
>  presidential  candidates.  She  points  out  that
> even  Obama,  who
>  actually  admits  to  a  past  drug  problem, has
> not said a word and
>  certainly  hasn't  offered  any solutions. Her
> column also covers the
>  disparities  of 'justice' which lead to this war
> being carried on the
>  backs of minorities.
>
> ===
>
> (9) COUNTY ONE OF 42 LOOKING AT NEW JAILS
>
> No  Mower  Countian  should  for a moment think the
> county is alone in
> its jail-justice center saga.
>
> In fact, there are 42 Minnesota counties presently
> studying
> expanding  or  building  new  jail  and  justice
> center  facilities.
>
> That's  what  the  Mower  County  Board  of
> Commissioners and selected
> staffers  learned  at  the  recent  Association of
> Minnesota Counties'
> legislative conference.
>
> David  Hillier,  3rd District county commissioner,
> said Tuesday the 42
> jail  and  justice  center  issues  did  not include
> counties who have
> attempted  to  solve  issues  of their own by
> building new facilities,
> such  as  the recently opened Steele (3 years ago)
> and Freeborn County
> (last year) jail and justice centers.
>
> Ironically, both counties are presently shopping
> around the
> availability  of  jail  beds  to  other  counties
> discussing  how  to
> address  their  own  jail  over-crowding  and
> district court security
> issues.
>
>  [snip]
>
> According to Hillier, the commissioners learned at
> the AMC
> legislative  conference  the  state is reimbursing
> the county only $13
> per  day  in per diem costs for housing short-term
> offenders in county
> jails, while the costs are $55 or more in per diem
> alone.
>
> "We  have  a  serious  problem  here  as  far  as
> housing prisoners is
> concerned,"  Hillier  said. "According to the last
> statistics, in 1988
> there were 3,600 prisoner beds in Minnesota.
>
> "Last  year  --  2006 -- the number of adult beds in
> the state grew to
> over 9,100," Hillier added. "That's why we have 42
> counties
> considering building new jails."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 07 Apr 2007
> Source: Austin Daily Herald, The (MN)
> Copyright: 2007 Austin Daily Herald Inc
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1201
> Author: Lee Bonorden, Austin Daily Herald
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n446.a14.html
>
> ===
>
> (10) SHERIFF SPEAKS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AT METH
> MEETINGS
>
> Bowie  County  Sheriff  James  Prince has a unique
> perspective when it
> comes  to  dealing  with  methamphetamine  users
> and  their families.
>
> Three  and  a  half years ago, he had his own
> 31-year-old son arrested
> on  drug  charges.  "It's a tough thing to put your
> kid in jail, but a
> lot  of  people  are  doing  it. The alternative is
> a whole lot worse.
>
> I  told  my  son  I  would  rather  see  him in jail
> than in a casket"
> Prince  said.  Prince  spoke  Tuesday night in
> Redwater, Texas, at the
> first  town  hall meeting held by the Bowie County
> Sheriffs Office and
> the  East  Texas  Council  on  Alcoholism  and  Drug
> Abuse. He said he
> caught  a  plane  to  Georgia when he received a
> phone call saying his
> son might be doing drugs.
>
>  [snip]
>
> "I  hope  and  pray  he  stays  off  it" the sheriff
> said. Prince said
> parents  of  meth  users  should  not  be  ashamed
> if  their  sons or
> daughters  are  on  drugs. "You have not done
> anything wrong" he said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Texarkana Gazette (TX)
> Copyright: 2007 Texarkana Gazette
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/976
> Author: Lon Dunn, Texarkana Gazette
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a02.html
>
> ===
>
> (11) Editorial: GERIATRICS IN JUMPSUITS
>
> State  needs  to address aging in prisons to save
> money North Carolina
> has  a  problem  with  old  people  and  prisons:
> There are increasing
> numbers of the former in the latter.
>
> Because  of  longer  sentences,  especially  for
> drug-related crimes,
> more  often  people  approach  retirement  age
> while  sporting orange
> jumpsuits.
>
> According to a 2006 report on aging in N.C. prisons,
> the 50
> years-and-older  group  was  the  fastest  growing
> age bracket in our
> inmate  population.  While  the  total number of
> inmates has increased
> by  16  percent  in  the  past  five  years,  the
> elderly incarcerated
> population has jumped 61 percent.
>
>  [snip]
>
> This  is  a  burden  on the state financially, not
> just because of the
> ever-growing  need  for cell space but also because
> medical and mental
> health  care  for  elderly  inmates costs about
> three times as much as
> that for prisoners in younger age brackets.
>
> The sad part is that the elderly poor probably
> receive more
> comprehensive  health  care  within the prison
> system than outside its
> walls.  It  might  actually  be a worse punishment
> to send them out to
> tackle  the  Medicaid  and Medicare systems - which
> is a commentary on
> those  systems,  and  not  an  appeal  to  punish
> elderly inmates more
> harshly.
>
>  [snip]
>
> One  possible  solution  is  to  shorten  sentences
> for  non-violent
> crimes,  but  because  no  politician  seeking
> re-election wants to be
> branded  as  being  against  the  "War on Drugs,"
> this is not a likely
> scenario.
>
> A  fix  that  N.C.  officials  have  proposed is to
> release terminally
> ill,  low-risk  elderly  inmates  to  hospices,
> while  placing  other
> elderly  prisoners  or  prisoners  with disabilities
> in secure private
> facilities.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily Tar Heel, The (U of NC, Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 DTH Publishing Corp
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1949
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n465.a01.html
>
> ===
>
> (12) COLUMN: UNEQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL
>
> THERE  IS  ONE SUBJECT BEING forgotten in the 2008
> Democratic race for
> the  White  House.  While  all  the major candidates
> are vying for the
> black  and  Latino  vote, they are completely
> ignoring one of the most
> pressing  issues  affecting  those  constituencies:
> the failed "war on
> drugs"  --  a  war  that  has  morphed  into a war
> on people of color.
>
> Consider  this:  According  to  a  2006  report  by
> the American Civil
> Liberties  Union,  African-Americans  make  up an
> estimated 15 percent
> of  drug  users,  but they account for 37 percent of
> those arrested on
> drug  charges,  59  percent  of  those convicted and
> 74 percent of all
> drug  offenders  sentenced  to  prison.  Or
> consider this: The United
> States  has  260,000  people  in  state  prisons  on
>  nonviolent  drug
> charges;  183,200  (more than 70 percent) of them
> are black or Latino.
>
> Such  facts  have  been  bandied  about for years.
> But our politicians
> have  consistently  failed  to  take  action  on
> what  has become yet
> another  third  rail  of American politics, a
> subject to be avoided at
> all  costs  by elected officials who fear being
> incinerated on contact
> for being soft on crime.
>
> Perhaps  you  hoped  this  would  change  during a
> spirited Democratic
> presidential  primary?  Unfortunately,  a  quick
> search  of  the  top
> Democratic  hopefuls'  Web  sites  reveals that not
> one of them -- not
> Hillary  Clinton,  not  Barack Obama, not John
> Edwards, not Joe Biden,
> not  Chris  Dodd,  not  Bill Richardson -- even
> mentions the drug war,
> let alone offers any solutions.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Obama  has  written  eloquently  about his own
> struggle with drugs but
> has  not  addressed  the  tragic  effect the war on
> drugs is having on
> African-American communities.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Avoidance  of  this  issue  comes  at a very stiff
> price (and not just
> the  more  than  $50  billion a year we're spending
> on the failed drug
> war).  The  toll  is  paid  in  shattered  families,
>  devastated inner
> cities  and  wasted  lives  (with  no  apologies for
> using that term).
>
> During  the  10  years  I've  been  writing about
> the injustice of the
> drug  war,  I've repeatedly watched as politicians
> paid lip service to
> the  problem  but then ducked as the sickening
> status quo claimed more
> victims.  Here  in  California,  of  the  171,000
> inmates jamming our
> wildly  overcrowded  prisons,  36,000  are
> nonviolent drug offenders.
>
>  [snip]
>
> A  2000  study  found  that  1.4  million  African
> American men -- 13
> percent  of  the total black male population -- were
> unable to vote in
> the  2000  election  because  of  state  laws
> barring felons from the
> polls.  In  Florida, 1 in 3 black men is permanently
> disqualified from
> voting.  Think  that  might  have  made a difference
> in the 2000 race?
> Our shortsighted drug laws have become the
> 21st-century
> manifestation of Jim Crow.
>
> Shouldn't  this  be  an  issue Democratic
> presidential candidates deem
> worthy of their attention?
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 08 Apr 2007
> Source: Day, The (New London,CT)
> Copyright: 2007 The Day Publishing Co.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/293
> Author: Arianna Huffington
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n449.a05.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> Cannabis & Hemp-
> ---------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (13-16)
>
>  The  California  state government is looking at
> medical cannabis once
>  again,  only  this  time  it  is  the taxman who is
> treading into the
>  murky  gray  waters.  Tax assessors hope to be
> rewarded with millions
>  of  dollars  from  all  cannabis  dispensaries
> instead of the current
>  patchwork  of clubs that pay tax. Some stakeholders
> support the added
>  legitimacy,  while  others  fear  possibly owing
> eight years worth of
>  taxes  and  sharing  information  which  could be
> seized by the feds.
>
>  Madison  Wisconsin  activists kept the spotlight on
> a legal case that
>  involved  sharing a joint between two friends at a
> cannabis festival,
>  which  led  to  the Dane County Board asking the
> District Attorney to
>  justify  the  costs  of  dropping  the  misdemeanor
>  charge to pursue
>  felony  prosecution.  The prosecutor had previously
> claimed money and
>  resources  are very tight, so some assurance was
> needed that the DA's
>  office  was "conserving its resources for pursuit
> of serious crimes."
>
>  Some  Denver,  Colorado  citizens  are  concerned
> democracy is being
>  mocked  by  police  who  defiantly  arrested  11
> per cent more people
>  since  voters  approved  an  initiative  to  remove
> all penalties for
>  possessing  one  ounce  or  less  of  cannabis
> several years ago. The
>  Charlie  Brown logic for pursuing this path is,
> "It's still state law
>  - we can't be selective about the laws we enforce."
>
>  "If  at  first  you don't succeed, try, try, try
> again", could be the
>  motto  of  House politicians in New Hampshire who
> once again passed a
>  bill  to control and regulate the hemp industry.
> The Senate killed it
>  two  years  ago,  and  even if it evolves further
> this time, there is
>  still the DEA to contend with. However, with
> momentum and
>  perseverance,  it  will  just be a matter of time
> before U.S. farmers
>  grow one of the most useful plants on the planet.
>
> ===
>
> (13) SOME AREN'T STOKED ABOUT NEW TAX
>
>  [snip]
>
> For  the  first  time  since voters passed
> Proposition 215 more than a
> decade  ago,  state  tax  assessors  are  reaching
> out to the state's
> estimated  150  to  200 medical marijuana retailers
> to get them to pay
> their state and local sales taxes.
>
> In  February,  the  state  Board  of  Equalization
> sent out a special
> notice  to  sellers  of  medical  marijuana,  urging
>  them to obtain a
> seller's permit like any other retailer.
>
> "If  you  sell  medical  marijuana,  your  sales  in
>  California  are
> generally  subject  to  tax  and  you  are required
> to hold a seller's
> permit," according to the notice.
>
> It  goes  on  to  warn  sellers  that "if you do not
> obtain a seller's
> permit  or  fail  to report and pay the taxes due,
> you will be subject
> to interest and penalty charges."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 07 Apr 2007
> Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Sacramento Bee
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
> Author: Judy Lin, Bee Capitol Bureau
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n448.a05.html
>
> ===
>
> (14) BOARD MEMBERS RIP MARIJUANA PROSECUTION
>
> Four  liberal  Dane  County Board members are
> questioning the district
> attorney's  decision  to pursue a felony drug charge
> against a Madison
> man  who  declined a deal to plead guilty or no
> contest to misdemeanor
> marijuana possession.
>
> In  a  letter  to  Democratic  District  Attorney
> Brian Blanchard, the
> board  members  note  the  county's  top  prosecutor
>  recently  raised
> concerns  about  budget  constraints  and  asked
> county officials for
> more staff.
>
> The  letter  -  signed  by  Progressive  Dane  Sups.
>  Ashok  Kumar, Al
> Matano,  Kyle  Richmond  and  Barbara  Vedder -
> criticizes Blanchard's
> office  for  filing  a  felony  charge  against  a
> county resident who
> allegedly  "handed  a  marijuana  cigarette  to  a
> colleague during a
> demonstration  in  favor  of  relaxation  of
> anti-marijuana  law  in
> Downtown Madison."
>
> "The  decision  to  file  and  pursue such charges
> calls into question
> the district attorney's office commitment to
> conserving its
> resources  for  pursuit  of  serious  crimes,"  the
> letter  states.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
> Copyright: 2007 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506
> Author: Matthew Defour
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n458.a02.html
>
> ===
>
> (15) LEGAL POT ACTIVISTS ANGRY AT POLICE
>
> Possession Busts Rise Despite City Voters' OK
>
> Marijuana  legalization  advocates  say  they  are
> furious with Denver
> police  for  arresting  more  people  for
> misdemeanor possession after
> city  residents  voted  to legalize the weed in
> 2005. Mason Tvert, who
> led  the  charge  to get marijuana legalized, said
> the group will hold
> a  noon  news  conference today at the steps of City
> Hall to decry the
> findings.
>
> Arrests  for  most  minor  crimes  rose  in Denver
> last year, and rose
> faster  than  marijuana  arrests,  following  a
> change  in  policing
> philosophy.
>
> But  Tvert  said  nothing can justify an 11 percent
> spike in marijuana
> possession arrests last year.
>
> "If  there's  one, it's too many," Tvert said. "They
> (police) have the
> discretion not to arrest."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Tvert  plans  to  have  retired Denver police Lt.
> Tony Ryan on hand to
> speak  for  retired  law  enforcement officers who
> favor legalization.
>
>  [snip]
>
> One  person  not  sharing  that idea is City
> Councilman Charlie Brown.
>
> "It's  still  state law," Brown said. "We can't be
> selective about the
> laws we enforce."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
> Copyright: 2007, Denver Publishing Co.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
> Author: Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a06.html
>
> ===
>
> (16) N.H. HOUSE APPROVES GROWING HEMP
>
> CONCORD,  N.H.  (AP)  -  The  House voted Thursday
> to allow farmers to
> grow  hemp  -  a close relative of marijuana -
> despite federal hurdles
> to planting the controversial crop.
>
> Supporters  pointed  out  that  hemp,  which has a
> very low content of
> THC,  the  psychoactive  ingredient  in  marijuana,
> has unfairly been
> characterized as the same as marijuana.
>
>  [snip]
>
> "No  one  confuses  water  with vodka though they
> look the same," Owen
> said.
>
> Hemp  can  be  grown  only  with  permission  from
> the  federal  Drug
> Enforcement  Administration.  North  Dakota  farmers
>  are  currently
> trying  to  get  DEA permission to grow hemp under
> that state's rules.
>
> "This  is  in  the end an issue of liberty. Small
> farmers in the state
> need all the help they can get," Owen said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Hemp can be grown legally in other countries.
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 06 Apr 2007
> Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (NH)
> Copyright: 2007 Geo. J. Foster Co.
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/160
> Author: Norma Love, Associated Press Writer
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n449.a07.html
>
>
=======================================================================
>
> International News
> ---------------------------
>
> COMMENT: (17-20)
>
>  Ex-drug  czar  under  Bill  Clinton,  and Gulf War
> Army General Barry
>  McCaffrey  had  a  "trip  report" from his recent
> trip to Afghanistan
>  published  by  the  Washington  Post last week.
> "Afghanistan is now a
>  narco-state,"  declared  McCaffrey. But, it is the
> Brit's fault: "The
>  British  have  the  lead  for  the  [counter-drug]
> program" but won't
>  spend  enough  money  to make Afghanistan be drug
> free. Not to worry,
>  because  there's  no  problem which can't be solved
> by more force and
>  more  police  in  Afghanistan.  "This  should be a
> 10,000 man [local]
>  program,  supported  by  a  $250  million  [U.S.]
> program -- with an
>  in-country  presence  of  200+  DEA agents."
> Laments McCaffrey, There
>  are  no  real jails -- or prosecutors -- or judges
> -- or squad cars."
>
>  Despite  one  of  the  world's  harshest
> prohibitionist  regimes  in
>  Indonesia,  the  number of children taking illicit
> drugs continues to
>  rise  there.  Insp.  Gen.  Mudji Waluyo, from the
> Indonesian National
>  Narcotics  Agency  said  drug  use  was up some 400
> percent from 2005
>  among  students in "elementary, junior high and
> senior high schools",
>  and  this  in  a  country  which enthusiastically
> executes people for
>  selling  small  amounts  of prohibited drugs. "All
> those figures show
>  us  how  rampant drug abuse is among students in
> Indonesia," admitted
>  Mudji.  Ironically,  many  of  the young
> Indonesians polled indicated
>  one  reason  they  took  drugs  was  as an "escape
> from authoritarian
>  treatment."
>
>  And  finally  this week, we leave you with two
> different re-writes of
>  the  same alarmist salvia divinorum article written
> by Kenyon Wallace
>  of  the Canadian Press, which was picked up by
> papers all over Canada
>  last  week.  The  Saskatchewan newspaper, The
> StarPhoenix, emphasized
>  that  police  power  might  be  at  risk  with  the
>  headline "Police
>  Powerless  As Psychedelic Herb Remains Legal."
> True, only "four cases
>  of  adverse  reactions  to  salvia"  have  been
> documented by Health
>  Canada  (making  salvia  remarkably safe compared
> to, say, aspirin or
>  Viagra  or  anything  else).  But no matter:
> because young people may
>  get  some,  or  it might be used by a person
> driving, it must be made
>  illegal  for  everyone,  say  police,  eager to add
> salvia to list of
>  plants  police may arrest people for possessing.
> The Edmonton Journal
>  in  Alberta slugged the piece as "Hallucinogenic
> Herb Being Abused By
>  Young  People - Health Canada", and likewise buried
> the fact that few
>  adverse  reactions  to  salvia  have  occurred.
> But  even though The
>  Journal  declared  that salvia is "being abused",
> Health Canada can't
>  make  it  illegal  "until we have sufficient
> scientific and empirical
>  data  that  concludes  it  has  the  potential for
> misuse and abuse,"
>  admitted a Health Canada spokesman.
>
> ===
>
> (17) McCAFFREY SEES 2007 AS A CRUCIAL YEAR
>
> "We Are Now in a Race Against Time."
>
> When  retired  Army  Gen.  Barry  R.  McCaffrey
> visited Afghanistan in
> February  for  meetings  with  23  senior  Western
> and local military,
> intelligence  and  political officials, he came away
> with a cautiously
> optimistic  view  of  the prospects for reform and
> political stability
> there.
>
>  [snip]
>
> "Afghanistan  is  now  a  narco-state.  The
> opium/heroin take is $3.1
> billion  --  which  is  1/3  of the GNP. The British
> have the lead for
> the  [counter-drug]  program  and are not adequately
> resourced for the
> effort.  There  is  no  single  unifying  leadership
>  for the U.S. nor
> international effort."
>
> "If  we  do  not  get  a  serious and sustained
> effort on counter-drug
> operations  .  .  . we will fail to achieve our
> objectives. . . . This
> should  be  a  10,000 man [local] program, supported
> by a $250 million
> [U.S.]  program  --  with  an in-country presence of
> 200+ DEA agents."
>
>  [snip]
>
> "We  can,  without  question, achieve our U.S.
> national objective of a
> functioning  law-based  state  --  with a
> performing, non-drug economy
> --  which  rejects  sanctuary  for  terrorism.  This
>  is  a cross-over
> year."
>
> "The  effort  to  create  the Afghan police force is
> currently grossly
> under-resourced  with  700  U.S. trainers. . . . In
> Iraq, we have 7000
> U.S.  police  trainers. . . . In Kosovo, we had 5000
> police mentors. .
> .  .  We  have trained 60,000 Afghan police, but we
> have no idea where
> they  are.  .  .  .  Probably  there  are
> non-uniformed, untrained and
> largely  criminal  elements  in  many  of the
> district capitals. There
> are  no  real  jails  -- or prosecutors -- or judges
> -- or squad cars.
>
>  [snip]
>
> We  must  lose  the  'Expeditionary'  mindset.
> Reconstruction in this
> destroyed nation is going to take 25 years."
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Washington Post (DC)
> Copyright: 2007 The Washington Post Company
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
> Author: R. Jeffrey Smith, Washington Post Staff
> Writer
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a07.html
>
> ===
>
> (18) DATA SHOWS STUDENTS TAKING ILLICIT DRUGS ON THE
> RISE
>
> Despite  a  nationwide  anti-drug  drive, the
> country continues to see
> more cases of drug use by schoolchildren, a top
> anti-drugs
> campaigner said Tuesday.
>
> "The  number  of  illegal  drug  users continues to
> increase annually,
> with  81,702  of  them  students of elementary,
> junior high and senior
> high  schools,"  head  of the Narcotics Abuse
> Prevention Center at the
> National  Narcotics  Agency  (BNN)  Insp.  Gen.
> Mudji Waluyo, said as
> quoted by Antara, in Samarinda, East Kalimantan.
>
> He  was  referring  to  2006  data  collected by the
> agency across the
> country.
>
> Addressing  a  seminar  on  the  Use  of Information
> Technology in the
> Campaign  against  Drug  Abuse  and Trafficking,
> which was held in the
> auditorium  of  the  East Kalimantan Governor's
> Office, Mudji said the
> agency  recorded  a  total of 8,449 elementary
> school students who had
> used  drugs  last  year. It was nearly a 400-percent
> increase from the
> 2005 figure of 2,542 students.
>
>  [snip]
>
> "All  those  figures  show us how rampant drug abuse
> is among students
> in Indonesia," Mudji said.
>
> Quoting  the  survey  conducted  by  the BNN, Mudji
> said 86 percent of
> respondents  said  that  they  had consumed drugs
> due to the influence
> of  their  environment,  another 74.15 percent said
> that they had used
> drugs  just  for  fun and another 70 percent said
> that they had turned
> to  drugs  to  escape  from  authoritarian
> treatment  at  home  or at
> school.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
> Copyright: The Jakarta Post
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/645
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a03.html
>
> ===
>
> (19) POLICE POWERLESS AS PSYCHEDELIC HERB REMAINS
> LEGAL
>
> OTTAWA  --  An easily available herb that packs a
> powerful psychedelic
> punch has some federal health officials recommending
> strict
> controls.
>
> But  Health  Canada says it can't regulate the use
> of salvia divinorum
> until there's more evidence of its dangers.
>
> Department  documents  obtained  by The Canadian
> Press under Access to
> Information  law  say  salvia  is  being used by
> adolescents and young
> adults for its hallucinogenic properties.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Department  spokesperson  Jason Bouzanis said salvia
> has been known to
> cause  hallucinations,  out  of-body  experiences,
> unconsciousness and
> shortterm  memory  loss.  But that's not enough to
> declare it illegal.
>
> "We  can't  make  any  recommendations  to  place
> salvia  under  the
> Controlled Drug and Substances Act schedules until
> we have
> sufficient  scientific  and  empirical  data that
> concludes it has the
> potential for misuse and abuse," Bouzanis said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> An  October  2006 report by the natural health
> products directorate of
> Health  Canada,  which  is  responsible for
> assessing safety among all
> marketed  health  products, highlights four cases of
> adverse reactions
> to salvia.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Despite  being  aware  of  salvia's  potentially
> harmful effects, the
> RCMP can't crack down on the herb because it's
> legal.
>
> "As  far  as including salvia included under the
> Controlled Substances
> Act,  that's  Health  Canada's  responsibility,"
> said  Sgt.  Nathalie
> Deschenes.
>
> "The  RCMP  is  always  concerned  about any
> substance or product that
> may put the safety and security of Canadians at
> risk."
>
>  [snip]
>
> Missouri  and  Louisiana  have  criminalized  the
> herb  and there are
> proposals  to  make  it  illegal  in  Alaska,
> Illinois,  Oregon  and
> Wyoming.
>
> Dr.  Bryan  Roth,  a  professor  of  pharmacology at
> the University of
> North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is very concerned about
> the
> availability of the herb.
>
>  [snip]
>
> "The  distribution  is  totally  unregulated  so
> unsuspecting teens or
> even  children  younger  than  teenage  years might
> chance upon it and
> that's a recipe for disaster."
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
> Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
> Author: Canadian Press
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n450.a07.html
>
> ===
>
> (20) HALLUCINOGENIC HERB BEING ABUSED BY YOUNG
> PEOPLE - HEALTH
> CANADA
>
> Salvia  Divinorum  Can't  Be  Declared  Illegal
> Without  More  Data
>
>  [snip]
>
> A  December  2005  report by the marketed health
> products directorate,
> an  arm  of  Health Canada, recommends that salvia
> divinorum be placed
> under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
>
>  [snip]
>
> "We  can't  make  any  recommendations  to  place
> salvia  under  the
> Controlled Drug and Substances Act schedules until
> we have
> sufficient  scientific  and  empirical  data that
> concludes it has the
> potential for misuse and abuse," Bouzanis said.
>
>  [snip]
>
> It  is  a  species  of  sage, which belongs to the
> mint family, and is
> most  commonly  found in Mexico, where indigenous
> Mazatec shamans have
> used it for centuries for spiritual journeys.
>
>  [snip]
>
> An  October  2006 report by the natural health
> products directorate of
> Health  Canada  highlights  four cases of adverse
> reactions to salvia.
> One  case  involves  a  16-year-old Canadian boy who
> reportedly became
> incoherent,  suicidal  and  threatened  to  kill
> police officers after
> taking a single tablet in March 2005.
>
>  [snip]
>
> But  for  one salvia user, the concerns are
> unnecessary. "Salvia is so
> intense,  most  people  only  try it once or twice,"
> said Ryan (Big P)
> Poelzer,  who  works at the Urban Shaman, a popular
> botanical store in
> downtown Vancouver.
>
>  [snip]
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 08 Apr 2007
> Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Edmonton Journal
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
> Author: Kenyon Wallace, Canadian Press
> Continues:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n447.a03.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> HOT OFF THE 'NET
> -------------------------------
>
> THE  U.S.  "WAR  ON  DRUGS"  IS  AN ASSAULT ON SOUTH
> AMERICA'S POOREST
>
> By Benjamin Dangl
>
> Cocaine  may  be  considered a scourge in America's
> cities, but in the
> Andes,  the  plant  from  which  it's  derived  is
> a way of life that
> provides food, shelter, healthcare and education.
>
> http://alternet.org/drugreporter/50144/
>
> ===
>
> CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW
>
> 04/06/07 - Panel : Are we winning the war on drugs?
> / with Stan Furce
> of  HIDTA/ONDCP, Marcia Baker of Phoenix House &
> DTN/LEAP member Dean
> Becker.
>
> Audio:
> http://drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/FDBCB_041307.mp3
>
> Listen  Live  Fridays  8:00  PM,  ET,  7:00  CT,
> 6:00 MT & 5:00 PT at
> http://www.kpft.org/
>
> ===
>
> BUSH (STILL) LOVES D.A.R.E.
>
> By Marsha Rosenbaum
>
> As  President Bush declares April 12 "National
> D.A.R.E. Day," ideology
> and emotion once again trump science and truth.
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marsha-rosenbaum/
>
> ===
>
> WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA?
>
> A Cross-National Empirical Examination
>
> by Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, [et al.]
>
> http://repositories.cdlib.org/csls/fwp/25/
>
> ===
>
> LONG TERM USE OF MEDICAL CANNABIS BY FEDERAL LEGAL
> PATIENTS
>
> U.S.  government  grown  medical marijuana is sent
> to several patients
> remaining  on  the  I.N.D.  program.  In  2002,
> Elvy  Musikka, George
> McMahon  ...  all  ¯  and  Irvin  Rosenfeld  appear
> in Portland, OR to
> discuss  their  health  and  experience  of  20
> years  using  medical
> Cannabis.  Hosted  by  Mary  Lynn  Mathre  of
> Patients  Out of Time.
>
>
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=5703755977034467109
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> CELEBRATE NARCO NEWS' 7TH ANNIVERSARY IN NEW YORK
> CITY
>
> Sign-Up  Today  as  a  Sponsor  of  a  Great  Party
> for a Worthy Cause
>
> By Al Giordano
>
> Date: Wednesday, April 18
> Time: 8 p.m.
> Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan
>
> http://narconews.com/Issue45/article2618.html
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> LETTER OF THE WEEK
> ------------------------------------
>
> LEGALIZING DRUGS COULD STEM CRIME
>
> By John F. Ferry, M.D.
>
> Section  one  of  the April 3 edition of The
> Advocate was dominated by
> stories  about  the  terrible  epidemic  of  murder
> and other criminal
> activity causing great distress in New Orleans.
>
> All  these  problems  could  be  eliminated  with
> one  stroke  of the
> government's pen. Decriminalize the use and sale of
> drugs.
>
> Because  these  drugs  are  illegal,  their  price
> is very, very high.
> Nevertheless,  many  people  are  willing to risk
> long jail sentences,
> murder  people,  or  be  killed themselves trying to
> get the drugs for
> their own use or to sell at huge profits.
>
> Undeniably,  our  society  would  be better off if
> no one used or sold
> these drugs.
>
> But,  equally  undeniably, the government's "War on
> Drugs" has failed.
> These items are readily available. Don't we ever
> learn?
>
> In  the  1920s  and  early 1930s, our government
> decreed that since we
> would  all  be  better  off  if  no  one consumed
> alcoholic beverages,
> alcohol consumption was made illegal.
>
> All  the  curses  the  use  of  alcohol  brings  on
> society  would be
> eliminated. This was called the "Noble Experiment."
>
> Wow! Were they wrong.
>
> After all, all Al Capone ever did was to go into the
> liquor
> business.  The  difference  was  that his profits
> were so high that he
> eliminated  competition  with  submachine  guns
> rather  than with low
> prices and good service.
>
> Reasonable  men  saw  that the experiment had
> failed. Alcohol was once
> again  made  a  legal  substance  for sale and
> consumption. The nation
> has survived.
>
> I  hope  that  my  fellow  readers  of  The
> Advocate do not take this
> letter  to  indicate  that  I  favor,  promote or
> recommend the use of
> mind-altering substances. I do not
>
> But  experience  teaches  that  outlawing  their use
> does not decrease
> their use. It only creates a lot of outlaws.
>
> John F.  Ferry, M.D.
>
> retired physician/artist
>
> New Iberia
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA)
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - MARCH
> ------------------------------------
>
> DrugSense  recognizes  Alan  Randell  of  Victoria,
> B.C.  for his two
> letters  published  during  March  which brings his
> career total, that
> we know of, to 442. You may review his superb
> letters at
>
> http://www.mapinc.org/writer/Randell+Alan
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> FEATURE ARTICLE
> -------------------------------
>
> Making the Most of DrugSense
>
> PDF  version:
> http://www.drugsense.org/flyers/DSServicesFlyer.pdf
>
> By Mary Jane Borden
>
> You're  a  busy  activist  trying  to change drug
> policy in your local
> community.  You  need quick, easy access to services
> that can get your
> name in the media and help you appear like much
> bigger
> organizations,  and  you  need  to do this
> professionally on a limited
> budget. You need DrugSense.
>
> DrugSense  is  a  501(c)(3)  educational  non-profit
>  organization
> dedicated  to  promoting  accuracy in the media
> concerning drug policy
> topics. Here's how DrugSense can help your
> organization:
>
> Web  Hosting.  (http://www.drugpolicycentral.com)
> Need a Website? Our
> Drug  Policy  Central  (DPC)  subsidiary  offers
> free  or  low-cost,
> subsidized  Internet  services  to  drug  policy
> reform organizations
> worldwide.  Notable  clients  include  LEAP,  the
> November Coalition,
> DanceSafe,  the  Ohio  Patient  Network,  Michigan
> NORML, and over 100
> others. For a free quote, please visit
> http://www.drugpolicycentral.com/hosting/.
>
> E-mail Discussion Lists and 'Bulletin Board' Forums.
> (http://drugsense.org/lists/) Get your group active
> and
> communicating  with  its  own  e-mail discussion
> list or online forum.
> Exchange  e-mail,  ideas,  and  documents  with  one
> another to become
> more organized and effective.
>
> Real Time Meetings over the Internet.
> (http://www.mapinc.org/resource/teamspeak/) In the
> cyber age, you
> can  conduct  your  organization's meetings for FREE
> over the Internet
> in  real  time.  In  one of our Virtual Conference
> Rooms hosted on the
> chat  software  Teamspeak,  your  group  can talk to
> one another, plan
> future events, and develop responses to current
> problems.
>
> Learn  from  What  Others  Have  Done.
> (http://drugsense.org/caip)
> Thinking  about  fielding  a  citizen-led
> initiative  or  community
> ordinance?  Learn  the  language  of  other
> initiatives and what made
> them  successes  or  failures.  You  can also read
> the editorials that
> promoted or decried their passage.
>
> Contact  the  media.  (http://www.mapinc.org/mcod/)
> Our Media Contact
> on  Demand  (MCOD)  database lists ALL U.S. print
> and broadcast media:
> TV  and  radio  stations,  daily  and  weekly
> newspapers,  trade  and
> consumer  magazines,  news  syndicates,  and  AP
> and UPI bureaus. The
> database  contains  multiple contacts for almost
> 30,000 media outlets.
> Searchable  on  a  number  of  parameters  (such  as
>  by  venue  or by
> specific  distances  from  any  zip  code or city),
> it can quickly and
> easily  output  mailing labels or data formats
> suitable for use in fax
> or e-mail software programs. Registered DrugSense
> members
> (http://www.drugsense.org/join) receive full access
> to MCOD. Others
> can  obtain  a limited number of records by using
> the username <guest>
> with no password.
>
> Learn  How  to  Get  Media.
> (http://www.mapinc.org/resource/)  From
> Letters-to-the-Editor,  to  press  releases,  to
> radio and television
> interviews,  our  Media Activism Center is filled
> with ideas on how to
> get valuable media attention. DrugSense also holds
> periodic
> Teamspeak  meetings  to  train activists on how to
> use these services.
> Please check MAP OnAir for upcoming Activism
> Roundtables.
>
> Get  Your  Group  OnAir.
> (http://www.mapinc.org/onair/) MAP OnAir can
> help  your  group  track,  promote,  and  respond to
> media events that
> occur on television and radio.
>
> Build  a  Drug  Policy  Knowledge  Base.
> (http://www.mapinc.org)  Our
> DrugNews  Archive  of  more  than  180,000  articles
> on all aspects of
> drug  policy  serves as a knowledgebase for the
> movement as well as an
> early  warning  system  of  issues  that may become
> important. You can
> help  build  this  resource by submitting drug
> policy related articles
> to http://www.mapinc.org/newshawk/.
>
> Mary  Jane  Borden  is  a  writer, artist, and
> activist in drug policy
> from  Westerville,  Ohio.  She  serves as Business
> Manager/Fundraising
> Specialist for DrugSense.
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> QUOTE OF THE WEEK
> ------------------------------------
>
> "I  predict  future  happiness  for  Americans if
> they can prevent the
> government from wasting the labors of the people
> under the pretense of
> taking care of them."
>
> -- Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826).
>
>
***********************************************************************
>
> DS  Weekly  is  one  of  the  many free educational
> services DrugSense
> offers  our  members.  Watch  this  feature  to
> learn more about what
> DrugSense can do for you.
>
> TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL
> ADDRESS:
>
> Please utilize the following URLs
>
> http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm
>
> http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm
>
> ===
>
> CREDITS:
>
> Policy  and  Law  Enforcement/Prison content
> selection and analysis by
> Jo-D  Harrison  (jo-d@...), Cannabis/Hemp
> content selection and
> analysis  by  Deb  Harper  (deb@...),
> International content
> selection  and  analysis  by  Steve  Heath
> (heath@...), Layout,
> TJI and HOTN by Matt Elrod (webmaster@...)
>
> We  wish  to thank all our contributors, editors,
> NewsHawks and letter
> writing  activists.  Please help us help reform.
> Become a NewsHawk See
> http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm  for  info  on
> contributing clippings.
>
> ===
>
> NOTICE:
>
> In  accordance  with  Title  17  U.S.C.  Section
> 107, this material is
> distributed  without  profit  to  those  who  have
> expressed  a prior
> interest  in  receiving  the  included  information
> for  research and
> educational purposes.
>
> ===
>
> MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE
>
> http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
>
> -OR-
>
> Mail  in  your contribution. Make checks payable to
> MAP Inc. send your
> contribution to:
>
> The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc.
> D/B/a DrugSense
> 14252 Culver Drive #328
> Irvine, CA, 92604-0326
> (800) 266 5759
> MGreer@...

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> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:15:18 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #469
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Thursday, April 12 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 469
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n469/
>
> 001 US NC: Edu: Editorial: Hooray Student Senate
>      Source: Technician, The (NC State U, NC Edu)
> 002 UK: Police Smash Huge Drugs Centre in Raid on
> Rasta Temple
>      Source: Guardian, The (UK)
> 003 US RI: Column: A Look at a War We Continue to
> Lose
>      Source: Providence Journal, The (RI)
> 004 CN AB: PUB LTE: Drug Court
>      Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
> 005 CN BC: Accused Drug Dealer Sues City, Police For
> Shooting Him
>      Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
> 006 Australia: Editorial: Learning The Lesson
>      Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
> 007 CN SN: PUB LTE: Christian Parents' Opposition To
> Youth Detox
>      Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
> 008 US NY: Column: Drug Prohibition - Lost Liberty,
> Money
>      Source: Observer, The (NY)
> 009 CN SN: PUB LTE: Corman Park Youth Facility No
> Threat To
>      Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
> 010 UK: Parents' Health Advice Under Fire From
> Schools Watchdog
>      Source: Guardian, The (UK)
> 011 US IN: Edu: Cannabash Takes On Disciplinary
> Action As Goal
>      Source: Exponent, The (Purdue U, IN Edu)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US NC: Edu: Editorial: Hooray Student
> Senate
> From: Students Fight Back -
> www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:53:16 -0700
> Size: 74 lines   3157 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Technician, The (NC State U, NC Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Technician
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://technicianonline.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2268
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher
> Education Act)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students -
> United States)
>
> HOORAY STUDENT SENATE
>
> In countless editorials, we have called for Student
> Government to do
> something relevant, on a large scale. It has finally
> delivered with
> its opposition and action against the Drug Provision
> of the Higher
> Education Act.
>
> The Drug Provision of the Higher Education Act
> basically blocks
> students with drug convictions from getting
> financial aid. There are
> ways around it, such as personal drug rehab, which
> costs a small
> fortune, but if a student can't afford tuition, he
> or she certainly
> can't afford to throw away money on a formality.
>
> Three student senators from the previous term, Matt
> Potter, Harrison
> Gilbert and T. Greg Doucette introduced the
> resolution to the Zach
> Adams-led Student Senate, and the body passed the
> resolution with
> flying colors.
>
> [continues: 46 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 UK: Police Smash Huge Drugs Centre in Raid
> on Rasta Temple
> From: The Leading Source for Cannabis News
> www.mapinc.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:23:56 -0700
> Size: 82 lines   4185 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Guardian, The (UK)
> Copyright: 2007 Guardian Newspapers Limited
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
> Author: Riazat Butt, The Guardian
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis -
> United Kingdom)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Rastafarian
>
> POLICE SMASH HUGE DRUGS CENTRE IN RAID ON RASTA
> TEMPLE
>
> The UK's biggest Rastafarian temple was turned into
> a major drug
> dealing centre where hundreds of people went to buy
> cannabis and
> crack cocaine every day, detectives said yesterday.
>
> They spoke after leading a raid on the squat in
> south London which
> involved more than 100 armed officers using stun
> grenades. Inside,
> police said they found drugs and live ammunition.
>
> Officers claim that people involved in "serious
> criminality" were in
> a struggle with Rastafarian elders to take control
> of the temple,
> four shabby Victorian townhouses in St Agnes Place,
> Kennington. Chief
> Superintendent Martin Bridger said he had "never
> seen that level of
> drug dealing" in his 30 years' experience.
>
> [continues: 54 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US RI: Column: A Look at a War We Continue
> to Lose
> From: Students Fight Back -
> www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:36:39 -0700
> Size: 96 lines   4218 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a03.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.projo.com/news/bobkerr/Kerr_column_13_04-13-07_DS57LQ8.3283b0c.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Providence Journal, The (RI)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.projo.com/news/bobkerr/Kerr_column_13_04-13-07_DS57LQ8.3283b0c.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Providence Journal Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.projo.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/352
> Author: Bob Kerr
> Cited: SSDP Northeast Regional Conference
> http://www.ssdp.org/northeast/
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher
> Education Act)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students -
> United States)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students
> for Sensible Drug Policy)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug
> Courts)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory
> Minimum Sentencing)
>
> A LOOK AT A WAR WE CONTINUE TO LOSE
>
> The war on drugs has long been about heavy bombing
> rather than
> thoughtful prevention.
>
> Jails and prisons fill up due to mandatory
> sentencing laws. U.S.
> officials tell poor farmers in other countries that
> they have to
> destroy their cash crop because if they don't it
> will eventually go
> up the noses of bored Americans.
>
> [continues: 68 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN AB: PUB LTE: Drug Court
> From: http://www.mapinc.org/writer/Fagin+Keith
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:52:58 -0700
> Size: 27 lines   988 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Calgary Sun
> Contact: callet@...
> Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
> Author: Keith Fagin
>
> DRUG COURT
>
> On reading "Drug court plan goes ahead," (April 8) I
> applaud Ald.
> Madeleine King for publicly supporting this
> initiative. All too often
> politicians prefer to jump on the drug war
> bandwagon. Expert studies
> have shown (so has history) prohibition and just
> jailing drug abusers
> does not work. It is long overdue that we work at
> reducing the harm
> caused by drug abuse instead of just creating even
> more harm by
> jailing people. Education and treatment are better
> answers to drug
> abuse problems society faces. The treatment approach
> is better then
> wasting taxpayer dollars locking up drug abusers who
> return to the
> street and start abusing drugs yet again.
>
> KEITH FAGIN
>
> (We have to try every method possible to end this
> scourge.)
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Steve Heath
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN BC: Accused Drug Dealer Sues City,
> Police For Shooting Him
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:54:07 -0700
> Size: 61 lines   2098 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a05.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=ba4ddfb5-b84\
4-41b6-bb7f-e216742e1749
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=ba4ddfb5-b84\
4-41b6-bb7f-e216742e1749
> Copyright: 2007 The Vancouver Sun
> Contact: sunletters@...
> Website:
> http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
> Author: Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun
>
> ACCUSED DRUG DEALER SUES CITY, POLICE FOR SHOOTING
> HIM
>
> Police Said At The Time That A Man They Were Trying
> To Arrest Pulled A
> Gun On Them
>
> VANCOUVER - An accused drug dealer is suing the
> Vancouver police
> department, the City of Vancouver and two officers,
> claiming excessive
> force was used when he was shot three times while
> being arrested last
> year.
>
> John Richard Peters, who lives in Vancouver's West
> End, claims he was
> arrested Jan. 24 last year and was shot by two
> officers in the right
> shoulder, right arm and right hand.
>
> He claims the wounds disabled him for life.
>
> [continues: 33 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 Australia: Editorial: Learning The Lesson
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:58:20 -0700
> Size: 50 lines   1665 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
> Copyright: 2007 Herald and Weekly Times
> Contact: hsletters@...
> Website: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/187
>
> LEARNING THE LESSON
>
> THE case of a student at a private college who was
> caught selling
> marijuana, is a wake up call to those who think
> drugs are not a
> schoolyard problem.
>
> Xavier College reacted sternly, expelling the
> student and suspending
> three others who bought the drug from him. But the
> school did not tell
> the police.
>
> Had this happened at a state school, it would have
> had to call in the
> law.
>
> But private schools can please themselves, an
> anomaly reinforced by
> Premier Steve Bracks who said yesterday it was up to
> private schools
> to decide.
>
> He may be right in fact, but he is very wrong in
> principle.
>
> [continues: 23 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 CN SN: PUB LTE: Christian Parents'
> Opposition To Youth Detox
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:55:37 -0700
> Size: 55 lines   2059 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
> Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
> Contact:
>
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
> Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n416/a05.html
> Author: Randy W. Klingenberg
>
> CHRISTIAN PARENTS' OPPOSITION TO YOUTH DETOX CENTRE
> ABSURD
>
> Re: School parents group opposes location of youth
> detox centre (SP, March
> 29). I cannot believe that a group of Christians
> would be part of a "not in
> my backyard" group.
>
> For these parents to oppose a treatment center for
> youth who've lost
> their way and are attempting to better their lives
> just because the
> proposed location is next to their precious private
> school is
> ridiculous and hypocritical.
>
> I was raised in a religious family and was taught
> always to "love thy
> neighbour as thyself."
>
> The parents are afraid the detox center will bring
> an "unwanted
> element" to their location and their children will
> be exposed to
> drugs.
>
> [continues: 27 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US NY: Column: Drug Prohibition - Lost
> Liberty, Money
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:05:33 -0700
> Size: 155 lines   7151 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Observer, The (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 The Observer
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website: http://observertoday.com/home.asp
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2118
> Author: Stephen Kershnar
>
> DRUG PROHIBITION -- LOST LIBERTY, MONEY
>
> As the Iraq War drags into its fifth year, there is
> a far more
> destructive policy that has been going on for
> decades, drug
> prohibition. This prohibition is offensive in at
> least in part because
> of its utter contempt for liberty.
>
> In On Liberty (1859), John Stuart Mill put forth the
> harm principle
> which should be a basic tenet in a free society:
> state coercion is
> permissible only when it is necessary to prevent
> harm to others. The
> idea is that the state shouldn't tell persons how to
> lead their lives.
>
> It shouldn't mandate what people believe, what
> religion they practice,
> what they eat, etc. This seems to capture why
> alcohol prohibition was
> such a bad idea. It was wrong because it involved a
> nanny-state
> government telling adults what harmless activities
> they may and may
> not engage in. However, unlike drug-nannies, the
> alcohol-nannies had
> some respect for American citizens.
>
> [continues: 128 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 CN SN: PUB LTE: Corman Park Youth Facility
> No Threat To
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:06:05 -0700
> Size: 58 lines   2435 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
> Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
> Contact:
>
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
> Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
> Author: Greg Drummond
>
> CORMAN PARK YOUTH FACILITY NO THREAT TO
> NEIGHBOURHOOD
>
> I would like to provide some information about the
> youth stabilization
> facility proposed for Corman Park.
>
> This 24-bed health-care facility -- 12 treatment and
> six stabilization
> beds being moved from the Calder Centre and six
> involuntary
> stabilization beds being relocated from Regina --
> will treat youths
> aged 12 to 17.
>
> Calder Centre has a 10-year history of providing
> drug and alcohol
> treatment services for youth at its current location
> in a residential
> neighbourhood in Saskatoon that has an elementary
> school, high school,
> senior's highrise and a facility for mentally
> disabled adults. In that
> time, the community has not experienced any
> incidents or safety
> concerns. In fact, we have received letters of
> support for Calder from
> the surrounding community.
>
> [continues: 31 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 UK: Parents' Health Advice Under Fire From
> Schools Watchdog
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:06:04 -0700
> Size: 51 lines   2192 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Guardian, The (UK)
> Copyright: 2007 Guardian Newspapers Limited
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
> Author: James Merkle, Education Correspondent
>
> PARENTS' HEALTH ADVICE UNDER FIRE FROM SCHOOLS
> WATCHDOG
>
> Smoking and binge drinking among teenage girls have
> reached worrying
> levels because parents and teachers  make the health
> risks seem less
> important than those of  illegal drugs, the schools
> watchdog, Ofsted,
> said  yesterday.
>
> Most young people correctly saw cigarettes and
> alcohol  as a far
> greater threat and the school curriculum must
> change to reflect that,
> it said. Pupils also felt let  down by adults who
> were reluctant to
> talk about  sensitive issues such as sex and
> relationships, Ofsted
> said. Instead, young people turned to magazines for
> advice.
>
> It also found that some secondary schools still
> allow  homophobic or
> sexist attitudes among pupils to go  unchallenged.
>
> The inspectors encouraged the wider provision of
> emergency
> contraception and contraceptive advice for  underage
> pupils, saying
> school nurses were providing a  "valuable service".
>
> [continues: 22 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 011 US IN: Edu: Cannabash Takes On
> Disciplinary Action As Goal
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:13:28 -0700
> Size: 67 lines   2902 bytes
> File: v07.n469.a11
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n469.a11.html
>
> Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007
> Source: Exponent, The (Purdue U, IN Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 Purdue Student Publishing Foundation
> Contact: opinions@...
> Website: http://www.purdueexponent.org/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/883
> Author: Benjamin Irvin
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> CANNABASH TAKES ON DISCIPLINARY ACTION AS GOAL
>
> If it were up to the organizers of this year's
> Cannabash concert, next
> year would bring a change to dorm living, where
> students would not be
> kicked out after being caught with marijuana.
>
> The fourth annual Cannabash concert is sponsored by
> National
> Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and
> will start at 3 p.m.
> Saturday in Matthews Hall, Room 210. The event is
> free to attendees
> and is open to all ages.
>
> This year, one of the goals of the concert will be
> to try to change
> the discipline system in the dorms. The current
> setup has students
> being kicked out of their dorms for using marijuana
> on the first
> offense, but a three-strike rule applies to alcohol.
>
> [continues: 40 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #469
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/

__________________________________________________
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> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:05:42 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #466
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Thursday, April 12 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 466
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n466/
>
> 001 Canada: Ten Court Rulings That Cemented Rights
> And Freedoms
>      Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> 002 US GA: 11 Students Arrested In Bust
>      Source: Gwinnett Daily Post, The (GA)
> 003 US NC: PUB LTE: America Should Question Its Own
> Policies Abroad
>      Source: Daily Tar Heel, The (U of NC, Edu)
> 004 US OH: Edu: Retired Cop Says Legalize Drugs
>      Source: Lantern, The (OH Edu)
> 005 US IA: DARE Program Helps Westridge Students
> Deal With Drugs
>      Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
> 006 US PA: Student Drug Use/Experimentation Above
> Average Here
>      Source: Clarion News, The (PA)
> 007 US NH: PUB LTE: Illegal Marijuana Market Harms
> Community
>      Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (NH)
> 008 CN ON: Police Park Patrols To Nab Offenders
>      Source: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser (CN ON)
> 009 CB AB: Drug Court Plan Goes Ahead
>      Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 Canada: Ten Court Rulings That Cemented
> Rights And Freedoms
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:05:52 -0700
> Size: 136 lines   5832 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> Copyright: 2007, The Globe and Mail Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
> Author: Kirk Makin, Justice Reporter
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> TEN COURT RULINGS THAT CEMENTED RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
>
> Panel Selects Most Influential Decisions
>
> A jury of the country's foremost constitutional
> experts is in -- and
> its verdict for the most influential Charter ruling
> of the past 25
> years is a 1986 case, Regina v. Oakes, which
> provided a crucial
> blueprint for all future Charter interpretation.
>
> The runner-up was a 1985 ruling known as the B.C.
> Motor Vehicle
> reference, which greatly expanded the power of
> judges to interpret
> the Charter guarantee of life, liberty and security
> of the person.
>
> The unique vote brought together a panel of 10
> highly respected
> experts who debated and voted electronically. Their
> preferences were
> weighted and tabulated to come up with a master
> list.
>
> [continues: 109 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 US GA: 11 Students Arrested In Bust
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:14:23 -0700
> Size: 85 lines   3487 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Gwinnett Daily Post, The (GA)
> Copyright: 2007 Post-Citizen Media Inc.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2480
> Note: Letters can run as long as 400 words.
> Author: Christy Smith
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
> Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published,
> except that our
> editors may redact the names and addresses of
> accused persons who
> have not been convicted of a crime, if those named
> are not otherwise
> public figures or officials.
>
> 11 STUDENTS ARRESTED IN BUST
>
> WINDER -- A six-month undercover sting operation
> resulted in the
> arrests Monday of 11 Winder-Barrow High School
> students.
>
> Three juveniles ages 15 and 16 were arrested along
> with [Name
> redacted], 17; [Name redacted], 18; [Name redacted],
> 17; [Name
> redacted], 18; [Name redacted], 17; [Name redacted],
> 17; [Name
> redacted], 18; and [Name redacted], 19.
>
> [continues: 58 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US NC: PUB LTE: America Should Question
> Its Own Policies Abroad
> From: chip
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:14:30 -0700
> Size: 38 lines   1439 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Daily Tar Heel, The (U of NC, Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 DTH Publishing Corp
> Contact: editdesk@...
> Website: http://www.dailytarheel.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1949
> Author: Estefania San Juan
>
> AMERICA SHOULD QUESTION ITS OWN POLICIES ABROAD
>
> To The Editor:
>
> In response to the article "Murder in Colombia: the
> real thing?" as a
> Colombian, I appreciate the effort to highlight the
> decades-long
> internal conflict that has torn the country.
> However, insinuating
> that the University is partially responsible for
> union deaths due to
> its financial ties to Coca-Cola is preposterous.
>
> Multinational corporations use anti-union tactics
> all over the third
> world, maximizing their profits by exploiting local
> workers. The U.S.
> does far worse things that contribute to the
> bleeding in Colombia. It
> pours millions of taxpayer dollars to the
> government, which are
> largely spent on ineffective "counterdrug and
> counterterrorism"
> operations that only perpetuate homicides,
> kidnappings, violence and
> insecurity.
>
> Instead of fighting Coca-Cola for their alleged
> involvement in union
> murders, Americans should examine the foreign policy
> of their country
> and hold their leaders accountable for contributing
> to the violent
> conflict while neglecting to implement policies
> targeting the
> reduction of drug consumption and addiction at home.
>
> Estefania San Juan
>
> Senior
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US OH: Edu: Retired Cop Says Legalize
> Drugs
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:14:31 -0700
> Size: 97 lines   4104 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Lantern, The (OH Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Lantern
> Contact: lantern@...
> Website: http://www.thelantern.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1214
> Author: Travis Minnear
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?233 (Law
> Enforcement Against Prohibition)
>
> RETIRED COP SAYS LEGALIZE DRUGS
>
> Former police detective Howard Wooldridge offered
> students in Page
> Hall a stern warning Tuesday: It's time for America
> to reform its drug laws.
>
> Dressed in a beige cowboy hat, jeans and a white
> T-shirt that read,
> "Ask Me Why Cops Say Regulate Drugs," Wooldridge
> spoke in front of
> nearly 40 people at an event sponsored by The
> Libertarian Studies
> Organization and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
>
> He drew from personal experience as an 18-year
> police veteran near
> Lansing, Mich., and used government statistics in an
> attempt to
> illustrate the damage prohibition has caused to
> millions of lives. He
> said former President Richard Nixon's war on drugs
> has not reduced
> their use or availability.
>
> [continues: 70 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 US IA: DARE Program Helps Westridge
> Students Deal With Drugs
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:14:26 -0700
> Size: 68 lines   2600 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a05.html
> Webpage:
>
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/NEWS/704120343/\
1001/NEWS
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
> Webpage:
>
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/NEWS/704120343/\
1001/NEWS
> Copyright: 2007 The Des Moines Register.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123
> Author: L. Lars Hulsebus, Register Staff Writer
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> DARE PROGRAM HELPS WESTRIDGE STUDENTS DEAL WITH
> DRUGS, LIFE
>
> Sixth-graders at Westridge Elementary School showed
> they know the
> damage drugs can cause at a DARE  graduation
> ceremony on Friday.
>
> DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance
> Education,  is a
> national program that teaches students the dangers
> of tobacco,
> alcohol and marijuana.
>
> Friday's ceremony concluded 10 weeks of DARE
> sessions  at Westridge.
>
> "This is kind of a final culmination of all their
> work," said West
> Des Moines police officer Scott Davis,  who met with
> the kids once a
> week to teach them about  drugs and how to resist
> taking them.
>
> [continues: 41 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 US PA: Student Drug Use/Experimentation
> Above Average Here
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:14:40 -0700
> Size: 167 lines   7035 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Clarion News, The (PA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Clarion News
> Contact: rsherman@...
> Website: http://www2.theclarionnews.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4402
> Author: Amy A. Thompson, Clarion News writer
>
> STUDENT DRUG USE/EXPERIMENTATION ABOVE AVERAGE HERE
>
> COUNTYWIDE -- The percentage of Clarion County
> students  who have
> tried or regularly use alcohol and other types  of
> drugs is above
> state and national averages,  according to a recent
> study.
>
> Pa. Youth Survey
>
> The Pennsylvania Youth Survey was taken at five of
> the  seven school
> districts in Clarion County . At those  schools,
> sixth-, eighth-,
> 10th- and 12th-graders were  polled and 1,194
> surveys were deemed valid.
>
> Sheila Snyder, representing Clarion Family Net and
> Clarion County's
> Promise which is under Family Net, and  Patricia
> Anderson of the
> Clarion County Cooperative  Extension are visiting
> Clarion County
> schools trying to  garner support for partnerships
> which could obtain
> after-school grants aiming to keep students from
> falling into drug use.
>
> [continues: 140 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US NH: PUB LTE: Illegal Marijuana Market
> Harms Community
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:36:39 -0700
> Size: 55 lines   2023 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (NH)
> Copyright: 2007 Geo. J. Foster Co.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.fosters.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/160
> Author: Jack A. Cole
>
> ILLEGAL MARIJUANA MARKET HARMS COMMUNITY
>
> To the editor:
>
> This letter is in response to one that appeared on
> April 5, "Anti-
> marijuana editorial lauded.'
>
> As a retired New Jersey state trooper with 12 years
> as an undercover
> drug narc, I've got a sobering response to letter
> writer Joyce
> Nalepka's suggestion that leaving the marijuana
> market on the street
> is preferable to a legal, regulated system.
>
> Based on my experience as a cop and that of my many
> colleagues who
> make up the membership of our international
> organization, we know that
> an illegal drug market stimulates distribution to
> minor-aged kids,
> while also increasing the direct involvement of
> minors in sales. This
> is especially true when talking about marijuana,
> when our teenagers
> tell us that obtaining pot is much easier than
> getting access to
> regulated drugs.
>
> [continues: 26 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 CN ON: Police Park Patrols To Nab
> Offenders
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:40:22 -0700
> Size: 109 lines   4284 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 Metroland Printing, Publishing, &
> Distributing, LTD
> Contact: newsroom@...
> Website: http://www.durhamregion.com/dr/info/ajax/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2104
> Author: Keith Gilligan
>
> POLICE PARK PATROLS TO NAB OFFENDERS
>
> Repeat Offenders Next Focus Of Force
>
> AJAX -- As one enforcement initiative wraps up, the
> Durham Regional
> Police is getting ready for another.
>
> "We have some significant issues and we're working
> very hard. Last
> fall, we were given the green light by Regional
> council to use our
> surplus on extra patrols, to target parks, gangs and
> youth," Deputy
> Chief Chuck Mercier told Ajax councillors.
>
> The $500,000 "made a significant difference. It's
> intelligence-led
> policing. Let's not chase crime after, let's chase
> criminals
> beforehand," Deputy Chief Mercier stated to
> council's general
> government committee on Thursday.
>
> The issues the police hear from the public include
> traffic, youths and
> vandals in the park, he noted.
>
> [continues: 80 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 CB AB: Drug Court Plan Goes Ahead
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:04:25 -0700
> Size: 66 lines   2570 bytes
> File: v07.n466.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n466.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Sun, 08 Apr 2007
> Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Calgary Sun
> Contact: callet@...
> Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
> Author: Nadia Moharib, Sun Media
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug
> Courts)
>
> DRUG COURT PLAN GOES AHEAD
>
> Cash Injection From City Gives Green Light To
> Alternative Treatment
> Program
>
> Despite a lack of federal funds, a drug treatment
> court has the green
> light in Calgary after a homegrown group forged
> ahead with the idea in
> the hopes of reducing crime.
>
> The Calgary Drug Treatment Court Pilot Project kicks
> off May 10, said
> committee chair, lawyer Mark Tyndale.
>
> Four years ago, the feds funded four trials in
> Edmonton, Winnipeg,
> Regina and Ottawa. Those cities each see $1.6
> million over four years.
>
> The city of Calgary paid $10,000 in seed money for
> the plan here and
> will pay a total of $100,000 over the next two years
> in one-time cash
> in the bid to curb crime linked to addiction.
>
> [continues: 37 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #466
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/



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> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:46:44 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #464
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Thursday, April 12 2007
>  Volume 07 : Number 464
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n464/
>
> 001 Australia: Jungle Behind Beach
>      Source: Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia)
> 002 US TX: Sheriff Speaks From Personal Experience
> At Meth
>      Source: Texarkana Gazette (TX)
> 003 CN MB: Column: Alcohol, HIV Exposure Tough Way
> To Start Off
>      Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
> 004 CN BC: Drug Experiment Nearly Proves
>      Source: 100 Mile House Free Press (CN BC)
> 005 US AR: Congressman: New Funding Priorities
> Include Law
>      Source: Baxter Bulletin, The (AR)
> 006 US NJ: Criminal Records Cost 2 Teachers Their
> Jobs
>      Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
> 007 US NC: A Few Offenders Keep The Courts Locked Up
>      Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
> 008 US VA: Edu: Column: Drawing The Line On Drugs
>      Source: Cavalier Daily (U of VA Edu)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 Australia: Jungle Behind Beach
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:17:33 -0700
> Size: 173 lines   6957 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia)
> Copyright: 2007 Gold Coast Publications Pty. Ltd
> Contact: webmaster@...
> Website: http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/620
>
> AUSTRALIA: JUNGLE BEHIND BEACH
>
> IF only the Palm Beach drowning last Thursday was an
> exception to an
> idyllic lifestyle in this sublime stretch of the
> Gold Coast.
>
> Few living on the shoreline at Palm Beach are in any
> hurry to
> move.
>
> This end of the Gold Coast has more than a
> picturesque
> setting.
>
> It is close to important family facilities such as
> schools and
> shopping centres. The waterways and lakes are not
> all pounding surf
> influenced by the elements. The M1 is handy; the
> Tugun bypass is over
> budget but may be finished this year.
>
> The airport is around the corner and the train line
> will eventually be
> running along the M1.
>
> [continues: 146 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 US TX: Sheriff Speaks From Personal
> Experience At Meth
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:20:56 -0700
> Size: 74 lines   3378 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Texarkana Gazette (TX)
> Copyright: 2007 Texarkana Gazette
> Contact: lminor@...
> Website: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/976
> Author: Lon Dunn, Texarkana Gazette
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
> (Methamphetamine)
>
> SHERIFF SPEAKS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AT METH
> MEETINGS
>
> Bowie County Sheriff James Prince has a unique
> perspective when it
> comes to dealing with methamphetamine users and
> their families.
>
> Three and a half years ago, he had his own
> 31-year-old son arrested on
> drug charges. ‘Its a tough thing to put your
> kid in jail, but a
> lot of people are doing it. The alternative is a
> whole lot worse.
>
> I told my son I would rather see him in jail than in
> a casket' Prince
> said. Prince spoke Tuesday night in Redwater, Texas,
> at the first town
> hall meeting held by the Bowie County Sheriffs
> Office and the East
> Texas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. He said
> he caught a plane
> to Georgia when he received a phone call saying his
> son might be doing
> drugs.
>
> Once he arrived, his son who just months before had
> called his dad
> every two weeks dodged him for three days.
>
> [continues: 46 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 CN MB: Column: Alcohol, HIV Exposure Tough
> Way To Start Off
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:23:29 -0700
> Size: 94 lines   4584 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
> Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
> Column: The Doctor Game
> Author: W. Gifford-Jones MD
>
> ALCOHOL, HIV EXPOSURE TOUGH WAY TO START OFF LIFE
>
> IT'S an ideal way to write a column. I'm attending a
> medical
> conference while cruising the Caribbean sea. But
> don't think I'm
> goofing off. I'm spending long days listening to a
> variety of
> international speakers. But, as a former ship's
> surgeon, I also love
> being at sea.
>
> One speaker, Dr. George Carson, director of fetal
> medicine at the
> University of Regina, reported on the use of alcohol
> in pregnancy.
>
> Some authorities have a simple solution for the
> tragic habit of
> drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Dr. Christine
> Lock, associate
> professor of pediatrics at the University of British
> Columbia, says
> it's a myth that only irresponsible derelict mothers
> cause serious
> birth defects. Her blunt message, "If we drink in
> pregnancy we place
> our children at risk."
>
> [continues: 66 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN BC: Drug Experiment Nearly Proves
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:27:16 -0700
> Size: 112 lines   4537 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: 100 Mile House Free Press (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 100 Mile House Free Press
> Contact: newsroom@...
> Website: http://www.100milefreepress.net/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2143
> Author: Christopher Cain
>
> DRUG EXPERIMENT NEARLY PROVES
>
> Two young boys are fortunate to be alive after
> nearly overdosing on
> some heavy-duty prescription pills the morning of
> March 30.
>
> With information that two teens were unconscious,
> paramedics and two
> ambulances raced to the 103 Mile area at 6 a.m. Upon
> arrival, the
> emergency crews found the boys semiconscious, gave
> treatment and then
> rushed them to 100 Mile District General Hospital.
>
> Showing no improvement, the 14-year-old boys were
> flown by the Infant
> Transport Team to Vancouver Children's Hospital just
> after 11:30 a.m.
>
> "The information that I have is that it was cardiac
> type medications
> with suspected unknown other substances," said
> Nelson Oler, paramedic
> chief with BC Ambulance Services in 100 Mile.
>
> "I would say it's an increasing occurrence," Oler
> said.
>
> [continues: 84 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 US AR: Congressman: New Funding Priorities
> Include Law
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:28:40 -0700
> Size: 106 lines   4573 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Baxter Bulletin, The (AR)
> Copyright: 2007 The Baxter Bulletin.
> Contact:
>
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/customerservice/contactus.html
> Website: http://www.baxterbulletin.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2860
> Author: John Anderson, Staff Writer
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
> (Methamphetamine)
>
> CONGRESSMAN: NEW FUNDING PRIORITIES INCLUDE LAW
> ENFORCEMENT
>
> U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, the Democrat representing
> Arkansas' First
> District, discussed issues as varied as law
> enforcement and access to
> water with about 20 local officials and residents in
> a forum Tuesday
> morning at the Baxter County Courthouse.
>
> Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery told Berry he
> appreciated the
> congressman's effort to increase funding to law
> enforcement through
> Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants
> and Byrne grants.
>
> Law-enforcement grant funding had been cut by the
> previous
> Legislature, especially Byrne grants, which go
> toward anti-drug efforts.
>
> President Bush's Office of Management and Budget has
> proposed more
> cuts to the Byrne Grant program for this year's
> budget. On the other
> hand, congressional Democrats have called for adding
> to Byrne-grant
> funding, which has been cut by more than $200
> million in the last two
> years, according to Berry.
>
> [continues: 76 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 US NJ: Criminal Records Cost 2 Teachers
> Their Jobs
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:43:37 -0700
> Size: 95 lines   3904 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a06.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS03/704110322/1007
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS03/704110322/1007
> Copyright: 2007 Asbury Park Press
> Contact: yourviews@...
> Website: http://www.app.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/26
> Author: Jason Method, Staff Writer
>
> CRIMINAL RECORDS COST 2 TEACHERS THEIR JOBS
>
> Passaic Firings, One Pending In Atlantic City, In
> Accord With State
> Law
>
> Two school teachers have been fired and a third is
> expected to be
> after an Asbury Park Press database  search found
> they had criminal
> records that  disqualified them from school
> employment.
>
> Two Passaic teachers were fired this week,
> Superintendent Robert
> Holster said. An Atlantic City  teacher also is
> expected to be terminated.
>
> The state Department of Education sent letters last
> week to request
> the employees be fired after state  officials
> independently confirmed
> the criminal  convictions provided by the Press.
>
> [continues: 68 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US NC: A Few Offenders Keep The Courts
> Locked Up
> From: chip
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:43:21 -0700
> Size: 91 lines   4860 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
> Copyright: 2007 The Charlotte Observer
> Contact: opinion@...
> Website: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78
> Authors: Melissa Manware And Gary L. Wright
>
> A FEW OFFENDERS KEEP THE COURTS LOCKED UP
>
> Many Chronic Inmates Are Mentally Ill And Addicted,
> Study Finds
>
> Chronic offenders, most charged with minor crimes,
> are clogging Mecklenburg
> County courts, crowding the jail and costing
> hundreds of thousands of
> dollars a year to keep locked up, according to a new
> study. The study says
> repeatedly locking up the same people -- many of
> them mentally ill and
> addicted to alcohol or drugs -- is not working.
> Finding alternative ways to
> deal with chronic offenders, the study says, will
> free up space in jails
> for people who pose a serious threat to the
> community. "It's frustrating
> for everyone from the arresting officers to the
> prosecutors and others in
> the court system to deal with the same people over
> and over and over
> again," Sheriff Jim Pendergraph said. "I wanted to
> get some facts on paper,
> so the public knows what's going on and where our
> resources are and are not
> going."
>
> Pendergraph asked his research staff to conduct the
> study with Paul Friday,
> a criminal justice professor at UNC Charlotte.
>
> [continues: 63 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US VA: Edu: Column: Drawing The Line On
> Drugs
> From: Kirk
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:45:32 -0700
> Size: 118 lines   5485 bytes
> File: v07.n464.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n464.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 12 Apr 2007
> Source: Cavalier Daily (U of VA Edu)
> Copyright: 2007 The Cavalier Daily, Inc.
> Contact: opinion@...
> Website: http://www.cavalierdaily.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/550
> Author: Josh Levy, Cavalier Daily Opinion Columnist
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory
> Minimum Sentencing)
>
> DRAWING THE LINE ON DRUGS
>
> THE DRUG prohibition causes crime," proclaims Jerry
> Cameron to a room
> filled with rapt libertarians. A former police chief
> with FBI and DEA
> training, Cameron is doing "penance" for his
> seventeen-year law enforcement
> career in the "war on drugs." He spends an hour
> setting forth the case for
> the total decriminalization of all drugs to the
> Students for Individual
> Liberty's delight.
>
> Sadly, Cameron takes it too far. Although he spends
> most of his time
> discussing the legalization of marijuana, he
> supports legalizing all drugs
> and even wants the government to hand out free
> heroin.
>
> It is these types of arguments that let people get
> away with ignoring the
> case for legalizing marijuana.
>
> [continues: 91 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #464
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/



________________________________________________________________________________\
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> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:28:24 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #461
>
> Drugnews-Digest       Wednesday, April 11 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 461
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n461/
>
> 001 US WI: Sparta Schools Approve Anonymous Home
> Drug-Testing Kits
>      Source: La Crosse Tribune (WI)
> 002 US OH: PUB LTE: One Solution To Jail
> Overcrowding
>      Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
> 003 Indonesia: Data Shows Students Taking Illicit
> Drugs On The Rise
>      Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
> 004 CN BC: Low-ranking Hells Angel Gets Six Years
>      Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
> 005 CN BC: Police Find Marijuana Nursery For
> Grow-Ops
>      Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> 006 CN ON: Youth Faces Narcotic Charges
>      Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
> 007 Australia: Abbotsford Man Jailed 12 Years For
> Smuggling
>      Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> 008 CN AB: Slipups Lead Cops To Five Grow-Ops
>      Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
> 009 CN ON: Editorial: Let The 'Sunshine' In
>      Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
> 010 CN AB: Business Owners Plead With Cops To End
> Drug War
>      Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
> 011 US OH: Students Getting No-drug Message
>      Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
> 012 Brunei: Students Readying For Anti-Drugs Choir
> Competition
>      Source: Borneo Bulletin (Brunei)
> 013 US NH: PUB LTE: Re-legalization Of Drugs
> Supported
>      Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (NH)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US WI: Sparta Schools Approve Anonymous
> Home Drug-Testing Kits
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:53:51 -0700
> Size: 73 lines   3508 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: La Crosse Tribune (WI)
> Copyright: 2007 The La Crosse Tribune
> Contact:
> http://www.lacrossetribune.com/tools/submit.php
> Website: http://www.lacrossetribune.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/229
> Author: Dan Simmons, La Crosse Tribune
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug
> Test)
>
> SPARTA SCHOOLS APPROVE ANONYMOUS HOME DRUG-TESTING
> KITS
>
> SPARTA, Wis. -- Parents of middle and high school
> students in Sparta
> may test their kids for drugs and  alcohol at home
> under an agreement
> the district entered  into with a national
> drug-testing company late
> last  month. It allows parents to order testing kits
>  anonymously
> from the company's Web site --  www.testmyteen.com
> -- and test their
> kids without the  school district's knowledge.
>
> The first 250 Sparta parents get the first kit free
> under an offer
> the company extends to districts that  join. After
> that, the most
> common test costs $18.99  plus shipping and handling
> (about $9). Each
> kit is  single-use. Parents in other districts may
> order  testing
> kits, but they won't get the first kit free.
>
> "We've always been on the lookout for ways to
> discourage alcohol,
> drug and tobacco use by students,"  said Sparta
> Superintendent John
> Hendricks.
>
> [continues: 45 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 US OH: PUB LTE: One Solution To Jail
> Overcrowding
> From: Rob Ryan
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:41:22 -0700
> Size: 27 lines   928 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
> Copyright: 2007 The Cincinnati Enquirer
> Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html
> Website: http://enquirer.com/today/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
> Author: Grace Tapplar-Cole
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
>
> ONE SOLUTION TO JAIL OVERCROWDING
>
> In regard to "Jail issues divide commission" (April
> 2), this is an
> issue that has really began to work my nerves.
>
> It is ridiculous that the county pays, or should I
> say waste,
> $500,000 a month, to Butler County to house inmates,
> due to
> overcrowding. Furthermore, if Cincinnati police,
> along with Hamilton
> County Sheriff Simon Leis and his deputy dog
> sheriffs, would only
> ticket, and not lock up anybody for every minor
> violation (30 days
> incarceration for a marijuana joint), maybe the
> jails would not be overcrowded.
>
> Grace Tapplar-Cole
>
> Springdale
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 Indonesia: Data Shows Students Taking
> Illicit Drugs On The Rise
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:38:36 -0700
> Size: 71 lines   3002 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
> Copyright: The Jakarta Post
> Contact: editorial@...
> Website: http://www.thejakartapost.com
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/645
>
> DATA SHOWS STUDENTS TAKING ILLICIT DRUGS ON THE RISE
>
> Despite a nationwide anti-drug drive, the country
> continues to see
> more cases of drug use by schoolchildren, a top
> anti-drugs campaigner
> said Tuesday.
>
> "The number of illegal drug users continues to
> increase annually, with
> 81,702 of them students of elementary, junior high
> and senior high
> schools," head of the Narcotics Abuse Prevention
> Center at the
> National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Insp. Gen. Mudji
> Waluyo, said as
> quoted by Antara, in Samarinda, East Kalimantan.
>
> He was referring to 2006 data collected by the
> agency across the
> country.
>
> Addressing a seminar on the Use of Information
> Technology in the
> Campaign against Drug Abuse and Trafficking, which
> was held in the
> auditorium of the East Kalimantan Governor's Office,
> Mudji said the
> agency recorded a total of 8,449 elementary school
> students who had
> used drugs last year.
>
> [continues: 43 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN BC: Low-ranking Hells Angel Gets Six
> Years
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:41:53 -0700
> Size: 119 lines   5277 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a04.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=3fc7bfd0-007\
7-4f08-9510-faf4ca2697cb
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=3fc7bfd0-007\
7-4f08-9510-faf4ca2697cb
> Copyright: 2007 The Vancouver Sun
> Contact: sunletters@...
> Website:
> http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
> Author: Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?188 (Outlaw
> Bikers)
>
> LOW-RANKING HELLS ANGEL GETS SIX YEARS
>
> Jonathan Sal Bryce Was Convicted Of Cocaine
> Trafficking, Extortion
>
> VANCOUVER - Jonathan Sal Bryce, the son of John
> Bryce, the 56-year-old
> president of Vancouver's East End chapter of the
> Hells Angels, was
> sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for cocaine
> trafficking and
> extortion.
>
> B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Patrick
> Dohm said he would
> have sent the 26-year-old Bryce to prison for up to
> 10 years had it
> not been for the relatively young age of the drug
> dealer, his
> expression of remorse in a letter to the court, and
> the fact that this
> was his first offence.
>
> [continues: 92 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN BC: Police Find Marijuana Nursery For
> Grow-Ops
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:43:20 -0700
> Size: 65 lines   2526 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a05.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=64bbf2b6-758f-41aa-8b9e-c59\
0afd6447a
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=64bbf2b6-758f-41aa-8b9e-c59\
0afd6447a
> Copyright: 2007 The Province
> Contact: provletters@...
> Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
> Author: Andy Ivens, The Province
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
>
> POLICE FIND MARIJUANA NURSERY FOR GROW-OPS
>
> A police search of an underground bunker hidden away
> on a rural
> property in the Fraser Canyon revealed a marijuana
> grow-operation
> suspected of being a nursery for other growers who
> buy young plants.
>
> RCMP officers from Hope and Agassiz detachments
> arrested two men and a
> woman on suspicion of producing and possession for
> the purpose of
> trafficking 3,051 marijuana plants.
>
> "Some grow operations will [involve] the seeds to
> the finished
> product; some others will buy the clones that [have]
> already started
> to grow," Chilliwack RCMP media liaison Const. Bert
> Paquet said yesterday.
>
> In this case, "it was a matter of seedlings and
> clones only, which is
> the starting stage."
>
> [continues: 36 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN ON: Youth Faces Narcotic Charges
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:48:23 -0700
> Size: 36 lines   1173 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a06.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=2cefbe65-92c7-47db-a11a-fb8\
a7ce8c5ef
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=2cefbe65-92c7-47db-a11a-fb8\
a7ce8c5ef
> Copyright: 2007 The Windsor Star
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> YOUTH FACES NARCOTIC CHARGES
>
> A number of local teens have fallen ill after taking
> ecstasy pills and
> a youth who allegedly sold them is facing charges.
>
> On Monday afternoon, Windsor police were notified
> that four teens had
> taken ill after taking ecstasy pills. The youths
> went to the
> Metropolitan Campus of Windsor Regional Hospital
> where they were
> treated and released.
>
> Officers with the drug enforcement unit investigated
> and a youth was
> arrested at an east end home Tuesday.
>
> A small quantity of ecstasy pills was seized and the
> youth is facing a
> charge of possession of a narcotic for the purpose
> of
> trafficking.
>
> The pills are small, about the size of an aspirin,
> and are light blue
> in colour.
>
> Police say they do not know how many of the pills
> have been sold and
> are warning anyone who may have them not to ingest
> them.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Derek
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 Australia: Abbotsford Man Jailed 12 Years
> For Smuggling
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:45:11 -0700
> Size: 65 lines   2467 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a07.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=be1bdd6b-1ad2-4ed6-bbf8-364\
dcf38ea22
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Province, The (CN BC)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=be1bdd6b-1ad2-4ed6-bbf8-364\
dcf38ea22
> Copyright: 2007 The Province
> Contact: provletters@...
> Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
> Author: Christina Montgomery, The Province
>
> ABBOTSFORD MAN JAILED 12 YEARS FOR SMUGGLING
>
> Matthew Reed Was Instrumental In Largest Cocaine
> Deal Busted In
> Queensland
>
> AUSTRALIA - A former Abbotsford man who "chose the
> wrong path" to
> fast, easy money has been dealt 12 years in an
> Australian jail for his
> role in the largest cocaine bust in Queensland's
> history.
>
> Brisbane Supreme Court Justice James Douglas was
> told Matthew Thomas
> Reed, 26, was "high in the chain" of an
> international drug syndicate
> that smuggled a massive amount of cocaine and
> ecstasy from Delta to
> Brisbane.
>
> Reed had hoped to make at least $1 million from the
> deal, court was
> told.
>
> [continues: 38 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 CN AB: Slipups Lead Cops To Five Grow-Ops
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:51:23 -0700
> Size: 58 lines   2069 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Calgary Sun
> Contact: callet@...
> Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
> Author: Nadia Moharib, Sun Media
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
>
> SLIPUPS LEAD COPS TO FIVE GROW-OPS
>
> At a rate of nearly one a day --and thanks to some
> lucky breaks
> courtesy of slip-ups by crooks -- Calgary cops
> recently discovered
> several pot growing operations.
>
> Since Friday, in five finds, they seized nearly $2
> million worth of
> marijuana, said drug unit Staff Sgt. Monty Sparrow.
>
> Two of the discoveries were made when fire crews
> were called to house
> fires.
>
> One saw a blaze spread in a Temple home basement
> while the other
> erupted when a man was cooking an illegal drug
> concoction.
>
> On Friday and Saturday, two landlords left in the
> lurch by runaway
> tenants called cops after finding their property had
> been used to
> house an illegal grow operation.
>
> [continues: 29 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 CN ON: Editorial: Let The 'Sunshine' In
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:49:33 -0700
> Size: 51 lines   2347 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Kingston Whig-Standard
> Contact: whiged@...
> Website: http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
>
> LET THE 'SUNSHINE' IN
>
> What happens to all the money criminals make from
> drug deals? In
> Kingston, more than half goes to pay the legal bills
> of the guilty.
>
> Whig-Standard journalist Frank Armstrong discovered
> this using
> Ontario's Freedom of Information law. Police records
> disclosed under
> that law showed that $163,000 of the $285,000
> Kingston police seized
> in drug cases from 2001 to 2006 went to defence
> lawyers. One police
> officer called this "morally upsetting."
>
> Crime fighters feel money seized from criminals
> should be poured into
> victim-help programs or a host of other good things.
> Some defence
> lawyers, on the other hand, argue that because legal
> aid pays so
> poorly, they should be able to tap that drug lucre
> in order to
> properly represent the accused.
>
> Who's right? We can't say, but what we do know is
> that it's an
> important topic for public scrutiny and debate.
>
> [continues: 24 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 010 CN AB: Business Owners Plead With Cops To
> End Drug War
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:52:39 -0700
> Size: 50 lines   1709 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a10
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a10.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
> Copyright: 2007 The Calgary Sun
> Contact: callet@...
> Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
> Author: Pablo Fernandez, Sun Media
>
> BUSINESS OWNERS PLEAD WITH COPS TO END DRUG WAR
>
> Business owners hope police will end a turf war
> between rival drug
> dealers, who merchants say work in alleys and on
> roof tops along
> Stephen Avenue Mall and who are behind a rash of
> vandalism along the
> city landmark.
>
> Although the popular walk continues to be an
> attractive destination
> for daytime shoppers, when night falls, staff and
> patrons of
> businesses along the strip have to watch where they
> walk and park, say
> victimized business owners.
>
> Abdul Qadeer, at Great Canadian Pizza, said as many
> as 10 thugs
> entered his business Monday night demanding free
> food.
>
> When his employee refused, the clerk was beaten and
> a window
> smashed.
>
> [continues: 23 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 011 US OH: Students Getting No-drug Message
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:54:11 -0700
> Size: 77 lines   2804 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a11
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a11.html
> Webpage:
>
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS0102/704110394/\
1058/NEWS01
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
> Webpage:
>
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS0102/704110394/\
1058/NEWS01
> Copyright: 2007 The Cincinnati Enquirer
> Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html
> Website: http://enquirer.com/today/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
> Author: William Croyle
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> STUDENTS GETTING NO-DRUG MESSAGE
>
> Survey Finds Decline Over 7 Years
>
> Sixth-grade student Da'Quan Palmer knows the dangers
> of tobacco,
> alcohol and drugs.
>
> "When I was in fifth grade, teachers showed us some
> bad lungs," the
> 11-year-old Two Rivers Middle School student said
> with a disgusted
> look.
>
> "We learned a lot in fifth grade because they showed
> us a lot of nasty
> stuff," added his classmate, 12-year-old Karrie
> South.
>
> [continues: 50 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 012 Brunei: Students Readying For Anti-Drugs
> Choir Competition
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:55:45 -0700
> Size: 34 lines   1205 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a12
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a12.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Borneo Bulletin (Brunei)
> Copyright: 2007 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.
> Contact: borneobulletin2@...
> Website: http://www.brunei-online.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3514
> Author: Yusrin Junaidi
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
>
> STUDENTS READYING FOR ANTI-DRUGS CHOIR COMPETITION
>
> Students Readying For Anti-Drugs Choir Competition
>
> Students of Mabohai Primary School rehearsing for
> the  upcoming
> anti-drugs choir competition. Yusrin Junaidi
>
> Primary four and five students across the country
> are  currently
> preparing for the upcoming Anti-Drugs Choir
> Competition for Primary
> Schools 2007, organised by the  Education Unit,
> Prevention of Drug
> Abuse, Counselling  and Career Guidance Section,
> Department of Schools
> at  the Ministry of Education.
>
> This year's theme for the competition is "Sayangi
> Diri  Masa Depan
> Harmoni" ("Love Yourself For A Harmonious  Future").
>
> The objectives of the event are to discourage drug
> abuse among
> students and to encourage them to be wary  of
> negative elements in the
> society.
>
> Thirty schools from all four districts will be
> participating in the
> first level of the event on April  18.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Derek
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 013 US NH: PUB LTE: Re-legalization Of Drugs
> Supported
> From: The GCW
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:27:08 -0700
> Size: 40 lines   1467 bytes
> File: v07.n461.a13
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n461.a13.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (NH)
> Copyright: 2007 Geo. J. Foster Co.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.fosters.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/160
> Author: Kirk Muse
> Referenced:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n443/a06.html
>
> RE-LEGALIZATION OF DRUGS SUPPORTED
>
> To the editor:
>
> I'm writing about: "Former N. Y. police captain
> speaks in York about
> legalizing some drugs" (April 5).
>
> Actually, Peter Christ and LEAP (Law Enforcement
> Against Prohibition)
> favor the re-legalization of all of our now illegal
> drugs. For most of
> our nation's history there were no such things as
> illegal drugs. For
> most of our nation's history there was no such thing
> as "drug-related
> crime" or even drug dealers as we know them today.
>
> The vast majority of our problems with illegal drugs
> are because
> certain (politically selected) drugs are illegal.
> Because the drugs
> are illegal, they are of unknown quality, unknown
> purity and unknown
> potency - just like alcohol was when it was illegal.
> And just like
> alcohol was when it was illegal, our illegal drugs
> are unregulated,
> untaxed and controlled by criminals.
>
> For those who were unable to see and hear Peter
> Christ in person, I
> suggest that they visit the www.youtube.com website
> and search for
> "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition" and view some
> of their short
> videos. Then decide for yourself if LEAP is on
> target or off base.
>
> KIRK MUSE
>
> Mesa, Az.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Steve Heath
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #461
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/



________________________________________________________________________________\
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in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A.
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> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:28:34 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #459
>
> Drugnews-Digest       Wednesday, April 11 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 459
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n459/
>
> 001 US CA: Fontana Latest City to Place Moratorium
> on Pot
>      Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
> 002 US CA: More Gay Men Using Meth, Study Finds
>      Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> 003 CN QU: 7-year-old Chomedey Girl Pricks Herself
> With Dirty
>      Source: Chomedey Laval News, The (CN QU)
> 004 US ME: Addiction Doctor Gets 6-Month Sentence
>      Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
> 005 CN NS: Canada: Mary Jane Is Not Just Peter
> Parker's Best Friend
>      Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS)
> 006 US CA: LA County Plan For Homeless Taking Shape
>      Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> 007 US: PUB LTE: Pot Clubs In Peril
>      Source: Reason Magazine (US)
> 008 US ID: Drug Court Set To Begin June 1
>      Source: Idaho Mountain Express (ID)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US CA: Fontana Latest City to Place
> Moratorium on Pot
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:48:56 -0700
> Size: 87 lines   3258 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a01.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_H_pot11.4014e6a.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_H_pot11.4014e6a.html
> Copyright: 2007 The Press-Enterprise Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.pe.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830
> Author: Michael Mello, The Press-Enterprise
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana -
> Medicinal)
>
> FONTANA LATEST CITY TO PLACE MORATORIUM ON POT
> DISPENSARIES
>
> FONTANA - Fontana's City Council joined a number of
> other area cities
> Tuesday night with a 5-0 vote to ban medical
> marijuana dispensaries
> for 45 days.
>
> Only one speaker during a public hearing on the
> issue said she
> opposed a dispensary in Fontana.
>
> A few supported the emergency ordinance enacting the
> temporary ban,
> saying the city needs to study the issue before
> allowing dispensaries.
>
> Many more instead asked that the city set aside talk
> of a moratorium
> and open the path to bringing a dispensary to
> Fontana.
>
> [continues: 60 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 US CA: More Gay Men Using Meth, Study
> Finds
> From: Your Donation Will Be Doubled
> www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:55:26 -0700
> Size: 90 lines   4000 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
> Author: Susannah Rosenblatt, Times Staff Writer
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
> (Methamphetamine)
>
> MORE GAY MEN USING METH, STUDY FINDS
>
> Use of the Drug, Which Is Associated With HIV
> Transmission, Has
> Surged Since 2005, According to Data Collected by a
> Nonprofit Agency.
>
> Crystal meth use among gay men has spiked since
> 2005, according to
> preliminary data collected by a Los Angeles
> nonprofit agency, with
> those using the drug in the last year five times
> more likely to test
> positive for HIV.
>
> Of the 6,360 gay men the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian
> Center tested for
> HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases last
> year, one in four
> reported using the drug at least once.
>
> That's a jump from 2005, when 18% of 5,300 gay men
> surveyed said
> they'd tried the drug, which triggers a euphoric
> high.
>
> [continues: 63 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 CN QU: 7-year-old Chomedey Girl Pricks
> Herself With Dirty
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 03:02:02 -0700
> Size: 92 lines   4737 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 05 Apr 2007
> Source: Chomedey Laval News, The (CN QU)
> Copyright: 2007 The Chomedey Laval News
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.chomedeynews.ca
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2596
> Author: Nancy Girgis, TCN
>
> 7-YEAR-OLD CHOMEDEY GIRL PRICKS HERSELF WITH DIRTY
> SYRINGE
> FOUND NEAR HER HOME
>
> Accidental Pricking Highlights Chomedey South's
> Problematic Area
>
> Chomedey South is often seen as a paradox, as young
> families with
> children co-exist alongside urban problems like
> prostitution and drug
> usae and peddling.
>
> However, the area's problems were highlighted
> following an incident
> last week, when a little girl pricked herself with a
> discarded needle.
>
> Seven-year-old Marie-Jane was walking to her bus
> stop on 79th Avenue
> on March 27 when she found the syringe in some
> nearby bushes. "I was
> really curious, I wanted to play doctor," Marie-Jane
> said. "I showed
> it to all my friends but some of them said I
> shouldn't play with that.
> But I stung myself two times with it, I didn't
> bleed."
>
> [continues: 65 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US ME: Addiction Doctor Gets 6-Month
> Sentence
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:02:09 -0700
> Size: 116 lines   5192 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a04.html
> Webpage:
>
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/070327shinderman.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 27 Mar 2007
> Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
> Webpage:
>
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/070327shinderman.html
> Copyright: 2007 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/744
> Author: Gregory D. Kesich, Staff Writer
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm
> (Treatment)
>
> ADDICTION DOCTOR GETS 6-MONTH SENTENCE
>
> A doctor described as a giant in the field of
> addiction treatment
> will spend six months in prison for forging
> prescription slips and
> medical records, a judge decided Monday in U.S.
> District Court in Portland.
>
> As a psychiatrist in Illinois, Marc Shinderman, 64,
> wrote
> groundbreaking articles on the proper dose for
> methadone patients and
> simultaneous treatment of psychiatric and addiction
> disorders.
>
> But in Maine, where he was not licensed to prescribe
> controlled
> drugs, his practice of forging prescriptions and
> then falsifying log
> books to make it look as though patients had been
> seen by doctors
> with valid registrations led to criminal charges. He
> was convicted in
> July of 58 felony offenses.
>
> [continues: 88 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN NS: Canada: Mary Jane Is Not Just Peter
> Parker's Best Friend
> From: http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:02:24 -0700
> Size: 141 lines   7032 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS)
> Copyright: 2007 The Halifax Herald Limited
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://thechronicleherald.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
> Author: Tara Patriquin
> Note: Freelance writer Tara Patriquin is a certified
>
> personal  trainer and a registered holistic
> nutritional  consultant
> living and working in Halifax. Her column  appears
> every Wednesday.
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis
> - Medicinal - Canada)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
>
> MARY JANE IS NOT JUST PETER PARKER'S BEST FRIEND
>
> There comes a time in every young girl's life when
> she  has grown up
> and lets science override personal qualms.  And so,
> this is my own
> personal catharsis here, folks.  The topic:
> marijuana.
>
> Let me cut right to the chase. Regular and excessive
>  use can lead to
> many problems, both acute and chronic.  Some reports
> show that
> marijuana weakens the immune  system. Delta-9
> tetrahydrocannabinol,
> or THC, the most  active compound in marijuana,
> makes the white blood
> cells 35-40 per cent less effective than normal
> during  time of
> intoxication. Sugar, I remind you, reduces the
> immune system by 50
> per cent for several hours after  consumption.
>
> [continues: 113 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 US CA: LA County Plan For Homeless Taking
> Shape
> From: Beth
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:02:11 -0700
> Size: 182 lines   8503 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
> Author: Cara Mia DiMassa and Jack Leonard, Times
> Staff Writers
>
> L.A. COUNTY PLAN FOR HOMELESS TAKING SHAPE
>
> South L.A., Pomona and a 'gateway' city are
> identified as possible
> sites for centers as part of a $100-million plan.
>
> Los Angeles County's much-touted effort to shift
> homeless services
> from downtown Los Angeles to other areas is
> beginning to take shape,
> with county leaders zeroing in on three communities
> where homeless
> centers could be built.
>
> A year ago, the Board of Supervisors approved an
> ambitious
> $100-million homeless plan, the centerpiece of which
> was a proposal
> to build five "regional centers" in the county.
>
> The plan was part of a campaign to improve
> conditions on skid row by
> reducing the concentration of facilities that
> provide shelter and
> health services to transients. The proposal raised
> concerns in some
> suburbs, where residents said they worried that such
> facilities would
> bring crime and blight.
>
> [continues: 153 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US: PUB LTE: Pot Clubs In Peril
> From: derek
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:06:15 -0700
> Size: 28 lines   936 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 01 May 2007
> Source: Reason Magazine (US)
> Copyright: 2007 The Reason Foundation
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.reason.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/359
> Referenced:
>
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n139/a11.html?13830
> Author: Mike Barbitta
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
>
> POT CLUBS IN PERIL
>
> Thanks for the great job on the article "Pot Clubs
> in Peril"
> (February). I operate the club at 194 Church Street
> that is mentioned
> in the article. I hope the article brings attention
> to the fact that
> no access is worse than limited access. We now face
> an additional
> hurdle: Despite the fact that we serve wheelchair -
> bound patrons at
> the door with a discount, there is the possibility
> that our permit
> will be rejected due to the fact that we are not
> wheelchair - accessible.
>
> Mike Barbitta,
>
> S.F. Medical Cannabis Clinic,
>
> San Francisco, CA
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US ID: Drug Court Set To Begin June 1
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:27:11 -0700
> Size: 65 lines   2861 bytes
> File: v07.n459.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n459.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007
> Source: Idaho Mountain Express (ID)
> Copyright: 2007 Express Publishing, Inc
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.mtexpress.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2296
> Author: Greg Moore, Express Staff Writer
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug
> Courts)
>
> DRUG COURT SET TO BEGIN JUNE 1
>
> A drug court--which provides treatment rather than
> prison terms for
> chronic users of illegal drugs--is  expected to be
> in operation in
> Blaine County by June 1.
>
> Blaine will become the 31st of Idaho's 44 counties
> to  have such a court.
>
> Drug courts allow those charged with drug-related
> crimes to have
> their guilty pleas erased after  successfully
> completing an 18-month
> treatment program.  The option is not available to
> anyone charged
> with selling drugs or with a violent or sexually
> related  felony, or
> to illegal aliens.
>
> Members of the county's drug court development team
> obtained support
> for the program from the Blaine County
> commissioners after
> presenting the benefits of drug  courts during a
> commission meeting Tuesday.
>
> [continues: 37 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #459
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/



________________________________________________________________________________\
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> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:53:49 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #457
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Tuesday, April 10 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 457
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n457/
>
> 001 CN ON: Column: Most Teenagers Don't Use Pot
>      Source: Chronicle, The (West Lorne, CN ON)
> 002 Spain: Cannabis Users On The Rise
>      Source: Costa Blanca and Costa Calida Leader,
> The (Spain)
> 003 US AL: Column: Getting Back To Juneau's School
> Boy
>      Source: Times Daily (Florence, AL)
> 004 US WI: After 30 Years, Another Push To Relax Pot
> Laws
>      Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
> 005 US IL: Column: Getting Back To Juneau
>      Source: Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL)
> 006 CN ON: Biker 'Rat' Opposed Giving Tour To Media
>      Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
> 007 CN ON: True Cost Of Crack
>      Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
> 008 US: Column: Saving Free Speech And Jesus
>      Source: Village Voice (NY)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 CN ON: Column: Most Teenagers Don't Use
> Pot
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:37:40 -0700
> Size: 53 lines   2682 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Thu, 05 Apr 2007
> Source: Chronicle, The (West Lorne, CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Chronicle
> Contact:
>
http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id=241&x=contact
> Website: http://www.thechronicle-online.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4478
> Author: Taylor Cundy
>
> MOST TEENAGERS DON'T USE POT
>
> In health class every year we learn about drugs and
> their effects on
> the human body. We learn the drug groups and some of
> the effects. What
> we don't learn is what this does to the brain and
> the rest of our
> body. The thing that scares me about health class is
> that nobody
> listens and I know that over half my class is going
> to try drugs
> before they turn eighteen. I hope that this article
> will give them
> enough information to not try drugs.
>
> The most popular drug that we hear about in our area
> is marijuana. One
> in six high school students have tried marijuana.
> Marijuana has many
> different street names but in our area the most
> common names are weed
> and pot. What people that use marijuana don't know
> is that traces of
> this drug stay in your body for up to seven days
> after you actually
> use it. Some effects of marijuana are feeling very
> thirsty, hungry,
> paranoia and delirium. If I could tell all marijuana
> users one thing
> it would be that you don't have to use marijuana
> just because you
> think everybody else is doing it.
>
> [continues: 25 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 Spain: Cannabis Users On The Rise
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:38:39 -0700
> Size: 44 lines   2140 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Costa Blanca and Costa Calida Leader, The
> (Spain)
> Copyright: 2007 The Leader Media Group, S.L.
> Contact:
> http://www.costablancaleader.com/company/emailus.php
> Website: http://www.costablancaleader.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4477
>
> CANNABIS USERS ON THE RISE
>
> The number of teenagers in the province of Alicante
> who smoke cannabis
> is rising, as is the frequency with which they smoke
> the drug. More
> and more teenagers take the substance daily and,
> according to experts,
> that abuse will show in the next few years. The
> latest study showed
> that 40% of schoolchildren aged between 12 and 17
> smoke 'spliffs' and
> 2% smoke them every day.
>
> Bartolome Perez Galvez, the head of the Addictive
> Conduct Unit at
> Hospital San Juan, speaking at the III Infant and
> Juvenile Psychiatry
> Conference last Friday, revealed the new statistics,
> adding that "the
> cannabis problem is more serious than that of any
> other drug, such as
> cocaine or other designer drugs."
>
> At the same conference, the psychiatrist Lorena
> Garcia Fernandez
> warned that the increase in the use of this drug
> could cause many new
> cases of schizophrenia to appear in the next few
> years, saying that
> "between 40% and 60% of schizophrenics regularly
> smoke cannabis."
>
> She also warned that the way that young people are
> using cannabis is
> not only for leisure, rather it is becoming more and
> more continuous,
> more like an addiction. The use is not the same as
> it was two decades
> ago, as the motives for taking the drug have
> changed, and it is now a
> more aggressive drug than what it was. The average
> age for kids to
> start taking cannabis is lowering, according to
> Garcia Fernandez, and
> is currently at around 14 years of age.
>
> She reminded those present that levels for consuming
> cannabis are
> highest in Spain and in the UK and that the only
> reason that more
> cases of schizophrenia haven't appeared yet is
> because of greater
> control from birth, but that sooner of later the
> consequences are
> going to catch up, saying that in the next decade
> the number of cases
> of the mental illness are expected to rise
> considerably.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Steve Heath
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US AL: Column: Getting Back To Juneau's
> School Boy
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:39:30 -0700
> Size: 99 lines   4596 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 07 Apr 2007
> Source: Times Daily (Florence, AL)
> Copyright: 2007 Times Daily
> Contact: vent@...
> Website: http://www.timesdaily.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1641
> Author: James Kilpatrick
>
> GETTING BACK TO JUNEAU'S SCHOOL BOY
>
> Bad cases, they say, make bad law. You will not find
> many cases at the
> Supreme Court as bad in every way as the pending
> case of Morse v.
> Frederick. It was argued two weeks ago and will be
> decided before the
> court's term ends in June. The omens are not
> auspicious.
>
> The Morse in this case is Deborah Morse, principal
> of the public high
> school in Juneau, Alaska. The Frederick is Joseph
> Frederick. At the
> time of this brouhaha he was an 18- year-old senior
> student.
>
> The case began on Jan. 24, 2002, when the famed
> Olympic torch was
> being relayed from Athens to Salt Lake City, there
> to ignite the
> Winter Olympic Games. The small parade would pass by
> the school in
> Juneau on its way.
>
> The facts are not greatly in dispute. As the
> torch-bearer neared,
> Frederick and his buddies suddenly unfurled a
> 14-foot banner that
> read, "Bong Hits 4-Jesus.'' Principal Morse rushed
> from the sidelines,
> confiscated the banner, and summarily suspended the
> youth for five
> days.
>
> [continues: 69 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US WI: After 30 Years, Another Push To
> Relax Pot Laws
> From: Madison NORML http://madisonnorml.org/
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:45:24 -0700
> Size: 171 lines   7488 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
> Copyright: 2007 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
> Contact: wsjopine@...
> Website: http://www.madison.com/wsj/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506
> Author: Sandy Cullen
>
> AFTER 30 YEARS, ANOTHER PUSH TO RELAX POT LAWS
>
> Thirty years ago, Madison was at the forefront of
> the effort to bring
> the nation's marijuana laws in line with growing
> public opinion that,
> among adults, smoking a joint is akin to drinking a
> beer.
>
> But after three decades, Madison's historic
> ordinance permitting
> possession of small amounts of marijuana remains at
> odds with state
> and federal laws, putting city police in a difficult
> position.
>
> And Madison advocates are still pushing for
> Wisconsin to join other
> states that have relaxed their laws against pot.
>
> "Once again, from the bottom up, we're seeing an
> upswing in activism,"
> said Gary Storck, co-founder of the Madison chapter
> of the National
> Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and a
> medical marijuana
> activist and patient.
>
> [continues: 144 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 US IL: Column: Getting Back To Juneau
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:48:19 -0700
> Size: 92 lines   4594 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Sat, 07 Apr 2007
> Source: Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL)
> Copyright: 2007 Southern Illinoisan
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.TheSouthern.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1430
> Author: James Kilpatrick
>
> GETTING BACK TO JUNEAU
>
> Bad cases, they say, make bad law. You will not find
> many cases at the
> Supreme Court as bad in every way as the pending
> case of Morse v.
> Frederick. It was argued two weeks ago and will be
> decided before the
> court's term ends in June. The omens are not
> auspicious.
>
> The Morse in this case is Deborah Morse, principal
> of the public high
> school in Juneau, Alaska. The Frederick is Joseph
> Frederick. At the
> time of this brouhaha he was an 18-year-old senior
> student. The case
> began on Jan. 24, 2002, when the famed Olympic torch
> was being relayed
> from Athens to Salt Lake City, there to ignite the
> Winter Olympic
> Games. The small parade would pass by the school in
> Juneau on its way.
>
> The facts are not greatly in dispute. As the
> torch-bearer neared,
> Frederick and his buddies suddenly unfurled a
> 14-foot banner that
> read, "Bong Hits 4-Jesus." Principal Morse rushed
> from the sidelines,
> confiscated the banner, and summarily suspended the
> youth for five
> days.
>
> [continues: 64 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 CN ON: Biker 'Rat' Opposed Giving Tour To
> Media
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:49:49 -0700
> Size: 106 lines   4398 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Toronto Star
> Contact: lettertoed@...
> Website: http://www.thestar.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
> Author: Peter Edwards and Betsy Powell, Staff
> Reporters
>
> BIKER 'RAT' OPPOSED GIVING TOUR TO MEDIA
>
> Website Letter Says Turncoat Made 'Articulate,
> Passionate' Argument
> Against Hells Angels Open House
>
> The Hells Angel-turned police informant voted down a
> plan to invite
> members of the media for a tour of the Eastern Ave.
> clubhouse, now the
> property of the federal government after last week's
> massive police
> sweep, the downtown chapter's website claims.
>
> "In February, the downtown Angels were entertaining
> a motion to invite
> the media into our clubhouse, show what it
> contained, lay our books
> bare and compare security with adjacent commercial
> buildings that made
> our low-tech measure laughable," reads the posting.
>
> "The motion was defeated when one member made an
> impassioned plea to
> keep the sanctity of the club private," it
> continues. "He was
> articulate, he was passionate, he was working for
> the police."
>
> [continues: 78 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 CN ON: True Cost Of Crack
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:50:49 -0700
> Size: 136 lines   5071 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007, Canoe Limited Partnership.
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://torontosun.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
> Author: Rob Lamberti
>
> TRUE COST OF CRACK
>
> Arrested Hooker Claims She Needs Half A Million A
> Year To Support
> Habit
>
> HAMILTON -- Kelly Lynn Moore's eyes light up as she
> gives her first
> smile since the drug cops burst through her door.
>
> A cop mentions her meagre menagerie of toys perched
> on a tiny shelf of
> her room in a Lottridge St. roominghouse.
>
> Mickey, Minnie and Buzz are the only splashes of
> colour in the drab
> 8-by-10, main-floor room the 36-year-old alleged
> small-time dealer
> moved into about a month ago.
>
> "I collect toys, eh?" she says.
>
> And then discussions return to the matter at hand.
>
> [continues: 108 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US: Column: Saving Free Speech And Jesus
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:52:59 -0700
> Size: 147 lines   7394 bytes
> File: v07.n457.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n457.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Village Voice (NY)
> Copyright: 2007 Village Voice Media, Inc
> Contact:
>
http://www.villagevoice.com/aboutus/index.php?page=contact
> Website: http://www.villagevoice.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/482
> Column: Give Me Liberty
> Author: Nat Hentoff
>
> SAVING FREE SPEECH AND JESUS
>
> Religious And Conservative Groups Support The 'Bong
> Hits 4 Jesus'
> Banner Under Fire At The Supreme Court
>
> "Virtually any student speech that school officials
> find controversial
> or offensive hangs in the balance on how the Supreme
> Court decides
> 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus.' " David Hudson, First Amendment
> Center,
> Vanderbilt University, American Bar Association's
> "March Preview" of
> Supreme Court cases
>
> -
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In the long, embattled history of student
> free-speech cases, what
> makes the Deborah Morse, Juneau School Board v.
> Joseph Frederick case
> startlingly unique is the number of conservative and
> religious
> organizations supporting Joe Frederick's First
> Amendment right to
> unfurl his banner "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."
>
> [continues: 118 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #457
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/



________________________________________________________________________________\
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> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:42:32 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #455
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Tuesday, April 10 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 455
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n455/
>
> 001 Canada: LTE: Police 'Violence' & The Hells
> Angels
>      Source: National Post (Canada)
> 002 Canada: It 'Fundamentally' Changed The Justice
> System
>      Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> 003 CN ON: Critics Unhappy 'Proceeds Of Crime' Fund
> Defence
>      Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
> 004 CN BC: PUB LTE: Police Can't Handle Drug
> Addictions
>      Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> 005 CN AB: Drug Production Led To Duplex Blast
>      Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
> 006 US CO: Legal Pot Activists Angry at Police
>      Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
> 007 Afghanistan: McCaffrey Sees 2007 As a Crucial
> Year
>      Source: Washington Post (DC)
> 008 US CA: Editorial: Marijuana Tax
>      Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
> 009 US MT: Marijuana: Medicine or Drug?
>      Source: Missoulian (MT)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 Canada: LTE: Police 'Violence' & The Hells
> Angels
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:03:24 -0700
> Size: 31 lines   1156 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: National Post (Canada)
> Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
> Author: Wally Keeler
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?188 (Outlaw
> Bikers)
>
> POLICE 'VIOLENCE' & THE HELLS ANGELS
>
> Re: Drugs And The Hells Angels, letter to the
> editor, April 7.
>
> I was completely unmoved by George Kosinski's letter
> whining about
> "state sanctioned violence against an inanimate
> object" which he
> characterized as "such a violent attack against the
> Hells Angels."
> Those poor babies and their holy bunker. Yes, every
> grouping of human
> beings contains a criminal element. The Hells
> Angels, however,
> contain a greater proportion of criminals than the
> vast majority of
> other group. The Hells Angels are a bully-boy gang
> of white skinned
> misogynists, and if it were not for my deep and
> abiding respect for
> the valuable principles of democracy and freedom,
> I'd be happy if
> they were collectively exiled to Iran or North Korea
> where they could
> experience some real state violence.
>
> Wally Keeler
>
> Toronto.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 Canada: It 'Fundamentally' Changed The
> Justice System
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:03:27 -0700
> Size: 149 lines   6957 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
> Copyright: 2007, The Globe and Mail Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
> Author: Kirk Makin, Justice Reporter
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis -
> Canada)
>
> IT 'FUNDAMENTALLY' CHANGED THE JUSTICE SYSTEM ...
>
> But Critics Say Strain Of Uncertainty In Courts Is
> Making Charter
> Application Tougher Than Ever
>
> Walter Tessling had thoroughly battened down his
> rural Ontario house,
> confident that locks and curtains would be enough to
> foil even the
> most inquisitive police officer who happened by.
>
> What Mr. Tessling hadn't reckoned on was modern
> technology, in the
> form a police surveillance aircraft equipped with a
> camera capable of
> detecting unusual releases of thermal energy.
>
> Waves of heat generated by Mr. Tessling's hydroponic
> set-up and
> emanating from the walls of the house gave police an
> unmistakable
> clue to the thriving marijuana grow operation
> within.
>
> [continues: 122 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 CN ON: Critics Unhappy 'Proceeds Of Crime'
> Fund Defence
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:03:40 -0700
> Size: 158 lines   7000 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
> Copyright: 2007 The Kingston Whig-Standard
> Contact: whiged@...
> Website: http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
> Author: Frank Armstrong, Whig-Standard Staff Writer
>
> CRITICS UNHAPPY 'PROCEEDS OF CRIME' FUND DEFENCE
>
> Canada's two federal justice critics plan to take
> action on a law
> that allows convicted drug dealers to pay their
> lawyers out of money
> seized from them by police.
>
> Marlene Jennings, Liberal MP for
> Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Lachine, said
> she will speak to Parliament's justice committee
> about creating a
> private member's bill when the House of Commons
> resumes April 16, or
> lobby the attorney general to change the law.
>
> "If there's a meeting of minds on the issue, we can
> figure out what
> and how we can try to effect change on this,"
> Jennings told the Whig-Standard.
>
> NDP justice critic Joe Comartin said he plans to
> look into the issue
> with the parliamentary public safety committee or
> talk to the
> attorney general about tracking national data on the
> issue.
>
> [continues: 131 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 CN BC: PUB LTE: Police Can't Handle Drug
> Addictions
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:03:35 -0700
> Size: 50 lines   1854 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
> Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
> Author: Charlayne Thornton-Joe
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm
> (Treatment)
>
> POLICE CAN'T HANDLE DRUG ADDICTIONS
>
> Re: "Inquest called into inmate's death," March 31.
>
> Although I do not know the circumstances of this
> particular case, the
> article said the woman had a long history of drug
> abuse, and had been
> arrested for violations of bail conditions.
>
> What concerns me is that more individuals could die
> in police cells,
> as persons with drug addiction first and foremost
> need proper medical
> treatment and supervision.
>
> Anyone who has experienced any kind of addiction,
> whether themselves
> or family members, knows that what many of these
> individuals need is help.
>
> Addiction is a health issue and police cells are not
> the best
> location to help these individuals.
>
> [continues: 22 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 CN AB: Drug Production Led To Duplex Blast
> From: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:19:48 -0700
> Size: 26 lines   778 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a05.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=89ceb8a1-37c3-443b-b\
7ba-397578ce2708
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=89ceb8a1-37c3-443b-b\
7ba-397578ce2708
> Copyright: 2007 Calgary Herald
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
>
> DRUG PRODUCTION LED TO DUPLEX BLAST
>
> Northeast - Police say an explosion in a northeast
> duplex was caused
> by a drug production operation.
>
> The resident of the home was attempting to cook hash
> for personal use
> when volatile vapours were ignited by a furnace
> pilot light, said
> duty inspector Guy Slater of the Calgary Police
> Service.
>
> The explosion blew out the windows and buckled the
> interior walls in
> half of the duplex in the 6800 block of 26th Avenue
> N.E. around 7:15
> p.m. Sunday.
>
> Slater said charges are pending.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 US CO: Legal Pot Activists Angry at Police
> From: The GCW
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:39:18 -0700
> Size: 74 lines   2607 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
> Copyright: 2007, Denver Publishing Co.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
> Author: Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News
> Cited: Denver police
> http://www.denvergov.org/police/
> Cited: Lt. Tony Ryan
>
http://leap.cc/Speakers/speakerbio.php?spkr=./Bios/ryan.inc&name=Tony%20Ryan
> Cited: City Councilman Charlie Brown
> http://www.denvergov.org/CouncilDistrict6/
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Mason+Tvert
> (Mason Tvert)
>
> LEGAL POT ACTIVISTS ANGRY AT POLICE
>
> Possession Busts Rise Despite City Voters' OK
>
> Marijuana legalization advocates say they are
> furious with Denver
> police for arresting more people for misdemeanor
> possession after
> city residents voted to legalize the weed in 2005.
> Mason Tvert, who
> led the charge to get marijuana legalized, said the
> group will hold a
> noon news conference today at the steps of City Hall
> to decry the findings.
>
> Arrests for most minor crimes rose in Denver last
> year, and rose
> faster than marijuana arrests, following a change in
> policing philosophy.
>
> [continues: 45 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 Afghanistan: McCaffrey Sees 2007 As a
> Crucial Year
> From: Pinocchio McCaffrey
> www.csdp.org/publicservice/drawing.htm
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:44:45 -0700
> Size: 99 lines   4897 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Washington Post (DC)
> Page: A15
> Copyright: 2007 The Washington Post Company
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
> Author: R. Jeffrey Smith, Washington Post Staff
> Writer
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Afghanistan
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/McCaffrey
>
> McCAFFREY SEES 2007 AS A CRUCIAL YEAR
>
> "We Are Now in a Race Against Time."
>
> When retired Army Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey visited
> Afghanistan in
> February for meetings with 23 senior Western and
> local military,
> intelligence and political officials, he came away
> with a cautiously
> optimistic view of the prospects for reform and
> political stability there.
>
> McCaffrey, a respected division commander in the
> 1991 Persian Gulf
> War and commander of U.S. military operations in
> Central America and
> South America, now teaches at West Point. A copy of
> his trip report,
> written for his colleagues there but widely
> circulated in Washington
> and obtained from one of the recipients, included
> the following blunt
> observations:
>
> [continues: 70 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US CA: Editorial: Marijuana Tax
> From: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:02:51 -0700
> Size: 41 lines   1674 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a08.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
> Copyright: 2007 The Press Democrat
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Proposition+215
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana -
> Medicinal)
>
> MARIJUANA TAX
>
> State Needs to Meet Responsibilities Before It
> Claims Share of Revenue
>
> What part of accountability doesn't the state of
> California
> understand? State government can't be bothered with
> providing a
> coherent framework for the dispensation of medical
> marijuana, but it
> will be happy to slap a tax on anyone who sells it.
>
> On Sunday, the Sacramento Bee reported that the
> state Board of
> Equalization has served notice that the sellers of
> medical marijuana
> must pay state and local sales taxes.
>
> If medical marijuana is reaching people who need it,
> this means the
> state tax agency is eager to take money from people
> seeking relief
> from cancer or AIDS.
>
> It remains to be demonstrated, of course, that
> current practice
> guarantees that marijuana reaches the people who
> need it. Absent
> state regulation, there is a patchwork of local
> rules that sometimes
> becomes a pretext for use by people who want to
> smoke marijuana
> because, well, they want to smoke marijuana.
>
> In that way, medical marijuana and Proposition 215
> get dragged into
> the politics of legalizing pot -- a separate
> subject.
>
> If the state wants to tax people who are sick -- a
> cruel idea -- it
> needs to to meet its responsibilities by
> establishing common-sense
> rules for the prescription and distribution of
> medical marijuana.
> - ---
> MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
>
> [end]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 009 US MT: Marijuana: Medicine or Drug?
> From: Voter Power http://www.voterpower.org/
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:40:32 -0700
> Size: 164 lines   7744 bytes
> File: v07.n455.a09
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n455.a09.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Missoulian (MT)
> Copyright: 2007 Missoulian
> Contact: oped@...
> Website: http://www.missoulian.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/720
> Note: Only prints letters from within its print
> circulation area
> Author: Tristan Scott, of the Missoulian
> Cited: Montana Medical Marijuana Act
> http://www.montanacares.org
> Bookmark:
>
http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Montana+Medical+Marijuana+Act
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana -
> Medicinal)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic
> Pain)
>
> MARIJUANA: MEDICINE OR DRUG?
>
> Because Robin Prosser uses prescribed marijuana to
> ease her chronic
> pain and illness, she calls it medicine.
>
> Because Jeff Sweetin is a federal agent with the
> Drug Enforcement
> Agency, he calls it a dangerous drug.
>
> And because federal law supersedes state law, making
> it illegal to
> grow, sell, purchase or use marijuana, even for
> health-related
> reasons, Prosser is out of luck. "From the DEA's
> standpoint, it's not
> medical marijuana, it's just plain marijuana," said
> Sweetin, special
> agent in charge of the DEA's Rocky Mountain Field
> Division.
>
> [continues: 136 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #455
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/



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> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:14:40 -0700
> From: owner-drugnews-digest@...
> (Drugnews-Digest)
> Subject: MAP: Drugnews-Digest V07 #454
>
> Drugnews-Digest        Tuesday, April 10 2007
> Volume 07 : Number 454
>
> Read this digest online at:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n454/
>
> 001 US IL: Drug Court Seeing Success
>      Source: Courier News (Elgin, IL)
> 002 Brunei: Drug Bust In Kg Ayer
>      Source: Borneo Bulletin (Brunei)
> 003 US MD: Inaugural Participant Graduates Drug
> Court
>      Source: Frederick News Post (MD)
> 004 US OH: Rootstown Meth Labs Leave Lasting Effects
>      Source: Record-Courier (OH)
> 005 UK: Warning To Drug Dealers
>      Source: Hull Daily Mail (UK)
> 006 US TX: Editorial: Wave Of Killings Threatens To
> Swamp
>      Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
> 007 US NM: Richardson Content to Start Slow in White
> House Race
>      Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> 008 US WV: OPED: Legalizing Drugs Is Better Way to
> Fight Problem
>      Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV)
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subj: 001 US IL: Drug Court Seeing Success
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 23:45:34 -0700
> Size: 152 lines   6709 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a01
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a01.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Courier News (Elgin, IL)
> Copyright: 2007 The Courier News
> Contact: Courier.Viewpoint@...
> Website:
> http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1200
> Author: David Gialanella, Staff Writer
>
> DRUG COURT SEEING SUCCESS
>
> ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP -- There's no need to turn on
> Judge Judy or The
> People's Court to get a different  kind of courtroom
> experience. Just
> head down to Kane  County Drug Rehabilitation Court.
>
> Nearly a year after former drug court Judge James
> Doyle  -- heralded
> as a hero by some but called a tyrannical  bully by
> others -- left the
> program, drug court still  is enjoying a lot of
> success under Judge
> Bill Weir.
>
> Sitting in on Weir's proceedings for a morning, it's
>  not difficult
> for one to see why so many people call it  a
> forward-thinking program.
>
> Weir has to be dynamic -- just like each person is
> unique, each case
> is unique, and must be dealt with  differently. Some
> need "a pat on
> the back," Weir said,  others "a tap somewhere
> else."
>
> [continues: 125 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 002 Brunei: Drug Bust In Kg Ayer
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 23:46:44 -0700
> Size: 62 lines   2571 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a02
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a02.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Borneo Bulletin (Brunei)
> Copyright: 2007 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.
> Contact: borneobulletin2@...
> Website: http://www.brunei-online.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3514
> Author: Lyna Mohamad
>
> DRUG BUST IN KG AYER
>
> Over 100 drug-related arrests have been  made in the
> first three
> months of the year and there is  no let-up as the
> Narcotics Control
> Bureau is on  overdrive to rid the country of drug
> abusers and  pushers.
>
> The number of arrests also reveals the dark side of
> the  society, in
> which the unemployed youth seem prone to  drug abuse
> activities.
>
> The latest NCB operation over the weekend was
> focused  on the water
> village and surrounding areas in the  capital. The
> target known as a
> "Black Area" was raided  as officials came to know
> of many drug
> activities  including abusers and traffickers.
>
> According to a press release, Operasi Sapu involved
> 66  personnel from
> the Enforcement and Intelligence  Division, who held
> the operation
> from 8am to 7pm.
>
> [continues: 35 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 003 US MD: Inaugural Participant Graduates
> Drug Court
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 23:47:41 -0700
> Size: 87 lines   3289 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a03
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a03.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Frederick News Post (MD)
> Copyright: 2007 Randall Family, LLC.
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/814
> Author: Katie Leckie
>
> INAUGURAL PARTICIPANT GRADUATES DRUG COURT
>
> FREDERICK -- Dwight Thompson's grown daughters cried
> in  Frederick
> County Circuit Court as they realized their
> father's decades of
> cocaine use had come to an end.
>
> Thompson's daughters and granddaughters were among
> dozens gathered
> Thursday to witness his graduation from  Frederick
> County Drug
> Treatment Court.
>
> The three-phase program is targeted toward helping
> nonviolent adult
> repeat offenders who have tried to  quit using drugs
> but failed.
>
> "We got our dad back," Tameka Thompson said, choking
>  back sobs as she
> rose from her front-row seat.
>
> "He's been gone a long time. Now he's back in our
> lives, and he's
> back in the lives of our children," she  said,
> thanking drug court for
> helping her father, 55,  kick his 20-year habit.
>
> [continues: 58 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 004 US OH: Rootstown Meth Labs Leave Lasting
> Effects
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 23:49:06 -0700
> Size: 65 lines   2834 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a04
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a04.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Record-Courier (OH)
> Copyright: 2007 Record Publishing Company
> Contact: editor@...
> Website: http://www.recordpub.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/809
> Author: Dave O'Brien, Record-Courier staff writer
>
> ROOTSTOWN METH LABS LEAVE LASTING EFFECTS
>
> ROOTSTOWN -- On the street it is called crank,
> chalk,  ice, crystal
> and quartz. But methamphetamine, by any  name, and
> the process by
> which it is manufactured  subject the "cooks" who
> manufacture it and
> those who  track down and clean up clandestine meth
> labs to hidden
> health dangers.
>
> The drug is popular because it is easy to
> manufacture  -- recipes are
> readily available on the Internet -- and  can be
> injected, ingested,
> snorted or smoked, according  to William Franks,
> commissioner for the
> Stark County  Combined General Health District and a
> faculty member
> at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of
> Medicine.
>
> "You don't have to be a chemist or a chemical
> engineer," to make
> meth, he told an audience recently  as part of a
> public health lecture
> series at NEOUCOM.
>
> [continues: 38 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 005 UK: Warning To Drug Dealers
> From: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy:
> http://www.efsdp.org
> Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 23:50:28 -0700
> Size: 86 lines   3073 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a05
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a05.html
>
> Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
> Source: Hull Daily Mail (UK)
> Copyright: 2007 Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.thisishull.co.uk/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1181
>
> WARNING TO DRUG DEALERS
>
> We know who you are and we are coming to get you.
>
> That's the prosecutors' warning to drug dealers, as
> they continue to
> compile evidence against the city's pushers of
> misery.
>
> The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) worked alongside
> Humberside Police
> during the recent Operation Midas raids.
>
> In one month, it resulted in 43 low-level drug
> dealers being arrested
> and sentenced to a total of 128 years in prison.
>
> Although raids were carried out over a five-day
> period, the
> investigation into each of the dealers goes back
> nine months to last
> summer, when undercover officers began gathering
> evidence and detailed
> files on class A drug dealers.
>
> And today senior prosecutors said files of detailed
> evidence were
> continually being complied on dealers across the
> city.
>
> [continues: 57 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 006 US TX: Editorial: Wave Of Killings
> Threatens To Swamp
> From: Increase Your Media
> http://www.mapinc.org/resource
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:49:28 -0700
> Size: 70 lines   3307 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a06
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a06.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
> Copyright: 2007 Austin American-Statesman
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.statesman.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/32
>
> EDITORIAL: WAVE OF KILLINGS THREATENS TO SWAMP
> CALDERON
>
> The last thing Mexican President Felipe Calderon
> needs is an object
> lesson in the power and reach of the Mexican drug
> cartels. But he got
> one last week when a dozen people - including a
> television reporter
> and a police chief - were gunned down in a wave of
> execution-style
> killings, presumably the work of narcotics
> traffickers.
>
> Amado Ramirez, a Televisa correspondent, was shot in
> the back three
> times by an unknown gunman as he left a radio
> interview on Friday.
> Also dead in the lastest wave of execution-style
> killings is Chief
> Ernesto Gutierrez Moreno. Gutierrez was killed in
> Chilpancingo, the
> state capital of Guerrero, which includes Acapulco.
> The chief was
> killed while eating dinner in a Chilpancingo
> restaurant with his wife
> and son.
>
> Intenational journalist groups are calling on
> Calderon to launch a
> federal investigation into the death of Ramirez. The
> same should hold
> true in all homicides believed to be drug-related.
>
> [continues: 42 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 007 US NM: Richardson Content to Start Slow in
> White House Race
> From: Please Write a LTE
> www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:44:05 -0700
> Size: 194 lines   9955 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a07
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a07.html
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
> Page: Front Page
> Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
> Contact: letters@...
> Website:
> http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
> Author: Nicholas Riccardi, Times Staff Writer
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana -
> Medicinal)
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/people/Bill+Richardson
>
> RICHARDSON CONTENT TO START SLOW IN WHITE HOUSE RACE
>
> New Mexico's Democratic Governor Barely Registers in
> Early Polls.
> Supporters Say He's Got What It Takes for the Long
> Haul.
>
> SANTA FE, N.M. -- On the afternoon of the 58th day
> of New Mexico's
> 60-day legislative session, Gov. Bill Richardson
> reclined on the
> green leather couch in his office, rubbed his eyes
> and growled to the
> cluster of staffers surrounding him: "What can I
> sign?"
>
> His aides, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, explained
> that the
> Legislature's printing office had lost three
> employees, keeping newly
> passed bills from promptly reaching his desk.
>
> "Send them some of our people," Richardson said.
>
> [continues: 167 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> Subj: 008 US WV: OPED: Legalizing Drugs Is Better
> Way to Fight Problem
> From: Kirk
> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:11:52 -0700
> Size: 85 lines   4128 bytes
> File: v07.n454.a08
> URL:
> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n454.a08.html
> Webpage:
>
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS01/704100\
319/1001/NEWS10
>
> Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
> Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV)
> Webpage:
>
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS01/704100\
319/1001/NEWS10
> Copyright: 2007 The Herald-Dispatch
> Contact: letters@...
> Website: http://www.hdonline.com/
> Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454
> Author: Howard J. Wooldridge
> Note: Howard J. Wooldridge is a retired police
> officer and an
> education specialist for Law Enforcement Against
> Prohibition, based
> in Washington, D.C.
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
> (Decrim/Legalization)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory
> Minimum Sentencing)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm
> (Treatment)
> Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?203 (Terrorism)
> Bookmark:
> http://www.mapinc.org/people/Howard+Wooldridge
> (Howard Wooldridge)
>
> LEGALIZING DRUGS IS BETTER WAY TO FIGHT PROBLEM
>
> The War on Drugs. How is that working for us in
> America? Is it
> reducing crime? Is it reducing our rates of death
> and disease? Is it
> effective in keeping drugs and drug dealers away
> from our children?
> These are important questions because our current
> prohibition
> strategy will cost us, the taxpayers, some $70
> billion this year.
>
> [continues: 57 lines]
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Drugnews-Digest V07 #454
> *******************************
>
> The full text of each article in this digest may be
> viewed by clicking the
> URL provided with each.
>
> To request a copy by email, send a message to
> majordomo@...
> containing the command: get drugnews-digest [file
> name]
>
> Distributed without profit to those who have
> expressed a prior interest in
> receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes.
>
> Produced by: DrugSense through the Media Awareness
> Project, Inc.
> Senior Editor: Richard Lake (rlake@...)
> http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
> http://www.drugsense.org/



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WOW, the http://www.Time4Hemp.com website has made some radical
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we'll send you more information.  We are not out to get rich - just
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Keep Strong!

Casper Leitch
Host/Creator: Time 4 Hemp
http://www.Time4Hemp.com

Time 4 Hemp Cell Phone Website:
http://www.Time4Hemp.com/cell/index.htm

"The only thing new in the world is
the history you do not know"
                  President Harry Truman

-----Original Message-----
From: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MASHAction@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of jeffreyroberts1984
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 11:40 AM
To: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com
Subject: M*A*S*H: Re: MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

--- In MASHAction@yahoogroups.com, "marla James" <ghostlady@...>
wrote:
>thanks for the info, do you know if there is ethir one of thees
groups in utah?
> Jeff,
> I suggest you join your local NORML group. (national oraganization
to reform
> marijuana laws). Our group in Orange County Ca. also works with ASA
> (Americans for safe access). In fact our group is having a rally
at the
> beach this weekend. The ASA also just sued the government to
allow medical
> marijuana users to be allowed to use in peace.
> Marla
> -----Original Message-----
> From: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:MASHAction@yahoogroups.com]On
> Behalf Of jeffreyroberts1984
> Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 2:38 AM
> To: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: M*A*S*H: MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
>
>
> MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
>
> Hello, my name is Jeffrey Roberts and i would like marijuana
> to become legal, I'm going to try and make it legal, but to do
this
> I'm going to need all your help. There have been groups and
> organizations in the past, but in the last twenty years they have
> done little, I that the people who read my plan will get serious
> about the legalization of marijuana. It will dedicated of time
and
> some money to this plan. Heres is what i would like to see
happen, i
> want you to talk and chat with all the people in your state ether
> online or in person about legalizing marijuana. When you have
talked
> to all the people you can then organize a date and a place to
meet
> to make a nonprofit organization to legalize marijuana, at this
> first meeting you will have to elect some people i will describe
> there titles and main duties.
>
> President The president of nonprofit organization in your
> state will be reasonable for recruiting state senators to
legalize
> marijuana. The president should also look for people who want to
get
> into politics and help them get in.
>
> Event Organizer The event organizer and there team of people
should
> organizes event to help give marijuana a good name and raise
money
> for the nonprofit organization , the event organizer should also
> setup any event the president need. Hold monthly meetings.
>
> Accountant The accountant and his team will keep track of all
> the donations and the expenses.
>
> Fundraiser The fundraiser and there team is a little bit
> different than the event organizer there main goal is to raise
money.
>
> Press Team The press team should give good press to your
> nonprofit organization and give good argument to why marijuana
> should be legal. They should also try and get people to join your
> organization . The press team should utilize all of the media
they
> can whether it be T.V., radio, newspaper, or any other.
>
> These are the offices you need to elect at first meeting and
> any other offices you may need. You should have meetings to tell
> people what's going on in the nonprofit organization and what
they
> can do to help, this will also be a good time to tell the people
> what senators are trying to legalize marijuana and who they
should
> vote for. The main goal of the nonprofit organization should be
to
> get people who want to legalize marijuana into state and federal
> office.
>
> If you have and questions e-mail me at
> jeffreyroberts1984@...
>

--- In MASHAction@yahoogroups.com, "marla James" <ghostlady@...>
wrote:
>thanks for the info, do you know if there is ethir one of thees
groups in utah?
> Jeff,
> I suggest you join your local NORML group. (national oraganization
to reform
> marijuana laws). Our group in Orange County Ca. also works with ASA
> (Americans for safe access). In fact our group is having a rally
at the
> beach this weekend.  The ASA also just sued the government to
allow medical
> marijuana users to be allowed to use in peace.
> Marla
>   -----Original Message-----
>   From: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:MASHAction@yahoogroups.com]On
> Behalf Of jeffreyroberts1984
>   Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 2:38 AM
>   To: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com
>   Subject: M*A*S*H: MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
>
>
>   MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
>
>   Hello, my name is Jeffrey Roberts and i would like marijuana
>   to become legal, I'm going to try and make it legal, but to do
this
>   I'm going to need all your help. There have been groups and
>   organizations in the past, but in the last twenty years they have
>   done little, I that the people who read my plan will get serious
>   about the legalization of marijuana. It will dedicated of time
and
>   some money to this plan. Heres is what i would like to see
happen, i
>   want you to talk and chat with all the people in your state ether
>   online or in person about legalizing marijuana. When you have
talked
>   to all the people you can then organize a date and a place to
meet
>   to make a nonprofit organization to legalize marijuana, at this
>   first meeting you will have to elect some people i will describe
>   there titles and main duties.
>
>   President The president of nonprofit organization in your
>   state will be reasonable for recruiting state senators to
legalize
>   marijuana. The president should also look for people who want to
get
>   into politics and help them get in.
>
>   Event Organizer The event organizer and there team of people
should
>   organizes event to help give marijuana a good name and raise
money
>   for the nonprofit organization , the event organizer should also
>   setup any event the president need. Hold monthly meetings.
>
>   Accountant The accountant and his team will keep track of all
>   the donations and the expenses.
>
>   Fundraiser The fundraiser and there team is a little bit
>   different than the event organizer there main goal is to raise
money.
>
>   Press Team The press team should give good press to your
>   nonprofit organization and give good argument to why marijuana
>   should be legal. They should also try and get people to join your
>   organization . The press team should utilize all of the media
they
>   can whether it be T.V., radio, newspaper, or any other.
>
>   These are the offices you need to elect at first meeting and
>   any other offices you may need. You should have meetings to tell
>   people what's going on in the nonprofit organization and what
they
>   can do to help, this will also be a good time to tell the people
>   what senators are trying to legalize marijuana and who they
should
>   vote for. The main goal of the nonprofit organization should be
to
>   get people who want to legalize marijuana into state and federal
>   office.
>
>   If you have and questions e-mail me at
>   jeffreyroberts1984@...
>

-----Original Message-----
From: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MASHAction@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of jeffreyroberts1984
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 2:38 AM
To: MASHAction@yahoogroups.com
Subject: M*A*S*H: MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Hello, my name is Jeffrey Roberts and i would like marijuana
to become legal, I'm going to try and make it legal, but to do this
I'm going to need all your help. There have been groups and
organizations in the past, but in the last twenty years they have
done little, I that the people who read my plan will get serious
about the legalization of marijuana. It will dedicated of time and
some money to this plan. Heres is what i would like to see happen, i
want you to talk and chat with all the people in your state ether
online or in person about legalizing marijuana. When you have talked
to all the people you can then organize a date and a place to meet
to make a nonprofit organization to legalize marijuana, at this
first meeting you will have to elect some people i will describe
there titles and main duties.

President The president of nonprofit organization in your
state will be reasonable for recruiting state senators to legalize
marijuana. The president should also look for people who want to get
into politics and help them get in.

Event Organizer The event organizer and there team of people should
organizes event to help give marijuana a good name and raise money
for the nonprofit organization , the event organizer should also
setup any event the president need. Hold monthly meetings.

Accountant The accountant and his team will keep track of all
the donations and the expenses.

Fundraiser The fundraiser and there team is a little bit
different than the event organizer there main goal is to raise money.

Press Team The press team should give good press to your
nonprofit organization and give good argument to why marijuana
should be legal. They should also try and get people to join your
organization . The press team should utilize all of the media they
can whether it be T.V., radio, newspaper, or any other.

These are the offices you need to elect at first meeting and
any other offices you may need. You should have meetings to tell
people what's going on in the nonprofit organization and what they
can do to help, this will also be a good time to tell the people
what senators are trying to legalize marijuana and who they should
vote for. The main goal of the nonprofit organization should be to
get people who want to legalize marijuana into state and federal
office.

If you have and questions e-mail me at
jeffreyroberts1984@yahoo.com