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#2400 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 4:04 pm
Subject: Cannabis Helps Fight PTSD. Mercy Medical Cannabis Resource
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Welcome to the Medical Cannabis Resource Center PTSD Info page

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Welcome to MERCYs web pages dedicated to information on PTSD and Medical Cannabis as well as related issues and items.  

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  Info on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Medical Cannabis 

Definition

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric illness that can occur following a traumatic event in which there was threat of injury or death to you or someone else.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

(PTSD) may occur soon after a major trauma, or can be delayed for more than six months after the event. When it occurs soon after the trauma it usually resolves after three months, but some people experience a longer-term form of the condition, which can last for many years.

 

PTSD can occur at any age and can follow a natural disaster such as flood or fire, or events such as war or imprisonment, assault, domestic abuse, or rape. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in the U.S. may have caused PTSD in some people who were involved, in people who witnessed the disaster, and in people who lost relatives and friends. These kinds of events produce stress in anyone, but not everyone develops PTSD.

 

We do not know what causes PTSD, but psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. PTSD alters the body s response to stress by affecting stress hormones and neurotransmitters (chemicals that transmit information between our nerves). Previous exposure to trauma may increase the risk, which suggests that this kind of a reaction may be a learned response.

 

Having good social support helps to protect against developing PTSD. In studies of Vietnam veterans, those with strong support systems were less likely to develop PTSD than those without social support.

 

People with PTSD re-experience the event again and again in at least one of several ways. They may have recurrent distressing dreams and recollections of the event, a sense of reliving the experience (referred to as flashbacks), and/or become very distressed around the time of events that symbolize the event (such as anniversaries).

Symptoms

Symptoms of PTSD fall into three general categories:

 

1. Repeated "reliving" of the event, which disturbs day-to-day activity

  • Recurrent distressing memories of the event
  • Recurrent dreams of the event
  • Flashback episodes, where the event seems to be recurring
  • Bodily reactions to situations that remind them of the traumatic event

 

2. Avoidance

  • Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma
  • Lack of interest in normal activities
  • Feelings of detachment
  • Sense of having no future
  • Emotional "numbing", or feeling as though they don t care about anything
  • Reduced expression of moods
  • Staying away from places, people, or objects that remind them of the event

 

3. Arousal

  • Irritability or outbursts of anger
  • Sleeping difficulties
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Exaggerated response to things that startle them
  • Hypervigilance

 

Other symptoms that may be associated with this disease include a sense of guilt about the event (including "survivor guilt"), and the following symptoms, which are typical of anxiety, stress, and tension:

  • Paleness
  • Feeling your heart beat in your chest, called palpitations
  • Headache
  • Fever
  • Fainting
  • Dizziness
  • Agitation, or excitability

Signs and tests

There are no tests that can be done to make the diagnosis of PTSD. The diagnosis is made based on a certain set of symptoms that persist after a history of extreme trauma. Your doctor will do psychiatric and physical examinations to rule out other illnesses.

Treatment

The aim of treatment is to reduce symptoms by encouraging the affected person to recall the event, to express feelings, and to gain some sense of mastery over the experience. In some cases, expressing grief helps to complete the necessary mourning process. Support groups provide a setting where people who have had similar experiences can share feelings, and are very helpful.

 

Depression, alcohol or substance abuse (which commonly occur with PTSD), or associated medical conditions, may need to be treated before symptoms of PTSD can be effectively addressed. Behavioral therapy, a type of talking therapy, may be used to treat avoidance symptoms. This can include graded exposure and flooding, which means that the person is frequently exposed to the object that triggers symptoms, until he/she becomes accustomed to it, and no longer avoids it.

 

Medicines that act on the nervous system may be used to reduce anxiety and other associated symptoms. Anti-depressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac) have been found to be effective in treating PTSD, although a doctor must monitor their use as they can have side effects. Sedatives can help with sleep disturbance. Anti-anxiety medicines may be useful, but some types, such as benzodiazepines, can be addictive.

Expectations (prognosis)

The best prognosis, or outcome, depends on how soon the symptoms develop after the trauma, and on early diagnosis and treatment.

Complications

  • Depression, anxiety, and phobia, or fear of things that are not usually frightening to other people, may accompany this disorder
  • Alcohol abuse and/or drug abuse

Calling your health care provider

While traumatic events like the September 11 tragedy can cause distress, not all feelings of distress are symptoms of PTSD. You should talk about your feelings with friends and relatives. If your symptoms persist longer, or are worse, than those of your friends, you should contact your doctor.

 

You should seek help immediately by going to the emergency room or calling the local emergency number (such as 911) if you are feeling overwhelmed by guilt, if you are impulsive, thinking of hurting yourself, unable to contain your behavior, or if you are experiencing other very distressing symptoms of PTSD.

 

You can also contact your doctor for help with ongoing problems such as recurrent thoughts, irritability, and problems with sleep.

Prevention

Counseling and crisis intervention soon after the event are important for people who have experienced extremely stressful situations. They could help prevent longer-term forms of PTSD and should be part of public health responses to groups at risk, such as disaster victims.

 

Source: http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/post-traumatic-stress-disorder

 

Support Groups

Additional information about post-traumatic stress disorder and coping with a national tragedy is available from the American Psychiatric Association.

 

Orgz and other Resources

 

Medical Marijuana Clinic -- Roseburg & Southern Oregon * Oregon Medical Cannabis Program Clinic with Doctor. ... Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs in response to an extraordinary trauma. ... AMOP Counseling is here for you! AMOP's program has been organized in a way that can conform to fit the needs of all, regardless of their financial situation. We will work with you so that you can get the help you need. Visit: http://amop.org/counseling.asp

 

 

California Cannabis Research Medical Group (CCRMG) * (ORG, inf) Winter/Spring 2005 - O'Shaughnessy's; Journal of the California Cannabis Research Medical Group. Letter from a Soldier - “Is Cannabis Recommended for PTSD?” - “Hello Dr. Mikuriya, I have recently returned home from Iraq. This was my second tour. I only had about 4 months between the two tours. I … am at a high state of alertness and I startle at certain noises. My tolerance is also very low, I get angry very easily. Not violent, I still have control but very agitated. I also have trouble sleeping and sometimes I have to take a sleeping pill or Nyquil to go to sleep. I went to my doctors and they sent me to a place on base that helps with PTSD.” Cannabis would indeed be useful in managing symptoms of PTSD. This has been known for over a century in the medical profession but forgotten because of its ... visit: http://www.ccrmg.org/journal/05spr/opinion.html

 

 

Veterans For Medical Marijuana (VFMM) * (ORG, inf) The Fourth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics ... Clinical Implications of the Endocannabinoid System: PTSD, ADD and Beyond; David Bearman, MD. PTSD Panel; Erin Hildebrandt, Allan Byrne, Christopher Largen , , cannabis, medical marijuana, industrial hemp and pot ... visit: http://vfmm.hempusflag.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=1

 

 

Patients Out of Time (ORG, action {event}) * more on The Fourth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics - While various aspects of clinical use will be covered, the core of the forum will involve both physical cannabis treatment and the use of cannabis for PTSD, ADD, depression and other emotional or psychological problems. Visit: http://www.medicalcannabis.com/about.htm

 

 

Medical Marijuana ProCon.org | Individual Bio - Al Byrne, Patients Out of Time ... Should marijuana be a medical option?” ... International Academy of Cannabis Medicine (IACM), Veteran Outreach -- Cannabis for PTSD affected veterans. Visit: http://www.medicalmarijuanaprocon.org/BiosInd/Byrne..htm

 

 

 

News and Information

 

 

California Cannabis Research Medical Group (CCRMG) | (ORG, Articles) O'Shaughnessy's - Spring 2006 - Journal of the California Cannabis Research Medical Group ... PTSD and Cannabis: A Clinician Ponders Mechanism of Action, By David Bearman, MD. One often intractable problem for which cannabis provides relief is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have more than 100 patients with PTSD. Among those reporting that cannabis alleviates their PTSD symptoms are veterans of the war in Vietnam, the first Gulf War, and the current occupation of Iraq. Similar benefit is reported by victims of family violence, rape and other traumatic events, and children raised in dysfunctional families.” Visit: http://www.ccrmg.org/journal/06spr/perspective2.html

 

 

Web Log of Dr. Tom O'Connell (Articles, inf) * That evidence, in the form of the aggregated medical histories of applicants ... PTSD follow-up ? Is PTSD an anxiety syndrome best treated by cannabis? ... In that connection, an NPR report on PTSD among recent Iraq returnees that I happened to hear while driving home on Monday evening might also be described as shocking, but not especially surprising. I have personally encountered the same blame the victim attitude among die-hard retired military who still think we should have ‘won’ the Viet Nam war and look upon ex-comrades who have been tormented by PTSD for decades as shirkers and ‘sad sacks of s__t.’ … visit: http://www.doctortom.org/archives/2006/12/more_on_ptsd_1.html

 

 

MedicalMJ.org - Medical Marijuana News and Facts * "PTSD Rates for Current Wars May Top Vietnam," Cox News Service / Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI), Nov. 27, 2006, and more. Visit: http://www.medicalmj.org/

 

 

The Razor Wire, Vol. 8, No. 3: In The News * Cannabis for PTSD - To help treat returning Iraqi combat soldiers, California's Dr. Tod Mikuriya gave this online advice to a returning Iraq War vet for coping with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome or PTSD: "Medically, cannabis is the treatment of choice for PTSD but definitely would spell the end of your military career. If you elect not to medicate with cannabis, the regular exercise regimen - avoidance of drugs and alcohol and a specialized debriefing - is the least worst response to this chronic psychiatric disorder." Visit: http://www.november.org/razorwire/2005-02/InTheNews.html

 

 

Power and Control: Montana Marijuana (BLOG) * It [Montana] voted for medical marijuana by 62 to 38. Which is what I keep telling my Republican ... Pain and the War on Drugs ? PTSD Pot Alcohol & Substance Abuse ... Cultural Issues; PTSD Combat : Winning the War Within … visit: http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/11/montana-marijuana.html

 

 

MAPS in the Media: Recent and Archival * Doblin speculates on the possibility of conducting MDMA / PTSD research with tsunami victims … The press release mentioned MAPS-sponsored research evaluating MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) … visit: http://www.maps.org/media/

 

 

 

Cannabis as Medicine

 

RxMarijuana.com | Marijuana:  The Forbidden Medicine (ORG, inf, Book) Featured Medical Marijuana Patient Accounts * to share website visitors' medical marijuana histories to provide insight into uses for this medicine which are not widely known. … If you wish to send us a personal account of your medical marijuana experiences, ... Cannabis and PTSD by Michael McKenna ... visit: http://www.rxmarihuana.com/shared.htm

 

 

Medical-101.com (web-ring / link-list) * Your starting point for the best medical info. Free Medical Cannabis info Find what you're looking for! Visit: http://www.medical-101.com/s/medical_cannabis



#2399 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:19 pm
Subject: Fw: On HBO tonight, Ganja Queen, about Schapelle Corby
sabbathed_pr...
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> From: Richard Lake <rlake@...>
> Subject: MAP: On HBO tonight, Ganja Queen, about Schapelle Corby
> Date: Monday, June 30, 2008, 12:27 PM
> Click this link for 130 news clippings:
>
> http://www.mapinc.org/people/Schapelle+Corby
>
> To view HBO's promo video go to:
>
>
http://www.dailymotion.com/cluster/travel/featured/video/x5vxab_ganja-queen_shor\
tfilms
>
>  From the HBO website:
>
> GANJA QUEEN
>
> Rated TVMA: Adult Language, Adult Content, Mild Violence
>
> Running Time: 91 minutes
>
> Genre: Documentary
>
> Imagine being on vacation and having ten pounds of
> marijuana found in
> one of your bags. For Schapelle Corby, the nightmare became
> a reality
> when she was accused of drug trafficking while in Bali.
> Proclaiming
> her innocence, Corby becomes locked in a life-and-death
> courtroom
> battle that would decide her fate. This harrowing film from
> director
> Janine Hosking serves as a chilling reminder of the risks
> travelers
> face when visiting countries with vastly different criminal
> justice
> systems and cultural mores.
>
> Director: Janine Hosking

#2398 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:22 pm
Subject: Fw: US WI: PUB LTE: Why reluctance to research cannabis?
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From: GF Storck <gstorck@...>
Subject: IMMLY_ANNOUNCE: US WI: PUB LTE: Why reluctance to research cannabis?
Date: Monday, June 30, 2008, 11:30 AM

Newshawk: Is My Medicine Legal YET? www.immly.org
Source: Wisconsin State Journal
Pubdate: 30 June 2008
Author:  Gary Storck

WHY RELUCTANCE TO RESEARCH CANNABIS?

"Heart troubles," the State Journal's Wednesday piece on Tim
Russert's
abrupt passing despite treatment with the best Western medicine could
offer, points out a need for more alternatives.

In a 2004 study published in the journal Nature, "Low dose oral
cannabinoid therapy reduces progression of atherosclerosis in mice,"
Swiss scientists observed that cannabinoids, chemical compounds found in
marijuana, protect against heart disease by blocking the blood vessel
inflammation that causes plaque to form.

The cannabinoid used was delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), already
approved by the FDA as a schedule 3 drug. Although approved to stimulate
appetite in cancer and AIDS patients, doctors hypothetically could
prescribe it "off-label," meaning this treatment is available today
nationwide.

But since the media tends to overlook studies showing medical benefits
from cannabis, few are aware that cannabis or its constituent
cannabinoids may be a lifesaving alternative.

Why must we look abroad to learn more about the medical uses of
cannabis, and how did America get to the point where withholding this
potential lifesaver from patients is good public policy?

-- Gary Storck, Madison, director of communications, Is My Medicine
Legal Yet?

#2397 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:18 pm
Subject: The Drug War Just Across the Border by Clarence Page
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URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n629/a01.html

Pubdate: Sun, 29 Jun 2008
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2008 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Clarence Page
Note: Clarence Page is a member of the Tribune's editorial board.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Merida+Initiative
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/area/Mexico (Mexico)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Felipe+Calderon

 

 

THE DRUG WAR JUST ACROSS THE BORDER

As if our military didn't have its hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan, the head of the Minuteman Project border security group seems to think Minutemen might make good narcotics cops.

Minuteman co-founder Jim Gilchrist suggested in recent radio interviews that the U.S.  give Mexico 12 months to corral its criminal drug cartels and rising violence, particularly in border towns such as Juarez and Tijuana--or deploy the U.S.  Army to do the job.

That's the Minutemen.  Their remedies for the drug war next door sound simplistic, but at least they're paying attention.

While most of us north of the border have been absorbed with our presidential sweepstakes and other happenings, our southern neighbor has exploded into the full-scale drug violence previously associated with Colombia or Peru.

For now, we're not sending troops, just money.  The Senate last Thursday approved a $1.6 billion, three-year package of anti-drug assistance to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.  Known as the "Merida Initiative," it includes $400 million for military equipment and technical assistance for Mexico's anti-drug fight.  The bill was passed earlier by the House and President Bush is expected to sign it.

Mexico's government cheered the bill because it waters down proposed restrictions that would have required Mexico to change the way it handles allegations of human rights abuses by its military.  Mexican leaders threatened to reject the money if there were too many restrictions on their sovereignty.

But the omission brought jeers from Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, such as the Friends of Brad Will, founded in the name of a freelance New York journalist who was shot and killed while shooting video of a teachers strike in Oaxaca two years ago.  A native of Chicago's North Shore, Will was 36.

His final video shows protesters hurling rocks and captures the sounds of gunshots, along with a shout: "Stop taking photos!" A shot is heard whizzing toward Will.  He was struck in the abdomen and once in the right side.

Within days, state authorities took two men into custody, a local town councilor and his security chief.  But they were released less than two months later.  A state judge ruled that they were not close enough to have shot Will.

No further suspects were brought in.  Publicity eventually helped nudge federal authorities into taking the case over, but they have not made much more progress.  Capturing his own killing on video did not save Will from becoming one of thousands of casualties related to drugs or politics in Mexico in recent years.

Twenty-one journalists have been killed in Mexico, seven of them in direct reprisal for their work, since 2000, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, of which I am a board member.  Seven others have disappeared in the last three years.

"Mexico is not at war," said Joel Simon, executive director of CPJ.  "And yet it is one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press."

But that's only a sliver of the thousands of drug-related murders of non-journalists in Mexico.  By various counts, more than 4,000 people--including some 500 local, state and federal police officers--have been killed in the 18 months since President Felipe Calderon launched his campaign against the drug gangs.

Gang wars have escalated in recent years over smuggling routes to the United States and over control of local police forces.  Among other particularly grisly touches, drug gangs in the northern state of Durango recently have left severed heads with warning notes attached in coolers by the side of the road.

Journalists such as Francisco Ortiz Franco, co-editor of the Tijuana newsweekly Zeta, have been killed for aggressively covering corruption and drug trafficking.  At age 50, Franco was fatally shot in front of his children on a downtown Tijuana street.

Cases like his led to a meeting between President Calderon, who has sent federal troops in to bring peace to some towns, and CPJ board members, including me, in Mexico City June 9.  Among other press freedom reforms, Calderon agreed to work toward laws that would protect speech and press freedoms at the federal level, not just the states, where corruption is more rampant.

With hundreds of millions of Washington anti-drug dollars still pending at the time, Calderon had ample reason to speak in glowing terms about human rights reforms.  Now he needs to follow his talk with action--and Americans need to keep an eye on how well our money is being used. 

MAP posted-by: Richard Lake



#2396 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:52 pm
Subject: Drug War Today
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http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/

 

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Monday Jul 7
7PM Medical Marijuana Documentary "Waiting to Inhale"...
More Events...

Sat Jun 21 2008 (Updated 06/22/08) Zapatistas Implicated in the "War on Drugs"
Militarization in Mexico
Under the guise of the "War on Drugs," the Mexican Army has increased its presence around the Zapatistas autonomous municipalities in La Garrucha — the last place Subcomandante Marcos was seen. On June 4, a convoy of 200 army, state and local police tried to enter La Garrucha under the pretext of “looking for marijuana plants,” but were turned away by Zapatista men, women and children armed only with machetes and stones.

While the violence surrounding drug cartels in Mexico causes great alarm in Mexico and abroad, the targeting of Zapatista communities in the “War on Drugs” is equally alarming.
On May 22nd in Los Angeles, the California Court of Appeals ruled that the state limits on medical marijuana possession and cultivation that were established under state law SB 420 are unconstitutional. In the case People v. Patrick Kelly, the court overturned the defendant's conviction for possessing 12 ounces of dried marijuana plants on the grounds that the prosecutor had improperly argued that the defendant was guilty because he possessed more than the 8-ounce limit established in Health & Safety Code Section 11362.77 and did not have a doctor's recommendation that authorized more. That section also says that counties and cities can enact medical marijuana guidelines that allow patients or caregivers to exceed the state limits.

In its 3-0 decision, the court ruled: "The prosecutor's argument was improper... because the CUA [Compassionate Use Act] can only be amended with voters' approval. Voters, however, did not approve the eight-ounce limit and other caps in section 11362.77; hence, section 11362.77 unconstitutionally amends the CUA." The decision could be appealed to the Supreme Court. Prop. 215 advocates such as California NORML have long believed that the SB 420 limits are unconstitutional. Statement from California NORML

Text of Court of Appeals decision in People v. Patrick Kelly | Text of SB 420 | Text of Proposition 215
Blackwater Worldwide Opens Large Training Facility in San Diego
On June 5th, after a federal judge cleared the way, Blackwater Worldwide, the 'World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army', opened a large training facility in San Diego, just three blocks from the border that separates California and Mexico. Blackwater is setting its sights on the so-called "war on drugs" and recently opened its own private CIA, called "Total Intelligence Solutions," marketing "CIA-type services" to Fortune 500 companies. On Wednesday, June 11th, local groups in San Diego are organizing a major protest outside the Blackwater facility at 7685 Siempre Viva Road in Otay Mesa.
Santa Cruz City Council to Consider Resolution Calling for an End of US Military Aid to Co
Armed with bazookas, instruments and colorful posters, residents of Santa Cruz will show their support on Tuesday, June 10th at 3:30pm in favor of a pending city resolution requesting that all US military aid to Colombia be re-directed to domestic drug prevention and rehabilitation programs, which have been shown to be more effective in the “war on drugs.” Bert Muhly of Tres Americas will speak on the issue, as well as Sandra Alvarez, long time Colombia activist and Ph.D candidate at the University of California Santa Cruz.
Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) and a small bi-partisan coalition of Members of Congress introduced H.R. 5842, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act in April. The legislation will help protect individuals who use or provide medical cannabis in accordance with their state law.

If it is passed, this legislation would, among other things, reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule II drug according the Controlled Substances Act and provide clearer protections for qualified patients, their caregivers, and safe-access sites authorized by state or local law. Such bills have been introduced in the past, but had not been passed into law. Americans for Safe Access has a Patient Protection Act page on its website from which people can write to their U.S. Representative to support this piece of legislation.

HR 5842: Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act | ASA's announcement about contacting Congresspeople | Controlled Substances Act
donna.jpg
Donna Deiss Yovino writes, "At Santa Cruz parking lot A on West Cliff Drive, on Friday May 9, 2008, Sgt. C LeMoss twisted and broke the right humurus arm bone of a 60 year old disabled woman for entering her RV and attempting to close the door."
Bill in Assembly Committee Would End California Law Enforcement Help in DEA Raids On April 29th, California's Assembly Committee on Public Safety passed A.B. 2743. The bill, authored by Assembly Member Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego) and spearheaded by the Marijuana Policy Project, or MPP, would direct state and local law enforcement officers to not assist in federal raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. The bill will now continue on to the appropriations committee.

During the more than ten years in which patients in California have had legal access to medical cannabis, local and state officials have assisted the federal war on patients and providers in more than three-dozen cases, including by calling in federal agents. Some segments of the law enforcement community have reportedly opposed this bill, but the state's ill and injured patients prevailed when the committee voted to move the bill forward.

The committee heard testimony from MPP's Aaron Smith; a raided dispensary operator; a disabled former corrections officer; and Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband Dale Schafer, who have been sentenced to five years in federal prison for medical marijuana. Several patients and caregivers from the Sacramento area also attended to show their support for the bill..

Marijuana Policy Project's Statement | ASA's AB 2743 Page
Medical Cannabis Employment Rights Bill Passes Two Assembly Committees Update: An inconclusive vote was held on the Assembly floor on May 19th. Marijuana Policy Project is calling for supporters of the legislation to contact their Assemblypeople to "thank or spank" them and to encourage their votes in favor of the bill when it is next considered by the full body.

A state medical marijuana employment rights bill is working its way through California's state Assembly committees. AB 2279, which would protect the rights of hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in California from employment discrimination, was introduced in February and was approved April 17th by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on a 6-2 vote. The bill, which heads to the Assembly floor next, would reverse a January California Supreme Court decision in Ross v. RagingWire, which said that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) argued the case in court and is now a sponsor of the bill.

The bill leaves intact existing state law prohibiting medical marijuana consumption at the workplace and "protects employers" from liability by carving out an exception for safety-sensitive positions. "The California Supreme Court decision said that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace," Mr. Leno said in a previous statement. "AB 2279 is merely an affirmation of the intent of the voters and the legislature that medical marijuana patents need not be unemployed to benefit from their medicine."

On January 24th, the California Supreme Court upheld a ruling that denied qualified patients a remedy from employment discrimination, based either on their status as a patient or a positive test for marijuana. The plaintiff from the case, Gary Ross, is a 46-year old disabled veteran who was a systems engineer living Carmichael when he was fired in 2001 from his job at RagingWire Telecommunications-- for testing positive for marijuana. "It's important that we not allow employment discrimination in California," Ross said. "If the court is going to ignore the need for protection, then it's up to the legislature to ensure that productive workers like me are free from discrimination."

Text of AB2279 | ASA page on AB2279, including Fact Sheet and Letters of Support | Legal briefs and rulings in the Ross v. RagingWire case | Indybay's Past Coverage: CA Supreme Court Upholds Right of Employers to Fire Medical Marijuana Users
Thousands of Students Celebrate 420 in Porter Meadow at UCSC Thousands of students from around the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas participated in a "Four Twenty" celebration in Porter Meadow at UC Santa Cruz on April 20th, 2008. Four Twenty (420) is a time of day when people, often a group of friends, smoke cannabis together or eat foods cooked with it. For that reason, April 20th has evolved into a counterculture holiday where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis. Porter Meadow at UCSC has traditionally been the largest 420 gathering place around, and this year was said to be even larger than 2007. Despite the severe measures initiated by the UCSC administration to curtail the unorganized convergence, folks showed they were determined to experience Four Twenty as one large group of people in the Porter Meadow. imc_photo.gifRead More and View Photos

see also: imc_video.gifThousands Celebrate 420 at Porter Meadow | UCSC Reefer Madness! Campus lockdown! | 2007: A Portrait: 420 at UC Santa Cruz
Fry and Shafer Released on Bail Pending Appeal On March 19th, Dr.. Marion "Mollie" Fry and Dale Schafer walked out of a US Court in Sacramento free on bail pending appeal after being sentenced to a five-year mandatory minimum for conspiracy to cultivate and dispense medical cannabis. US District Judge Frank Damrell deplored the sentence as a "tragedy" that should "never have happened." Supporters were elated by Judge Damrell's decision to grant release the defendants on bail after much of the hearing had resulted in rulings in favor of the prosecution. Defense attorney Tony Serra called it "one of the saddest days I've confronted in a long career" after Damrell turned down all the defense's motions to avoid the mandatory minimums.

Dr.. Mollie Fry stirred the courtroom to tears as she related the story of her struggle with breast cancer and subsequent desire to help people with medical cannabis. "We caused no harm to anyone," she said, "There were no victims." Judge Damrell acknowledged the legitimacy of Fry's medical use of marijuana, but said that the couple had "spiraled out of control. ' He concluded that he had "no choice" but to impose the mandatory minimum of 5 years, a sentence dictated by the jury's finding that the couple had grown a total of slightly more than 100 plants over a period of three years.

On the final issue of the day, Judge Damrell agreed that the couple had "substantial" grounds for appeal so as to justify their release on bail. Following expert testimony by attorneys J David Nick and Ephraim Margolin, Damrell found substantial appeals issues relating to entrapment, the defendants' state of mind, and the conflict between state and federal laws.. He added that the couple's precarious state of health was further extraordinary grounds for keeping them out of prison. He reprimanded Dr. Fry for her loose standards in recommending marijuana, and stipulated as a strict condition for her release that she desist from further recommendations, to which she assented. Dale Gieringer of California NORML writes, "Judge Damrell effectively declared the bankruptcy of US laws regarding mandatory sentencing and medical marijuana, and rightly referred the matter to higher authorities to decide. There are good grounds to hope that Dale and Mollie will be vindicated by the Ninth Circuit and/or a change in administration." Doctor Fry reportedly sold her practice by the end of March.

Reports from the Sentencing | Announcement of the sentencing | 8/22/2007: Medical Cannabis Doctor and Attorney Found Guilty of Growing Cannabis Plants | Doctor Fry's website
Friends of Brad Will Release Secret Documents of Proposed US/Mexican Military Aid
The international network demanding accountability for the murder of US journalist Brad Will released secret documents detailing proposed military support for Mexican security forces implicated in murder, torture and continuing arbitrary detentions.
Tainted/Compassion Medicinal Edibles Owner to Change Plea on March 26th Michael Martin of Tainted/Compassionate Medicinal Edibles faces a Change of Plea Hearing in Oakland on Wednesday, March 26th. He writes, "I cannot gamble with raising my two children from prison for a decade over principle, so regrettably I will accept the plea offered to me and hope the judge sees the injustice of the situation." As he is unable to speak freely about the medicinal nature of Tainted's products, the alternative would be a jury that could assign him a ten year mandatory minimum sentence.

Michael is hoping that the community will go to court to show support for him. He writes, "It is our first appearance in front of Judge Claudia Wilken and I think it is important to let her know that there is a community of patients and providers that demand justice.. She will be responsible for the sentencing in our case and I believe it to be important that she understand that we are one of many being persecuted and denied our rights regarding cannabis as a medicine." The hearing will take place on Wednesday at 2:30pm in Judge Wilken's courtroom at 1301 Clay St. in Oakland. Read more

Past Coverage: 1/31: Patient Testimonials Needed. Let Your Vice Be Heard | DEA Targets East Bay Supplier of Edible Medical Cannabis Products | Free Tainted Cannablog
Mon Mar 24 2008 (Updated 03/27/08) CA Supreme Court Affirms ASA Win in Felix Kha Case
Police in California Must Return Medical Marijuana Seized from Legal Patients On Wednesday, March 19th, the California Supreme Court decided not to review last year’s landmark return of property decision in Garden Grove v. Superior Court. By affirming the appellate court’s decision, the Supreme Court has made protection against seizure of medical marijuana by law enforcement legally binding throughout the state of California.

In November of 2007, the California Court of Appeal ruled that state law enforcement could not use federal law as an excuse for not upholding California’s medical cannabis laws – therefore police must return medicine wrongfully seized from legal patients. ASA filed the successful appeal on behalf of Garden Grove patient Felix Kha in hopes of stemming the tide of hundreds of wrongful confiscations of medicine all over California. Kha had sought the return of his 8 grams of medical marijuana that was seized by police in June of 2005. In a ruling that rejects law enforcement's claim that federal law preempts the state's medical marijuana law, the court asserted "we do not believe the federal drug laws supersede or preempt Kha's right to the return of his property." The court further stated that, "it is not the job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws..."

As a result of hundreds of cases of wrongful medical marijuana confiscation, and careful legal planning and research over the course of two years, ASA’s legal team felt that it built a strong defense for the rights of Felix Kha and others like him. ASA wants to make sure that the more than 250,000 legal patients and thousands of attorneys and public defenders are sufficiently educated about patients’ rights and protection from medicine confiscation to which patients are now entitled. ASA now hopes to educate police officers, prosecutors, and judges, and to use the media to end patient harassment and to ensure that police no longer claim that marijuana is illegal.

ASA's page about the Garden Grove case || Past coverage on Indybay: 11/2007: Appellate Court Strongly Vindicates Patients Right to Medical Marijuana Seized by Police | 8/2007: State Appellate Court to Hear Demand for Return of Patients' Medicine
Fri Feb 8 2008 (Updated 03/03/08) San Francisco is Now a Medical Cannabis Sanctuary
San Francisco Medical Cannabis Patients Speak Out Against DEA\'s Threats to Safe Access On February 26th, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a sanctuary resolution.. This new law re-establishes the city's sanctuary status and calls on the Mayor to take action. On February 12th, the Supervisors had heard and postponed a vote on a resolution that would show the Supes' support for John Conyers Jr., the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of Congress, who called for hearings to investigate the DEA's attempts to undermine California state laws. This resolution is similar to the one that was passed by the Democratic County Central Committee on January 23rd. Patients and supporters spoke out in support of this resolution. Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, who represents neighborhoods in southwest San Francisco, said he wanted a chance to go on record against the resolution, so he asked that the vote be deferred. He voted against the measure on the 26th. Also on the 26th, the Supervisors voted to allow for dispensaries to stay open after the March 1st deadline, pending an amendment to the current ordinance. Supervisor Allioto-Pier was absent for both votes on that date.

At a press conference held on San Francisco City Hall Steps at noon on Monday February 4th, members of the San Francisco medical cannabis community and their supporters gathered in solidarity to call for Mayor Gavin Newsom to end his silence about recent US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)'s scare tactics against medical cannabis facility landlords. imc_photo.gifPhotos and Report The DEA has been sending letters threatening asset forfeiture and imprisonment if landlords continue to rent to medical cannabis dispensaries, even though they are doing so pursuant to City regulations. Speakers including California State Senator Carole Migden; San Francisco Supervisors Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi; representatives of local dispensaries; and other luminaires such as Libertarian presidential candidate Steve Kubby challenged the Mayor to join with Mayor Ron Dellums of Oakland in denouncing the federal government's treachery. On Wednesday, the Mayor's spokesperson Nathan Ballard said, "The mayor is concerned that the DEA's actions will leave patients without their physician-recommended medical marijuana" Some SF Supervisors are concerned that this statement did not demonstrate enough leadership-- many measures would be needed to protect dispensaries from closure, and to assure patients' continued access to their medicine should the DEA's threatening letters lead to many dispensaries closing down.
Take Action during Medical Marijuana Week,\r\n February 11-17, 2008\r\n Join the National Movement to Protect Safe Access!\r\n To celebrate the growing support for medical cannabis and the spread of safe access in medical cannabis states throughout the nation, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) organized Medical Marijuana Week 2008. Medical Marijuana Week has taken place the last five years during the week of February 15th, or 2/15, to commemorate the passage of Proposition 215, California's medical cannabis law.

Each day during the week, Americans for Safe Access announced opportunities to advance safe access to medical cannabis, through actions such as educating one's community, meeting with U.S. Senators, writing letters to the editor, and more. They reminded participants that wearing medical marijuana-related t-shirts, stickers, hats, bags, or sweatshirts can serve as icebreakers or ways to start talking about medical cannabis. Local events in the Bay Area included Sunday's Medical Marijuana University, as well as film screenings, a legal training on Tuesday evening in SF, a Valentine's Day seed planting at SF City Hall, and a photo/video shoot of patients' testimonials. On Friday evening, SF Patients' Cooperative hosted a Unity in the Community event to discuss starting a medical marijuana community center. On Saturday, Medical cannabis researcher Jahan Marcu spoke at a Los Angeles ASA meeting, while a civil disobedience training for emergency response was held in Oakland. On Sunday night, SF ASA hosted a party.

The national daily actions included:
Monday: Joining Americans for Safe Access, which is the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.
Tuesday: "Meet Your Senators" On Tuesday and Wednesday during Medical Marijuana Week activists throughout the country "dropped in" on their U.S. Senators’ district offices to talk about supporting access for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. They hope that senators will sign on to the letter Senators Kennedy and Kerry are circulating to enable FDA-approved research.
Wednesday: Put Pens to Paper for Research Participants wrote letters to the editors of local newspapers, calling on their Senators to support access for FDA-approved medical marijuana research. ASA says, "FDA-approved research is key to safe access nationwide."
Thursday: Meet Your Match Patients nationwide have joined together to form condition-based unions to further promote medical cannabis research and advocate for safe access to medical cannabis through the Medical Marijuana Unions project.
Friday: Meet the Movement and Get Organized On Thursday, ASA released its first ever National Field Report, which paints a comprehensive picture of the local, state, and national campaigns ASA’s chapters and affiliates work on and also highlights the 2007 accomplishments in the field. ASA hoped that on Friday, people would be inspired to found or join a chapter of the organization.
Saturday and Sunday: Walk Your Talk On Saturday and Sunday, ASA suggested that participants download and print out a petition calling on their U.S. Senators to support access to materials for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. ASA has an interactive map, so that petitions could be addressed to participants' own U.S. Senators.

Medical Marijuana Week announcement | San Francisco ASA's Medical Marijuana Week | Americans for Safe Access
iCal feed From the Calendar:
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Urgent: Medical marijuana resolution going before Calif. Senate MPP via list
Wednesday Jun 18th 7:45 PM
The New Bad News for California About Blackwater repost
Monday Jun 9th 4:48 PM
ASA CA Weekly Alert 6-6-08 Americans for Safe Access
Monday Jun 9th 4:16 PM
Update on November initiatives repost from CA Sec of State
Friday Jun 6th 3:14 PM
Update: Mendo Measure B Election Results Not Final!!! No on Measure B (2 comments)
Thursday Jun 5th 12:00 PM
Mendo: Narrow Victory of Measure B Emboldens Pro-MJ Opponents CA NORML (1 comment)
Wednesday Jun 4th 12:00 PM
Mendocino and the Marijuana Wars Christina Aanestad (3 comments)
Friday May 30th 7:39 PM
California Assembly Votes to Protect Medical Marijuana Patients' Right to Work Americans for Safe Access (2 comments)
Wednesday May 28th 6:23 PM
DEA Raids Holistic Solutions in Clearlake, San Mateo, Richmond Statements from NORML and ASA (1 comment)
Wednesday May 28th 3:52 PM
Calif. medical marijuana vote imminent; call your Assembly member today! Marijuana Policy Project
Tuesday May 27th 12:53 PM
More Local News...
Panama Supreme Court to Review US-Backed Drug Interdiction Program Okke Ornstein, NarcoNews (reposted)
Tuesday Jun 17th 8:19 PM
No to Blackwater on Border Gain Allies Peace Resource Center of San Diego
Tuesday Jun 10th 11:56 AM
Plan Mexico threatens peaceful Mexican communities StopPlanMexico
Sunday Jun 8th 3:05 PM
Money Laundering & Murder in Colombia: Official Documents Point to DEA Complicity Bill Conroy, NarcoNews (reposted)
Sunday May 18th 7:25 PM
Act Now to Protect Medical Cannabis Patients: Support Needed for HR 5842 Americans for Safe Access (list)
Thursday May 15th 6:06 PM
Denied college financial aid for one joint? Marijuana Policy Project
Wednesday May 14th 4:19 PM
Obama speaks out on medical marijuana Marijuana Policy Project (4 comments)
Monday May 12th 4:40 PM
Rubin: Marines Stuck Protecting Opium in Helmand Informed Comment Global Affairs (reposted)
Friday May 9th 6:24 AM
Union of MMJ Providers to appeal rouge eviction ruling Union MMP via list
Thursday May 8th 12:47 PM
House Judiciary Chair Questions DEA Tactics Americans for Safe Access (1 comment)
Monday May 5th 4:34 PM
Minnesota medical marijuana bill under attack MPP (1 comment)
Thursday May 1st 12:14 PM
International Association for Cannabis as Medicine International Association for Cannabis as Med
Monday Apr 28th 12:21 PM
Rubin: More Misleading Talking Points on Drugs in Afghanistan from UNODC, USG, etc. Informed Comment Global Affairs (reposted)
Monday Apr 14th 8:01 AM
More Global News...
Mexico's Massive Illegal weapons coming from China and the U.S. Michael Webster Investigative Reporter
Sunday Jun 22nd 9:40 PM
Colombian coca growth 'shocks' UN Al Jazeera (reposted)
Friday Jun 20th 7:30 AM
Jerry Brown to challenge court's ruling on medical marijuana LA Times repost
Monday Jun 9th 7:46 PM
The Grass-Roots Marijuana Wars Time Magazine repost
Monday Jun 9th 4:59 PM
Del Norte: Medical Marijuana Daily Triplicate repost (1 comment)
Monday Jun 9th 1:07 PM
Whos to Blame for Mexicos Narcoviolence NAM (reposted)
Thursday Jun 5th 6:56 AM
Mexico's War on Drugs is a Sham NAM (reposted)
Wednesday Jun 4th 7:06 AM
Mexican Drug War Rages On NPR (reposted)
Tuesday Jun 3rd 6:47 AM
ASA Undermines Axis of Love russell kyle (1 comment)
Monday Jun 2nd 8:57 PM
Mendo: flurry of anti-Measure B action reposts via CA NORML
Monday Jun 2nd 7:14 PM
Cloud of questions surrounds Mendo's Measure B, which would set new plant limits repost from SR Press Democrat
Monday Jun 2nd 12:12 PM
Mexican Narcoviolence Spills into U.S. Elections NAM (reposted)
Thursday May 29th 6:56 AM
Feds conducting big pot raids in Oakland, rest of Bay Area Inside Bay Area repost (1 comment)
Wednesday May 28th 2:39 PM
Mexico drug-related killings soar BBC (reposted)
Saturday May 24th 8:33 AM
Open Newswire...
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#2395 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:40 pm
Subject: Drug War Toll Mounts.
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The Drug War Toll Mounts

by Radley Balko

This article appeared on cato.org on December 2, 2004.

In Washington, D.C., a 27-year old quadriplegic is sentenced to ten days in jail for marijuana possession, where he dies under suspicious circumstances. In Florida, a wheelchair-bound multiple sclerosis patient now serves a 25-year prison sentence for using an out-of-state doctor to obtain pain medication. And in Palestine, Texas, prosecutors arrest 72 people -- all of them black -- and charge them with distributing crack cocaine.. The scene bears a remarkable resemblance to a similar mass, mostly-black drug bust in nearby Tulia five years ago.

These examples aren't exceptional. They're typical. America's drug war marches on, impervious to efficacy, justice, or absurdity. Drug prohibition was nowhere to be found in Election 2004. There was no mention of it in the debates, the conventions, or the endless cable news campaign coverage.

Radley Balko is a policy analyst for the Cato Institute.

In some ways, that was a blessing. Campaign discussion of drug prohibition has too often focused on which candidate took what drugs when, and who was more sorry for having done so.

While it's refreshing that we've moved beyond apologies, it's also true that under the laws many of today's politicians support, a kid who experiments with illicit drugs the same way many of them once did may not get the chance to finish school or go to college, much less run for political office..

The number of policymakers who've dared to question any aspect of the drug war could comfortably fit on the back of a pocket-sized edition of the Bill of Rights. This needs to change. America should reexamine its drug policy.

Today, federal and state governments spend between $40 and $60 billion per year to fight the war on drugs, about ten times the amount spent in 1980 -- and billions more to keep drug felons in jail. The U.S. now has more than 318,000 people behind bars for drug-related offenses, more than the total prison populations of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain combined.

Our prison population has increased by 400 percent since 1980, while the general population has increased just 20 percent. America also now has the highest incarceration rate in the world -- 732 of every 100,000 citizens are behind bars.

The drug war has wrought the zero tolerance mindset, asset forfeiture laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and countless exceptions to criminal defense and civil liberties protections. Some sociologists blame it for much of the plight of America's inner cities. Others point out that it has corrupted law enforcement, just as alcohol prohibition did in the 1920s.

On peripheral issues like medicinal marijuana and prescription painkillers, the drug war has treated chronically and terminally ill patients as junkies, and the doctors who treat them as common pushers. Drug war accoutrements, such as "no-knock" raids and searches, border patrols, black market turf wars and crossfire, and international interdiction efforts, have claimed untold numbers of innocent lives.

For all that sacrifice, are we at least winning?

Even by the government's own standards for success, the answer is unquestionably "no." The illicit drug trade is estimated to be worth $50 billion today ($400 billion worldwide), up from $1 billion 25 years ago. Annual surveys of high school seniors show heroin and marijuana are as available today as they were in 1975. Deaths from drug overdoses have doubled in the last 20 years.

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the price of of a gram of heroin has dropped by about 38 percent since 1981, while the purity of that gram has increased six-fold. The price of cocaine has dropped by 50 percent, while its purity has increased by 70 percent. Just recently, the ONDCP waged a public relations campaign against increasingly pure forms of marijuana coming in from Canada.

So despite all of the money we've spent and people we've imprisoned, despite the damage done to our cities and the integrity of our criminal justice system, despite the restrictions we've allowed on our civil liberties, despite the innocent lives lost and the needless suffering we've imposed on sick people and their doctors -- despite all of this -- the drug trade isn't just thriving, it's growing. Illicit drugs are cheaper, more abundant, and of purer concentration than ever before.

Like alcohol prohibition before it, drug prohibition has failed, by every conceivable measure. Isn't it about time for America to take a hard look at its drug policy?

 
 

Mexico Is Becoming the Next Colombia

by Ted Galen Carpenter


Mexico is a major source of heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine for the U.S. market as well as the principal transit and distribution point for cocaine coming in from South America. For years, people both inside and outside Mexico have worried that the country might descend into the maelstrom of corruption and violence that has long plagued the chief drug-source country in the Western Hemisphere, Colombia. There are growing signs that the “Colombianization” of Mexico is now becoming a reality.

Ted Galen Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, is the author of six books on international affairs, including Bad Neighbor Policy: Washington’s Futile War on Drugs in Latin America (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2003).

More by Ted Galen Carpenter

That tragic prospect is a direct result of Washington’s policy of drug prohibition. A prohibitionist strategy inherently creates a huge black-market premium for trafficking in illegal drugs. The enormous potential profit also attracts the most violence-prone criminal elements. It is a truism that when drugs are outlawed, only outlaws will traffic in drugs.

If Mexico goes down the same path as Colombia, the consequences for the United States will be much more severe. Colombia is relatively far away, but Mexico shares a border with the United States and is closely linked to this country economically through the North America Free Trade Agreement. Chaos in Mexico is already spilling over the border and will adversely impact the United States—especially the southwestern states.

There is still time for Mexico to halt and eventually reverse the Colombianization process, but for that to occur Washington must make dramatic policy changes. For more than three and a half decades, the United States has pursued a vigorous war on drugs that has produced major social pathologies both here and abroad. It is time to rethink the entire prohibitionist strategy.

 

END THE INSANITY LEGALIZE AND REGULATE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! MW1



#2394 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:19 pm
Subject: Marijuana for chronic pain
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David Hadorn, M.D., Ph.D., wrote in his July 17, document "Use of Cannabis Medicines in Clinical Practice":

"As a physician, I am concerned that a very large number of patients with chronic pain are receiving inadequate treatment, in part because physician's therapeutic options have largely been limited to opiate-based analgesics and a handful of ancillary drugs, such as anti-epileptics and anti-depressants.

Scientists have known for many years that cannabinoids (the major active ingredients in cannabis medicines) are potent pain relievers, and that they act synergistically with opiates to increase the degree of pain relief. The addition of cannabis medicines to therapeutic regimens can reduce the need for opiates by 50 percent or more in many patients (while also reducing side effects such as constipation that opiates commonly produce)."
July 17, 2003 David Hadorn


Denis Petro, M.D. wrote in his 1997 paper "Spasticity and Chronic Pain" published in the 1997 book Cannabis in Medical Practice - A Legal, Historical and Pharmacological Overview of the Therapeutic Use of Marijuana:

"The evidence in support of cannabis as a treatment for pain exists both in preclinical animal studies and in a small number of clinical trials. Since cannabis contains many active cannabinoids in varying amounts in differing plants, a coherent recommendation concerning use against pain symptoms is lacking....

Considering the alternative of addicting drugs such as the opiate analgesics, patients may opt for the relative safety of cannabis.

Fatal overdose continues to be a significant problem with opiates. The absence of any fatalities associated with cannabis remains an astonishing fact. The safety profile of cannabis is such as to allow the clinician to consider this treatment option in selected cases, such as cancer and severe chronic pain with manifestations such as depression, weight loss, or intolerance of opiates."
1997 Denis Petro

 

Rheumatology reported in a January 2006 article "Preliminary Assessment of The Efficacy, Tolerability and Safety of A Cannabis-based Medicine (Sativex) in The Treatment of Pain Caused By Rheumatoid Arthritis," (Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 50-52) by D.R. Blake et al.:

"In comparison with placebo, the CBM [cannabis-based medicine] produced statistically significant improvements in pain on movement, pain at rest, quality of sleep....

In the first ever controlled trial of a CBM in RA [rheumatoid arthritis], a significant analgesic effect was observed and disease activity was significantly suppressed following Sativex treatment."
(January 2006) Rheumatology


The Journal of Neuroimmunology states in their September 2005 article "Cannabinoids and the Immune System: Potential For The Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases?" by J. Ludovic and Takashi Yamamura (Vol. 166, Issues 1-2, pp. 3-18):

"Studies from chronic cannabis smokers have provided much of the evidence for immunomodulatory [modifying or regulating the immune system] effects of cannabis in humans...

Cannabinoids can modulate both the function and secretion of cytokines [regulatory proteins] from immune cells.

Therefore, cannabinoids may be considered for treatment of inflammatory disease."
(September 2005) Journal of Neuroimmunology


Ethan Russo, M.D., states in the 2005 brochure "Arthritis and Medical Marijuana" by Americans for Safe Access:

"Patients have long told us that cannabis has been helpful to them in the treatment of their arthritic conditions.

Science has now demonstrated that the THC component of cannabis is a very effective analgesic (pain killer), and that the CBD (cannabidiol) component has unique immunomodulatory benefits as an antagonist of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, supporting benefits in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis."
(2005) Ethan Russo


Tod Mikuriya, M.D., states in 2002 article, "Medicinal Uses of Cannabis" published on his website:

"Clinical interviews of over 6500 members at cannabis buyers clubs and patients in my office practice lead to this generalization: Many illnesses or conditions present with both inflammation and muscle spasm. Cannabis is both an antispasmodic and anti inflammatory....

Chronic inflammatory conditions like arthritis and lumbosacral disease responds well to cannabis compared with other analgesics..
(2002) Tod Mikuriya


J. Michael Walker, Ph.D., states in the December 2000 Arthritis Today:

"The spinal cord is loaded with cannabinoid receptors. These cannabinoid compounds [from marijuana] apparently reduce swelling from inflammation [a major symptom of arthritis]. But more than that, they kill the pain from inflammation specifically. They work on the peripheral nerves that carry pain from your joint into the spinal cord."
(December 2000) J. Michael Walker


Americans for Safe Access states in their 2005 brochure "Arthritis and Medical Marijuana":

"Cannabis has a demonstrated ability to improve mobility and reduce morning stiffness and inflammation.

Research has also shown that patients are able to reduce their usage of potentially harmful Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) when using cannabis as an adjunct therapy."
(2005) Americans for Safe Access

 

Movement Disorders stated in a 2004 article "Survey on Cannabis Use in Parkinson's Disease" (Vol. 19, No. 9, pp. 1102-1106, Sept. 2004) by researchers from the Movement Disorders Centre, Dept. of Neurology at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic:

"An anonymous questionnaire sent to all patients attending the Prague Movement Disorder Centre revealed that 25% of 339 respondents had taken cannabis and 45.9% of these described some form of benefit....

The late onset of cannabis action is noteworthy. Because most patients reported that improvement occurred approximately two months after the first use of cannabis, it is very unlikely that it could be attributed to a placebo reaction."
(9/04) Movement Disorders


The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics (JCT) reported in an 2001 article by researchers at GW Pharmaceuticals (Vol. 1, No. 3/4, 2001, pp. 183-205):

"Some patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke cannabis [marijuana] report relief of spasm and pain after the second or third puff of a cannabis cigarette. This implies very rapid transit to, and absorption into the central nervous system. The time involved is seconds rather than minutes."
(2001) Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics


Americans For Safe Access (ASA), a patient advocacy non-profit group, states in their booklet "Medical Marijuana and Multiple Sclerosis," available on their website as of 12/20/05:

"Many MS patients report that cannabis has a startling and profound effect on muscle spasms, tremors, balance, bladder control, speech and eyesight. Many wheel-chair-bound patients report that they can walk unaided when they have smoked cannabis....

Numerous case studies, surveys and double-blind studies have reported improvement in patients treated with cannabinoids for symptoms including spasticity...

Cannabinoids have been shown in animal models to measurably lessen MS symptoms and may also halt the progression of the disease."
(2005) ASA


Britain's House of Lords' Science and Technology Committee (HOLC), published the November 1998 report Cannabis: The Scientific and Medical Evidence, which stated:

"We have received enough anecdotal evidence to convince us that cannabis almost certainly does have genuine medical applications, especially in treating the painful muscular spasms and other symptoms of MS and in the control of other forms of pain...

We therefore recommend that the Government should take steps to transfer cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations to Schedule 2, so as to allow doctors to prescribe an appropriate preparation of cannabis, albeit as an unlicensed medicine and on the named-patient basis, and to allow doctors and pharmacists to supply the drug prescribed."
(11/1998) HOLC


Montel Williams, national talk show host and writer, wrote in his 2004 book Climbing Higher about his support for medical marijuana:

"I spent 22 years in the service supporting, defending our Constitution of the United States, I fought in the war against drugs. I want to tell you right now in this country, we need to start thinking about compassion.

How dare someone tell me they can prescribe morphine, vicodin, percocet. Make the drugs most addictive, name the most addictive drug, they can give me and I can be a walking member of the society by taking that garbage, but my doctor, who has prescribed it for me, can’t prescribe medicinal marijuana? Why? Because we have an idea everybody who does it sits around smoking.

There are 50 different ways to utilize it. You can eat it; you can process it into a liquid; or you can turn it into a pill form. The willow tree was taken apart about 200 years ago and turned into aspirin. And we all take it.”
(2004) Montel Williams



#2393 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:12 pm
Subject: Medical Marijuana Pro vs Con
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This public service advertisement appears in the National Review, the New Republic, the American Prospect, The Nation, Reason Magazine, and The Progressive in the winter of 2008.

 

Internists Endorse Legal Access
to Medical Marijuana


The American College of Physicians, the nation's largest organization of Internists, is calling for protection of both doctors and patients from criminal and civil penalties in states that have adopted medical-marijuana laws.

A position paper just released by their board of regents lists half a dozen diseases for which marijuana has already proven effective and they say the federal government must stop blocking promising research into this beneficial drug.*

"Evidence not only supports the use of medical marijuana in certain conditions but also suggests numerous indications for cannabinoids... The science on medical marijuana should not be obscured or hindered by the debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana for general use."

The College of Physicians now joins the ground swell of medical groups that fully or partially support research and access.

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05/30/08 - NEW WEBSITE: Insider Trading ProCon.org – Should "insider trading" by Congress continue to be legal? Read pros, cons, and general reference information in the debate over whether Congressional representatives should be allowed to trade stocks based on material nonpublic information that they acquire during their normal Congressional duties.

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#2392 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:06 pm
Subject: Healing Energy Can Be Great!
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God the Master Physician

Exodus 15:26

He said, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

God's Healing Words

Proverbs 4:20-22

My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God's Healing Love

Psalm 107:19-21

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress; he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

God Removes Sickness

Exodus 23:25

You shall worship the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from among you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Promise of Healing

Isaiah 53:4-5

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are whole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIRE CAPTAINS PRAYER

Dear God,
Please guide me in my plight.
Help me think quickly, but safely.
Guild my hand to help those who are seeking knowledge.
Give me the wisdom to help the injured and the weak.
To help those who have no thrive for life.
Grant me the strength to fight the fire with assertive skill.
And God please grant me the ability to return home, to my family.
And, if in your wisdom I may give my life,
protect them from harm, no matter what the foe.
Amen

 

 

Mikel Zorn - Illinois



#2391 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:22 pm
Subject: LOVE GOD - SEEK JUSTICE + KNOW GOD - SEEK JUSTICE
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Seek Justice—Love God

The task of seeking justice globally is one the Church must whole-heartedly embrace. Not because we can prevent every injustice or free every slave or punish every perpetrator, but because God said to. Essentially, seeking justice is a matter of obedience to God’s Word to respond to the cry of the afflicted with love, wisdom, faith and action. We must understand that we are how the oppressed get their prayers answered, just as the victims testified to. As God has chosen His people, weak and imperfect, to carry out His plan of salvation by preaching the good news and making disciples, He has also decided to bring rescue to the oppressed through His body, through us. God has no plan B for the salvation of the lost or for the rescue of the slave. We can do both, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). As Christians we are challenged by Jesus to selflessly lay down our lives, carry our cross and love others.  This love-filled life we are called to must be practically manifested in actions towards other people—in prayer, in giving, in going, and in telling others. Along with being an act of obedience, pursuing justice is all about loving God. How? Jesus said: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:35). Jesus went on to say whenever we did that for the “least of these,” for our neighbors, for humanity, we did it to Him. To seek justice is to love God. 

God also wants us to seek justice for the oppressed and have compassion for the suffering so that He may be known by all people. A friend of mine said maybe God allows suffering to go on to get the attention of His people, so that they would take action, rescue lives, show His love and display His power. Injustice is an opportunity to show the world that our God cares about all people, that He cares about the hurting, and fills us with His Spirit to be empowered to do miracles, to overcome powerful oppressors. We are in fact called to be ambassadors for Christ, to represent Him in every way. Let us represent His passion for justice, and manifest His power over evil and His victory over Satan. The Bible tells us how to love the oppressed, how to love God, how to fast—all at the same time!

Sometimes when God speaks through scripture He leaves nothing to the imagination: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6).  In fact, God says He will go so far as to not hear our prayers unless we do that which is close to His heart: “…do away with the yoke of oppression…and satisfy the needs of the oppressed…” (Isaiah 58:9b, 10a). In Isaiah 58 God basically tells His people that their fasting stinks because it is devoid of significance to the poor and oppressed. In fact, one of the first sins God holds against His people in this chapter is that they exploit all their workers (verse 3).. And in the next chapter He says: “No one calls for justice…there is no justice in their paths…justice is driven back and righteousness stands at a distance...” (59:4a, 8b, 14a). Isaiah proclaims how God feels when His people don’t do anything to fight injustice, when they fail to stand in the gap: “The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene…” (59:15b-16a). 

As the Body of Christ we can not be of the sort that give up and quit when the fight gets tough, cower in fear abandoning the battle altogether, or sigh in despair leaving injustice to pride-fully roar unabated. We need to realize, to get a revelation, that doing justice in and of itself is a worthy pursuit. God says: “Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed…” (Jeremiah 21:12). God makes it clear; seeking justice is a matter of obedience, not a matter of gifting. Yes, it is true that how one seeks justice, and to what extent, has to do with his or her gifts, experiences, skills and calling. The revelation comes only as we discover justice is a matter desperately close to God’s heart, when we come to a heart knowledge of how injustice tears Jesus’ heart and when we let Him show us the hurt, pain and anguish He suffers when the “least of these,”—the oppressed third world, the 70-yr old slave, the child in forced prostitution, the widow who loses her land, the migrant farm worker who is beaten like an animal and given 42 cents for a 32 pound tub of tomatoes—is tormented! 

As Rick Warren’s first words in his book The Purpose-Driven Life proclaim, “Life is not about us.” We must look beyond our everyday ups and downs, our issues and problems, to see the constant dehumanizing agony that characterizes the lives of so many of our fellow humans: people made in the image of God from every ethnicity and religion, including fellow brothers and sisters we are eternally entwined with. Do we feel the love Christ feels for every child, every little boy and girl, every person? How can we go day in and day out without shedding a tear for the oppressed, the brutalized, the orphan, the widow? Only by running away from the heart of God, who has compassion for all who are suffering and literally suffers with them (passio means “to suffer,” and cum means “with”).  In the same way, it is when we allow ourselves to feel the way He does that we will know justice is worth it—worth the time, worth the money, worth our effort and worth our sacrifice. I implore you saints, let us run after the heart of God, and like the apostle Paul let us seek to know Christ and His sufferings. Jesus makes clear what we should do: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Simple question, an answer full of sacrifice, prayer and obedience: If you were a slave in a brothel, being raped and abused, what would you want the reader of this to do now? 1 John 3:17-18 says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” For me it became an impossibility to know about the real life suffering of these young girls and boys, of these families, and not do anything about it when I knew I could. 

You may be tempted to say: “Those in power who abuse the weak are too powerful and no one can stop them.” But Gary Haugen corrects that thought by saying “Most injustice isn't driven by the overwhelming power of the perpetrators; it's driven by the weakness of the victims.” Just as Jesus did for us, bringing power on our side by His life, death and resurrection, so we too are called to bring power to the side of the oppressed, of the weak, through our humble obedience and faith. If you feel the task is too big, so overwhelming, you’re right—it would be if we attempted to tackle it with our meager might. That’s why the Bible says “Not by power, not by might, but by My Spirit says the Lord.”  “I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come” (Ephesians 1:19-21). As Jesus spoke of the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13), I pray this word lands on good soil in your heart, that the cares of this world do not choke the life of this word and render it void; but rather that empowered by the Holy Spirit and motivated by the love of Jesus and His burden for the oppressed, we would step out in faith letting the Word of God produce in us fruit that lasts, fruit that heals—fruit that saves!

LOVE GOD—SEEK JUSTICE
KNOW GOD—SEEK JUSTICE





#2390 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:33 am
Subject: Fw: Web: Letter Of The Week
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From: Richard Lake <rlake@...>
Subject: AAMC: Web: Letter Of The Week
Date: Friday, June 27, 2008, 10:11 PM

Newshawk: Published Letters Awards www.mapinc.org/lteaward.htm
Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jun 2008
Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW)
Webpage: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
Website: http://www.drugsense.org

LETTER OF THE WEEK

TAX DOLLARS BEING USED TO DEFY LAW

By Jon Palmer

My health and my ability to lead a normal life are in danger - from
my local police. Worse, they've disregarded state law in order to do it.

Allow me to explain:

Living in constant pain has become a way of life for me. I was born
with a rare genetic blood disorder called Factor V Leiden
thrombophilia. The condition is life-threatening and causes
spontaneous blood clotting throughout every blood vessel in my body.
The clots lead to acute and severe pain in my extremities.

The agony is so unbearable that at times I can't walk.

In order to manage this disease, I take 245 prescription pills each
week - including morphine to ease the pain. The side effects of my
pain-management regimen made living a semi-normal life impossible.
Besides the mental haze the high-dose morphine had me in, it caused
constant nausea - until one of my physicians suggested I try medical marijuana.

The medical marijuana eased my pain without any adverse side effects
and allowed me to significantly reduce my morphine dosage.
Fortunately, California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, and
10 years later, Kern County enacted an ordinance allowing regulated
medical-marijuana facilities just outside my hometown of Bakersfield.

I came to rely on Nature's Medicinal - one of the local
medical-marijuana collectives - as a clean, legitimate source for my
medicine.  Most importantly, I felt safe there.  After all, these
facilities were legal under state law, regulated by the county and
licensed by the Sheriff's Department.

I have always been aware that federal law treats medical-marijuana
patients like common criminals, but assumed that local law
enforcement officials would respect the state laws that allow me to
treat my pain in accordance with my doctor's advice. Sadly, I was mistaken.

Last May, Bakersfield police officers and Kern County sheriff's
deputies participated in a federal Drug Enforcement Administration
raid on Nature's Medicinal. They arrested my caregivers for
violations of federal drug laws, disregarding the fact that they were
operating in compliance with state and local law.

Shortly after the raid, other caregivers in the area ceased
operations for fear that they too would suffer the same fate. Faced
with the prospect of having to immediately double my morphine dosage
and take to the streets to find my medicine, I was devastated.

The most outrageous part of the ordeal is that local officials used
state and municipal tax dollars to arrest these individuals who were
in full compliance with state and municipal laws.

Perhaps the local officers were not sure whether their job was to
enforce state or federal law. If that was the case, fortunately the
Fourth District Court of Appeals has provided some pretty specific
guidance.  Last November, the court unanimously ruled, "it is not the
job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws."

But federal officials seemingly don't like the fact that the voters
and the Legislature have decided to protect medical-marijuana
patients and caregivers from state prosecution and want to circumvent
those laws.  Whatever the reason for their actions, it is clear that
voters in California never intended to pass a medical-marijuana law
and then allow their tax dollars to be used to undermine it.

Fortunately, there is a bill pending in the state Assembly that would
provide clear direction to state and local law enforcement in this
matter.  AB 2743, by Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, would
make it official policy that state and local law enforcement are not
to willfully assist in federal attempts to lock up patients and
providers who are acting in accordance with state law.

Hopefully the Legislature will approve this sensible legislation
before more patients like me are forced into the streets to obtain
their medicine.  Our votes don't count for much if our tax dollars
can be used to thwart the very laws we enact.

Jon Palmer

Jon Palmer writes from Bakersfield.

Pubdate: Mon, 16 Jun 2008

Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA)

For News, Recipes, and Medical Info
Come visit us at http://www.letfreedomgrow.com

#2389 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:15 pm
Subject: Bill Gates Says Farewell in Tears
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Bill Gates bids farewell with tears

Gates reminisces about Microsoft on his final day

 

REDMOND, Wash. - On his final full day at Microsoft Corp., Bill Gates went on stage to reminisce with his longtime friend Steve Ballmer, and neither man could hold back tears as Ballmer handed Gates a large scrapbook as a farewell present.

Gates, who is stepping back to focus on his philanthropy, sat with CEO Ballmer in a Microsoft conference room and meandered through moments in Microsoft's history. They stopped to get in a few good digs at IBM Corp., whose first personal computers were loaded with Microsoft's DOS operating system before IBM adopted its own operating software and their relations strained.

"They went off with OS 2, we were left with good old Windows, and sure enough the David versus Goliath story came out with the right ending," said Gates, eliciting laughter from the crowd of 830 Microsoft employees.

 

 

Gates, who founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975, admitted that Microsoft has faltered along the way, and certainly isn't perfect today.

"When we miss a big change, when we don't get great people on it, that is the most dangerous thing for us," Gates said. "It has happened many times. It's OK, but the less the better."

 

Gates, who will remain Microsoft's chairman on a part-time basis, said he would still take on Microsoft projects picked by Ballmer and two other executives who have assumed most of his day-to-day tasks, Craig Mundie and Ray Ozzie.

One of those will be Web search, where Microsoft lags far behind Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. in market share. With an acquisition of Yahoo now again apparently off the table, Gates threw his weight Friday behind a strategy of assembling a team of smart people and combining Microsoft's own breakthroughs with what competitors are already doing.

"Search is the place where people probably really think, will Microsoft ever do anything there? We'll be the very best," Gates said. "That is in full motion."

Gates also reinforced his intent to stay out of the company's day-to-day affairs.

 

Click for related content



#2388 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:07 pm
Subject: Fw: DrugSense Weekly, June 27, 2008, #555
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From: Drug Sense <webmaster@...>
Subject: DrugSense Weekly, June 27, 2008, #555
Date: Friday, June 27, 2008, 1:35 PM

***********************************************************************
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
***********************************************************************
DrugSense Weekly, June 27, 2008 #555
Read This Publication On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
* This Just In
(1) Raids Target Vast Pot-Growing Network in Northern California
(2) Police Official and Guard Are Killed in Mexico
(3) Tobacco Ban Wafts Into Amsterdam Pot Shops - But Joints Still Legal
(4) Suspected High Drivers Face Mandatory Body-Fluid Tests
* Weekly News in Review
Drug Policy-
(5) Webb Urges Fresh Look At The War On Drugs
(6) Local Legislators Know Little About 'Magic Mint'
(7) Family Meals Turn Girls Away From Drugs
(8) Analyzing a City's Sewage Can Put a Number on Its Vices
Law Enforcement & Prisons-
(9) DEA: Border Hit List Not Yet Verified
(10) Testimony Begins In Fatal Marijuana Shoot-Out At Motel
(11) FBI: Officer May Have Failed To Report Money From Drug
(12) Ex-Sheriff Gets 6-year Sentence
Cannabis & Hemp-
(13) Group Wants Pot In Airport Lounges
(14) Feds Launch Massive Pot Sting
(15) Growers Breeding New Hemp
(16) Marijuana's Rising Potency Sparks Debate
International News-
(17) Mixed Messages On Drugs Pulped
(18) Jump In Coca Cultivation In Colombia Shocks U.N.
(19) NDLEA Gets X-Ray Scanning Machine From US
(20) War On Drugs Intensifies- As America's DEA sets Up Accra Office
(21) No Plans For New Prisons Despite Election Promises
* Hot Off The 'Net
Reefer Madness: Revisited
Ecstasy Is The Key To Treating PTSD / By Amy Turner
Decriminalization Of Cannabis / Wim Van Den Brink
Drug Truth Network
Time To Get Rid Of The Good-People-Vs.-Bad-People View Of Drug Use
Unplugged: Should Drugs Be Legalised?
* What You Can Do This Week
Write A Letter
* Letter Of The Week
Tax Dollars Being Used to Defy Law / Jon Plamer
* Feature Article
Taking A Trip Through Time / Mark Greer
* Quote of the Week
George Carlin
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) RAIDS TARGET VAST POT-GROWING NETWORK IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2008
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Los Angeles Times
Author: Tim Reiterman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Searches Continue in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties After
Authorities Seize $60 Million in Plants and $160,000 in Cash.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Raids this week on a massive commercial marijuana
operation with indoor growing facilities and thousands of acres in
Northern California's pot belt have netted 10,000 plants worth up to
$60 million, $160,000 in cash and 30 firearms, authorities reported
Wednesday.
A force of 450 officers from numerous agencies Tuesday served dozens
of search warrants. Officials said Wednesday they still were
searching almost 2,000 acres in Humboldt and Mendocino counties that
belonged to the targets of the 2-year-old investigation.
Authorities arrested one man who allegedly assaulted a federal agent
serving a warrant.
The state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement began the probe in early
2006, officials said, after a California-based organization bought a
large parcel of mountainous land. Authorities suspected that people
associated with the group were growing marijuana in buildings and
greenhouses and then selling it.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n617/a02.html
===
(2) POLICE OFFICIAL AND GUARD ARE KILLED IN MEXICO
Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jun 2008
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2008 The New York Times Company
Author: James C. McKinley Jr.
MEXICO CITY -- A gunman killed a high-ranking commander in the
federal police and a bodyguard as they ate lunch at a busy
restaurant here on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest
attack on law enforcement officials who are waging a campaign
against drug traffickers, the authorities said.
Cmdr. Igor Labastida Calderon, who oversaw a division that monitors
smuggling, had stopped for a bite with three bodyguards and an aide,
a police spokesman, Eduardo Cano, said at a news conference.
At 12:50 p.m., a man walked in and opened fire on their table with a
pistol. Commander Labastida died at the scene. One bodyguard was
also killed, while the others and the aide were seriously wounded.
The gunman sprinted out, jumped into a waiting sedan and escaped,
Mr. Cano said.
No one had been arrested in the attack by the evening. The police
commander often stopped at the small restaurant for lunch.
Commander Labastida was the fourth high-ranking federal police
official to be killed since January. An additional seven federal
agents have been killed in reprisals for antinarcotics operations,
while a dozen more have fallen in gun battles with drug dealers.
[snip]
The United States is trying to help Mexico battle the cartels. Late
Thursday, the Senate passed a bill, the "Merida Initiative,"
to
provide Mexico with $400 million this year for aircraft, equipment
and training to fight the drug trade. President Bush is expected to
sign the bill, which also gives Central American countries $65
million.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n620.a04.html
===
(3) TOBACCO BAN WAFTS INTO AMSTERDAM POT SHOPS - BUT JOINTS STILL
LEGAL
Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jun 2008
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Author: Jeffrey Stinson, USA TODAY
AMSTERDAM - Starting next week, you'll still be able to legally
smoke a joint in the famously relaxed coffee shops of Amsterdam -
but for a cigarette, you'll have to step outside.
A tobacco ban that goes into effect Tuesday in the Netherlands has
both tourists and shop owners, like, totally confused, man.
"It's crazy," says Jon Foster, 36, an American who owns the
popular
Grey Area coffee shop in the gentrified Jordaan area of central
Amsterdam. "It seems totally illogical to have a business that
specializes in smoking and you ban tobacco."
The new law prohibits smoking in bars, cafes, restaurants and clubs
to protect people from secondhand tobacco smoke.
[snip]
===
(4) SUSPECTED HIGH DRIVERS FACE MANDATORY BODY-FLUID TESTS
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jun 2008
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 Times Colonist
Author: Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service
OTTAWA -- Drivers who get behind the wheel while high on drugs will
face roadside testing and they could be ordered to surrender urine,
blood or saliva samples at the police station under a controversial
new law that takes effect one week from today.
Drivers who refuse to comply will be subject to a minimum $1,000
fine - -- the same penalty for refusing the breathalyzer.
Police will be given their new powers to nab drug-impaired drivers
after almost five years of intense debate in the federal Parliament.
The law, passed this year after three failed attempts, has been
lauded by law enforcement and groups who say drug-induced drivers
are escaping unpunished at a time when their numbers are climbing.
[continues: 21 lines]
***********************************************************************
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
=======================================================================
Domestic News- Policy
----------------------------------
COMMENT: (5-8)
Our first story shows how difficult it is to untangle the web of
prohibition-based damage, while the second story shows that trying
to prohibit a certain drug can be accomplished with little effort,
even if you've only got one idiot who is just competent enough to
use a phone making that effort.
Another strange survey purporting to show that participation in
family meals impacts teen drug use was released, but this one
suggest it just doesn't matter for one gender. And, more progress in
the drug war: drug researchers have graduated from analyzing
individual samples of human waste to analyzing huge quantities of
mixed human waste.
===
(5) WEBB URGES FRESH LOOK AT THE WAR ON DRUGS
Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jun 2008
Source: Daily Press (Newport News,VA)
Copyright: 2008 The Daily Press
Author: David Lerman
The Senator Says Billions Spent On Locking People Up Hasn't Reduced
The Flow Of Drugs.
Virginia Sen. Jim Webb began building a public case Thursday to
change the nation's drug laws to stress treatment over incarceration
for nonviolent offenders.
The freshman Democrat held a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee
to solicit testimony from prosecutors and scholars who argued that
the decades-long emphasis on incarceration has been costly and
ineffective.
Armed with statistics showing soaring incarceration rates and drug
seizures, Webb argued -- and his witnesses agreed -- that
authorities have failed to reduce the supply of drugs appreciably.
"Despite the number of people we have arrested, the illegal drug
industry and the flow of drugs to our citizens remain undiminished,"
Webb said.
While much of his work in the Senate has focused on the Iraq war and
a new GI bill for veterans, Webb has sought to stir a public debate
on an issue he acknowledged could be politically perilous.
Advocating reductions in prison time, of course, can trigger charges
of being "soft on crime."
But with more than 2 million Americans now behind bars and drug
offenders swamping the prisons, Webb argued, it may be more cost
effective to consider treatment options for nonviolent offenders.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n604/a05.html
===
(6) LOCAL LEGISLATORS KNOW LITTLE ABOUT 'MAGIC MINT'
Pubdate: Sat, 21 Jun 2008
Source: Cullman Times, The (AL)
Copyright: 2008 The Cullman Times
Author: Patrick McCreless
The hallucinogen salvia divinorum is legal and available in Alabama,
but that may soon change.
Deborah Soule, executive director for the Huntsville-based
Partnership for a Drug Free Community, said efforts are currently
under way to outlaw the drug once and for all. Since 2007, Soule has
personally contacted many of Alabama's legislators and Gov. Bob
Riley to bring attention to the drug.
She had limited success during the last legislative session, when
Sen. Roger Bedford Jr. sponsored a bill to make salvia a controlled
substance. However, the bill never made it made it out of committee.
"It just got caught up in a log jam of a Republican
filibuster,"
Bedford said.
To Soule, the real problem with the bill was the lack of education
about salvia.
"The biggest problem in the Alabama Legislature is a lot of people
didn't know about it," Soule said.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ),
salvia - also referred to as Maria Pastora, Sage of the Seers and
Magic Mint - is a perennial herb in the mint family native to
certain areas of the Sierra Mazateca regions of Oaxaca, Mexico. The
substance has been employed by the Mazatec Indians for its
hallucinogen effects for ritual divination and healing.
In the United States, however, teenagers and college students are
the ones who reportedly take advantage of the drug.
"Unfortunately it has become a designer drug for young
people,"
Bedford said.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n608/a08.html
===
(7) FAMILY MEALS TURN GIRLS AWAY FROM DRUGS
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jun 2008
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Author: Shannon Proudfoot, Canwest News Service
Not So With Boys, Study Reveals. Discrepancy Might Have To Do With
The Way Sons And Daughters Engage With Parents
Adolescent girls who sit down for frequent meals with their families
are half as likely to smoke, drink and use marijuana as those who
share family meals less often, according to a new study.
"Part of it is just parents being more in touch with their kids,
being able to see earlier on if their kids are veering down a path
that might not be filled with healthy choices," said Marla
Eisenberg, lead author of the paper and a professor of pediatrics in
the University of Minnesota's medical school.
Family meals may also offer protection simply because they increase
the amount of time teens spend at home instead of out with their
friends, she said - the environment where they are most likely to
experiment with cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.
Interestingly, teen boys do not enjoy the same benefit, with
frequent family meals having no bearing on their substance use down
the road.
"It's really not as clear for boys; we've had a hard time
pinning
down what's going on with boys," Eisenberg said.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n610/a13.html
===
(8) ANALYZING A CITY'S SEWAGE CAN PUT A NUMBER ON ITS VICES
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jun 2008
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Los Angeles Times
Author: Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
One Big Drug Test
Experts Are Examining the Outflow in Several U.S. and European
Cities, and the Data Can Be Surprising.
Which city uses more cocaine: Los Angeles or London? Is heroin a big
problem in San Diego? And has Ecstasy emerged in rural America?
Environmental scientists are beginning to use an unsavory new tool
-- raw sewage -- to paint an accurate portrait of drug abuse in
communities. Like one big, citywide urinalysis, tests at municipal
sewage plants in many areas of the United States and Europe,
including Los Angeles County, have detected illicit drugs such as
cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana.
Law enforcement officials have long sought a way to come up with
reliable and verifiable calculations of narcotics use, to identify
new trends and formulate policies. Surveys, the backbone of drug-use
estimates, are only as reliable as the people who answer them. But
sewage does not lie.
Since people excrete chemicals in urine and flush it down toilets,
measuring raw sewage for street drugs can provide quick, fairly
precise snapshots of drug use in communities, even on a particular
day.
The results have been intriguing: Methamphetamine levels in sewage
are much higher in Las Vegas than in Omaha and Oklahoma City, Okla.
Los Angeles County has more cocaine in its sewage than several major
European cities. And Londoners apparently are heavier users of
heroin than people in cities in Italy and Switzerland.
"Every sample has one illicit drug or another, regardless of
location," said Jennifer Field, an environmental chemist at Oregon
State University who has tested sewage in many U.S. cities. "You may
see differences from place to place, but there's always something."
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n609/a07.html
=======================================================================
Law Enforcement & Prisons
-------------------------
COMMENT: (9-12)
Our stories have a common theme this week: prohibition making law
enforcement more dangerous and corrupt at the same time.
===
(9) DEA: BORDER HIT LIST NOT YET VERIFIED
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Jun 2008
Source: Las Cruces Sun-News (NM)
Copyright: 2008 Las Cruces Sun-News
Author: Jose L. Medina
LAS CRUCES - The head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
for the El Paso sector - which includes New Mexico - said Monday
that a purported Mexican drug cartel hit list that may name more
than a dozen Americans has not been confirmed as credible since its
existence became public late last week.
"Nobody has substantiated it. In other words, if it does exist, it
hasn't gotten to us yet," said John "Jack" Riley,
special agent in
charge for the El Paso DEA office.
Riley said this is the first, but not likely the last, time a
potential hit list has surfaced that names individuals living on
this side of the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Our guys and our analysts and agents have not personally seen
it,"
Riley said. "... That's not to say we won't be looking at it.
And I
would imagine, if the trend continues, if this is accurate, it
probably won't be the last."
The possible existence of a list naming Americans or residents of
the U.S. became public Thursday evening when an El Paso television
station aired an interview with the family member of one of the 15
to 20 people reportedly on the list.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n613/a10.html
===
(10) TESTIMONY BEGINS IN FATAL MARIJUANA SHOOT-OUT AT MOTEL
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jun 2008
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Chico Enterprise-Record
Author: Terry VAU Dell, Staff Writer
OROVILLE -- A Vallejo man went on trial Wednesday, charged with the
murders of two of three men killed in a gun battle during a
marijuana buy at an Oroville motel in 2006.
Though there is no evidence Deandre Tyrone Lowe, now 39, was ever
armed, prosecutors are charging him with murder under the so-called
"felony murder rule," which holds accomplices liable for deaths
that
occur during certain serious crimes.
According to police reports, during the Oct. 22, 2006, transaction
at the Best Value Inn in Oroville, one of four would-be buyers,
Dejuan Dean, 34, of Vallejo, pulled a gun and ordered the other two
men with him -- including Lowe -- to scoop up the money and drugs,
from three Concow area pot sellers.
Thomas Kile, 37, of Concow, pulled his own gun at that point. In the
ensuing gun battle, Kile, Dean and a second drug buyer, Lee Miles
Nixon, 33, were killed.
Lowe's Oakland attorney, Mario Andrews told Lowe's jury Wednesday
the government reasoned, "Three men are dead and someone has to
pay."
The defense attorney pointed out all three of the surviving white
marijuana sellers involved in the deal were allowed to plead guilty
to "simple drug charges" and a fourth man, who rode with them to
the
motel, was not charged at all because he had no criminal record and
would make a "perfect witness" for the prosecution.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n600/a02.html
===
(11) FBI: OFFICER MAY HAVE FAILED TO REPORT MONEY FROM DRUG BUST
Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jun 2008
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2008 The Charlotte Observer
Author: Gary L. Wright
The case against two Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers accused
of helping a drug dealer may also involve unreported money from a
drug bust and arsons at two houses - including one that was
mistakenly burned, court documents show.
Officer Jason Ross seized cocaine, drug scales, and a pistol from
alleged drug dealer David Lockhart last July during a search of a
business on Tuckaseegee Road, court records show.
Officer Ross did not report finding any money, records show. But a
confidential source has told investigators that Lockhart had $6,000
in cash at the time of the search, court documents show. The source
says he had helped count the money.
Lockhart told investigators that he had at least $2,500 at the time,
and that the two police officers allowed him to keep the money,
according to an FBI affidavit.
Officers Ross and Gerald Holas resigned last week and were charged
with conspiring to distribute crack cocaine. Lockhart is also
charged in the conspiracy. All three made brief appearances in court
Thursday but their bond hearings were postponed.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n604/a09.html
===
(12) EX-SHERIFF GETS 6-YEAR SENTENCE
Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jun 2008
Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2008 Fayetteville Observer
Author: John Fuquay
RALEIGH -- As the top law enforcement officer taking over a
scandal-plagued bureaucracy in 1994, Sheriff Glenn Maynor gave
Robeson County hope for a fresh start.
But an end to the corruption never came, and on Thursday a federal
judge gave the now disgraced former sheriff six years in prison. "I
dropped the ball. I should have kept up with it, and I didn't,"
Maynor told the court, his voice cracking and trailing off. Although
evidence failed to prove Maynor knew the full extent of corruption
around him, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle held Maynor
responsible for running a dirty Sheriff's Office with a history of
scandal that preceded him.
Boyle had already sentenced 20 of Maynor's deputies, including
almost the entire command staff and all of the drug enforcement
deputies. "If you were a broom to sweep clean, why didn't you fire
these deputies, arrest them, get rid of them?" Boyle asked.
"The
only implication is you either turned a blind eye or were part of
it." Maynor, who turns 62 next week, has until Aug. 1 to report to
prison.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n616/a08.html
=======================================================================
Cannabis & Hemp-
---------------------------
COMMENT: (13-16)
Mason Tvert and SAFER of Colorado made another media splash last
week by suggesting that the Denver International Airport open a cannabis lounge to reduce alcohol-fueled flight rage. The media used the story to give their audiences a chuckle, but nevertheless, Tvert once again got his message out that cannabis is safer than alcohol.
Last week the U.S. government went deeper into debt to launch
"Operation Southern Sweep," deploying about 450 agents and a
motorcade of SUVs to tear up cannabis plants and damage homes in
California.
Industrial hemp breeders in Manitoba are reportedly developing new strains from 18th century genetics. In an effort to appear fair and balanced, the Boston Globe
mischaracterized cannabis law reform activists as the ideological
mirror image of fundamentalist prohibitionists, accusing reformers of failing to acknowledge cannabis-related harm, while criticizing prohibitionists for ignoring prohibition-related harm.
===
(13) GROUP WANTS POT IN AIRPORT LOUNGES
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jun 2008
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2008 The Denver Post Corp
Author: Felisa Cardona
Video: http://rawstory.com/rawreplay/?p=1355
Marijuana proponents want to know why federal officials continue to
allow people to use alcohol on airplanes, but won't allow pot smoking
in the lounges at Denver International Airport.
"Does it make sense to allow adults to use a drug that causes problems
on airplanes and not allow them to use one that does not cause
problems on airplanes?" asked Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer
Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation.
SAFER held a press conference on Tuesday outside the offices of the
Federal Aviation Administration in Denver to propose a solution to the
rash of in-flight disturbances on airplanes over the last year.
Last week, a New York woman, Christina Szele, was arrested after she
started smoking in her JetBlue airline seat and punched a flight
attendant who stepped in to stop her. Her plane, enroute to San
Francisco from New York, was diverted to Denver because of the
situation.
And in the last few months, DIA has been a hot spot for arrests of
drunken, unruly airplane passengers.
Tvert argues that marijuana alleviates anxiety for people who are
afraid to fly and that passengers could use pot in the smoking lounges
at the airport as a safer alternative to alcohol.
DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon said he does not foresee marijuana smoking
in the airport.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n616.a03.html ===
(14) FEDS LAUNCH MASSIVE POT STING
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jun 2008
Source: Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)
Copyright: 2008 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Author: Sean Garmire
Agents Sweep SoHum Commercial Grows
Motorcades of government SUVs poured through Humboldt County
communities Tuesday as hundreds of federal and state agents began
their search for commercial marijuana growing operations in a multi-
day investigation the FBI has dubbed "Operation Southern
Sweep."
The bureau's spokesman Joseph Schadler reported 450 agents with
several federal agencies would be serving search warrants and
collecting evidence on properties where "corporate marijuana growing
operations" were suspected.
On Tuesday morning, at the operation's command center in Fortuna's
River Lodge parking lot, Schadler said 27 search warrants would be
executed over the course of the day, and two more are expected later
this week.
He said he could not discuss what properties agents raided Tuesday, or
which they had yet to investigate.
Medical marijuana dispensaries and 215 patients would not be targeted
by the investigation, Schadler said. The Humboldt Cooperative, a
medical marijuana dispensary in Arcata, said Tuesday evening that
federal agents had not interfered with business.
"We're not here to set policy or interfere with California's
compassionate use laws," Schadler said. The FBI is investigating "for-profit and corporate grow operations beyond the scope of
215."
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n614.a05.html
===
(15) GROWERS BREEDING NEW HEMP
Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jun 2008
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2008 Winnipeg Free Press
Author: Martin Cash
Cited: http://www.pihg.net/
Hemp growers in the Dauphin region are going back to some of the
original hemp breeds in the area from the 18th century to come up with
new varieties.
Unlike more commercially acceptable grains like wheat and barley,
commercial hemp growers must register and certify the seed they use
every crop year. That is largely a result of regulatory pressures,
mostly from the United States, about concerns over the control of
marijuana which is another type of hemp.
Joe Federowich, chairman of Parkland Prairie Hemp Growers Co-Op, said
it takes several years to certify and register new varieties of hemp
seeds. If the region is ever to be successful in developing an
industrial hemp processing plant, it is going to need a much larger
supply of seeds to feed the plant with fibre, he said.
"We've been breeding since 2001," he said. "You can't
use seed from
the bin. You need high pedigree seeds."
That's why the Dauphin group is now using some of the seeds from the
original 18th century plants to cross breed with other hemp seeds that
have proven to be successful in Manitoba to create new and better
varieties. Over the years, it has been able to register several new
varieties.
Federowich said he believes the tight regulatory controls might relax
over time, but plant breeding is still a long-term process.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n615.a06.html
===
(16) MARIJUANA'S RISING POTENCY SPARKS DEBATE
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jun 2008
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2008 Globe Newspaper Company
Author: Neil Munshi, Globe Correspondent
Photo: http://www.mapinc.org/images/marijuanaplants.jpg
It's a dangerous, highly addictive drug whose skyrocketing potency has
only increased its stranglehold on our nation's youth. Or it's mostly
harmless, a substance not much worse than caffeine - with medicinal
value to boot.
It's marijuana. And the polarized debate about its safety has been
rekindled by two reports released separately this month by the federal
government and a leading drug prohibition group. Both studies conclude
that marijuana's potency has increased, which they link to reports of
more addiction, mental health problems, and emergency room admissions
related to marijuana use among teenagers.
Advocates of less punitive marijuana laws immediately decried the
reports as alarmist, saying there's no evidence linking greater
potency to a rise in health problems among pot smokers.
Academics say both sides are guilty of selectively presenting data to
bolster their positions.
In a field with limited research, partisans tend to create paper thin
arguments, as easily made as they are countered, said Roger Roffman,
professor of sociology at the University of Washington.
"I think [both sides] do a disservice to the general public,"
said
Roffman, who has written papers and edited books on marijuana use and
dependence. On websites of drug policy reform advocates, "you'll find
lots of information about the very adverse consequences of
criminalizing marijuana and very little mention of the very real harm
associated with marijuana among some people in some circumstances," he
said.
Meanwhile, on government and prohibitionist websites, he said, "you'll
find plenty of information on the harmful consequences of marijuana
abuse and very little information, perhaps, on the harmful
consequences of criminalizing marijuana."
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n609.a06.html
=======================================================================
International News
---------------------------
COMMENT: (17-21)
Prohibition, censorship and book burning (or rather book
"pulping")
coincided this week in Australia as a controversial government
pamphlet was destroyed - by the government. According to livid
prohibitions in Australia, the pamphlet sent "mixed messages"
about
drug use to children. Regardless of facts, children must learn only
one thing: drugs declared illegal by politicians are "never safe to
take".
Reports this week confirmed that coca cultivation hasn't declined in
Colombia, despite billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars generously
heaped on aerial spraying contractors, and propping up right-wing
strongmen there. True, a hardier coca hybrid has survived the
spraying to propagate. And true, also, spraying caused coca
cultivation to eat ever-farther into the precious rainforest. Still,
coca production soared to a staggering "994 metric tons in 2007 from
984 metric tons the year before." Exclaimed top UN prohibitionist
Antonio Maria Costa: "The increase in coca cultivation in Colombia
is a surprise and shock." Did he really expect prohibition would
work?
In Africa, U.S. prohibitionists are on the move. In Nigeria, the
U.S. government ordered that a body scanning X-ray machine should be
installed, to augment Nigeria's crack National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA) airport scanning capabilities. And in Accra, Ghana,
U.S. government prohibitionists have erected a multitude of new DEA
offices, and sent there swarms of officers to harass their people,
and eat out their substance. Or, as a Ghanaian newspaper cheerfully
puts it, "The office.. will increase DEA's effort in fighting the
drug menace."
The right-wing Harper regime in Canada hinted this week there are no
"plans" for new prisons - they simply want to sardine many
more
people into existing prisons, possibly expanding them. The whole
prison pipeline (police, prosecutors, prisons) is gearing up for a
major increase in drug (cannabis) arrests. By making non-violent pot
offences (which rarely result in jail time now) draw mandatory
minimum jail time, "an increase in the offender population may
result", admitted the Correctional Service of Canada.
===
(17) MIXED MESSAGES ON DRUGS PULPED
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jun 2008
Source: South Coast Register (Australia)
Copyright: 2008 Rural Press Ltd
THE pulping of a Iemma Government pamphlet that sent mixed messages
to school children about drug use is a victory for families, claims
shadow minister for health Jillian Skinner.
"The pulping of this offensive document was the only option Health
Minister Reba Meagher could take," Mrs Skinner said.
"The decision of the Health Minister's department to produce this
document in the first place casts fresh doubts about Reba Meagher's
judgment."
She called on Mrs Meagher to confirm how many pamphlets were
produced, and how much it cost taxpayers.
"Drug education must carry the simple message that it is never safe
to take illegal drugs," said Mrs Skinner.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n611.a11.html ===
(18) JUMP IN COCA CULTIVATION IN COLOMBIA SHOCKS U.N.
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jun 2008
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2008 The Associated Press
Author: Toby Muse, Associated Press
Bogota, Colombia -- Colombian peasants devoted 27 percent more land
to growing coca last year, the United Nations reported Wednesday,
calling the increase "a surprise and a shock" given intense
efforts
to eradicate cocaine's raw ingredient.
Estimated cocaine production, however, increased only slightly in
Colombia and other Andean nations - to about 994 metric tons in 2007
from 984 metric tons the year before, according to the U.N. - as
cultivation shifted to smaller, less-productive plots in more remote
locations.
The net increase in coca farmland came despite record U.S.-backed
eradication efforts that disrupted the growing cycle, said Gen.
Oscar Naranjo, the chief of Colombia's police.
"These young crops, the new ones, are less productive, both in the
number of leaves and in terms of the potency of the leaf," Naranjo
said, and coca farmers in remote locations can't get chemicals
needed to process the leaves as easily.
Still, coca farmers are aggressively tearing down forests to make
way for crops and laboratories, and the young plants will eventually
produce much more coca if eradication efforts don't keep up.
"The increase in coca cultivation in Colombia is a surprise and
shock: a surprise because it comes at a time when the Colombian
government is trying so hard to eradicate coca; a shock because of
the magnitude of cultivation," said Antonio Maria Costa, director of
the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n601.a02.html ===
(19) NDLEA GETS X-RAY SCANNING MACHINE FROM US
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jun 2008
Source: Tide, The (Nigeria)
Copyright: 2008 The Tide
Author: Ike Wigodo
The United States Government last week donated a body scanning X-ray
machine to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The x-ray scanner machine was inaugurated at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport, Ikeja by the United States Ambassador to
Nigeria, Ms Robin Renee Sanders.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n597.a04.html ===
(20) WAR ON DRUGS INTENSIFIES- AS AMERICA'S DEA SETS UP ACCRA OFFICE
Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jun 2008
Source: Statesman, The (Ghana)
Copyright: 2008 The Statesman
Author: Kwame Addo-Kufuor
Government has intensified efforts to fight the drug menace which is
giving the nation a bad image in the international world.
The establishment of an office in Accra by America's Drug
Enforcement Administration is expected to provide greater impetus
for the fight.
The office, which would be established between July and August will
increase DEA's effort in fighting the drug menace in the West Coast
Region, as more personnel are expected to be recruited to beef up
the fight.
This came to light when a 5-member delegation from the Drug
Enforcement Administration for Europe and Africa met the Interior
Minister, Kwame Addo-Kufuor, to develop appropriate linkages to
tackle the drug problem that has engulfed the country.
According to Dr Addo Kufuor, the provision of an X-ray machine at
the Kotoka International Airport, speed boats to patrol the
coastline, as well as the intensive and effective training of
personnel at the Narcotics Control Board, Navy, Police and other
stakeholders could make a positive impact on the campaign against
drugs.
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n603.a06.html ===
(21) NO PLANS FOR NEW PRISONS DESPITE ELECTION PROMISES
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jun 2008
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 The Vancouver Sun
Author: Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service
Government To Renovate, Upgrade The Existing Facilities
OTTAWA -- The Harper government has no long-term plans to build new
prisons to house an anticipated influx of offenders convicted under
the Conservatives' tough-on-crime initiatives, despite setting aside
up to $245 million for at least one extra penitentiary immediately
after coming to power two years ago.
According to a Correctional Service of Canada capital plan, existing
prisons, which are aging and already full, would be renovated and
expanded to meet increasing demands over the next decade if need be,
but "at this time there are no major prisons envisaged."
The Correctional Service acknowledges, however, that "with the
implementation for various government initiatives in tackling crime,
an increase in the offender population may result."
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n611.a07.html ***********************************************************************
HOT OFF THE 'NET
-------------------------------
REEFER MADNESS: REVISITED
A New Book By Doug Snead
What made people think that using a little marijuana would turn good
boys into murderous fiends? Where did folks get the notion that
smoking some cannabis would turn nice girls into tramps?
Reefer Madness: Revisited is a retrospective look at the propaganda
that gave police and politicians excuse to jail people for growing
or using the cannabis plant. http://www.cafepress.com/reeferrevisited ===
ECSTASY IS THE KEY TO TREATING PTSD
By Amy Turner
At last the incurably traumatized may be seeing the light at the end
of the tunnel. And controversially, ecstasy may be key to taming their
demons.
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/89625/
===
DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS
Wim van den Brink, Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research
This paper discusses the case for decriminalization of cannabis use,
based on a careful weighing of the currently available evidence
regarding advantages and risks of such a policy.
http://drugsense.org/url/3p2Ordkd
===
DRUG TRUTH NETWORK
Century of Lies- 06/24/08 - Richard Watkins
Richard Watkins a former Texas warden and current member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition + Eugene Fields, reporter with Orange County Register
http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/1943
Cultural Baggage Radio Show- 06/25/08 - Mary Lynn Mathre
Nurse Mary Lynn Mathre of Patients Out of Time discusses medical cannabis + Terry Nelson for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/1942
===
IT'S TIME TO GET RID OF THE GOOD-PEOPLE-VS.-BAD-PEOPLE VIEW OF DRUG USE
By Maggie Mahar and Niko Karvounis, Health Beat
When discussing treatments for drug addiction, instead of arguing about ideology, let's look at science. http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/88348/
===
UNPLUGGED: SHOULD DRUGS BE LEGALISED?
The curse of illegal drugs has blighted communities and destroyed lives but some believe the radical solution is to end prohibition. Unplugged's Martin Stanford debates the issue with a panel of experts.
http://drugsense.org/url/Ksotwmtt
***********************************************************************
WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK
--------------------------------------------------
WRITE A LETTER
CALIFORNIA PATIENT CAUGHT IN THE WAR ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
A DrugSense Focus Alert
http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0368.html
***********************************************************************
LETTER OF THE WEEK
------------------------------------
TAX DOLLARS BEING USED TO DEFY LAW
By Jon Palmer
My health and my ability to lead a normal life are in danger - from
my local police. Worse, they've disregarded state law in order to do
it.
Allow me to explain:
Living in constant pain has become a way of life for me. I was born
with a rare genetic blood disorder called Factor V Leiden
thrombophilia. The condition is life-threatening and causes
spontaneous blood clotting throughout every blood vessel in my body.
The clots lead to acute and severe pain in my extremities.
The agony is so unbearable that at times I can't walk.
In order to manage this disease, I take 245 prescription pills each
week - including morphine to ease the pain. The side effects of my
pain-management regimen made living a semi-normal life impossible.
Besides the mental haze the high-dose morphine had me in, it caused
constant nausea - until one of my physicians suggested I try medical
marijuana.
The medical marijuana eased my pain without any adverse side effects
and allowed me to significantly reduce my morphine dosage.
Fortunately, California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, and
10 years later, Kern County enacted an ordinance allowing regulated
medical-marijuana facilities just outside my hometown of
Bakersfield.
I came to rely on Nature's Medicinal - one of the local
medical-marijuana collectives - as a clean, legitimate source for my
medicine. Most importantly, I felt safe there. After all, these
facilities were legal under state law, regulated by the county and
licensed by the Sheriff's Department.
I have always been aware that federal law treats medical-marijuana
patients like common criminals, but assumed that local law
enforcement officials would respect the state laws that allow me to
treat my pain in accordance with my doctor's advice. Sadly, I was
mistaken.
Last May, Bakersfield police officers and Kern County sheriff's
deputies participated in a federal Drug Enforcement Administration
raid on Nature's Medicinal. They arrested my caregivers for
violations of federal drug laws, disregarding the fact that they
were operating in compliance with state and local law.
Shortly after the raid, other caregivers in the area ceased
operations for fear that they too would suffer the same fate. Faced
with the prospect of having to immediately double my morphine dosage
and take to the streets to find my medicine, I was devastated.
The most outrageous part of the ordeal is that local officials used
state and municipal tax dollars to arrest these individuals who were
in full compliance with state and municipal laws.
Perhaps the local officers were not sure whether their job was to
enforce state or federal law. If that was the case, fortunately the
Fourth District Court of Appeals has provided some pretty specific
guidance. Last November, the court unanimously ruled, "it is not the
job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws."
But federal officials seemingly don't like the fact that the voters
and the Legislature have decided to protect medical-marijuana
patients and caregivers from state prosecution and want to
circumvent those laws. Whatever the reason for their actions, it is
clear that voters in California never intended to pass a
medical-marijuana law and then allow their tax dollars to be used to
undermine it.
Fortunately, there is a bill pending in the state Assembly that
would provide clear direction to state and local law enforcement in
this matter. AB 2743, by Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego,
would make it official policy that state and local law enforcement
are not to willfully assist in federal attempts to lock up patients
and providers who are acting in accordance with state law.
Hopefully the Legislature will approve this sensible legislation
before more patients like me are forced into the streets to obtain
their medicine. Our votes don't count for much if our tax dollars
can be used to thwart the very laws we enact.
Jon Palmer
Jon Palmer writes from Bakersfield.
Pubdate: Mon, 16 Jun 2008
Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA)
***********************************************************************
FEATURE ARTICLE -------------------------------
TAKING A TRIP THROUGH TIME
By Mark Greer
If DrugSense and the Media Awareness Project (MAP) are known for one
thing, it must certainly be our DrugNews Archive. This incredibly
important information resource now holds over 195,000 clippings on
all aspects of drug policy, regardless of spin. We have been
collecting articles on this topic since 1995 and have some stories
dating back as far as 1991.
Here is a sample of some of landmark articles that have become the
foundation of this unique and dynamic resource:
-- 1990 -- "Test Negative," Scientific American. Thursday, March
1,
1990. This was the very first full-text article in the archive, and
it covers a topic that is still controversial: drug testing.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v90/n000/a01.html
-- 1994 -- "Toxic Alternative to Natural Fiber," Sacramento
Bee.
Thursday, April 7, 1994, by Jay Bergstrom. This is the first Letter-
to-the-Editor (PUB LTE) favorable to drug policy reform in the
archive. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v94/n000/a001.html
-- 1995 -- "Say 'No' to Legalization of Marijuana,"
Wall Street
Journal. Friday, August 18, 1995, by Donna Shalala. By the Secretary
of Health and Human Services under President Clinton, this
prohibition-focused Op-ed is the first opinion piece in the archive.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v95/n000/a04.html
-- 1996 -- "Misfire on Drug Policy," National Review. Monday,
February 26, 1996, by William F. Buckley, Jr. This is
ground-breaking editorial calling the drug war a failure kicked off
the first of many intensive MAP letter-writing campaigns in support
of ending prohibition.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v96/n000/a08.html
-- 1996 -- "Stopping Drug Traffickers," Warsaw Voice (Poland).
Sunday, March 10, 1996, by Konrad Niklewicz. This first clipping
from outside of North America. Unfortunately, it took a decidedly
pro-drug war stance.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v96/n000/a09.html
-- 1999 -- "Officer Tells of Undercover Work," Amarillo Globe
News.
Sunday, August 8, 1998, by Greg Cunningham. A "puff piece"
about
undercover cop, Tom Coleman, and the drug arrests he made in the
small Texas town of Tulia.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n000/a18.html
-- 2000 -- "The Race to Racism," Amarillo Globe News.
Friday,
September 15, 2000, by Redford Givens. Online media activism matures
as MAP letter writers condemn the racism that led to the Tulia
arrests. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1585/a01.html
-- 2002 -- "Drug Charges Dropped after Tulia Case Collapses,"
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Sunday, April 14, 2002, by Linda Kane.
The Tulia case collapses after undercover cop Tom Coleman was found
to be lying and becomes discredited.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n721/a06.html
As you can see, this robust archive tracks the twists and turns of
our substance use policies, allowing us to identify challenges and
to measure progress over time.
And, all of this incredible information is available for FREE!
However, it isn't free to produce; this valuable resource costs time
and money to maintain. Please consider making a donation today. To
donate quickly and easily online, please click here:
http://drugsense.org/donate/.
All on-line donations are secure, private, and tax-deductible.
Checks can also be made payable to DrugSense and mailed to:
DrugSense
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Irvine, CA 92604-0326
Or donate by phone:
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If you have more time than money, you can volunteer to help. Please
contact Jo-D Harrison at jo-d@... to find out how.
Thank you for ensuring that important DrugSense resources like our
DrugNews archive stand the test of time and achieve our shared goal
of sensible, compassionate, and humane policies.
Mark Greer is the Executive Director of DrugSense.
***********************************************************************
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
------------------------------------
"The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a
courthouse: You cannot post 'Thou shalt not steal,' 'Thou shalt
not
commit adultery,' and 'Thou shalt not lie' in a building full
of
lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work
environment." - George Carlin
***********************************************************************
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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CREDITS:
Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (steve@...), This Just In selection by
Richard Lake (rlake@...) and Stephen Young, International
content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (doug@...),
Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis, Hot Off The Net
selection and Layout by Matt Elrod (webmaster@...).
Analysis comments represent the personal views of editors, not
necessarily the views of DrugSense.
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter
writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See
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===
NOTICE:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
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===
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MGreer@...


#2387 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Fri Jun 27, 2008 12:45 am
Subject: Brother Kemp right on with right to bear ARMS PERIOD!
mikelericz
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> http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-290.pdf
> Held:
> 1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a
> firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for
> traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
> Pp. 2–53.

My, my. I have most carefully read the 2nd and nowhere in it do I find
the word 'firearm' or 'gun'. What I find is the word 'arms'. That is
an all-inclusive term. It means anything from a rock in hand to.....
whatever. Any weapon. ANY weapon. ALL weapons. I will point out that
the redcoats of General Gage in Boston were seeking CREW SERVED
WEAPONS-- cannon-- when they made their foray to Concord on April 19,
1775.

> (a) The Amendment's prefatory clause announces a purpose, but
> does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative
> clause. The operative clause's text and history demonstrate that it
> connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.

...being necessary to the security of a free state-- and what
interferes with a 'free state'? A meddlesome government...

Kindly notice that for all the lawyer talk, all the barnyard byproduct
legalese, the wording used in the 2nd is all positive and 'mandatory'
and inclusive for the citizenry, and precisely the opposite for
government. Government is utterly forbidden any ability to meddle,
while the citizenry is utterly empowered and made free of government
interference.

NECESSARY to the security of a free state....

... the RIGHT of the people--. inherent personal prerogative immune to
government meddling

...to keep and bear ARMS-- no restriction; any and all weaponry

SHALL NOT be infringed-- plain, positive, inclusive. Government, thou shalt not

> (b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court's interpretation
> of the operative clause. The "militia" comprised all males physically
> capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Antifederal-
> ists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in
> order to disable this citizens' militia, enabling a politicized standing
> army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress
> power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear
> arms, so that the ideal of a citizens' militia would be preserved.
> Pp. 22–28.

I suppose they hope that no one notices that this completely
invalidates most of the other 'findings' of the 'opinion'. That is,
(b) above points out that GOVERNMENT is the likely enemy and likely
target of any true employment of the purpose, the 'prefatory clause',
of the Amendment. Now, like a cat having defecated on linoleum, the
'honorable justices' set out to cover that 'inconvenient fact'.

> (c) The Court's interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms-
> bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately
> followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28–30.
> (d) The Second Amendment's drafting history, while of dubious
> interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals
> that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms.
> Pp. 30–32.

'Dubious interpretative worth'? They mean, the part where the Founders
clearly meant for the citizens to be armed and capable of overthrowing
the government when necessary?

> (e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts
> and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the
> late 19th century also supports the Court's conclusion. Pp. 32–47.

Once upon a time, in the lifetime of my father and grandfather, if you
wanted a weapon-- ANY weapon, ALL weapons, you simply went and bought
it. Artillery, explosives, auto weapons, short barreled anything, it
mattered not. If you wanted it and had the cash (gold and silver
coin), you found a willing seller and bought it. And who gives a bit
of care to what 'scholars, courts, and legislators' think about
something which is declared out of bounds to any restriction? The 2nd,
as written, precludes any and all effort to restrict weaponry or the
citizens' access to weaponry of their choice.

> (f) None of the Court's precedents forecloses the Court's interpre-
> tation. Neither United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553, nor
> Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 264–265, refutes the individual-
> rights interpretation. United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not
> limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather
> limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by
> the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47–54.

Here comes the barnyard byproduct. Here is the effort to remove and
hide the actual purpose of the 2nd-- that is, to hold a weapon at the
head of government. Here is the effort to 'allow' the criminals of
government to 'define' what 'type' of weapon the criminals are going
to 'allow'. And further, to declare 'for lawful purposes'-- that is,
what government SAYS is 'lawful'... and shooting politicians and their
'enforcers' for attempting to infringe on the 'security' of our 'free
state' will certainly not be considered a 'lawful purpose'. And
certainly not after having 70-odd years to freely restrict citizens'
access and employment of arms of the CITIZENS' choice.

I would ask-- what 'lawful purpose' did the armed citizenry of
Lexington and Concord Massachusetts and their environs pursue? Please
note that the 'lawful government' which would have been providing the
definition of 'lawful purpose' was the object of the exercise-- that
is, the redcoat enforcers of King George III.

> 2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited.
> It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any
> manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, con-
> cealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment
> or state analogues. The Court's opinion should not be taken to cast
> doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by
> felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of fire-
> arms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or
> laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of
> arms. Miller's holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those
> "in common use at the time" finds support in the historical tradition
> of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons.
> Pp. 54–56.

So now they bless and allow 70-odd years of meddling to stand. Piss on
the Court. Whether or not the 'average gun owner' can read their
jumbled up and contradictory statements with comprehension, _I_ can.
And I see this as an unqualified victory for the tyrant. Government
infringement upon our RIGHT is clearly blessed by this 'honorable
court'.

> 3. The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to
> self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District's total ban
> on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an
> entire class of "arms" that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the
> lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scru-
> tiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this
> prohibition—in the place where the importance of the lawful defense
> of self, family, and property is most acute—would fail constitutional
> muster.

Do please note that the discussion has wheeled about and now the TRUE
purpose of the 2nd, to guarantee the citizenry the ability to resist
tyranny, is swept under the judicial floor covering of barnyard
byproduct. '(L)awful defense of self, family, and property'
conveniently conceals the fact that the citizens' weaponry is to
RESIST GOVERNMENT TYRANNY.

> Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the

'lawful firearm'? How does 'right to keep and bear arms' get morphed
into the concept of 'lawful firearm'? The intended target of the
weapons is now given the ability to DEFINE what is a 'lawful weapon'?

They can line up and kiss my unreconstructed rebel ass.

> home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible
> for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and

'Core purpose of self defense'? Only when viewed in the larger sense
of 'self protection against GOVERNMENT'.

> is hence unconstitutional. Because Heller conceded at oral argument
> that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbi-
> trarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy
> his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement.

Oh, how sweet for Unca Sham. They hereby explicitly bless licensing.
And somehow 'shall not be infringed' is made moot. In many, many other
decisions, it is explicitly stated that a right cannot be made subject
to taxation nor licensing IN ANY FORM.

Nice try, black robed whores. Go try to peddle your barnyard byproduct
to someone who cannot see through your legal legerdemain.

> Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment
> rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and
> must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Pp. 56–64.
> 478 F. 3d 370, affirmed.

So THIS is a 'victory' for the RIGHT to KEEP AND BEAR ARMS?

Sorry, folks, I can read plain English, and I know what was just done
to us. And that is, precisely what I have been predicting would
happen, all along.

William Michael Kemp
Liberty, Mississippi


> SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS,
> C. J., and KENNEDY, THOMAS, and ALITO, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a
> dissenting opinion, in which SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ.,
> joined. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which STEVENS,
> SOUTER, and GINSBURG, JJ., joined.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Right on brother Kemp! It seems as the Nazi's tried among other communist countries to only allow their brainwashed followers to have weapons as it helped them control the people. Notice I SAID CONTROL THE PEOPLE? Gee how stupid do they thing we are stupid enough to SMOKE THEIR JOINT? I will bear arms any time needed and they can kiss my peacekeeping patriot ass too! ~ Mike Zorn ~ Patriot ~ AMSL GROUPS



#2386 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:54 pm
Subject: Disrupting military funerals is very very wrong!
mikelericz
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His church was bombed, and now he protests funerals of the war dead
Kansas preacher says he's coming to Idaho

By CHUCK OXLEY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOISE, Idaho -- A Kansas preacher and gay rights foe whose congregation is protesting military funerals around the country said he's coming to Idaho tomorrow to picket the memorial for an Idaho National Guard soldier killed in Iraq.

A flier on the Web site of Pastor Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church claims God killed Cpl. Carrie French with an improvised explosive device in retaliation against the United States for a bombing at Phelps' church six years ago.

"We're coming," Phelps said yesterday.

Westboro Baptist either has protested or is planning protests of other public funerals of soldiers from Michigan, Alabama, Minnesota, Virginia and Colorado. A protest is planned for July 11 at Dover Air Force Base, the military base where war dead are transported before being sent on to their home states.

Phelps gained national notoriety in 1998 when he picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student beaten to death in Wyoming.

Since then, Phelps said his church has been the target of hateful words and actions, including a bomb attack six years ago.

Phelps' church has picketed the funerals of AIDS victims for more than a decade.

French, 19, was a Caldwell High School graduate and varsity cheerleader. She was killed June 5 in the northern city of Kirkuk. French served as an ammunition specialist with the 116th Brigade Combat Team's 145th Support Battalion.

Phelps said the fact that French led an all-American life gives him all the more reason to picket her final public tribute.

"An all-American girl from a society of all-American heretics," he said.

"Our attitude toward what's happening with the war is the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime," Phelps said.

Caldwell Police Chief Bob Sobba said he cannot bar Phelps from going to the public funeral, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Albertson College of Idaho in that city.

"While we respect Mr. Phelps' right to protest, we would hope that he would respect the family and friends of this young person by not disrupting the memorial," Sobba said.

Idaho Air National Guard Lt. Tony Vincelli, acting as spokesman for French's family, said there were no plans to change the funeral arrangements.

The Rev. Brian Fischer, pastor of Boise's Community Church of the Valley, and himself a past target of protest by the Westboro Baptist Church, decried Phelps' plan.

"What Phelps is doing is a reprehensible thing, to take a funeral and turn it into a photo op for his hate cause," Fischer said.

"We hope everyone will ignore Phelps' group."

In 2003, Phelps demanded that he be allowed to erect an anti-gay monument in a Boise public park. To avoid a lawsuit from his group, city officials voted in 2004 that a Ten Commandments monument be moved out of the park

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

This is in part why I am now a member of the Patriot Guard. How this so called minister can justify his actions and deeds is a mystery to this peacekeeper. We don't want you in our town phelps! PHELPS NEEDS GOD HE'S A MORON. This kinda crap really pisses me off! Respect our veterans!!!!!!

 

Mike Zorn ~ Bloomington Illinois

 



#2385 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:45 pm
Subject: Latest Drugnews-Digest via MAP/Drugsense
sabbathed_pr...
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#2384 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:48 pm
Subject: Thank YOU Patriot Guard You Are Loved And Respected
mikelericz
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http://www.patriotguard.org/

 

These fine folks have given their ALL to help secure our country and make it a safe place to live so give in any way you can to them and/or our country or both. Do whatever you can when you can to make our world a better place to live. We need everyone and thank you's go a long long way. God bless you all and have a nice day ~ Mike Zorn ~ Patriot



#2383 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:10 pm
Subject: Regarding Obama smears
mikelericz
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We need to be very cautious and objective when reading Obama smear campaigns such as the tactics of hempman in the yippies group. Like hempman many will try to get one to believe things that are not true or provable by taking things out of context and not revealing the WHOLE STORY behind why Obama has voted or not voted on an issue ect... ect...

 

They will also tell out and out lies as well based on partial truths or other smears they have read themselves. Many of these people like hempman do not vote as well therefore deserve little respect or attention on the issues at hand. Smear tactics on both sides are a cancer to our society and these people need to be snuffed out by simply not paying any attention to them and their misguided notions. The fact is you will never find a perfect candidate and should vote your conscience. I don't debate politics because it is wrong if the candidate is not there to defend themselves as the Lord has revealed to me. Be cautious and vote your conscience please. I am voting Obama period respect it! I have green party values as well respect it! I am a veteran of this movement respect it!

 

MR WEED 1



#2382 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:22 pm
Subject: Anyone who wants to debate ~ BRING IT ON!
mikelericz
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http://www.drugwarfacts.org/

 

 

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/

 

 

http://www..legalize-usa.org/

 

http://www.november.org

 

http://www.mikuriya.com

 

http://www.rxmarijuana.com

 

 

They cannot touch us in debate so they run speaking of the prohibitionists assholes.

 

They act like NAZI'S they smell like shit and it's time to flush the toilet.

 

We need to exterminate prohibition and terminate the supporters of the drugwar period.

 

ACTION! ACTION!  We must exterminate Nazi Commie Mentality to WIN THIS WAR!

 

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD ALTHOUGH THE SWORD NEEDS TO BE EXPRESSED TO WIN THE WAR SO WE NEED BOTH. REMEMBER THE SWORD

 IS KNOWLEDGE

 

 

Mike Zorn ~ MR WEED 1



#2381 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:10 pm
Subject: Our Friends At Drugsense Are Phenominal
mikelericz
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DrugSense Weekly

Oct. 14, 1998 #68
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This newsletter is available online at:

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1998/ds98.n68.html


Table of Contents

* Breaking News (04/15/07)

US CA: Fed Raid Rumors Spark Panic
US CA: Secret Raids Not Too Secret
US CO: Tvert Pushes Pot Smoking At DIA
CN MB: Growers Breeding New Hemp
US ID: Column: Those Old Problem Children

* Feature Article

How to Win
By Mark Greer

* Weekly News In Review

Drug War Policy-

U.S.  Abuses Human Rights, Amnesty International Says
Amnesty International Bites The Hand That Feeds It
Joe Camel Boosted Smoking In Teens
Students' Substance Use Increases
Top Court Allows Wider Testing for Drugs in Schools
CIA Said To Ignore Charges of Contra Dealing in '80S

Incarceration-

County Jails Getting Crowded
Jail Stays Grow With the Backlog
Jury Indicts Prison Guards
Second Prison Probe

Medical Marijuana-

Accounting of Pot Petitions Ordered
Editorial: I-692 A Proper Use For Marijuana
Public Nuisance or Therapy? Cannabis Clubs

Recreational Marijuana-

Rally Call for Drugs Goes to Pot
A Pot Professor's Day in Court

International News-

UK: Bar Warns Straw That His Reforms Could Break Law
UK: Random Drug Tests at 100 Independent Schools
UK: Police Chiefs Plan Biggest Blitz Yet on Drug Dealers
Belize's Quiet Despair
Canada: Task Force Tackles Dealers

* Hot Off The 'Net

MAP Hits $1 Million in Published Letters

* DrugSense Tip Of The Week

* Quote of the Week

U.S.  Supreme Court


FEATURE ARTICLE    (Top)

How to Win
by Mark Greer

It seems to me that our movement needs a template on how to end the drug war.

To me it has always been a fairly simple plan that is difficult to implement.  Our objectives need to be the dissemination of honest, accurate, facts about drugs and drug policy to largest possible audience.  That is all that is required to win. Intransigent politicians and arcane laws will drop like rotten apples once the public knows the truth.

If we could snap our fingers tomorrow and the entire nation was reading the DrugSense Weekly every week or had read "Drug Crazy" or "Marijana Myths Marijauna Facts" or if every American had "Shattered Lives" as a coffee table book the drug war would be over in a matter of months.

The problem of course is that we are battling a huge, entrenched, and well funded propaganda machine dedicated to keeping the average citizen afraid, dumbed down, uninformed, and buying into the foolishness that "drugs are bad so the drug war must be good."

So how do we make this huge transition from inaccurate propaganda and a brainwashed public, to a populace that is at least moderately aware of the facts science, logic, and reason pertaining to the "War on Drugs?" There are a number of tools that we can use to slay Goliath.  Most already exist but need expanding and more important the public needs a broad awareness of the truth.  The tools to accomplish this include media activism, volunteerism, and most important the Internet, information archives, and Email.

The Drug Library at: http://www.druglibrary.org/
The Drugnews archive at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/ The Factbook at: http://www.csdp.org/factbook/
The Multimedia archive at: http://www..legalize-usa.org/

...  and a hundred other sites have provided the information database.

Now it is time to make the leap from preaching to a relatively small choir and to dramatically increase our impact by using these resources to influence the media and thereby educating the public.

We have accomplished truly amazing things over the last few years but we have barely begun on the full scale frontal assault that will result in the education of an entire nation.  The Media Awareness Project, DRC, DPF, Lindesmith and the efforts of many other effective reform organizations have begun to move the mountain of disinformation.  Now it's time to pull out the stops and to begin sharing this information with the millions who have never even thought of the drug war as a problem.  They are there for the taking. The vast majority of the American public is little more than one or two rational conversations or articles away from being pro reform.

This is not an essay with all the answers.  It is a call for ideas. We are heading in the right direction but it is crucial that we make the jump from being a relatively obscure and small albeit effective and timely movement to being a mainstream discussion and concern on the lips and minds of our entire population.

Articles and ideas on how we take the next step from a few thousand dedicated reformers to millions of aware informed and involved citizens are hereby requested and encouraged.  The best will be published in this newsletter or, if more appropriate, be discussed in some of the behind the scenes strategy groups.

To date we have done a very respectable job of creating the tools, preparing ourselves for the coming battle and educating dedicated reformers.  It's time to start providing these tools and information to Mr.  and Mrs. Middle Class America.


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW    (Top)


Drug Policy Issues-


COMMENT:    (Top)

Amnesty International's report criticizing American police and incarceration abuses hasn't yet received detailed comment from official government sources.  AI's failure to specify the drug war as an important engine of those abuses serves to call attention to the policy's "Sacred Cow" status.

There was a rebuke issued to AI from an unexpected Canadian source, but in general, press response to their charges could be described as muted.

Two separate, but related reports on adolescent substance use appeared last week: the CDC offered an evaluation of the effect of cigarette advertising on teen smoking, and a report from Washington state confirmed that today's teens are open to experimentation.

Two stories on recurrent themes round out the policy news: the ever-vigilant Supreme Court extended the ability of school boards to withhold civil rights from both students and teachers.  Also, long after the Mercury-News left Gary Webb swinging in the wind, the CIA's Inspector General admits there was something to the CIA-contra-crack connection after all.  Imagine that.

WASHINGTON - The world's leading human-rights group, Amnesty International, is launching its first worldwide campaign aimed at the United States, citing abuses such as "widespread and persistent" police brutality, "endemic" physical and sexual violence against prisoners, "racist" application of the death penalty and use of "high-tech repression tools" such as electro-shock devices and incapacitating chemical sprays.

The London-based group kicks off a yearlong USA Campaign with the release tomorrow of a 150-page report highlighting what Amnesty calls an American "double standard" of criticizing human-rights abuses abroad while not doing enough to remedy those at home.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 05 Oct, 1998
Source:   Seattle Times (WA)
Contact:   opinion@...
Website:   http://www.seattletimes.com/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n871.a07.html

GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST OPPRESSION
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL BITES THE HAND THAT FEEDS IT

New campaign against the United States for rights abuses ignores the real brutes of the world

Amnesty International opens a world-wide, morally sound but realistically questionable year-long campaign against the United States today.

It must have its own peculiar death wish, something along the lines of biting the hand that feeds it.

[snip]

Source:   Calgary Herald (Canada)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Pubdate:   October 6, 1998
Author:   Catherine Ford
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n876.a07.html

JOE CAMEL BOOSTED SMOKING IN TEENS

ATLANTA - The number of American youths taking up smoking as a daily habit jumped 73 percent between Joe Camel's debut in 1988 and 1996, the government said yesterday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said tobacco ads that rely heavily on giveaways and kid-friendly cartoons are partly to blame.

[snip]

Source:   Standard-Times (MA)
Contact:   YourView@...
Website:   http://www.s-t.com/
Pubdate:   9 October, 1998
Author:   Russ Bynum, Associated Press
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n884.a11.html

STUDENTS' SUBSTANCE USE INCREASES

By the time Washington students graduate from high school, more than 80 percent have experimented with alcohol, more than 60 percent have smoked cigarettes and more than half have used drugs.

And the use of all three among adolescents is up from 1995, according to the latest Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behavior, which was released yesterday.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 08 Oct 1998
Source:   Seattle Times (WA)
Contact:   opinion@...
Website:   http://www.seattletimes.com/
Author:   Tamra Fitzpatrick
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n881.a02.html

TOP COURT ALLOWS WIDER TESTING FOR DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday gave school officials broader authority to administer drug tests to students and to discipline teachers who inject controversial ideas into the curriculum.

Acting on two closely watched appeals on the first day of the court's new term, the justices dismissed a constitutional challenge to an expanded school drug-testing program in Indiana and rejected a First Amendment challenge filed on behalf of a North Carolina drama teacher.

[snip]

Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://www.sjmercury.com/
Pubdate:   Tue, 6 Oct 1998
Author:   David G.  Savage - LA Times
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n877.a01.html

CIA SAID TO IGNORE CHARGES OF CONTRA DEALING IN '80S

WASHINGTON, Oct.  9, 1998 - Despite requests for information from Congress, the CIA repeatedly ignored or failed to investigate allegations of drug trafficking by the anti-Sandinista rebels of Nicaragua in the 1980s, according to a newly declassified internal report.  In a blunt and often critical report, the CIA's inspector general determined that the agency "did not inform Congress of all allegations or information it received indicating that contra-related organizations or individuals were involved in drug trafficking.''

[snip]

Pubdate:   9 Oct1998
Copyright:   (c) 1998 N.Y.  Times News Service
Source:   N.Y.  Times News Service
Author:   James Risen, N.Y.  Times News Service
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n891.a06.html


Incarcertion-
---------

COMMENT:    (Top)

One tangible benefit of the Amnesty International report, is that while it didn't single out the drug war specifically, its focus on law enforcement and prison issues will mean that news stories on those subjects will receive more critical scrutiny than usual.

Wisconsin's prison issues are much in their local news; this long article from the State Journal detailing the rapid growth in their jail population is an indicator of major problems in the near future, especially if tax revenues decline.  A long investigative piece from the San Jose Mercury News carries a simple basic message: over-crowded jails and prisons can be exacerbated by several factors, not the least of which is a self-indulgent, undisciplined Bench, addicted to long golf week-ends.

Also in California, home of the nation's largest prison system, fall-out from the AI report highlights the indictment of 5 Corcoran guards.  To add insult to injury, in an obvious slap at the guards' union for defecting from his gubernatorial campaign, Dan Lungren, allowed yet another prison investigation to go forward.

COUNTY JAILS GETTING CROWDED

Most counties plan on building space for more prisoners

County sheriffs around Wisconsin have to be part magician when it comes to using their jails these days either they have too many rabbits in the hat or not enough.  State statistics show county jails are housing nearly 11,500 inmates, compared to about 2,000 in 1978 and 6,000 in 1988.

[snip]

Source:   Wisconsin State Journal
Contact:   wsjopine@...
Website:   http://www.madison.com/index.html
Pubdate:   5 October 1998
Author:   Richard W.  Jaeger, Wisconsin State Journal
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n868.a04.html

JAIL STAYS GROW WITH THE BACKLOG

Length of time defendants are held has more than doubled in 6 years

On a typical Friday, Santa Clara County's Hall of Justice looks like it is going out of business.  Some judges are toiling away in their chambers, but, with the exception of a few clerks and bailiffs, courtroom after courtroom has been abandoned.

Despite a crushing criminal caseload, a five-month Mercury News investigation documented that by lunch time on most Fridays, a cadre of veteran judges, the men who hear the most notorious and heinous cases, have left for home, are off running errands or are on their way to play golf.

Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://www.sjmercury.com/
Pubdate:   4 Oct 1998
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n872.a03.html

JURY INDICTS PRISON GUARDS

Inmate rapes investigated

Los Angeles Times

FRESNO - Five correctional officers have been indicted by a special Kings County grand jury on conspiracy and other charges stemming from a 1993 rape at Corcoran State Prison by an inmate enforcer nicknamed ``the Booty Bandit.''

The five officers, including a lieutenant, were booked at Kings County Jail late Thursday on a variety of criminal charges including conspiracy to aid and abet sodomy and preparing false reports.  The indictments came after a three-month investigation by the state attorney general's office into allegations of planned rapes and cover-ups at the San Joaquin Valley prison.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat, 10 Oct 1998
Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author:   John Howard Associated Press
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n890.a02.html

SECOND PRISON PROBE

Alleged abuse investigated at Susanville

SACRAMENTO - A day after five prison guards were charged with helping to arrange the rape of an inmate at maximum-security Corcoran State Prison, Attorney General Dan Lungren on Friday announced an investigation at a second prison, High Desert State Prison near Susanville.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat, 10 Oct 1998
Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author:   John Howard Associated Press
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n889.a07.html


Medical Marijuana


COMMENT:    (Top)

On election day, the medical use of cannabis will be voted on in Alaska, Arizona, Washington state, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, and the District of Colombia.  In Nevada and Colorado, hostile state officials nearly kept the issue off the ballot, claiming insufficient qualifying signatures.  In a bizarre twist, Colorado voters learned last week that their votes on election day may or may not be for real.

In Washington state, the measure, known as I-692 , picked up an important endorsement from the Post-Intelligencer.

Playboy afforded Dr.  Grinspoon an opportunity to extol the medical benefits of cannabis while countering the negative public image of buyers' clubs.

ACCOUNTING OF POT PETITIONS ORDERED

State Supreme Court calls for signature count on marijuana initiative

The state Supreme Court Monday ordered a line-by-line count of petitions to legalize marijuana for medicinal use.

Issue 19 is already on the Nov.  3 ballot. But if the count shows too few signatures by registered voters, the election won't count.

[snip]

Source:   Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://insidedenver.com/news/
Pubdate:   6 Oct 1998
Fax:   (303) 892-5499
Author:   John Sanko Rocky Mountain News Capitol Bureau
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n881.a08.html

I-692 A PROPER USE FOR MARIJUANA

There are two simple motives for voting yes on Initiative 692 Nov.  3. They are compassion and common sense, two solid virtues possessed by the majority of Washington voters.

[snip]

Removal of marijuana from the DEA's Schedule 1 list would be sensible federal policy.  In the meantime, decriminalizing the medical use of marijuana is sensible policy for Washington state.  Decisions involving personal health and private suffering are best made by patient and physician, not police, politicians and prosecutors.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sunday, 11 October, 1998
Source:   Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Contact:   editpage@...
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n893.a01.html

CANNABIS CLUBS

On one side stand the millions of Californians who voted in favor of Proposition 215, the 1996 referendum that approved the possession and use of marijuana for gravely ill patients.

[snip]

On the other side stand California's politically ambitious attorney general, Dan Lungren, and his allies in Washington: Attorney General Janet Reno, drug czar Barry McCaffrey and President Bill Clinton.  Presumably, these agents of the war on drugs have family members who feel no pain, whose joints function effortlessly and whose appetites are never ravaged by serious disease.

[snip]

Source:   Playboy magazine
Section:   The Playboy Forum
Pubdate:   November, 1998
Contact:   forum@...
Website:   http://www.playboy.com/
Author:   Dr.  Lester Grinspoon
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n878.a05.html


Recreational Marijuana
---------

COMMENT:    (Top)

MassCann's annual Freedom Rally on behalf of marijuana legalization continues to be controversial, both inside and outside the reform movement, but no one can doubt that it generates more media coverage than any other rally- witness a long article in the Hong Kong Standard..

Closer to home, those who've seen the name of Julian Heicklen in news articles, but can't quite place it, are urged to read Tom Gibb's story in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.  A dozen Professor Heicklens, willing to risk jail, might finally get the issue of jury nullification out of the closet.

RALLY CALL FOR DRUGS GOES TO POT

BOSTON:   With swirls of marijuana smoke wafting through the air, about
40,000 people gathered in Boston on Saturday for a rally supporting legalisation of the drug.

Police, who had vowed a crackdown on the 9th Annual Freedom Rally, arrested about 40 on drug possession charges.  That's far fewer than the 150 arrests at last year's event, which attracted about 10,000 more people.

[snip]

Pubdate:   October 4, 1998
Source:   The Hong Kong Standard
Contact:   editor@...
Website:   http://www.hkstandard.com/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n870.a01.html

A POT PROFESSOR'S DAY IN COURT

BELLEFONTE, Pa.-Centre County President Judge Charles Brown paused, delicately felt around for the right touch of understatement, then told jurors in his courtroom yesterday they were hearing "a rather unusual case."

He expected something different?

The man on trial was Julian Heicklen, retired Penn State University chemistry professor-a man so incensed by marijuana laws that he repeatedly showed up at the campus gate last winter, smoked joints and preached individual rights to lunchtime crowds.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 8 Oct 1998
Source:   Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://www.post-gazette.com/
Author:   Tom Gibb
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n888.a011.html


International News


COMMENT:    (Top)

Last week's news from the UK tended to confirm a suspicion that as editorial comment has become more supportive of drug policy reform, those in charge of have become enamored of the American model of enforcement.  Drug testing of students, police "blitzes" on dealers and forfeiture of property seem very un-British.

Elsewhere, the story from Belize underscores the massive dimensions of the illegal drug industry: pollution incidental to trafficking is causing social devastation in several small nations along a trade corridor.

Further evidence that the illegal drug market has become just as globalized as legitimate markets is seen in the article from Vancouver describing the latest wrinkle in that city's burgeoning drug problem: use of underage illegal "immigrants" from Honduras as retail workers.

RANDOM DRUG TESTS AT 100 INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

RANDOM drug testing of pupils has been introduced by more than 100 leading independent schools, the Headmasters' Conference said yesterday.

Heads now assumed that, in line with national statistics, at least 25 per cent of their GCSE pupils had experimented with illegal drugs and about 10 per cent took them regularly.

[snip]

Source:   Daily Telegraph (UK)
Contact:   dtletters@...
Website:   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Pubdate:   Wednesday 7th October 98
Author:   By John Clare, Education Editor
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n882.a02.html

POLICE CHIEFS PLAN BIGGEST BLITZ YET ON DRUG DEALERS

McLeish heralds crackdown backed by initiatives aimed at reforming addicts

SCOTLAND'S eight chief constables are preparing to launch the biggest crackdown on drug dealers in the country's history.

Police will work hand in hand this winter with customs officers, benefits agency workers and The Inland Revenue, targeting not just the criminals but also their assets, tax dodges and benefit frauds.

[snip]

Source:   Scotsman (UK)
Contact:   Letters_ts@...
Website:   http://www.scotsman.com/
Pubdate:   8 Oct 1998
Author:   Jenny Booth Home Affairs Correspondent
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n883.a06.html

BAR WARNS STRAW THAT HIS REFORMS COULD BREAK LAW

THE Bar set itself on a collision course with the Home Secretary at the weekend with a warning that Jack Straw's criminal justice plans could fall foul of the Government's own human rights law.

Heather Hallett, QC, chairman of the Bar, said that reforms in the pipeline - such as confiscation of property without a criminal trial - could be challenged under the new Human Rights Bill, soon to reach the statute book.  "It would be a dreadful irony if the very first challenge in the courts was to legislation passed in the same session by the same Parliament," she told the annual Bar conference in London. "If the reports of some of the proposals emanating from the Home Office are accurate, that is exactly what will happen."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 05 Oct 1998
Source:   Times, The (UK)
Contact:   letters@...
Website:   http://www.the-times.co.uk/
Author:   Frances Gibb
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n868.a06.html

BELIZE'S QUIET DESPAIR

Tiny coastal nation plagued by misery brought by crack cocaine addiction

Orange Walk, Belize

The center of this little town looks so wholesome that you expect to see Andy Griffith come whistling around the corner.  There's a small white church near the town hall and a shaded park where girls in school uniforms gather after class to gossip and giggle.

[snip]

Bales of cocaine sometimes wash ashore by accident, dumped by boats fleeing authorities or spilled while being transferred from one ship to another.  The drug is also left behind as payment to local middlemen.

Wherever the coke winds up, people try it.  Like a nasty virus, cocaine refuses to respect political boundaries or cultural traditions, destroying lives indiscriminately.

There are now crackheads; among the blacks of eastern Costa Rica, the Miskito Indians of Nicaragua, the Spanish-speaking fishermen of Honduras, the Garifuna Indians of Guatemala and the Creole-speaking people of Belize.

[snip]

Source:   San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact:   chronletters@...
Website:   http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate:   Mon, 5 Oct 1998
Author:   Edward Hegstrom Chronicle Foreign Service
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n873.a03.html

TASK FORCE TACKLES DEALERS

Immigration Canada is working with a police task force to fight an organized Honduran crime wave.

[snip]

The drugs are professionally packaged for sale on the street.  Each chunk is shrink-wrapped in plastic and sealed.

"To go to the process of shrink-wrapping would tell me that this is reasonably sophisticated.  That tells me this is organized.. It's not just somebody doing this in the back yard.  "

Wrapping the drugs allows the dealers to hold them in their mouth and swallow the evidence when police approach.

[snip]

Source:   Vancouver Province (Canada)
Contact:   provedpg@...
Website:   http://www.vancouverprovince.com/
Pubdate:   7 Oct 1998
Author:   Ann Rees, Staff Reporter The Province
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n878.a02.html


HOT OFF THE 'NET    (Top)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
MAP Published letters hit ONE MILLION DOLLAR milestone

The Media Awareness Project of Drugsense archives and attempts to put a value on the letters to the editor that get printed and discovered by our NewsHawks.  These are posted to the archive by the hard working Ashley Clements.

There are 1022 total published LTEs on-line to date (collected from 96-98) with an estimated value of $1,020,978.

To review this valuable searchable archive and to review our method of placing a value on these published works please visit:

http://www.mapinc.org/lte/

The 1998 to date figures are 521 published LTEs with a value of $520,479.  Which indicates that we have already accomplished more in 1998 than in all of 1996 and 1997 combined.

The MAP letter writing effort may be one of the most successful and sustained efforts in reform history.

The above numbers do not take into account the hundreds of radio and television talk show that DrugSense has arranged on behalf of reform.

Hearty congratulations to the dedicated, consistent, and effective cadre of MAP letter writers, NewsHawks and editors.  Keep it up. We ARE making a difference!


FACT OF THE WEEK


Assuming recent incarceration rates remain unchanged, an estimated 1 of every 20 Americans (5%) can be expected to serve time in prison during their lifetime.  For African-American men, the number is greater than 1 in 4 (28.5%)

Source:   Bonczar, T.P.  & Beck, A.J., Lifetime Likelihood of Going to
State or Federal Prison, Washington D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S.  Department of Justice (1997, March), p. 1.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK    (Top)

William Capps from Salem, Oregon USA writes:

"It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.  -U.S. Supreme Court, American Communications v.  Douds, 339 U.S. 382,442


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.

News and COMMENTS Editor: Tom O'Connell ( tjeffoc@...)
Senior-Editor:   Mark Greer ( mgreer@...)

We wish to thank all our contributors and Newshawks.

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.

REMINDER:  

Please help us help reform.  Send any news articles you find on any drug related issue to editor@...

PLEASE HELP:

DrugSense provides this service at no charge BUT IT IS NOT FREE TO PRODUCE.

We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services.  If you are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort please Make checks payable to MAP Inc.  send your contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
PO Box 651
Porterville,
CA 93258
(800) 266 5759
MGreer@...
http://www.mapinc.org/
http://www.drugsense.org/


Back Issues: 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007


#2380 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:31 pm
Subject: Fw: Taking A Trip Through Time
sabbathed_pr...
Offline Offline
Send Email Send Email
 
From: Mark Greer <mgreer@...>
Subject: Taking A Trip Through Time
Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 12:25 PM

If DrugSense and the Media Awareness Project (MAP) are known for one
thing, it must certainly be our DrugNews Archive. This incredibly
important information resource now holds over 195,000 clippings on all
aspects of drug policy, regardless of spin. We have been collecting
articles on this topic since 1995 and have some stories dating back as
far as 1991.
Here is a sample of some of landmark articles that have become the
foundation of this unique and dynamic resource:
-- 1990 -- "Test Negative," Scientific American. Thursday, March 1,
1990. This was the very first full-text article in the archive, and it covers a
topic that is still controversial: drug testing. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v90/n000/a01.html
-- 1994 -- "Toxic Alternative to Natural Fiber," Sacramento Bee.
Thursday, April 7, 1994, by Jay Bergstrom. This is the first Letter-
to-the-Editor (PUB LTE) favorable to drug policy reform in the
archive. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v94/n000/a001.html
-- 1995 -- "Say 'No' to Legalization of Marijuana," Wall
Street
Journal. Friday, August 18, 1995, by Donna Shalala. By the Secretary
of Health and Human Services under President Clinton, this
prohibition-focused Op-ed is the first opinion piece in the archive.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v95/n000/a04.html
-- 1996 -- "Misfire on Drug Policy," National Review. Monday,
February
26, 1996, by William F. Buckley, Jr. This is ground-breaking editorial
calling the drug war a failure kicked off the first of many intensive
MAP letter-writing campaigns in support of ending prohibition.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v96/n000/a08.html
-- 1996 -- "Stopping Drug Traffickers," Warsaw Voice (Poland).
Sunday,
March 10, 1996, by Konrad Niklewicz. This first clipping from outside
of North America. Unfortunately, it took a decidedly pro-drug war
stance. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v96/n000/a09.html
-- 1999 -- "Officer Tells of Undercover Work," Amarillo Globe News.
Sunday, August 8, 1998, by Greg Cunningham. A "puff piece" about
undercover cop, Tom Coleman, and the drug arrests he made in the small
Texas town of Tulia. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n000/a18.html
-- 2000 -- "The Race to Racism," Amarillo Globe News. Friday,
September 15, 2000, by Redford Givens. Online media activism matures
as MAP letter writers condemn the racism that led to the Tulia
arrests. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1585/a01.html
-- 2002 -- "Drug Charges Dropped after Tulia Case Collapses," Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal. Sunday, April 14, 2002, by Linda Kane. The Tulia
case collapses after undercover cop Tom Coleman was found to be lying
and becomes discredited.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n721/a06.html
As you can see, this robust archive tracks the twists and turns of our
substance use policies, allowing us to identify challenges and to
measure progress over time.
And, all of this incredible information is available for FREE!
However, it isn't free to produce; this valuable resource costs time
and money to maintain. Please consider making a donation today. To
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#2378 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:59 pm
Subject: Fw: New generation plans dissent - The Denver Post
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From: ARON KAY <pieman@...>
Subject: [yippies] New generation plans dissent - The Denver Post
Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 1:24 AM

This email happens to be virus-free
Checked by AVG.
Version: 8.0.101 / Virus Database: 270.4.1/1516 - Release Date: 6/24/2008 7:53
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#2377 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:45 pm
Subject: Bloomington Illinois RAPIST COP CONVICTED!
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Pelo Found Guilty On All Charges

Pelo Found Guilty On All Charges

By Gina Ford

A McLean County jury Wednesday found former Bloomington police officer Jeff Pelo guilty on all 35 counts of the rapes of four women and the stalking of another women.

Inside the courtroom, Pelo broke down sobbing while the guilty verdicts were being read just after Noon.

Pelo's wife was escorted from the courtroom under heavy security.

Jurors started deliberating Pelo's case Monday afternoon.

Pelo had pleaded not guilty to 35 counts in the rapes of four women and the stalking of a fifth woman.

The verdict came in just before noon.

It's been a long road for everyone involved in this trial, especially the victims.

Sarah Kalmes and her family celebrated in the lobby of the McLean County Law and Justice center this afternoon.

The victim said, "I can't even process how good this feels right now."

Pelo was convicted of raping her and three other women and stalking a fifth.

The Kalmes family says it has been a long journey and now they can finally begin to heal.

Her mother, Carole Kalmes, said, "The thing most important to me is these victims have been validated."

"The unnamed victims and I know there's more out there that didn't report...and all the future victims that won't be because of this jury, so we are forever grateful to them."

This morning as Judge Robert Freitag delivered guilty verdicts on all of the 35 counts, Rickielee Pelo shouted in anger that her husband didn't do it.

She said, "My emotions got the better of me."

And courtroom police surrounded her and she was removed from the courtroom.

Her sobbing children followed her out.

A second rape victim, Andrea Lawhun, says she is glad her attacker is behind bars, but she feels sorry for his family.

"That was very upsetting to me, because not only did he affect us, women he didn't know personally, but his wife and his children he's known for a very long time."

Assistant State's Attorney Mark Messman was the lead prosecutor in this trial. He says it took a lot of manpower but he's glad to the right man is behind bars.

"For myself it just motivated me all the more just because someone abusing their position, a position I hold dear."

Sarah says her attack occurred just six weeks before her wedding.

And since her 2005 assault, she has had to slowly put her life back together up the pieces.

"You have to take it one day at a time. One day you're thinking about picking out flowers for a wedding, and the next day you're trying to figure out how you're going to get through the next minute and next hour."

Rickielee Pelo says she plans to fight this verdict to prove her husband's innocence.

"I know my husband did not do this, I've know that from day one and I stand behind my decision."

Pelo's attorney Michael Rosenblat says he plans to file an appeal.

Pelo's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Tuesday August 12.

The Pelo verdict today is the culmination of two years of investigation.

In June 2006, Police arrested Pelo for stalking.

The following month Pelo was charged with raping four women in separate incidents between December 2002 and January 2005.

Then in August a McLean County Grand Jury indicted Pelo on 35 counts including 28 charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault related to the four rapes.

After several delays, last month the Pelo trial began. At that point, Pelo had been held in jail longer than anyone else who ever awaited trial in McLean County.

Saturday, Jun 21 at 11:51 PM Rob wrote ...

Nice to see an officer facing charges its a start now if we can clean up the rest of the slime buckets that use the badge to betray the public we will be better off.Im sure Mr Pelo will get what he has coming in prison I bet he will make a great wife for one of the inmates.

Friday, Jun 20 at 8:47 PM Shadow wrote ...

I want to thank our local news team and especially Eric Shangraw for breaking this news story two years ago. We should be proud of our local news team for the investigative reporting they do to keep our community safe. We all feel so sheltered to live in such a great place...and we should, but bad things still happen here and (I don't want to sound cliche but) we can count on News 25.

Friday, Jun 20 at 8:43 PM Shadow wrote ...

He was in my home too. He told me and my neighbors there was nothing wrong and that no one had been raped. He lied to all of us. I am a single woman and he walked around my home and pointed out all the areas that "someone" could break in. He was scary and devious and he needs help. I have been on pins and needles these past few weeks awaiting the verdict. If you don't know what it's like to be scared of men like this then I doubt you should comment.

Friday, Jun 20 at 10:25 AM Dee wrote ...

I know of an individual who was accused of stalking. During court proceedings, 3 men testified they saw the stalker outside the accuser home. After weeks of trial, it was learned the accused was out of state, proven only by 1 stamped-dated video. What if the hotel didn't have that? The innocent would have been guilty. My gut feeling says he's guilty but I havent seen/heard HARD evidence to prove his guilt. Realistically, what law enforcement agency is NOT crooked, somewhere-somehow.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 1:11 PM Jerry S. wrote ...

The errors in this article are unbelievable. Did a 2nd grader write this? I would be ashamed to publish such error filled work.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 12:20 PM unknown wrote ...

to A WOMAN.... This scum of a man stalked and broke into these poor victim's homes...and you say they were having affairs and didn't get what they wanted out of it so they cried rape?! You are truely a disgusting human being. Justice was served and hopefully the victims and their families will have some closure...

Thursday, Jun 19 at 10:30 AM JBlm1 wrote ...

A WOMAN- your comment is a disgrace to women.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 10:21 AM CRC 4 Lyfe wrote ...

Wow, I feel much better about our judicial system, knowing that level-headed people like Mr. Nave are being selected for the honor of jury duty.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 8:46 AM Unknown wrote ...

It's good to see justice served in a case like this. That man will have plenty of time to think about what he did and how he hurts so many people with his actions.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 8:19 AM tk wrote ...

35 counts does not mean 35 rapes people! 1 rape can produce 10 charges! Who ever translated this into an affair with him is very uneducated about our legal system

Thursday, Jun 19 at 8:00 AM Amy wrote ...

E. Edwards, I tend to agree. I struggled getting through the first few paragraphs because they kept repeating themselves. Terrible coverage on this topic.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 7:36 AM Kris wrote ...

In response to "A Woman", one rape come as more than one charge. It was 4 rapes, 35 charges. Always so quick to blame the victim. You've obviously never been assaulted.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 6:32 AM Anonymous wrote ...

I am sure there are more victems out there who were too afraid/ashamed to come foreward. Rapes by policemen happen more than anyone knows. I too was a victem many years ago and I was young and afraid and I was threatened not to talk so I didn't I moved far away.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 6:31 AM A Woman wrote ...

It is sad because we all know that a man can not rape you more than once unless you are his capture. Okay once, on him, twice on you, but more than that? Therefore, it seems these woman were having an affair and didn't get what they wanted so called rape. This is so sad for real victims of rape of the families and tax dollars.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 6:25 AM Bruce W wrote ...

What are great liar this guy must have been. To convince his family that he did not do this after five different women accuse him, and a court of law finds him guilty. I know court systems have wrongly convicted before, but it amazes me she/they can stand by a man like that.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 6:19 AM Lex., KY wrote ...

I agree with E.Edwards; did the news editor quit? This story has so many grammatical errors it's hard to follow!

Thursday, Jun 19 at 4:58 AM Randy L. wrote ...

This man was railroaded. He didn't commit the crimes and has ben wrongfully convited. I hope his appeal provides more justice than his trial.

Thursday, Jun 19 at 3:34 AM Surfdude wrote ...

Yep article poorly written doesn't answer some basic questions. Because of confusion went ahead and researched the story. Aparently there is some conflicting information. One of the witnesses indicated he was circumcized (wife says he is not). An aparent DNA test was inconclusive(could find details on the results)? More court details could have helped me form a better opinion. Is he guilty? If he is the right man I say good deal. If not then the rapeist is still at large...

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 11:42 PM OMGitsbrandX wrote ...

I agree with Mr Edwards. The article looks like it was written by my fifth grade child.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 11:21 PM ex-bloomingtonite wrote ...

I've been following this story ever since the news broke. The Bloomington police were slow to bring charges against Pelo, and even officially the kept the case open after Pelo was arrested. Justice was served, but in spite of the Bloomington Police, not to their credit!

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 10:51 PM Andrea wrote ...

If he did it, he deserves everything he got. If he didn't, I feel bad for him. But then again, how could 4 women come forward with claims that he raped them and it not be true? So I reiterate, he deserves everything he's getting!

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 10:05 PM Mike in Portland wrote ...

I'd like to thank E.Edwards for pointing out that 'he' thinks this is a 'messily' written article. Hey Ed! Please to be pointing out, women were hurt by the rape of a Peace Officer. Who cares how it's written? The subject is the harm that befell these women. Let's see, Rape or Messily written? You decide.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 9:13 PM Strummer wrote ...

The Bloomington police department acted in the best interests of the citizens of our fair town by arresting and throwing this man in jail!!! Fine work by the hard working men who protect us everyday. Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 9:06 PM E.Edwards wrote ...

Man, what a messily written article. Didn't this case deserve a better writer for the article?

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:47 PM concerned reader wrote ...

WHAT TOOK SO LONG??? I FEEL SORRY FOR HIS CHILDREN AND HIS CO-WORKERS HIS WIFE,,, IS JUST AS CRAZY AS HE IS

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:34 PM dm wrote ...

GOOD...now he'll have that done to him in prison.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:26 PM Chris R wrote ...

Easy there unknown...he was a county sherrif and has nothing to do with government policing...the problem with America is we try to pin everything on the government...not everything is the governments fault..you should really put the blames where it belongs...with the guilty officer...there is no reason not to trust the Bloomington Police just beacuse of a bad apple!!

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:19 PM Ella wrote ...

Whoops --- later it says "28 charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault related to the 4 rapes" --- 35 COUNTS (charges) related to the rapes

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:19 PM Jenney wrote ...

This is a response to Ryan. I believe you should find more out about the case before you talk about things you don't understand. Each contact can bring a charge. If you were assaulted multiple times, would you only bring one charge? I don't think so.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:17 PM Ella wrote ...

Ryan - it would be 35 separate incidents of rape, he must have raped each woman more than once

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:02 PM Tom wrote ...

Justice served. His wife needs to open her eyes and divorce the loser. Plus, it's not 4 rapes and stalking, 4 women were raped several times, hence the 35 counts, and a fifth one was stalked.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 8:00 PM lisa p wrote ...

If he commited more than 1 sexual act, they each count. If he raped them more than once, each act should count against him. That is how he can have more than 4 rape charges.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 7:40 PM Erin - Seattle wrote ...

Exagerate Rape? 30 COUNTS - INVOLVING Rape..... sodomy, forcable penetration with an object... Do you understand now?

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 7:36 PM Shar wrote ...

Nice to see a high profile rape get prosecuted. It is so hard for women to go to court against a rapist, and so easy for the pervert to get off. I wish I had the media on my side when I had to go to court. I wish the victims well, I truly understand how hard it has been for them. Time to move on.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 7:32 PM Chris wrote ...

To Ryan: If he raped each woman more than once, then he would get charged for each rape; not the number of women raped.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 6:41 PM Ryan wrote ...

Its confusingly stupid to say there is 35 counts of rape on 4 woman and stalking a fifth. Isn't that 4 rapes and stalking? (news always has to exaggerate stuff).

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 6:21 PM Terry wrote ...

Can't believe there are no comments on this yet..lol. Looks to me like justice served! There are enough bad people in the world. The less bad police we have...the better.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 4:02 PM unknown wrote ...

it is a shame that you can't even trust the people that work with the goverment...wouldn't you think you're supposed to feel safe with the cops? hhmmm...i'm glad he got caught and who knows how many others cops are out there playing honest daytime, but peverts at night!

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 12:31 PM Bloomington Woman wrote ...

Justice has been served.

Wednesday, Jun 18 at 12:19 PM Mike H. wrote ...

HIP HIP HURRAYYYYY..... Justice is served



#2376 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:38 pm
Subject: This weeks corrupt cop stories
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/385/thisweek1.shtml

 

Corrupt cops should be flogged to death!

 

 



#2375 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:34 pm
Subject: Ways to help save humanity
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#2374 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:28 pm
Subject: Why demonstrations do not work
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There are many reasons for demonstrations. First we must demonstrate at times to bring attention to our issues. When folks do stupid things e.g. like bombing city hall, rioting and so forth it defeats the purpose of the demonstrations thus defeating the cause as the only NEWS is BAD news. We must demonstrate but it must be done with mindful leaders who have control over their groups otherwise it shouldn't be done. This is MY main reason for not attending demonstrations unless I am or I know the leader. They must ALL be done peacefully and that is a risky proposition especially when frustrations are high as they are these days with snitches, drug dealing cops who set folks up, folks who have had family members die as a result of the drug war, folks being denied medicine, students having there livelihood ruined over a quarter pound of pot, the set ups the rip offs the things nobody saw, THE MOUNTING CORRUPT COPS AND THEIR TOY SNITCHES, corrupt officials many by the way whom do drugs themselves but set up others. Many cops are paranoid of as a result of their own bad deeds. The coke snorting speedballing bastards they are all afraid of who can put them in concrete boots....

 

The list is infinormous it goes on and on! Legalize and regulate through clinics period and open up honesty in our land again! The drug war is at our border now literally and the prohibitionist bastards will keep it going and God is going to destroy this land if we don't change it's that simple! http://www.leap.cc...  even many law enforcement folks are finally seeing the light. SEE THE LIGHT YOU INFILTHTRAITORS who perpetuate these things.

The drug war also promotes anarchy which can be a danger as well. Live free or die it's your/our choice!  http://www.philforhumanity.com/Demonstrations_and_Petitions.html

 

http://www.mapinc.org

http://www.drugsense.org

http://www.november.org

http://www.mikuriya.com

http://www.rxmarijuana.com

 

 



#2373 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:50 am
Subject: A good discussion everyone in our groups should read.
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I will try brother. The reason I keep five different groups shaggy is so that my stuff does not ever get deleted again. Amsl is our home group that we had before but the originals got deleted by yahoo as my son and I had emergency health issues among other things and the idiot bot spammers ruined it with porn and perhaps even dealing dope online or something I'm not quite sure. So it's a security issue. The groups as we see in AMSL though might change so you never know that's the beauty:0) I like how George Carlins death and spirit has brought folks in and the discussions in AMSL are changing to which is good and productive to the soul. I like to stay on topic and the spirit is leading me to be more open minded about discussing other things in AMSL too which is what a lounge should be for so I'm learning some things as a group leader as well brother. It's good you asked though as this way we connect and share ideas ect.. ect.. and this is how a group should be not flamed bs all the time as we see elsewhere. We were no 1 on yahooka before for a reason in the legalization category and I still think we are. I strive hard for this which is why I want folks who are for real and divisive folks are banned. I don't always like to let folks go and give many chances to my friends and thats why we only like friendly nice mindful spirits so we can "Come together" as the beatles would say as this is important. It is also important that we allow free expression as well as this is very productive and allows for personal growth. We teach each other and this is another beauty.

--- On Tue, 6/24/08, Shaggy Hippie <shaggy-hippie@...> wrote:
From: Shaggy Hippie <shaggy-hippie@...>
Subject: AMSL and EndNow
To: mikelericz@...
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 7:17 PM

Howdy Mike,
I've been noticing that posts on AMSL and EndNow are pretty much the
same ones. Has it ever been suggested that the two Groups merge?
Watched an arts television program last night of D.A. Pennebaker's
"Monterey Pop". It put me in a nostalgic mood - one where I'm
either
longingly missing the Sixties, or it reminds me that my "glory days"
are
over. Anyhow, I did some internet surfing and searched Grace Slick. I
love "White Rabbit" and I always thought that she was HOT. Man, did
I
get my mind blown! Up popped a picture of Grace now at age 68 - short
grey hair and all! Another fantasy shot to Hell!
Later,
Shaggy


#2372 From: Sabbathed Prezz <sabbathed_prezz_766@...>
Date: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:46 pm
Subject: Fw: Carlin Remembered: Helped Other Comics With Drug Problems
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From: Herb <regularguy@...>
Subject: MAP: Carlin Remembered: Helped Other Comics With Drug Problems
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 8:35 AM

Carlin Remembered: Helped Other Comics With Drug Problems
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20208460,00.html


#2371 From: Mike Zorn <mikelericz@...>
Date: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:23 pm
Subject: Forgiveness
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Hannah Arendt

Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we 
have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to a single 
deed from which we could never recover; we would remain the victims of its consequences forever, not unlike the sorcerer¢s apprentice, who lacked 
the magic formula to break the spell.

~~~~

Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.

Anonymous

Forgiveness is the scent that the rose leaves on
the heel that crushes it.

John Arnott

Grace is getting something that you don¢t deserve; and mercy is not getting something that you do deserve.    

Francis Bacon

This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps
his wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.
 

Josiah Bailey

They who forgive most shall be most forgiven.

William Blake

The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.
 
 

Henry Ward Beecher

God pardons like a mother, who kisses the
offense into everlasting forgiveness.

~~~~

I can forgive, but I cannot forget" is only another way of saying, "I will not forgive."
Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note--torn in two and burned up so that it never can be shown against one.

 

Paul Boese

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it
does enlarge the future.
 

Les Brown

Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes
and move on.

E. H. Chapin

Never does the human soul appear so strong as when is foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.

Confucius 

To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.



#2369 From: sabbathed_prezz_766@...
Date: Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:06 am
Subject: Video from Yahoo!
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