Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 12:58:34 -0700

Subject:DC: Lack of Initiative Up TOC
Newshawk: Krissy www.mpp.org
Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Washington City Paper (DC)
Copyright: 2002 Washington Free Weekly Inc.
Contact: mail@washcp.com
Website: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/489
Author: Chris Shott
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project (www.mpp.org)
LACK OF INITIATIVE

Last time the District tried a medical-marijuana initiative, Congress
suppressed the results of the balloting.

This time around, the medical-marijuana activists may spare Congress the
trouble.

According to an e-mail alert sent to supporters on June 24 by the Marijuana
Policy Project (MPP), this year's ballot initiative is in danger of not
reaching its target of 40,000 signatures by the July 8 filing deadline.

The reason, MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia says, is that D.C. volunteers
have failed to put in the effort.

Paid petition-wranglers are on track to net 33,000 names, but the MPP was
counting on unpaid locals, who'd pledged to collect 120 signatures apiece,
to complete the tally.

So far, the volunteers have delivered nothing, Kampia reports. "They're
going to be part of a winning team," he says of the laggard volunteers, "if
they just get off their asses and help."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk
 
 

**


web:     http://www.crrh.org/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 09:16:46 -0700
Subject:UK: Scotland Yard Chief Praises Cannabis Leniency Up TOC

Newshawk: JimmyG
Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Times, The (UK)
Webpage: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-340418,00.html
Copyright: 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd
Contact: letters@the-times.co.uk
Website: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/454
Author: Stewart Tendler
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

YARD CHIEF PRAISES CANNABIS LENIENCY

A POLICE experiment in relaxing cannabis laws was hailed as a statistical
success by one of Scotland Yard's most senior officers yesterday.

Ian Blair, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said a pilot
scheme in Lambeth, South London, under which anyone found in possession of
cannabis was given a warning, had cut police workload and increased arrests.

Mr Blair told a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority: "It is
undoubtedly, in statistical terms, a success. We have saved about two man
years (of officer time)." Facing criticism from police authority members
about the scheme's implementation, he said there were 740 warnings for
cannabis possession between January and May this year, compared with 249 in
the same time last year. Arrests for cocaine and heroin had risen and 1,200
extra "stop and searches" for suspected drug offences were made.

He praised Commander Brian Paddick, the Lambeth officer who began the
scheme and is being investigated. "Whether the experiment is a success or
not, his achievement is being bold enough to take an innovative approach,"
he said.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Ariel
 
 

**


web:     http://www.crrh.org/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 09:26:43 -0700
Subject:Saying good-bye to Politically Incorrect Up TOC
 From Rick Root

Last night on his next to last show, Bill Maher passionately spoke to the 
plight of Todd McCormick.  With great accuracy and detail he spoke of how 
the federal government did not allow the mention of his medical condition 
or Proposition 215 in his trial.  The point of Maher's comments became the 
fact that this type of trial ought to have no place in this country, rather 
it's more reflective of the tactics used by the Joseph Stalins of the world.

Bill Maher has been a great friend of the drug policy reform movement over 
the years.  Tonight is his last show having been cancelled by 
Disney/ABC.  His ratings have not slipped -- the cancellation appears to be 
due to the controversial nature of his show.  What we are left with are 
shows on cable networks that discuss issues purely along the two major 
party lines.  Which means discussion of the drug war and dissention in 
general will suffer further arrest.  As such, I highly recommend that we 
all write a letter noting the purpose and passing of Politically Incorrect 
and submit it to our local newspapers and national publications, and 
forward it to the cable news channels.

I would hope that our friends at the Media Awareness Project turn the 
passing of PI into a focus alert and that discussion in the various drug 
policy reform groups includes addressing this situation.

In Liberty,

Rick Root

Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.  ~Thomas Jefferson
 
 

**


web:     http://www.crrh.org/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 09:29:24 -0700
Subject: Re:Saying good-bye to Politically Incorrect Up TOC
 From Richard Lake
Good thought. However, MAP looked into doing a focus alert when it was 
first announced that PI was going off the air.

Bill let us know that he was ready to move on and did not want us to make a 
fuss over the end of PI. So we honored his choice.

btw, if anyone has not listened to Bill's talk at the NORML convention, 
please go to www.norml.org to hear it. It is a classic, IMHO.

Richard

p.s. At the request of Ann McCormick Compassionate Moms was moved to the 
DrugSense list server (Ann was just tired of growing amount of advertising 
and other problems with yahoo groups) and now has an email address of 
moms@drugsense.org  Jo-D will be updating, and we will host, the MOMS 
website, which has been down since about February.

snip

Richard, Mark & Matt, we would like to also thank DrugSense for hosting our 
CRRH website and this mailing list, and our affiliated nonprofit's website too!

 
 

**


web:     http://www.crrh.org/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 10:27:42 -0700
From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense)
Subject:DrugSense Weekly, June 28, 2002, #256 Up TOC
**********************************************************************
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
**********************************************************************
DrugSense Weekly,            June 28, 2002                        #256
Read This Publication On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm 
Listen On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/
- ------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In

     (1) UK: Yard Chief Praises Cannabis Leniency
     (2) US CA: Legal Glitch Halts Pot Trial
     (3) US: Public-housing Evictions Over Drugs Upheld
     (4) US: Court Expands School Drug Tests
 
* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

     (5) Court: Guns Can Lengthen Sentence
     (6) Judge Accuses Defendant of Trying To Sway Would-Be Jurors
     (7) Drug Test For Hub Officers Stirs Bias Fear
     (8) Editorial: One Strike, And You're Out?
     (9) U.S. Role In Coca War Draws Fire
     (10) Mexican Addiction Rates Rise as U.S. Border Security Tightens

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

     (11) Drug Gear Dispute Leads To Inventory
     (12) Sumter Magistrate Suspended, Asked To Step Down
     (13) Family Of Boy To Get $2.55M
     (14) Doctor Sues Terrebonne Prosecutor Over Drug Investigation

Cannabis & Hemp-

     (15) South Dakota Voters To Decide On Industrial Hemp
     (16) Higher Immorality?
     (17) Let Them Smoke Dope
     (18) U.S. Official Attacks UK Drug Tactics

International News-

     (19) At Least 27 Executed In China For Drug Trafficking
     (20) Call For United Effort To Fight Drug Use
     (21) More People Falling Prey To Lure Of Drugs
     (22) Anderton Opens Campaign With Anti-Drugs Policy
     (23) Crack Becomes The New Heroin
     (24) Customs Drugs Seizures Soar 500%

* Hot Off The 'Net

     School Drug Testing Decision Online
     Medical Marijuana as a Mitzvah 
     United States Government vs. Bryan Epis
     Journey for Justice
     Flex your Rights

* Letter Of The Week

     Reform Drug Laws - A Rockefeller's Plea / By Laurance S. Rockefeller

* Feature Article

     Unitarian Universalist Association Breaks New Ground in Drug Policy
     Reform / By Chuck Thomas

* Quote of the Week

     Ulysses S. Grant

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

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

(1) UK: YARD CHIEF PRAISES CANNABIS LENIENCY

A  POLICE  experiment  in  relaxing  cannabis  laws  was  hailed  as a
statistical  success  by  one  of Scotland Yard's most senior officers
yesterday.

Ian Blair, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said a pilot
scheme in Lambeth, South London, under which anyone found in possession
of cannabis was given a warning, had cut police workload and increased
arrests.

Mr  Blair  told a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority: "It is
undoubtedly,  in statistical terms, a success. We have saved about two
man  years  (of officer time)." Facing criticism from police authority
members  about  the  scheme's  implementation,  he said there were 740
warnings  for  cannabis  possession between January and May this year,
compared  with 249 in the same time last year. Arrests for cocaine and
heroin had risen and 1,200 extra "stop and searches" for suspected drug
offences were made.

He  praised Commander Brian Paddick, the Lambeth officer who began the
scheme and is being investigated. "Whether the experiment is a success
or  not,  his  achievement  is being bold enough to take an innovative
approach," he said.

 [end]

Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Times, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd
Website: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/454
Author: Stewart Tendler
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

===

(2) US CA: LEGAL GLITCH HALTS POT TRIAL

The  Judge In The Case Learns That The Defendant Never Entered A Plea.

The trouble-plagued marijuana trial of Bryan James Epis may have hit an
insurmountable  obstacle Thursday -- the defendant has never entered a
plea.

The charges on which Epis is being tried are contained in an indictment
returned  by  a  federal  grand  jury  on  Jan.  30,  but there was no
arraignment.

On  Thursday  morning,  the  jury  heard  opposing  attorneys' opening
statements and the government began presenting its evidence. After the
lunch  break,  however,  defense  lawyer  J.  Tony  Serra  brought the
procedural  glitch  to  the  attention of U.S. District Judge Frank C.
Damrell Jr.

The  judge  put  one  of  his  law  clerks to work on what impact the 
oversight  will  have.  Later,  when  the  jury  was  excused for its 
mid-afternoon  break,  Damrell  observed,  "It would appear that this 
indictment is in trouble."

Serra agreed, arguing that "the charges now don't exist."

The judge responded, "That would be my conclusion."

 [snip]

It  was  a  disconsolate  Damrell  who  left the bench Thursday after 
remarking  woefully  that  state  funds  spent  on the trial thus far 
may have been wasted.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) 
Copyright: 2002 The Sacramento Bee 
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/ 
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376 
Author: Denny Walsh, Bee Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/epis 
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) 
Continues: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/3374849p-4403812c.html

===

(3) US: PUBLIC-HOUSING EVICTIONS OVER DRUGS UPHELD

A Supreme Court Ruling Suggests Tenants Have A Responsibility To Police
Their Families.

WASHINGTON  -  The  US  Supreme  Court  has given its endorsement to a
potentially  powerful - if somewhat indiscriminate - weapon in the war
on drugs.

In  a  unanimous ruling yesterday, the nation's highest court upheld a
provision  of  federal  law that permits public-housing authorities to
evict longtime tenants for the drug-related activity of family members
or guests even when the tenants didn't know about it.

"We  hold that Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at
issue," writes Chief Justice William Rehnquist in an 11-page decision.
Federal  law  "requires  lease  terms  that  give local public housing
authorities  the  discretion to terminate the lease of a tenant when a
member  of  the household or a guest engages in drug-related activity,
regardless  of  whether  the tenant knew, or should have known, of the
drug-related activity."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 27 Mar 2002
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Copyright: 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Contact: oped@csps.com
Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/83
Author: Warren Richey
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n578.a08.html

===

(4) US: COURT EXPANDS SCHOOL DRUG TESTS

WASHINGTON - Children  attending  public  schools  can  be required to
submit to random drug tests, even when school officials have no reason
to suspect widespread  use  of illicit narcotics. In a major exception
to Fourth Amendment  prohibitions against suspicionless  searches, the 
US Supreme Court  has given a green light to public schools across the
nation  to  use  random drug-testing  procedures on a  wide variety of
children. The high court said in a 5-to-4 decision announced  Thursday
that the deterrent effect of such drug testing  was enough to overcome
Fourth Amendment privacy protections.

 [snip]

In writing for the majority,  Justice Clarence Thomas says,  "The need 
to prevent  and deter  the substantial  harm  of  childhood  drug  use 
provides the  necessary  immediacy  for a school  testing policy."  He 
adds,  "Testing students who participate in extracurricular activities 
is a reasonably  effective  means of addressing the  school district's 
legitimate concerns in preventing, deterring, and detecting drug use."

 [snip]

In a  dissent,  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg  said the  school's policy 
violated Fourth Amendment protections. "It is capricious, even 
perverse,"  she  writes.  The  "policy  targets  for testing a student 
population least likely to be at risk from illicit drugs."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Copyright: 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/83
Author: Warren Richey, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1181.a08.html

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

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

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

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

COMMENT: (5-10)

 Another  week,  another  U.S.  Supreme  Court  blow  against the jury
 system.  This  time, the supremes decided that judges can add time to
 prison  sentences  if  the  judge  believes the defendant used a gun.
 This  was  only days before a Supreme Court decision that is expected
 to  widen  drug-testing  of  students.  Elsewhere  in  bad  judging
 decision,  a  federal  judge  in California tossed out an entire jury
 pool  for a medical marijuana case - the judge was apparently worried
 the  citizens  knew too much about their power as jurors. A prominent
 medical  marijuana  activist was also arrested outside the courthouse
 for  allegedly  distributing  information about the rights of juries.

 The  likelihood  that  hair-based  drug  tests  discriminate  against
 African-Americans  was  raised  again in Boston, as a relatively high
 rate  of  black  police  officers  failed  the  tests.  In other drug
 testing  news,  editorial  from  Ohio  suggested  that a "one strike,
 you're  out"  policy  for  drug  tests  of  firemen  was too extreme.

 While  the  U.S.  drug  war is hurting police and firefighters within
 our  borders,  the  battle  had  even  grimmer implications for Latin
 America.  In  Bolivia,  residents  are  alleging  that  US-sponsored
 mercenaries  hired  to fight the drug war are spreading terror in the
 region.  And  in Mexico, the terror-related border crackdown is being
 blamed for huge increases in drug use in border cities.

===

(5) COURT: GUNS CAN LENGTHEN SENTENCE

The  Supreme  Court  Upholds  A North Carolina Sentence, Saying Judges
Can Decide Whether Defendants Used Guns In Their Crimes.

WASHINGTON  -  A  sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that
judges  can  lengthen  the  prison  sentences  of  people who use guns
while  committing  other  crimes,  even if they had not been convicted
of, or charged with, a weapons violation.

With  the  5-4 decision in a North Carolina case, the justices avoided
a  ruling  that  could  have  upset  prison  sentences of thousands of
inmates  nationwide  and  put in doubt sentencing laws in almost every
state.

At  issue  was  federal  prosecutors'  practice of winning convictions
for  federal  crimes  such  as  drug  dealing,  then  having  a  judge
consider stiffer sentences because weapons were involved.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jun 2002
Source: News & Observer (NC)
Webpage: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1488842p-1519488c.html
Copyright: 2002 The News and Observer Publishing Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304

===

(6) JUDGE ACCUSES DEFENDANT OF TRYING TO SWAY WOULD-BE JURORS

A  long-smoldering  medical  marijuana  case  burst into flames Monday
when  a  Sacramento  federal  judge accused the defendant of trying to
taint  the  prospective-juror  pool  and  had  him  briefly  arrested.

All  42  would-be  jurors  were  disqualified  by  an  outraged  U.S.
District  Judge  Frank C. Damrell Jr. when he learned that some of the
panelists were given a first-person statement attributed to
defendant  Bryan  James Epis, and a pamphlet purporting to explain how
jurors are manipulated by judges.

Prospective  jurors'  exposure  to  the  literature triggered a heated
exchange  between  Damrell and an agitated J. Tony Serra, who insisted
his client had nothing to do with the distribution.

 [snip]

Underscoring  the  hostile  atmosphere  was  a  federal  drug  agent's
arrest  of  a  leading  pro-marijuana activist. Jeffrey Jones, who was
arrested  outside  the  courthouse  during the Epis hearing, was later
brought  before  U.S.  Magistrate  Judge Gregory G. Hollows. Jones was
cited  for  a  misdemeanor  attempt to influence jurors by handing out
the  literature  and  released  pending trial. Jones heads the Oakland
Cannabis  Buyers'  Cooperative,  which  provided  pot  to  patients
suffering  from  AIDS,  multiple sclerosis and other serious ailments.
It  was  hit  with  an  injunction two weeks ago by a federal judge in
Oakland.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jun 2002
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2002 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Author: Denny Walsh
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1172/a07.html

===

(7) DRUG TEST FOR HUB OFFICERS STIRS BIAS FEAR

In  the  three  years  since  the  Boston  Police  Department  began a
random,  mandatory  drug  test  based on hair samples, nearly twice as
many  minority  officers have tested positive for drugs as their white
counterparts,  prompting  advocates  for  the  officers  to  question
whether the test is racially biased.

According  to  figures  released  by  the  department  yesterday,  45
officers have tested positive for drugs, 2 percent of the
2,178-member  force.  All  officers are tested annually, but at random
times.

Of  those  45  officers, 16, or more than one-third, were white, while
nearly  two-thirds  of  those testing positive were minorities. Of the
29  blacks  and  Hispanics who tested positive, the vast majority, 26,
were black. No Asians have tested positive for drug use.

In  an  interview  yesterday, Commissioner Paul F. Evans stressed that
the  number  of  officers testing positive was small. He said he would
not  comment  on  the  high  number of black officers testing positive
for drug use, mostly cocaine.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sat, 22 Jun 2002
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2002 Globe Newspaper Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Francie Latour
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1142/a03.html

===

(8) EDITORIAL: ONE STRIKE, AND YOU'RE OUT?

Three Firefighters Pay A Steep Price For A Stupid Mistake

If  an  Ohioan  is  caught  with  a  small  amount  of  marijuana, the
punishment  resembles  that  for a speeding ticket: a $100 fine and no
jail  time.  In Akron, the punishment can be far more severe if you're
a  member  of the safety forces. Three Akron firefighters with a total
of  63  years  of experience have been forced out of work because they
tested  positive  for  marijuana. They were not under the influence on
the  job.  That  brings to 10 the number of firefighters who have lost
their jobs because of the city's drug policy.

While  everyone  involved  regrets  the  incident, officials say their
hands  are  tied  because the city's policy against drug use, hardened
in 1998, eliminates any leeway.

Granted,  these  are  public  servants  who  knew the rules and should
have  known  better  than  to  do  something so dumb. Firefighters and
police  officers  should  be held to a higher standard of conduct. But
when  state  law  refuses to draw such a harsh line, it would seem the
policy  could  be  revised  to  allow  for  an  element of discretion.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jun 2002
Source: Beacon Journal, The (OH)
Copyright: 2002 The Beacon Journal Publishing Co.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/6
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1140/a01.html

===

(9) U.S. ROLE IN COCA WAR DRAWS FIRE

The  wary  residents  of  this  sweltering  town  in  Bolivia's remote
Chapare jungle have a nickname for the uniformed newcomers:
"America's mercenaries."

The  Expeditionary  Task Force, the official name for an armed unit of
1,500  former  Bolivian soldiers, is paid, fed, clothed and trained by
the  U.S.  Embassy  in  La Paz, the Bolivian capital. Since setting up
camp 18 months ago on three bases around this town of 2,000
inhabitants,  the  troops  and  their  assault  rifles  have  become a
common  sight  on  the  local highway, putting down protests along the
steamy  jungle  road  by  peasants  combating  a sweeping, U.S.-backed
campaign to eradicate the area's biggest cash crop -- coca.

The  force,  which has tripled in size since its inception, has become
one  of  the most contentious signs of Washington's involvement in the
drug war.

U.S.  and  Bolivian military officials say the unit has played a vital
role  in  an  aggressive  attempt  to  eradicate coca from the Chapare
jungle,  a  region  larger  than  Connecticut  that provided the basic
ingredient  for  almost  half the world's cocaine during the 1980s and
1990s.  Although  the  soldiers  are  directly  salaried  by  the U.S.
government,  American  and  Bolivian  officials describe the outfit as
"a  group  of  reservists"  within a regular Bolivian army brigade and
commanded by regular Bolivian officers.

But  a  growing  number  of  critics  are calling the force an abusive
irregular  army  whose  existence violates Bolivian law. And the unit,
described  by  Latin American scholars as the first of its kind in the
drug  war,  has  been  accused of using excessive force and committing
human rights abuses, including murder and torture.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 23 Jun 2002
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Webpage: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29589-2002Jun22.html
Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Anthony Faiola, Washington Post Foreign Service
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1153/a02.html

===

(10) MEXICAN ADDICTION RATES RISE AS U.S. BORDER SECURITY TIGHTENS

MEXICO  CITY  --  After years of dismissing cocaine as a U.S. problem,
Mexicans are finding that it's their problem, too.

Government  drug  treatment  clinics  that saw 3,000 abusers a year in
the  1990s  now  see  50,000. Abuse used to be largely confined to the
northern  Mexican  states from which U.S. cocaine smuggling operations
were  launched.  Now  it has seeped south to big cities such as Mexico
City and Guadalajara.

There,  powdered  cocaine,  with  its  high  price limiting its use to
Mexico's  upper  classes,  has  given  way to $2-a-rock crack so cheap
that it's luring street kids away from sniffing solvents.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 24 Jun 2002
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2002 Tallahassee Democrat.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444
Author: Kevin G. Hall, Knight Ridder Tribune
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1171/a03.html

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

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

COMMENT: (11-14)

 What  happens  when  a  regional drug task force is disbanded? Like a
 bitter  divorce,  some  parties  involved fight over who gets to keep
 the  high-tech  tools  obtained by the force - at least that's what's
 happening in Arkansas.

 On  the  heels of a drug-scandal involving a Louisiana judge, a South
 Carolina  magistrate  has  been  asked  to  step  down  after  he was
 allegedly  caught  distributing  cocaine.  A  California family found
 some  justice  - if two and a half million dollars can compensate for
 the  life  of  a  young boy who was gunned down during a botched drug
 raid.  Also  fighting  for  justice  is  a  Louisiana doctor who sued
 prosecutors  who  have been investigating the doctor on drug charges.

===

(11) DRUG GEAR DISPUTE LEADS TO INVENTORY

ROGERS  --  State  auditors  were  at  the Rogers Police Department on
Monday  inventorying  more  than  $100,000 worth of drug-fighting gear
caught in a bureaucratic tug-of-war.

The  Arkansas  attorney  general's office, which has threatened to sue
Rogers  for  the  return of the equipment, asked the Arkansas Division
of  Legislative  Audit  for  the  inventory.  The  Rogers-based  19th
Judicial  District  Drug  Task  Force  purchased  the equipment before
disbanding in 2001.

"We're  attempting  to  get  an  accounting of what equipment is there
and  what  condition  it's in," attorney general spokesman Jim Pitcock
said.

State  Drug  Director  Bill Hardin said he's been asking Rogers Police
Chief  Tim  Keck  to  turn over the surveillance cameras, night-vision
gear  and  other  equipment  to the state for more than a year. Hardin
oversees  distribution  of  grant money and operations for the state's
drug task forces.

Keck  said  Roger  bought some of the equipment in question with city
money.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jun 2002
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR)
Copyright: 2002 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/25
Author: Michelle Bradford
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1170/a10.html

===

(12) SUMTER MAGISTRATE SUSPENDED, ASKED TO STEP DOWN

The  state  Supreme  Court  has  suspended  the  judgeship  of Warren 
Curtis  days  after  the  Sumter  County  magistrate  was arrested on 
drug charges.

Curtis  was  placed  on  interim  suspension  Monday  by  the court's 
chief  justice  "because  he  has  been  charged with a serious crime 
...  and  because  he  could  pose a substantial threat to the public 
and  to  the  administration  of  justice,"  a  Supreme  Court  order 
reads.

Curtis,  43,  was  arrested  last  Thursday  in  the parking lot of a 
Food  Lion  on  U.S.  378  and  charged  with distribution of cocaine,
possession  with  intent  to  distribute  cocaine  and  possession  of
cocaine within one-half mile of a school.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jun 2002
Source: Item, The (SC)
Copyright: 2000 The Item
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1105
Author: Luke Reynolds
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1147/a06.html

===

(13) FAMILY OF BOY TO GET $2.55M

Modesto 11-Year-Old Was Killed In Drug Raid.

The  family  of an 11-year-old Modesto boy killed in his home during a
narcotics  sweep  has  settled  a  wrongful-death  lawsuit against the
city  and  several of its police officers for $2.55 million. The total
is  in  addition  to  the  $450,000 settlement the family will receive
from the federal government for the boy's death.

San  Francisco  lawyer  Arturo J. Gonzalez, who represented the family
of  Alberto  Sepulveda,  said  Wednesday  that  the  $3  million total
settlement  is  believed  to be the largest paid by government for the
wrongful death of a child.

The  boy's  father,  Moises Sepulveda, still faces criminal charges in
connection  with  the  raid  in  September  2000 on the family home in
which  his  son  was  shot  in  the  back while following an officer's
orders to lie face down on the floor.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jun 2002
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Webpage: http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/3276701p-4303077c.html
Copyright: 2002 The Fresno Bee
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Author: By Jerry Bier, The Fresno Bee
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

===

(14) DOCTOR SUES TERREBONNE PROSECUTOR OVER DRUG INVESTIGATION

A  New  Orleans-area physician wants local authorities who suspect him
of  illegal  drug trafficking to put up or shut up and has filed a $30
million lawsuit in federal court to get his point across.

But  Terrebonne  Parish  prosecutors  are  branding  the  suit  a ruse
intended  to  derail  a  complex  and  lengthy  investigation into the
alleged  appearance  of  drugs  such  as  the  time-release painkiller
oxycontin ending up on local streets.

Terrebonne  officials  say  their efforts will continue when a special
grand jury reconvenes next month.

The  civil  rights suit was filed Friday at U.S. District Court in New
Orleans  by  Dr.  Walter  O.  Sanders  Jr.  of  St. Tammany Parish. It
alleges  that  a  Terrebonne  Parish prosecutor and drug investigators
are  turning  his  pain-management  and  psychiatric  practice  into a
ruin.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jun 2002
Source: Courier, The (LA)
Copyright: 2002 Houma Today
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1477
Author: John DeSANTIS
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1136/a03.html

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

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

COMMENT: (15-18)

 With  elections  looming  this  fall,  many  interesting  U.S.  state
 initiatives  have  made  their way unto the November ballot. In South
 Dakota, a modest initiative that would allow for the legal
 cultivation  of  hemp  has  apparently submitted enough signatures to
 appear on the November ballot.

 With  the  drug war an obvious legal, ethical and moral failure, many
 religious  groups  have  come forward in their criticism/condemnation
 of  current  policy of interdiction and incarceration. Christians for
 Cannabis  and  Universal  Unitarians  for Drug Policy Reform are just
 two  of the most vocal anti-prohibition organizations, remarking that
 the  drug war is an immoral approach to what they consider to be more
 of a health problem.

 Meanwhile,  the  UK continues the push-pull of drug policy reform and
 liberalization.  This  week  it  was revealed that police officers in
 all  8  of  Scotland's  Police forces have been advised not to arrest
 those caught with cannabis for personal use. The police
 organizations  have apparently been frustrated that 45,000 drug cases
 were dropped last year by the over-burdened legal system.

 And  just  as  it appears that the UK is finally managing to distance
 itself  from  ineffective,  U.S.-style  prohibition,  a  visit by Asa
 Hutchinson  (who  was  attending  a  crime  conference in London) has
 resulted  in  criticism by the head of the DEA. Hutchinson complained
 that  the much-hyped "softly-softly" approach used in a Lambeth pilot
 program,  which  calls  for  officers  to issue warnings, rather than
 fining  or arresting, those using cannabis for personal purposes, has
 led to increase in marijuana use in the area. Hutchinson
 conveniently  ignored  evidence showing that the program has led to a
 huge  financial savings while also allowing officers to focus on hard
 drugs  and violent crime. Regardless of U.S. criticism, Scotland Yard
 may  extend  the  pilot  scheme  to the rest of London by year's end.

===

(15) SOUTH DAKOTA VOTERS TO DECIDE ON INDUSTRIAL HEMP

SIOUX  FALLS,  South  Dakota  --  South Dakota voters will be able to 
decide whether to legalize hemp in November's election.

More  than  13,000  signatures calling for the South Dakota Industrial
Hemp  Act  to  go  on  the  ballot  were turned in to the Secretary of
State's  office,  state Election Supervisor Chris Nelson said Tuesday.

If  passed,  the  proposal would draw a legal distinction between hemp
and  marijuana,  paving  the  way for the legal development of hemp in
the  state.  Under  the  proposal,  hemp  would  be a legal crop if it
contains  no  more  than  1  percent  tetrahydrocannabinol  (THC), the
substance in marijuana that makes people high.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jun 2002
Source: Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan (SD)
Copyright: 2000 Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1046
Author: Bernard McGhee, AP Staff Writer
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1135.a05.html

===

(16) HIGHER IMMORALITY?

For  Some  Religious  Groups,  Drug  Laws  Do  More  Harm  Than  Drugs
Themselves

 [snip]

Christians  for  Cannabis,  which describes part of its mission as "to
provide  encouragement,  support  and  prayer  for  the  [Christian
cannabis  user]  subculture  as  a  whole  and  those that work on its
behalf,"  may  be  the extreme, but it is not the only religious group
advocating an end to the war on drugs.

The Presbyterian Church (USA), the Unitarian Universalist
Association  of  Congregations, the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the
Religious  Society  of Friends and the Progressive Jewish Alliance are
among  the  groups  that  have  lent  their  support  to a call by the
National  Coalition  for  Effective  Drug Policies to redirect efforts
to curtail drug use.

These  organizations  all  make clear that their opposition to current
drug  policy  is  based  not  on  support  for  drug use, but out of a
belief  that  the  war  on drugs has done more harm than good and that
it is essentially immoral.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jun 2002
Source: ABC News (US Web)
Copyright: 2002 ABC News
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2105
Author: Dean Schabner
Cited: http://www.christiansforcannabis.com/
Cited: http://www.uudpr.org/
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1134.a06.html

===

(17) LET THEM SMOKE DOPE

POLICE  officers  have  been  told  not  to  arrest anyone caught with
cannabis for personal use, the Sunday Mail can reveal.

All  eight  Scottish  forces  adopted  the  secret policy because they
were  wasting  time arresting suspects with small amounts of the drug.

 [snip]

Police  have  become  frustrated  after prosecutors binned 45,000 drug
cases last year - one in five of all reported.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 23 Jun 2002
Source: Sunday Mail (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2260
Author: Derek Alexander
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1154.a11.html

===

(18) U.S. OFFICIAL ATTACKS UK DRUG TACTICS

The  controversial  pilot scheme that relaxes Scotland Yard's attitude
towards  cannabis  possession  has  been criticised by the head of the
US  drug  enforcement  administration  for  increasing  drug  usage.

Asa  Hutchinson,  director  of  the  DEA,  said  that  the  scheme  in
Lambeth,  south  London,  had  led to a rise in cannabis users and led
children to believe it was legal.

The  pilot  programme,  which  has  been running since July last year,
means  people  caught  with  cannabis  are given on the spot warnings,
rather  than  being  cautioned,  arrested  and  possibly  charged.  An
interim  study  carried  out during the first six months of the scheme
indicated  it  had  been  a success and led to it being extended. This
is  seen  as  a  sign that the commissioner, Sir John Stevens, is keen
for it to roll out across the capital.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jun 2002
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Colin Blackstock, Guardian
Bookmarks: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
http://www.mapinc.org/find?194 (Hutchinson, Asa)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1129.a04.html

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

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

COMMENT: (19-24)

 In grand ceremonies and self-congratulatory pageants, some of the most
 repressive  regimes  worldwide  celebrated  "International Anti-Drugs
 Day,"  falling  over  one  another  to announce ever harsher measures
 against  drug  users.  Leading  the  pack  was  China,  which proudly
 announced  the summary executions of 27 "drug criminals." (No mention
 was  made  of  China's  burgeoning  organ  trade.) In the United Arab
 Emirates (another nation known for careful attention to human rights),
 authorities  denounced  drug  users and, warning of the dangers drugs
 posed  to children, bemoaned "140 million hallucinogen addicts in the
 world."  Another  UAE  paper  revealed  that  "hallucinogen  addicts"
 actually  referred to cannabis users; cannabis being "the most widely
 consumed  substance  with  144  million  users,"  citing  UN figures.

 The  new  Progressive  Coalition party in New Zealand thinks it has a
 great  idea to woo voters: "an across-the-board anti-drugs strategy."
 Ballyhooed by Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton at an election rally,
 this  exciting  and  novel way to capture the hearts and minds of New
 Zealand's  voters  consisted  of  ...  increasing  drug  punishments.

 In  the UK last week, a Home Office study showed an 8 percent rise in
 seizures of crack cocaine in the year 2000 over the previous year. In
 Scotland,  use  of  crack cocaine increased by more than 200 per cent
 over  the  past  five  years,  according  to  the report. In Ireland,
 meanwhile,  customs officials announced that seizures of "drugs" were
 five  times  greater  this  year than last. This was due to a 10,000%
 increase in seizures of "herbal cannabis", which, explained the Irish
 Examiner,  was  "the  lesser  used but more potent type of the drug."

===

(19) AT LEAST 27 EXECUTED IN CHINA FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

At  least  27  convicted drug criminals were executed in China to mark
Wednesday's  international  anti-drug day, while scores of others were
sentenced  to  death  or  to  prison  terms, state press reports said.

Fourteen  people  were  sentenced  to  death  in  China's southwestern
Sichuan  province  on  Tuesday, with nine of them immediately taken to
the  execution  grounds  and  shot,  the  China News Service reported.

 [snip]

China  does  not  publish  statistics  on  executions  numbers. Rights
group  Amnesty  International  documented  2,468  last  year,  but has
suggested the true figure could be much higher.

Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002
Source: Hindustan Times (India)
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/910
Author: AFP
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1169/a08.html

===

(20) CALL FOR UNITED EFFORT TO FIGHT DRUG USE

The  UAE  celebrates  today International Anti-Drugs Day in a festival
organised  by  the  Ministry  of  Interior's anti-narcotics committee.

 [snip]

Brig.  Sharafuddin  Mohammed Hussain, Assistant Dubai Police Chief for
Criminal  Investigation,  called  for  joint  efforts  to fight drugs.

"Drug  awareness  campaigns  are  a  joint  responsibility since drugs
have  bad  economic, social, and psychological impacts on society," he
said.

"UN  statistics  have  shown there are 13 million cocaine addicts, and
140 million hallucinogen addicts in the world."

 [snip]

Brigadier  Khalfan  Khalfan  Abdullah,  Director  of  the  Criminal
Investigation  Department  of  Dubai  Police, said that 82 per cent of
the  world  narcotics  are  consumed  by  young  people  aged below 30
years.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002
Source: Gulf News (UAE)
Copyright: 2002, Al Nisr Publishing, LLC
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1604
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1169/a03.html

===

(21) MORE PEOPLE FALLING PREY TO LURE OF DRUGS

The  number  of  drug  users  worldwide  increased by more than 27 per
cent  in  five  years,  according  to a report entitled Global Illicit
Drug Trends 2001 issued by the United Nations Drugs Control
Programme ( UNDCP ).

In  1997,  there  were  141  million  drug  users worldwide, with this
number reaching 200 million in 2001.

This  figure  represents  three  per  cent of the world population and
4.2 per cent of the global population aged 15 and above.

According  to  data on illicit drug trends, the number of cannabis and
amphetamine-type  stimulant  users  increased  between  1998 and 1999,
while  the  consumption of cocaine and heroin fell in the same period.

However,  cannabis  remains  the  most  widely consumed substance with
144  million  users,  followed  by amphetamine-type stimulants with 29
million, and cocaine with 14 million.

Opiate  consumers  account  for more than 13 million of whom 9 million
are heroin users.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002
Source: Gulf News (UAE)
Copyright: 2002, Al Nisr Publishing, LLC
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1604
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1169/a04.html

====

(22) ANDERTON OPENS CAMPAIGN WITH ANTI-DRUGS POLICY

Politicians  are  getting  soft  on drugs because they want to be seen
as  fashionable,  says  Progressive  Coalition  leader  Jim  Anderton.

Deputy  Prime  Minister  Mr Anderton launched the new party's election
campaign  at  the  weekend, standing side-by-side with veteran crooner
Sir  Howard  Morrison to sing Pokarekare Ana and jointly attack drugs.

Mr Anderton said yesterday that if he were part of the new
government,  as  Prime  Minister  Helen Clark has promised he will be,
then  an  across-the-board  anti-drugs strategy would be a cornerstone
commitment.

 [snip]

He  said  his party would push for special penalties for criminals who
supplied  drugs  to  children, would work with principals to get drugs
out  of  schools,  and would strengthen drug rehabilitation programmes
in prisons.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 24 Jun 2002
Source: Dominion, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2002 The Dominion
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/128
Author: Jonathan Milne
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1154/a08.html

===

(23) CRACK BECOMES THE NEW HEROIN

 [snip]

The  Home  Office  warned  that  Britain  was  on the verge of a crack
epidemic  that  could see crime figures spiralling even further out of
control.

The  latest  Home  Office  figures  released  yesterday  showed  that
compared  with  1999,  there  was  an  8  per cent rise in seizures of
crack  cocaine  in  2000  with  that figure expected to double for the
year 2001.

In  Scotland  the  figures  are among the worst in the UK with the use
of  crack  cocaine  increasing by more than 200 per cent over the past
five  years  and  street  sales  of  the class A drug increasing by an
estimated 250 per cent since 1997.

Speaking  at  a  national  drugs  conference yesterday, Bob Ainsworth,
the Home Office minister, warned that the use of crack was
spiralling  out  of control, putting poor communities and young people
at  risk  from  the  crime  and  violence  associated  with  the drug.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jun 2002
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2002
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Dan McDougall, Crime Correspondent
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1164/a05.html

===

(24) CUSTOMS DRUGS SEIZURES SOAR 500%

THE  value  of  drugs  seized by customs officials jumped by more than
500%  last  year,  with  (  euro  )60.6m  worth  discovered  in  2001.

The  bulk  of  the rise was due to an increase of more than 10,000% in
seizures  of  herbal cannabis, the lesser used but more potent type of
the drug.

"We've  had  a highly successful year in the drugs area, but we're not
complacent.  This  is a very difficult trade to intercept," said Frank
Daly, chairman of the Revenue Commissioners.

Launching  Revenue's  Annual  Report  2001, he said the successes were
mainly  due  to sophisticated intelligence work on the part of customs
officers, rather than chance or routine checks.

"The  key  factor  in  our  success  is  intelligence-gathering  and
profiling of individuals and consignments," he said.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002
Source: Irish Examiner (Ireland)
Copyright: Examiner Publications Ltd, 2002
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/144
Author: Cormac O'Keeffe
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1169/a09.html

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

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

U.S. Supreme Court Drug Testing Decision Online

Decision: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/01pdf/01-332.pdf

===

Medical Marijuana as a Mitzvah

"The  purpose  of  the Beth Am Women's Medical Marijuana Project is to
educate  faith  communities.  Judaism's mitzvot to show compassion for
the  sick  and  to  seek  social  justice  make  medical  marijuana an
important issue for all Jews."

http://www.betham.org/women/mm/index.html

===

United States Government vs. Bryan Epis

"Californians  need  to  protest  the  federal government crackdown on
California  Medical  Cannabis  Dispensaries. This is the first federal
case involving a dispensary that is going to trial."

http://www.lindenarms.com/court

===

Journey for Justice

The  November  Coalition  has  suggested  a  Journey for Justice this 
Fall.  This is a great opportunity for outreach, community 
organizing and developing media attention for our cause.  

We are looking to have events scheduled that would take 
advantage  of  the  November  Coalition's  Nora  Callahan  and  Chuck 
Armsbury's visit to your area.  

A map of the US divided into eight regions is available at:
http://www.november.org/tempmaps/mainstates.html  

Below  the  map  is  a  possible  itinerary  --  this is only to give 
you an idea about a possible schedule. 

===

Flex Your Rights

Flex  Your  Rights  is  a  nonprofit educational organization working 
to  train  individuals  to protect their civil liberties during police
encounters.  

http://www.flexyourrights.org/ 

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

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

REFORM DRUG LAWS - A ROCKEFELLER'S PLEA

By Laurance S. Rockefeller

To the Editor:

Re  "Swapping  Blame as Drug Law Rift Widens in Albany" (news article,
June 20):

As  the  New York Legislature considers a revision of the drug laws, I
hope  that  it  will  make a fresh, open-minded review of all the best
evidence.

In  New  York,  harsh drug laws are associated with my brother Nelson.
In  light  of  what  was  known  29  years  ago,  as  governor, Nelson
advocated  such  laws.  But  I  am  convinced that in light of current
knowledge,  he  would  today  be  open  to  a fresh look at the issue.
Above all, he was a practical and humane leader.

The  losses  in  this  war  are  now  well known. We have far too many
people  in  jail  for too long for relatively minor offenses. Families
are destroyed, creating another generation of dysfunction.

The  economic  cost  of  the war is huge. Enforcement and imprisonment
have  become  major  components  of  federal  and state budgets to the
neglect of other pressing needs.

Further,  overly  harsh  laws  and  punishments  have reduced faith in
government,  which  is  essential  to  the functioning of a democracy.

Thus,  in  light  of  these  factors, the time is ripe for legislative
action.

Laurance S. Rockefeller,

New York

Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1131/a04.html
Pubdate: 06/21/2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws)

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

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

Unitarian  Universalist  Association  Breaks New Ground in Drug Policy
Reform

By Chuck Thomas

June 22, 2002 The Unitarian Universalist Association of  Congregations 
passed a Statement of Conscience calling for "Alternatives to the  War  
on  Drugs."  The  religious denomination representing more than  1,000  
congregations  throughout  the  United  States  declared,  "We do  not 
believe that drug use should be considered criminal behavior."

The  comprehensive  Statement  of  Conscience  was  passed at the 2002
General  Assembly  of  the  denomination  (headquartered  in  Boston,
Massachusetts)  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  delegates  from  the
congregations.  Recognizing  that  "the  consequences  of  the current
drug  war  are  cruel  and counterproductive," the Statement calls for
"alternatives  that  regard  the  reduction of harm as the appropriate
standard by which to assess drug policies."

The  denomination's  Principles  recognize  the  "worth and dignity of
every  person"  and  advocate "justice, equity and compassion in human
relations."  The  Statement  of Conscience declares that the punitive,
coercive  drug  policies  of  the  United  States  violate  these core
religious principles.

Specific proposals include:

- --  "Establish  a  legal,  regulated,  and taxed market for marijuana.
Treat marijuana as we treat alcohol."

- --  "Remove  criminal  penalties  for  possession and use of currently
illegal  drugs,  with  drug abusers subject to arrest and imprisonment
only  if  they  commit  an  actual  crime  (e.g.,  assault,  burglary,
impaired driving, vandalism)."

- --  "Drug  use,  drug  abuse, and drug addiction are distinct from one
another.  Using  a  drug  does  not necessarily mean abusing the drug,
much  less  addiction to it. Drug abuse issues are essentially matters
for  medical  attention.  We  do  not  believe that drug use should be
considered criminal behavior."

- --  "Make  all  drugs  legally  available  with  a  prescription  by a
licensed  physician,  subject  to  professional  oversight.  End  the
practice  of  punishing  an  individual  for obtaining, possessing, or
using  an  otherwise  illegal substance to treat a medical condition,"
and  allow  "medically  administered  drug maintenance" as a treatment
option for drug addiction.

This  groundbreaking  Statement  of  Conscience  goes  beyond what any
other  religious  denomination  has  thus  far  adopted.  Unitarian
Universalists  plan  to  encourage  other  people  of  faith to follow
suit.

"We  are  hopeful  that  this powerful Statement will pave the way for
other denominations to join the movement for more just and
compassionate  drug  policies,"  said  Charles  Thomas,  executive
director  of  Unitarian  Universalists  for  Drug  Policy  Reform, the
denomination  affiliate  that facilitated the congregations' study and
development of the Statement of Conscience.

Read the entire Statement online at: http://www.uudpr.org/

Chuck  Thomas  is  executive  director for Unitarian Universalists for
Drug Policy Reform 

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

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

"I  know  from  my  own  experience that when I was at West Point, the
fact  that  tobacco,  in  every  form,  was  prohibited,  and the mere
possession  of  the  weed  severely punished, made the majority of the
cadets,  myself  included,  try  to  acquire  the  habit of using it."

- -- Ulysses S. Grant, from "Personal Memoirs," 1885

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

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writing  activists.  Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See
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===

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D/B/a DrugSense
PO Box 651
Porterville,
CA 93258
(800) 266 5759
MGreer@mapinc.org

------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 12:26:36 -0700

Subject:SF Chron: Drug Tests Without Probable Cause Up TOC

 From Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858  // canorml@igc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114

Without probable cause
Friday, June 28, 2002
SF Chronicle Editorial

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

IN ITS DECISION on random drug testing for schoolchildren, the U.S. Supreme 
Court has turned the right to privacy on its head, evoking memories of a 
line from the movie "Casablanca," by empowering school officials to round 
up the usual suspects -- probable cause be damned.

The high court ruling -- upholding mandatory drug tests for middle and high 
school students who participate in extracurricular activities -- rattles 
the long-held guarantee against personal invasion. Explicitly, the court 
said that the students have no such right, making us wonder what these 
justices would regard as "unreasonable search and seizure."

The justices decided a student's individual rights are outweighed by the 
schools' need to stamp out drug use. The ruling expands a 1995 decision on 
drug tests for athletes, adding marching bands, chess clubs and other 
groups to those who must submit urine samples even without the suspicion of 
wrongdoing.

This intrusion is "negligible" and trumps the Fourth Amendment ban on 
unreasonable searches and seizures, the court declared.

Neither the drug-testing policy nor the legal ruling makes any sense. 
Various studies have shown that students in extracurricular activities are, 
if anything, far less likely to use drugs in the first place.

If there is any solace in the ruling, it is that victory was narrow -- 5-4 
- - - and suggests that future attempts to erode civil rights will meet at 
least some resistance.

The young people who proudly salute the flag in elementary school -- "and 
to the republic for which it stands" -- deserve to have their 
constitutional rights protected in their high-school years. The founding 
fathers did not put an age requirement on constitutional rights.

As they say in grade school each morning, "with liberty and justice for all. "
- -- 



CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like 
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore 
the unregulated production of industrial hemp.

*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
mail:     CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA
email:   crrh@crrh.org
phone:  (503) 235-4606
fax:       (503) 235-0120
web:     http://www.crrh.org/

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Date: Sat, 29 Jun 2002 15:39:23 -0700

Subject:US: Unitarian Group Urges Decriminalization Of Drugs Up TOC
Newshawk: M & M Family
Pubdate: Sat, 29 Jun 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Bookmark: Read the entire Statement online at: http://www.uudpr.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

UNITARIAN GROUP URGES DECRIMINALIZATION OF DRUGS

The Unitarian Universalists have called for the decriminalization of all
drugs and an end to treating drug users as criminals.

Meeting in Quebec last week the Unitarian Universalist Association passed a
``Statement of Conscience'' that calls the ``war on drugs'' an abject
failure.

``Our current drug policy has consumed tens of billions of dollars and
wrecked countless lives,'' said the statement.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk
CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like 
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore 
the unregulated production of industrial hemp.
*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
mail:     CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA
email:   crrh@crrh.org
phone:  (503) 235-4606
fax:       (503) 235-0120
web:     http://www.crrh.org/
------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #119
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