Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 09:37:17 -0700

Subject:Canada: Ease Pot Law, Chief Bob Says Up TOC

Newshawk: Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy (http://www.cfdp.ca/)
Pubdate: Friday, July 5, 2002
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Website: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml
Address: #250, 4990-92 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 3A1 Canada
Contact: letters@edm.sunpub.com
Author: Andrea Wiebe

EASE POT LAW, CHIEF BOB SAYS

Still remains opposed to legalization

By ANDREA WIEBE, EDMONTON SUN

  Edmonton's top cop says decriminalizing personal-use pot possession - with
a few provisos -might be a better drug deal for everyone.

"I think we need to do things that have positive outcomes at the end of the
day," Chief Bob Wasylyshen told The Sun yesterday.

"Charging people and putting them through the justice system, it can't cure
all of society's problems. It penalizes people for breaking the law - and
that has to happen - but the trouble is, you may take a drug addict into the
courtroom and send the drug addict out of the courtroom, so what have you
really accomplished? Not very much."

That's why the chief, who in the past said he's opposed to decriminalizing
marijuana, now says he's "warm" to the position of the Canadian Association
of Chiefs of Police.

People found with less than 30 grams of weed should be ticketed instead of
criminally charged, but only if the government introduces programs to curb
demand for the drug, "including a balance of prevention, education,
enforcement, counselling, treatment, rehabilitation and diversion programs,"
the association says on its Web site.

The association stipulates it does not condone drug use of any kind and does
not support legalizing marijuana.

And neither does Wasylyshen.

"The outright decriminalization of marijuana, I opposed it previously, and I
oppose it now," he said.

But Wasylyshen believes Canada could establish a better drug strategy if all
levels of government worked with police and others to cut the demand for
marijuana.

He also supports having one individual responsible for developing a Canadian
strategy to fight drug use, like the drug czar appointed in the U.S. "One of
the things that's missing, for example, is a connection between the
different levels of government."

But the president of the Edmonton Police Association believes Wasylyshen's
stance goes too far.

Sgt. Peter Ratcliff said cops already exercise discretion in laying criminal
charges for small amounts of marijuana.

"I was a sergeant on the street for five years and I don't recall any of my
guys charging for, I guess, you'd call it minute amounts, like a couple of
joints or something like that."

Legally, 30 grams or less is considered simple possession, and "that's like
a sandwich-bag full," Ratcliff said.

The association won't support any form of decriminalization, because
rank-and-file cops believe marijuana use leads to bigger issues, he added.

"As soon as you start saying it's recreational or it's a soft drug, you open
that door to saying, well, it's OK. And they have already done that -
they've changed the Criminal Code to the point where having a couple of
joints in your pocket and going out and blowing a couple joints at a party
or a concert is perfectly normal."

And the chiefs association's push for federal health and education programs
to reduce demand is "an awful big wish," Ratcliff said. "We take a more
stringent view on the use itself."

 
 


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web:     http://www.crrh.org/

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Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 09:37:50 -0700

Subject:Canada: Dope smoker off hook Up TOC

Newshawk: http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/
Pubdate: Friday, July 5, 2002
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Website: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml
Address: #250, 4990-92 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 3A1 Canada
Contact: letters@edm.sunpub.com
Author: David Sands

Dope smoker off hook

By DAVID SANDS, LEGISLATURE BUREAU

Marijuana possession charges have been stayed against an Edmonton man
because neither doctors nor the feds can supply him with legal pot.

The ruling - in favour of a man who does not have a federal permit for
medical marijuana use - thrills medical marijuana advocates.

"That's an excellent step forward," said Munir Ahmad, who runs the Edmonton
Compassion Network and provides marijuana to "more than 20" people, only
some of whom have federal permission to use the narcotic.

Provincial court Judge Phil Ketchum called the possession charges against
Brian Edward Oates, 45, "a violation of the accused's right to security of
his person" and told cops and the Crown to back off, at least until Oates
can go through the process for a legal exemption.

Oates, who court heard was hurt in a 1995 industrial accident, was busted
after a raid on his home found 71 plants growing in the basement.

"It is not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice to
criminalize this accused while he waits for a medically approved source of
raw marijuana to be made legally available," said Ketchum's written
judgment.

A doctor for Oates had told the court he "was prepared to support the
accused's application for a ministerial permit" to use marijuana, Ketchum
noted, "however, both the Canadian Medical Association and the Alberta
Medical Association were taking the position that until a better policy is
arrived at, and better studies and sources of the supply of medical
marijuana are available ... practitioners should not support applications
for use of medical marijuana."

It's not fair, the judge said, that people have to live in pain while the
authorities sort out a drug deal.

"I find forcing the accused to choose between his health and imprisonment
violates his right to liberty and security of the person under Section 7 of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

 
 


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web:     http://www.crrh.org/

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Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 09:38:16 -0700

Subject:CA: Bill Would Clarify Marijuana-Use Law Up TOC

Pubdate: Mon,  1 Jul 2002
Source: Desert Sun, The (CA)
Copyright: 2002 The Desert Sun
Contact: letters@thedesertsun.com
Website: http://www.thedesertsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112
Author: Richard Guzman

BILL WOULD CLARIFY MARIJUANA-USE LAW

Proposal Establishes Guidelines For Medical Necessity, Police

Senate Bill 187

The bill seeks to make enforcement of Proposition 215 more consistent by
setting guidelines that determine how much marijuana a person can grow and
possess for medical use. It would also create a voluntary identification
system for medical marjuana users.

Martin Victor says he suffers from cluster headaches that make his head
feel like it's ready to burst. His wife, Lavonne, says she suffers from
multiple sclerosis, which can cripple her movements.

The couple uses marijuana because they say no other medication as been as
beneficial.

However, they and other medical-marijuana users have encountered problems
with the law in spite of Proposition 215. Approved by California voters in
1996, Proposition 215 allows marijuana to be used for medical purposes but
lacks uniform guidelines for enforcement.

The Victors hope Senate Bill 187 will allow them to use marijuana without
fear of legal prosecution.

The bill, which aims to establish a statewide registry card and set
guidelines for the amount of marijuana a patient can possess and grow, is
currently on the Senate floor.

First introduced in February 2001, the bill has been approved by both
houses. However, the details have been altered, requiring another Senate vote.

"(Proposition 215) didn't set a number. (Senate bill) 187 will mean I don't
have to worry about police and the court system. All I have to do is grow
what they allow me to grow and have what they allow me to have," Martin
Victor said.

If the bill passes in the Senate it could be sent to Gov. Gray Davis
sometime in August, said Sue North, chief of staff for the bill's author,
state Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose.

North said Proposition 215 did not implement working guidelines, which has
led to varied interpretations of the law by the different counties.

The bill will require the California Department of Health Services to
determine the amount of marijuana a person can grow and possess.

Identification Cards

It also establishes a voluntary program that will distribute identification
cards to people who use medical marijuana under a doctor's recommendation.

"If a police officer stops someone and they're carrying marijuana, a card
would help police validate the legitimacy of the use," North said.

"These registrations and guidelines would apply uniformly throughout the
state," said Lanny Swerdlow, a member of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition
Project of Palm Springs/Coachella Valley.

For example, Swerdlow said currently one police officer may enter a home
were a patient is growing a certain number of marijuana plants and decide
that it is an appropriate amount for medical use. But he said another
officer could decide that same amount is not appropriate and arrest the person.

But not everyone supports the bill.

State Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, and Assemblyman Dave Kelley,
R-Idyllwild, have both voted against the bill.

The bill is also opposed by some counties that fear the costs associated
with implementing new guidelines would be too expensive.

Some people involved in drug education see a possibility for abuse if the
bill passes.

Black Market Cards

Wayne Koeppel, a Desert Hot Springs resident and chairman of the Drug
Awareness Program for the Elks Association, said he fears people will grow
more marijuana than they need for their personal consumption.

"I don't think it should be passed," he said.

Koeppel also fears that a market for counterfeit medical-marijuana
identification cards could emerge.

"They do it with Social Security cards and driver's licenses," 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: Alex



 
 


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web:     http://www.crrh.org/

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Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 09:39:09 -0700

Subject:US: DEA Shifts 40 Special Agents To Southwestern Border Duty Up TOC

Newshawk: Chip
Pubdate: Fri,  5 Jul 2002
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
Website: http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Gary Fields, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?194 (Hutchinson, Asa)

DEA SHIFTS 40 SPECIAL AGENTS TO SOUTHWESTERN BORDER DUTY

WASHINGTON -- The Drug Enforcement Administration is boosting the number of
special agents on the southwestern border by 40, part of an effort to
replace Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel being shifted from drug
investigations to antiterrorism duty.

Drug Enforcement Administrator Asa Hutchinson said the agency also is
working on a reorganization plan aimed at transferring more personnel out
of their Washington headquarters to field offices.

Amid criticism of the government's antiterrorism efforts leading up to the
Sept. 11 attacks, FBI Director Robert Mueller in May unveiled a plan for
400 FBI agents to be shifted to counterterrorism duties from working drug
cases around the country. The announcement sparked discussion among some in
Congress and local law-enforcement communities who wondered how those
vacancies would be filled.

"We're going through a very vigorous process of reviewing our allocation of
manpower and how that lines up with where the FBI is pulling out agents
from drug enforcement and also where the threats are," said Mr. Hutchinson.

The first step is to move 40 agents from various offices, including
headquarters, to the southwest border, which includes the DEA's offices in
El Paso, Texas, Houston, Phoenix and San Diego, along with a number of
satellite offices in the area. "The southwest border is the biggest
threat," said Mr. Hutchinson. The reassignments and transfer of positions
will increase the number of agents in the area by 6%, he said.

In addition, he is doing an assessment to "meet the president's goal of a
10% reduction of headquarters staff." Those staff positions will likely be
transferred to field offices to meet the FBI's proposed cuts in drug
investigators.

"It would be agents but also the technical people and the intelligence
analysts," Mr. Hutchinson said. "We're looking at all of that and trying to
put more people out in the field."

It is unlikely that it will be a "one-to-one" trade-off in terms of DEA
agents added to FBI agents lost, he said. "We're trying to honestly
evaluate it and not just say they're pulling out 400 agents so we need 400
agents."

According to DEA figures, there are 1,776 positions authorized for
headquarters, including 191 special agents. The other employees who could
be shifted include chemists, intelligence analysts, program analysts,
clerical personnel and diversion investigators who regulate industries like
pharmaceuticals.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom

 
 


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web:     http://www.crrh.org/

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Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 09:41:29 -0700

Subject:Canada: Two Sides To Marijuana Up TOC

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Wed, 03 Jul 2002
Source: Grand Forks Gazette (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 Sterling Newspapers
Contact: gfgazedt@sunshinecable.com
Website: http://www.sterlingnews.com/Forks
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/525
Section: Page 3
Author: Tim A. Dueck
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1177/a09.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

TWO SIDES TO MARIJUANA

A couple of weeks ago, we took a look at the extent of the marijuana
business.  This week, we wanted to look at views on the harm or benefits of
the drug.

Marijuana is part of Canadian culture whether you are for it or against it.
The fact is that marijuana farming, distribution and use is here and it's
not going away.  It is being grown, sold, bought, smoked and even eaten by
more and more Canadians.  According to federal statistics 600,000 Canadians
have criminal records for marijuana possession.  In comparison there are
100,000 registered Canadians playing our national summer sport of lacrosse.
Marijuana cluture is as much a part of Canadian identity as beaver pelts
and western alienation.

Marijuana is best known as a psychoactive substance that is generally
smoked in order to experience an alteration of mood or consciousness. This
can lead to feelings from pleasant euphoria to intense paranoia depending
on the individual and amount ingested.  People's attitude about altered
mental perception is likely the biggest reason people either endorse or
decry marijuana use.  Proponents point to the relaxing effects of marijuana
use as a good thing.  Opponents worry that a person's impaired judgement
can lead to a variety of undesireable actions ranging from prolonged apathy
to safety concerns.

What is generally accepted is that smoking anything is not a great thing to
do to your lungs.  Regular marijuana smokers will experience the same
respiratory disease as tobacco smokers.  Marijuana smokers counter saying
that because a lesser amount is smoked, the harmful effects are reduced.

This summer, Canada's house of sober second thought - the Senate - is
looking at the factors underlying the use of drugs in Canada.  A report is
due out in August and if May's preliminary report is any indication, we can
expect further steps down the road of decriminalization.

So far the report has offered an opinion that marijuana is not a "gateway
drug."  For years marijuana has been identified as the thin edge of the
wedge, a step down the path leading to the use of much more harmful drugs
like cocaine and heroine.  While this concept is going up in smoke, the
residue remains.

Brian Taylor of the Cannabis Research Institute in Grand Forks says it is
confusing for kids who are being told that marijuana is part of the same
genre of drugs as crystal meth and crack.  "Kids are off guard because they
are told marijuana is really bad.  They smoke it and it's not so bad so
they are confused about hard drugs."

Taylor is a vocal advocate of using marijuana medicinally and points to
stacks of reputable research into the medicinal use of canabis sativa.  The
most common and successful medicinal uses include addressing nausea
associated with some cancer and AIDS treatments, glaucoma, multiple
sclerosis, chronic pain and epilepsy.

However, like any antidote, too much cure can be just as harmful as the
disease.

Like all drugs cannabis comes with side effects - the most noticeable is a
"high."  It is this high and its associated use that make cannabis unlike
any other drug Health Canada examines.  However, armed with a five-year
budget of $7.5 million that is exactly what the Office of Cannabis Medical
Access is doing.

Marilyn de Wynter has been a drug and alcohol counsellor in Grand Forks for
over 20 years.  She is cautious about the medicinal use of marijuana.   She
says some of the good qualities of any substance can be duplicated for
medicinal use without the side effect.

"Marijuana has been used as an anti-nausea agent," she says.  "But there
are probably much better drugs we can use to affect glaucoma."

De Wynter says that the major problem of chronic marijuana use is apathy.
"Marijuana use is tricky.  Some people use it from the time they are 14.
When they are 30 they suddenly realize that they haven't done anything. The
problem is that chronic users see themselves as being just as successful as
anyone else."
__________________________________________________________________________
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

 
 


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web:     http://www.crrh.org/

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Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 10:11:52 -0700

Subject:Canada: Woman under house arrest for growing pot at home Up TOC

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Friday, July 5, 2002
Source: Standard, The (St. Catharines, CN ON)
Website: http://www.canada.com/stcatharines/
Address: 17 Queen St., St. Catharines, Ont. L2R 5G5
Contact: pbailey@scs.southam.ca
Author: Jennifer Kennedy
Webpage: http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/11B1F3E6-E479-47BF-A6D9-C492DAAE58EE

Woman under house arrest for growing pot at home

Jennifer Kennedy
St Catharines Standard

Tuyen Nguyen, one of six persons arrested in Niagara as part of a nationwide
crackdown on home-based pot operations last winter, pleaded guilty Thursday
in Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines to unlawfully producing
marijuana.

"This is a serious charge," Justice Patricia Wallace told court. "This is a
significant operation in terms of size ... one that has absolutely no place
in this community."

Crown prosector Peter Wenglowski told court police obtained a warrant and
searched Nguyen's home at 71 McCalla Rd. in St. Catharines Jan. 30.

Inside, they found 312 marijuana plants, most of them in the basement, in
various stages of production. While the plants were worth about $150,000,
Nguyen also had about $25,000 in grow equipment, including fans, transistors
and fertilizers.

Wenglowski said regular hydro channels to the home were bypassed.

Nguyen, a single mother of three children who works at a pizza shop, was
drawn into having a home-grow operation by the carrot of fast and easy
money, said defence lawyer Paul MacLeod.

She's a first-time offender with the equivalent of Grade 6 education, he
added.

While MacLeod classified the grow operation as unsophisticated, the judge
disagreed, noting the business was worth $150,000.

Underlining the fact sentences are meant to deter the public and help
rehabilitate the offender, Wallace agreed to the joint sentencing
submission.

Nguyen received a 15-month conditional sentence -- during which she's only
allowed to leave her home for work, court appearances and medical
emergencies -- and two years' probation. She was also prohibited from
possessing equipment used for growing plants indoors, drug paraphernalia,
cellphones, pagers and palm pilots.

Outside court, MacLeod said an informant, whose name is sealed in a
confidential search warrant, tipped police to her grow operation. He would
only say "people" got his client into the grow-operation, saying his client
hasn't revealed who because she fears retaliation.

=A9 Copyright  2002 St Catharines Standard


=



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web:     http://www.crrh.org/

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Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 13:54:38 -0700
From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense)
Subject:DrugSense Weekly, July 5, 2002, #257 Up TOC

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

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY

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

DrugSense Weekly,             July 5, 2002                        #257

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) Bush Orders Flights By Drugs Traffickers To Be Shot Down
     (2) Ogilvy Fends Off Competitors To Keep U.S. Antidrug Account
     (3) OHSU, Schools Sued Over Drug Testing Study
     (4) 80 Sailors, Marines In N.C. Convicted

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

     (5) Mexican Military Drug Running At Border?
     (6) Mexican Soldiers On Drug Detail Are Crossing Into US
     (7) Ex-Broker Helped To Launder Drug Money, Prosecutors Say
     (8) S.C. High Court Hears Ad Case
     (9) Families Allowed To Slap Drug Dealers With Lawsuits
     (10) Teen Survey: More Using Drugs, Alcohol

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

     (11) Ailments Surface In Police Exposed To Meth Chemicals
     (12) Marijuana Overflight Training School Conducted On Coast
     (13) Law Enforcement Taking Drug War To Skies
     (14) Ex-Informant Says FBI Failed To Keep Promises

Cannabis & Hemp-

     (15) Magazine Picks Vancouver As Pot Lover's Paradise
     (16) BC Marijuana Grow Op Study Shows Startling Figures
     (17) Legal Gaffe No Barrier To Pot Trial
     (18) UK Doctors Begin NHS Cannabis Trials
     (19) Death For Marijuana In Philippines

International News-

     (20) Vigilante Killing Continues In General Santos City
     (21) Myanmar Incinerates Over Rm3.8b In Drugs
     (22) Does Anyone Here Have A Drug Policy?
     (23) Bolivia Denounces U.S. Envoy's Comments
     (24) Bolivian's Run For Office Puts Drug Fight At Risk

* Hot Off The 'Net

     Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
     The Technology Secrets of Cocaine Inc.
     Colin Davies Rearrested, Denied Medical Care, Then Beaten By Police
     Headshrinking The American Addict
     Cultural Baggage
     Narco-Terror: The International Connection Between Drugs and Terror

* Letter Of The Week

     W.  Va.  Group  Pursues  Marijuana  Legalization / By Cindy Wimer

* Letter Writer Of The Month - June

     Wayne Phillips

* Feature Article

     Senate  To  Declare  War  On  Raves  /  By  Drug  Policy Alliance

* Quote of the Week

     The Ottawa Citizen

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

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

(1) BUSH ORDERS FLIGHTS BY DRUGS TRAFFICKERS TO BE SHOT DOWN

President  George  Bush  is  preparing  to order the resumption of the
controversial  policy  of  shooting  down aircraft suspected of flying
drugs to and from Latin America.

The  CIA-run  drugs  interdiction  scheme was suspended last year amid
outcry  after  Peruvian  air  force  fighter  planes shot down a small
aircraft  over  Peru, killing an American missionary, Veronica Bowers,
and her seven-month-old daughter.

An  American surveillance aircraft had helped to track the plane after
its  crew wrongly identified the Baptist missionaries as probable drug
smugglers.

New interdiction operations could start over Colombia as soon as final
approval  is  given by the President, according to US officials quoted
yesterday in The New York Times.

The  new scheme, which will be extended to Peru at a later stage, will
be taken out of the hands of the CIA, apparently at the request of its
director,  George  Tenet,  who  has insisted that the agency no longer
wants  to be associated with the programme. It will be managed instead
by  the State Department, with intelligence back-up from the Pentagon.
Information  on  suspected  drug  flights  would  be  gathered  from
ground-based radar and other sources, officials said.

Carelessness  and  lack  of  proper  oversight  were  cited in a State
Department  investigation  of  the  Peru incident, although it stopped
short  of  blaming  either the US or Peru for shooting down the plane.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 05 Jul 2002
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Katherine Butler
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1236.a02.html

===

(2) OGILVY FENDS OFF COMPETITORS TO KEEP U.S. ANTIDRUG ACCOUNT

The U.S. selected Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide as its private partner in
the prestigious White House advertising campaign to eradicate youth
drug abuse. The decision gives the Madison Avenue powerhouse a new
$762.1 million contract with the government and a significant advantage
in its struggle to remain the key private player in a public-health
advertising effort that lately has suffered some embarrassing blows.

"To  the  surprise  of a lot of people, Ogilvy has retained this very
important  contract,"  says  Rich Hamilton, chief executive of Zenith
Optimedia Group in New York, one of the agencies that was a finalist in
an eight-month showdown for the prize advertising assignment. "It is a
huge shock to a lot of us."

 [snip]

A spokesman for the antidrug office said it will work with Ogilvy to
fix some of the shortcomings in the program and would no longer target
12- to 13-year-olds  with  antidrug messages. The target age instead
will be increased  to 14- to 16-year-olds. The office also plans to
broadcast harder-hitting messages and thoroughly test all the
commercials before they run.

 [snip]

Ogilvy and the program have faced harsh criticism on a number of fronts, 
ranging  from  bookkeeping  problems  for the agency's work to recent 
allegations that the campaign has been ineffective with teens and might 
even have spurred some youngsters to try marijuana . In February, Ogilvy 
agreed  to a $1.8 million settlement to resolve civil charges that it 
inflated labor costs for its earlier work on the advertising program. A 
separate  criminal investigation focusing on whether Ogilvy employees 
deliberately  altered time sheets is still pending. Ogilvy denies any 
wrongdoing.

In May, the nation's top drug official, John P. Walters, who heads the
White House drug-policy office, presented new third-party survey
research to Congress showing the campaign had largely failed to turn
U.S. teens and preteens against drugs. The research didn't focus on
Ogilvy but on the antidrug efforts in general during 2000 and 2001.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri,  5 Jul 2002
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Website: http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Vanessa O'connell, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1237.a06.html

===

(3) OHSU, SCHOOLS SUED OVER DRUG TESTING STUDY

PORTLAND - Oregon Health & Science University and 14 school districts 
around the state are being sued in federal court over a study of drug 
testing for high school students.

The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court last week, seeks
an injunction to halt the university's drug-testing study and
compensation for "psychological, social and economic harm" suffered by
thousands of Oregon students and their parents.

 [snip]

A New Jersey law firm that has a national reputation for challenging
the ethics  of  human experiments at some of the nation's leading
medical institutions is leading the legal fight.

The  firm  said  student  athletes  were  coerced to take part in the
drug-testing experiment, which the lawyers call a violation of legal
and ethical  requirements  for  voluntary participation in human
research.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jul 2002
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2002 The Register-Guard
Website: http://www.registerguard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362
Note: From Register-Guard and news service reports
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1238.a04.html

===

(4) 80 SAILORS, MARINES IN N.C. CONVICTED

2-year  Drug  Inquiry  Done  By  Navy,  State  And  Local  Authorities

Authorities in North Carolina have seized $1.4 million worth of narcotics 
and  have  convicted  more  than  80  Marines and sailors of using or 
distributing designer drugs, officials said yesterday.

It was one of the biggest drug investigations involving the military in
recent years. Although narcotics cases in the military are not rare,
they usually involve smaller numbers of people. A recent drug scandal
at the Air Force Academy, for example, implicated 38 cadets.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 
Source: Winston-Salem Journal (NC) 
Copyright: 2002 Piedmont Publishing Co. Inc. 
Website: http://www.journalnow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/504 
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1228.a08.html

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

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

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

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

COMMENT: (5-10)

 Last  week,  two news organizations offered wildly differing accounts
 of  unauthorized  border  crossings by Mexican soldiers into the U.S.
 The  story  published  by  web-based  WorldNetDaily suggests that the
 Mexican  military may be aiding drug smugglers during incursions into
 the  U.S.  The  WND  story  adds  new  details  to  an  earlier story
 highlighted  in  this  space,  but an Associated Press story presents
 contradictory  spin.  The  border  crossings  are being undertaken by
 geography-challenged  anti-drug  forces  within  the Mexican military
 who  are  "overzealous  and ... poorly trained," according to the AP.
 Interestingly,  the  WND  story  quotes anonymous government sources,
 while  the  AP story offers no sources for most of its reporting. Who
 do you believe?

 In  other  news,  a prestigious Wall Street broker is also accused of
 helping  Mexican  drug  cartels. The broker is on trial for allegedly
 helping  to  launder millions in drug money. A legal case involving a
 South  Carolina shop owner prosecuted for selling a product purported
 to  beat  drug  tests has reached the state's supreme court. Virginia
 has  adopted  a  new law designed to allow parents to sue dealers who
 sell drugs to their children.

 And  a  new  youth  survey by the Center for Disease Control suggests
 that  young  people  understand  harm  reduction,  but  they  don't
 understand  prohibition.  The survey indicates more youth are wearing
 seatbelts  and riding with designated drivers, but more are youth are
 also using drugs.

===

(5) MEXICAN MILITARY DRUG RUNNING AT BORDER?

Federal Officials Convinced Troops Aiding Smugglers

U.S.  law-enforcement  officers  in  the  Southwest are convinced that
Mexican  military  units are crossing the Arizona-Mexico border to aid
smugglers in carrying drugs into the United States.

In  one  incident,  says  a  senior federal law-enforcement officer, a
major  in  the  Mexican  army  was caught at the U.S. port of entry at
Naco,  Ariz.,  carrying  a  detailed  drug-smuggling  map  among  his
papers.  The  Mexican officer, said the official, was "coming into the
United  States  and  they  found  the  drug-smuggling maps on him that
showed  all  the drop points and trails" that local smugglers used for
bringing narcotics into the United States.

The  official  said  that  in  calendar year 2001, the U.S. government
officially  recorded  12  separate incidents in which Mexican military
personnel  crossed  over  the  border  into  Arizona  alone.  On  some
occasions,  a  Border  Patrol  officer  said,  Border  Patrol  agents
actually  have  arrested  Mexican  army  personnel  in U.S. territory.

"Without  a  doubt"  Mexican  military  have  made  incursions  into
Arizona,  said  the  Border  Patrol  official.  "We have actually made
arrests  of  both  military  and  police.  And as far as I know in all
events  the  people  were released to Mexican custody within 12 hours,
as  well  as  returning  them  with  the  weapons  that  they made the
incursion with."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jul 2002
Source: WorldNetDaily (US Web)
Copyright: 2002 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/655
Author: Terence P. Jeffrey
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1213/a06.html

===

(6) MEXICAN SOLDIERS ON DRUG DETAIL ARE CROSSING INTO U.S.

SONOYTA,  Mexico  -  Mexico has been sending more soldiers to the U.S.
border  to  combat  drug smuggling, and some are raising alarms on the
other  side  by  carrying  their  operations  into  U.S.  territory.

Even  more  worrisome,  critics say, are recent shootings involving an
American  tourist,  a  U.S.  Border  Patrol vehicle and migrants. They
fear  the  troops  are overzealous and so poorly trained that they are
a hazard to innocent people in both countries.

Two  of  the  shootings  were  on Mexico's side of the border, and the
one  on  U.S.  territory  happened  in  a remote area where the border
isn't  marked  well.  It  is  along such stretches that Mexican troops
have strayed onto the U.S. side - as American officers also
occasionally cross into Mexico.

 [snip]

Mexico's  Defense  Department,  which  won't say how many soldiers are
patrolling  the  2,000-mile  border,  declined  to  comment  on  the
shootings.  The  U.S.  government  hasn't  commented on the incidents,
although  the  Border  Patrol  says  it  is investigating the shooting
involving its officer.

Human  rights  activists in Mexico say the soldiers aren't trained for
police  duties  and contend they are becoming overzealous and careless
because  the  military  is  immune  from public scrutiny. The military
has  its  own legal system, and traditionally the army answers only to
the presidency.

Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Copyright: 2002 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418
Author: Associated Press
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1173/a05.html

===

(7) EX-BROKER HELPED TO LAUNDER DRUG MONEY, PROSECUTORS SAY

Federal  prosecutors  charged  yesterday  that  a  former  broker  for
Lehman  Brothers  helped  launder  $15 million for a Mexican drug lord
and  then  tried  to  further  conceal  the  money after the drug lord
became a fugitive from justice.

The  man  accused of being a drug lord, Mario Villanueva, was governor
of  the  state  of  Quintana Roo on Mexico's Caribbean coast from 1993
to  1999.  During  that  time,  prosecutors  say, one of Mexico's most
powerful  cocaine  organizations,  which  they  called  the  Southeast
Cartel,  paid  him  $30  million.  In return, they say, he offered the
cartel  the  cooperation and protection of the police, and an airplane
owned  by  the  governor's  office  to  store  and  transport cocaine.

In  March  1999,  just  before  Mr.  Villanueva  was  to leave office,
losing  immunity  from  prosecution  in Mexico, he disappeared. It was
around  then,  the indictment says, that the broker, Consuelo Marquez,
began  moving  Mr.  Villanueva's  payoff  money  from Lehman Brothers'
accounts to accounts harder to trace.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Section: New York Region
Author: Benjamin Weiser
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1188/a05.html

===

(8) S.C. HIGH COURT HEARS AD CASE

COLUMBIA  -  Attorneys for the former owner of a Richland County store
say  it  is not a crime to advertise a legal product even if customers
may  want  it  to  beat  a drug test. "Speech doesn't make the crime,"
attorney  H.  Louis  Sirkin  argued  before  the S.C. Supreme Court on
Tuesday.

Edward  Rothschild  III  has  been  fighting  his  2000  conviction of
possessing  a  substance that can be used to defraud a drug or alcohol
test, saying the law violates his commercial speech rights.

Sirkin  said  his  client  had  a  First  Amendment  right  to  run an
advertisement  in  a  local  newspaper that read: "Taking a drug test?
Want to cleanse your system?"

In  1999,  the  State Law Enforcement Division responded to the ad for
Nicki's  Novelty  Store,  where  a  clerk  told  an undercover agent a
drink  called  Zydot  would  hide  the presence of marijuana in a drug
test, Sirkin said.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002
Source: Sun News (SC)
Copyright: 2002 Sun Publishing Co.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/987
Author: Jennifer Holland, The Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1187/a05.html

===

(9) FAMILIES ALLOWED TO SLAP DRUG DEALERS WITH LAWSUITS

Imagine  this:  A  drug  dealer gets your child hooked, and the police
can't  make  criminal  charges stick. The dealer is a free man, riding
around the neighborhood in his expensive car.

Starting  tomorrow,  Virginia  families will have a new weapon in this
war: the big-dollar lawsuit.

 [snip]

[The sponsor of the law] said the law might not be effective in every case. 
"Some drug
dealers will have money, some don't," he said. "But if they have money, you
ought to be able to sue for damages."

The  bill  allows  a  parent or legal guardian of a child younger than
18  to  sue  anyone  who  provides  illegal  drugs for that child. The
parents can sue to recover the cost of drug treatment and
rehabilitation, along with emotional pain and suffering.

Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jun 2002
Source: Daily Press (VA)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Press
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/585
Author: Hugh Lessig
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1208/a02.html

===

(10) TEEN SURVEY: MORE USING DRUGS, ALCOHOL

ATLANTA  -  More  teen-agers  are  using cocaine and regularly smoking
and  drinking,  but  an  increasing number are also wearing seat belts
and  refusing  to ride with a driver who's been drinking, according to
a survey released Thursday.

The  annual  survey,  conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention  in  schools  across  the country, examined the behavior of
13,600 high school students.

The  survey  found  injury and violence-related behaviors have fallen,
but  kids  still  regularly  smoke and drink - nearly half said they'd
consumed  more  than  one  alcoholic  beverage  more  than once in the
month before the survey.

The  number  of  teen-agers  who  said they had tried cocaine in their
lifetime  rose  to 9.4 percent, up from 5.9 percent in 1991. About 4.2
percent  of  students  said they had used cocaine in the past 30 days,
up from 1.7 percent in 1991.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2002 The Register-Guard
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1220/a12.html

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

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

COMMENT: (11-14)

 Another  cost  of  the  war  on  methamphetamine is becoming clear in
 Oklahoma.  Police who have been exposed to the chemicals from illicit
 labs  are  now  facing  debilitating  long-term health care problems.

 It's  that  time  of  the  year,  when  law enforcement resources are
 directed  toward  the  skies  to  seek out marijuana gardens. Reports
 from  two  states  note  that  the  National Guard and its planes are
 being  used,  despite other more pressing national security concerns.

 And,  finally,  working  as  a drug snitch for the FBI may not be all
 its  cracked  up  to  be.  An  retired informant is suing the agency,
 saying he never received the compensation he was promised.

===

(11) AILMENTS SURFACE IN POLICE EXPOSED TO METH CHEMICALS

In  the  small  Oklahoma  town  of  Cromwell, Hank Neal was living the
good  life.  At  age  32,  he  was  a  husband,  father  of four and a
well-known  Seminole  County  deputy  sheriff.  When he wasn't chasing
the bad guys, Neal attended every baseball game in town.

Now,  on  his  bad  days,  Neal  uses a walker to get to the bathroom.
Gout,  a  joint  disease,  has  invaded  both  of  his  arms and legs,
causing  him  to  hunch  over  and draw inward. His days are scheduled
around  doctors'  appointments and workers' compensation hearings. His
nights are worse.

Neal's  wife,  Dian, loses her composure when she tells of his suicide
attempts. There have been two so far.

In  December  1999,  Neal  raided  a methamphetamine lab while on duty
and  got  a  bloody  nose.  He  didn't  think anything of it, not even
when,  a  week  later,  he  began  throwing  up  and  having diarrhea.

At  the  time,  they  blamed  a beer can that was hurled at him from a
passing  car,  hitting  him  in the head. Now they blame the meth lab.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jul 2002
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Penny Owen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1211/a09.html

===

(12) MARIJUANA OVERFLIGHT TRAINING SCHOOL CONDUCTED ON COAST

Marijuana-seeking  helicopters,  planes  and  personnel this week were
flying  over  coastal  county  areas  as part of the annual overflight
school  hosted  by  the  Mendocino  County  Sheriff's  Office and Drug
Enforcement Agency.

Six  helicopters  and  six  planes  from  various  agencies around the
state  participated  in the school, which teaches officers how to spot
marijuana  from  the  air,  according to Sgt. Rusty Noe, of the County
of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication Team.

 [snip]

Besides  the  DEA and local law enforcement, agencies participating in
the  training  included  other  county law enforcement departments and
the Air National Guard.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA)
Copyright: 2002, MediaNews Group, Inc.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581
Author: Glenda Anderson
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1199/a10.html

===

(13) LAW ENFORCEMENT TAKING DRUG WAR TO SKIES

VIDALIA,  La.  -  Few have failed to notice the ominous buzzing of law
enforcement helicopters in the area this week.

But  unless  you're growing a secret crop of high-grade marijuana, the
choppers are nothing to worry about.

"This  is  part  of  our  ongoing  battle  against narcotics," Sheriff
Randy  Maxwell  said.  "We're  looking  for  locally  grown  fields of
marijuana."

The  airborne  patrols, a joint operation between the Concordia Parish
Sheriff's  Office,  the  Concordia  Narcotics  Task  Force  and  the
Louisiana  National  Guard,  have  been  checking  remote  areas  of
Concordia,  Catahoula,  Tensas  and Avoyelles parishes for clandestine
horticulture.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002
Source: Natchez Democrat, The (MS)
Copyright: 2002 Natchez Newspapers Inc.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2205
Author: Aaron Zachmeier
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1199/a06.html

===

(14) EX-INFORMANT SAYS FBI FAILED TO KEEP PROMISES

Lawsuit  Claims  Bureau  Agreed  To  Pay  Percentage Of Cash And Drugs
Seized

LOS  ANGELES  -  A  former  FBI informant is suing the federal agency,
claiming  it  abandoned him after he infiltrated a violent drug cartel
in Mexico.

Avery  "Skip"  Ensley,  56,  contends  that the FBI failed to pay more
than  $1  million  he  had  been promised from seized assets linked to
the  investigation  into  the  Arrellano  Felix  syndicate. He sued in
U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Friday.

"One  of  the reasons I'm going forward with this thing is that I want
other  people  to  know  the  FBI  does  not take care of its people,"
Ensley  said.  "My  experience  is  that they will put anybody at risk
for their own benefit."

An  FBI  spokeswoman  declined  to comment, saying the bureau does not
discuss pending litigation.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jun 2002
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2002 The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror Newspaper.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Associated Press
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1204/a03.html

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

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

COMMENT: (15-19)

 Adding  to  the  smoky,  celebratory  atmosphere  surrounding  the
 selection  of  Vancouver  as  the best city in the World for cannabis
 smokers  by  High Times Magazine, a study conducted by the University
 College  of  the  Fraser  Valley  and  the  International  Centre for
 Criminal  Law  Reform  and  Criminal  Justice Policy has attempted to
 reveal  the  scope  of  the  cannabis  cultivation  and  trafficking
 industry  in  British  Columbia,  Canada. The study, which showed the
 incredible  size  of  one  of  the biggest economic industries in the
 province,  was the first comprehensive research initiative to examine
 the  police  and  judicial  response  to cannabis cultivation in B.C.

 In California this week, the bizarre legal proceedings surrounding the
 trial  of "Chico Medical Marijuana Caregivers" founder/supplier Bryan
 James Epis continued with the revelation that the defendant had never
 submitted a plea to the charges against him, since the prosecution had
 somehow  forgotten  to  have  him  arraigned.  Despite the procedural
 oversight, Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. did not dismiss charges against
 Epis.  The  case  has  drawn  national attention as the first federal
 criminal case involving a medical cannabis buyer's club to get a jury
 trial.

 As  the  U.K.  continues  to move towards a more rational drug policy
 (cannabis is expected to be re-classified within the next month), GW
 Pharmaceuticals  announced  that  it was beginning hospital trials of
 its  whole-plant,  cannabis-based  medicines.  Nine  hospitals around
 Britain  will  participate in the trials, which will involve patients
 suffering from MS or serious chronic pain. If these prove
 successful,  cannabis  medicines may be available for prescription to
 the general public by 2004.

 And  finally,  the  horrific  news  that  a  judge has sentenced a 24
 year-old  Philippino  man  to  death  by  legal  injection  for  the
 possession  of  25 kilos of cannabis in the town of Malabon. I assume
 that  this  will  probably  handicap  Malabon's chances of overtaking
 Vancouver  as  the  world's  friendliest pot city in next year's High
 Times awards.

===

(15) MAGAZINE PICKS VANCOUVER AS POT LOVER'S PARADISE

 [snip]

Vancouver's  well-known  tolerance  for  marijuana  was  a significant
factor  in  a U.S. magazine's recent selection of the city as the best
place  on  the planet for marijuana smokers. The summer edition of New
York-based  High  Times  magazine, a counterculture publication with a
circulation  of  more  than  200,000, picked Vancouver over Amsterdam,
although  smoking  marijuana  is legal in Amsterdam but is against the
law in Vancouver.

"It  is  a  very  tolerant  atmosphere,"  Dan  Skye,  the  magazine's
executive  editor,  said yesterday from New York. "You could walk down
the street [smoking marijuana] and no one bothers you."

His  assessment  is  also  based  on the quality of marijuana grown in
British  Columbia,  its availability and its price, which is half what
it costs in Amsterdam.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sat, 29 Jun 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Section: Page A2
Author: Robert Matas
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Cited: http://www.hightimes.com/ (High Times Magazine)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1195.a05.html

===

(16) BC MARIJUANA GROW OP STUDY SHOWS STARTLING FIGURES

It's  generally  known  that marijuana grow operations and trafficking
are  a  big  issue in British Columbia, but not much concrete research
has  been  published on the growing phenomenon or on the nature of the
justice system's response to this problem.

Researchers  at  the  University  College of the Fraser Valley and the
International  Centre  for  Criminal  Law  Reform and Criminal Justice
Policy  have  just  released  the  first  comprehensive  study  on the
justice  system's  response to marijuana grow operations and marijuana
trafficking in British Columbia.

The  independent  study  was  released  in  two  reports:  "Marijuana
Growing  Operations  in  British  Columbia  --  An  Empirical  Survey
(1997-2000)" and "Marijuana Trafficking Incidents in British Columbia
(1997-2000)". The study was conducted by faculty and students of the
UCFV  Criminology  and Criminal Justice department in partnership with
the  International  Centre  for  Criminal  Law  Reform  and  Criminal
Justice  Policy.  The  centre  is a United Nations affiliated research
institute in Vancouver.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002
Source: Aldergrove Star (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 Central Fraser Valley Star Publishing Ltd.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/989
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1197.a06.html

===

(17) LEGAL GAFFE NO BARRIER TO POT TRIAL

Though  no  arraignment  was held, the case can go on, the judge says.

A  Sacramento  federal judge decided Monday that the marijuana-growing
trial  of  Bryan  James  Epis  will  continue,  even though he has not
entered a plea.

U.S.  District  Judge  Frank  C. Damrell Jr. ruled that the lack of an
arraignment  did  not prejudice Epis because he and his attorneys knew
of  the  grand  jury indictment that replaced one with essentially the
same charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 02 Jul 2002
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2002 The Sacramento Bee
Webpage: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/3427643p-4455439c.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Denny Walsh, Bee Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1216/a07.html

===

(18) UK DOCTORS BEGIN NHS CANNABIS TRIALS

HOSPITAL  trials  have  begun  on a cannabis spray intended to relieve
the  symptoms  of  multiple  sclerosis sufferers and of other National
Health  Service  patients  in need of long-term pain-relief treatment.

Doctors  began  prescribing  the  drug  and  a  capsule version to NHS
patients  at  nine  hospitals  around  Britain,  including  Gartnavel
Hospital,  Glasgow,  after  permission  for  the  trials  was  granted
earlier this year.

At  the  time,  GW Pharmaceuticals, the British firm manufacturing the
treatments,  said  it  hoped to test the drug on up to 1,000 patients.

The  trials  come  as  ministers  are  said to be ready to press ahead
with  plans  to  reclassify cannabis, a move which will be seen as the
effective decriminalisation of the drug.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jul 2002
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2002
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Gethin Chamberlain
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1212.a10.html

===

(19) DEATH FOR MARIJUANA IN PHILIPPINES

A  Malabon  City judge yesterday meted the death penalty to a big-time
drug  pusher  and  a  life  term  to his cohort after they were caught
with  some  25  kilos  of  marijuana bricks in a buy-bust operation by
police anti-narcotics operatives in March this year.

Eduardo  Limpin,  24,  single,  jobless,  of  42  University  Avenue,
Potrero,  Malabon,  who  is  to die by legal injection, was also given
life imprisonment for illegal possession of a kilo of dried
marijuana leaves.

His  co-accused,  Ricky America, 32, single, jobless, also of the same
place,  was  sentenced  to life imprisonment for illegal possession of
some two kilos of dried marijuana bricks.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sat, 29 Jun 2002
Source: Philippine Star (Philippines)
Copyright: PhilSTAR Daily Inc. 2002
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/622
Author: Jerry Botial
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/areas/philippines
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1189.a04.html

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

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

COMMENT: (20-24)

 In Davao City, General Santos City, and elsewhere in the Philippines,
 death  squads  don't  bother  with  formalities like trials for "drug
 suspects,"  with the 12th in a series of vigilante killings happening
 last  week,  reported  the  Manila  Bulletin.  Tacitly  welcoming the
 extralegal  murders,  "police admitted that the vigilante killings by
 civilians  have  boosted  the  government's  anti-drugs  campaign."

 In a ceremony set to music, Burma destroyed a billion dollars worth of
 drugs,  "calculated  at  retail  prices  on  the streets of America,"
 declared  a  Burmese  drug  czar.  Thai critics remained unimpressed,
 revealing  the  "Burmese deceptions" as "a spit in the ocean," making
 for "self-serving and deceitful propaganda," according to a column in
 the Bangkok Post. Who would have guessed?

 Washington  managed  to  ignite a firestorm of resentment against the
 Yanqui  once  more:  this  time  by  meddling  in  Peruvian  national
 elections.  On  the eve of elections, U.S. Ambassador to Peru, Manuel
 Rocha,  insinuated  that  Peruvians  should  not  vote for senatorial
 candidate  Evo  Morales.  Morales insists farmers be allowed again to
 grow  coca.  Rocha's  ill-timed  hectoring  of  the  Peruvian  people
 apparently  had  an  effect  on the election, though, perhaps not the
 effect  Rocha intended. Landing as many as six seats in the Senate, a
 jubilant  Morales thanked the U.S. Ambassador, calling the ambassador
 his "campaign chief."

===

(20) VIGILANTE KILLING CONTINUES IN GENERAL SANTOS CITY

GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Vigilante killing of suspected drug
traffickers continues in this bustling seaport city as two
motorcycle-riding gunmen shot dead the other day the 12th
suspect.

Police  identified  the  latest  fatality  as Rolando de las Marias, a
suspected  drug  pusher.  He  was  believed felled by bullets fired by
members  of  a  vigilante  group out to put an end to the drugs menace
in this city.

Authorities  have  the  difficulty  in  identifying  the assailants of
Delas  Marias  because  they  covered their faces with safety helmets.

Although  policemen  and  anti-narcotics  agents  have  busted  drug
syndicates here with the arrest of known "drug lords" and
traffickers,  the  police  admitted  that  the  vigilante  killings by
civilians  have  boosted  the  government's  anti-drugs  campaign.

 [snip]

No  group  has  claimed responsibility for the vigilante killings, but
broadcast  journalists  here  have  called  it  a "drugs death squad."

In  Davao  City,  the  vigilante  group responsible for the killing of
many  suspected  drugs  pusher  is  called  by  the  media Davao Death
Squad.

Although  the  victims  were  all drug suspects, Alcuizar said, "their
execution is against the law."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jun 2002
Source: Manila Bulletin (The Philippines)
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/906
Author: Bong Reblando
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1182/a03.html

===

(21) MYANMAR INCINERATES OVER RM3.8B IN DRUGS

In  a  steady downpour and accompanied by a military tattoo, the junta
flicked  a  switch  to  ignite  an  incinerator  into  which  workers
shovelled bags of heroin bricks and amphetamines.

Senior  Gen  Than  Shwe,  the  country's  top ruler, and international
diplomats  attended  the  burning  ceremony, the 16th of its type held
by the junta since 1990.

It  destroyed  3,027kg  of  opium, 240kgof heroin, 434kg of marijuana,
34.9  million  amphetamine  tables, four million ephedrine tablets and
2,865kg of powdered ephedrine.

"The value of drugs to be destroyed today is estimated at
US$1.078bil  (  RM4.09bil), calculated at retail prices on the streets
of  America,"  the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control's Brig Gen
Zaw Win said in a speech before the display.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jun 2002
Source: Star, The (Malaysia)
Copyright: 2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/922
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1185/a05.html

===

(22) DOES ANYONE HERE HAVE A DRUG POLICY?

 [snip]

The  Burmese  deceptions  are well known. Burma held its own anti-drug
event  last  week,  and  claimed  it  burned  illicit  drugs  worth $1
billion.  Into  the  fire  went  40 million methamphetamine tablets, a
spit  in  the  ocean  of  the drug which has flooded Thailand. A steam
roller  crushed  lines  of  bottles  of  cough  syrup  with  codeine,
otherwise  known  as  over-the-counter medicine. One hopes the harmful
fiction  spread  by  Burma at this UN-sponsored event can be separated
by  discerning  people from the real but infinitesimal achievements of
a handful of dedicated drug officers in Burma. The regime's
self-serving  and  deceitful  propaganda would be laughable if it were
not so harmful.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jul 2002
Source: Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Copyright: The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2002
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/39
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1206/a08.html

===

(23) BOLIVIA DENOUNCES U.S. ENVOY'S COMMENTS

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Controversy erupted in this country's
presidential campaign Friday when the bureau that regulates
elections  denounced  the  U.S. ambassador for speaking out against an
obscure  candidate  who  has  demanded that farmers be allowed to grow
coca.

Bolivia  has  become  a  key  ally  in the U.S.-led war against drugs,
eradicating  in  the  past few years about 85 percent of the country's
coca  plants.  But  the  eradication drive has been violently resisted
by  coca-growing  farmers  led  by  Evo  Morales, a minor presidential
candidate.

 [snip]

The  election-eve  controversy  was  ignited by U.S. Ambassador Manuel
Rocha,  who  warned  Bolivians in a speech that voting for a candidate
who  defends  the  production of coca crops could threaten U.S. aid to
Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in Latin America.

Although  Rocha  gave  no names, the National Election Board was quick
to go public with its objections.

The board, a spokesman said, "found the public declarations
inappropriate.  They  raise  social tensions on the eve of elections."

For  many  Bolivians,  the ambassador's speech was a clear allusion to
Morales,  who  makes  a  point  of  chewing  coca at campaign rallies.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sat, 29 Jun 2002
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2002 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division,
Hearst Newspaper
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1198/a08.html

===

(24) BOLIVIAN'S RUN FOR OFFICE PUTS DRUG FIGHT AT RISK

RIO  DE  JANEIRO,  Brazil - The unexpectedly strong showing of radical
Indian  agitator  Evo Morales in Bolivian elections promises to deal a
serious  blow  to  the  Andean  nation's  U.S.-backed  efforts to halt
cocaine production.

Morales,  an  Aymara  Indian,  campaigned  on  an  anti-United  States
platform  and  the  promise  to reverse Bolivia's efforts to eradicate
coca, the plant from which cocaine is made.

Preliminary  returns  from  Sunday's  presidential election, announced
Monday,  showed  Morales  battling for third place in the presidential
race,  with  about  17  percent  of the vote. Because the presidential
voting  determines  the award of senate seats under Bolivian law, that
strong  finish  will give his party -- called Movement to Socialism --
as  many  as  six  seats  in  Bolivia's 27-member senate. That in turn
will  put  him  in  a  strong  position  to  thwart new legislation to
punish those who grow the coca bush.

Support Surges

Support for Morales surged following comments from the U.S.
ambassador effectively warning voters away from Morales.

 [snip]

Bolivians  of  all  political  stripes  decried  as  unacceptable U.S.
threats  in  the  middle of a Bolivian election campaign. The comments
apparently  pushed  undecided  voters  into  the  camp of Morales, who
dubbed  Rocha  his  "campaign  chief." The U.S. Embassy in Bolivia had
no comment Monday.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 2 Jul 2002
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2002 The Miami Herald
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: Kevin G. Hall
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1223/a07.html

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

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

Law Enforcement Against Prohibtion

Site  featuring  current  and  former  members  of law enforcement who
support drug regulation rather than prohibition.

http://leap.cc/

===

The Technology Secrets of Cocaine Inc.

"Colombian  cartels  have  spent  billions  of dollars to build one of
the  world's  most sophisticated IT infrastructures. It's helping them
smuggle more dope than ever before."

http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/print/0,1643,41206,FF.html

===

Colin  Davies  Rearrested,  Denied Medical Care, Then Beaten By Police

Reports  by  Nol  van  Schaik,  with  commentary  by  Richard  Cowan.

http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=547


===

Headshrinking The American Addict

HEADSHRINKING THE AMERICAN ADDICT:

Recovery in the 21st Century by Cletus Nelson -

"No  one  will ever accuse the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
of  having  low  aspirations. Not content with merely limiting the use
of  narcotics,  the  powerful  anti-drug  entity wants control of your
mind."

http://www.drugwar.com/cheadshrinking.shtm

===

Cultural Baggage Radio Show

Sanho Tree of the Intitute for Policy Studies  will be discussing his  
recent trip to Colombia at Midnight CDT tonight, Friday, July the 5th.
http://www.ips-dc.org/projects/drugpolicy.htm

Our  Pacifica  radio  show  airs  on  KPFT,  Houston  on  90.1  FM  
and is available live on the net at http://www.kpft.org/

Listen online to previous shows at:

http://www.cultural-baggage.com/kpft.htm

Submitted by Dean Becker

===

Narco-Terror:  The  International  Connection Between Drugs and Terror
by  The  Honorable  Asa  Hutchinson,  Heritage Lectures, June 20, 2002

http://www.heritage.org/library/lecture/hl751.html

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

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

W. Va. Group Pursues Marijuana Legalization

By Cindy Wimer

We  are  a  small  group  of individuals who have joined together with
the  purpose  of letting our governor and our legislative leaders know
of  our  desire  to  have  medical  cannabis (marijuana) legalized. We
have dubbed our group "Mountaineers for Medical Cannabis."

We  are  committed  to  help  educate our fellow West Virginians about
the  many  beneficial  uses  of  this  God-given  herb and to create a
forum of voter information.

We  have  spent  many,  many  hours researching, attending rallies and
marches  in  other  states,  and  in correspondence with Gov. Bob Wise
and  our  legislative  representatives.  Their  replies  indicate that
they  are  willing  to listen, but in Wise's own words, "there are not
that many West Virginians clamoring for it."

It  is  our  belief  that if those West Virginians were not in fear of
losing  jobs,  of  losing  their families, homes and other possessions
and  fear  of incarceration, many more would come forth "clamoring" in
favor  of  medical  cannabis.  It is time for those West Virginians in
need, and those who believe in that need, to be heard!

We  can  be  contacted at: Mountaineers for Medical Cannabis, P.O. Box
1151, Parkersburg, WV 26102-1151.

Cindy Wimer,

founder Mountaineers for Medical Cannabis

Date: 06/28/2002
Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (WV)
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454

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

LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - June
- ---------------------------------------------------

Wayne  Phillips  of  Hamilton,  Ontario  is  recognized  for  his  ten
published  letters  during June, and a career total as archived by MAP
of 17. You can review his published letters at:

http://www.mapinc.org/writer/Wayne+Phillips

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

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

SENATE TO DECLARE WAR ON RAVES

By Drug Policy Alliance

No  nightclub  owner,  promoter,  or  event  coordinator  is safe Bill
could halt musical events such as raves

The  Senate  is  poised  to  pass  legislation that would give federal
prosecutors  new  powers  to  shut  down raves or other musical events
and  punish  innocent  business men and women for hosting or promoting
them.  The  bill,  known  as  the Reducing American's Vulnerability to
Ecstasy  Act  (RAVE  Act),  was  just introduced in the Senate on June
18th  and  has  already  passed  the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is
moving  VERY  rapidly  and  could  be passed by the Senate as early as
next  week.  Worse  still,  the  Senate  leadership  considers  this
draconian  drug  war  bill  to  be  so  uncontroversial  that they are
trying  to  pass  it  under "unanimous consent" rules, which will mean
no  debate  and  no  real  vote.  It  is  absolutely  vital  that your
Senators  here  from  you today. They need to know that this bill is a
danger to civil liberties and is unacceptable.

ACTIONS TO TAKE:

- --Call  your  Senators  and  tell  them  to stop S. 2633, the Reducing
American's  Vulnerability  to Ecstasy Act from becoming law. Tell them
that  innocent  business  owners  shouldn't be punished for the crimes
of  their  customers.  Tell  them  this  bill has dangerous anti-civil
liberties  provisions  that  they  need  to be aware of, and this bill
deserves serious debate.

You  can  contact  your  Senators  through  the Capitol Switchboard at
202-224-3121. To find out who your Senators are go to:
http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm

- --Please  forward  this  action  alert to your friends and family. The
Senate  needs  to  know  that  voters  find  this  bill  unacceptable.

MORE ON THE BILL

S.  2633,  sponsored by Senators Durbin (D-IL), Hatch (R-UT), Grassley
(R-IA) and Leahy (D-VT), would greatly expand the so- called "crack
house  statute"  and  potentially  subject  innocent  business men and
women  to  enormous  fines  if  customers  sold or used drugs on their
premises  or  at  their events - even if they were not involved in the
offenses  in  any  way.  If  the  bill  becomes  law, property owners,
promoters,  and  event  coordinators  could  be  fined  hundreds  of
thousands  of  dollars  if  they  hold  raves or other events on their
property.  This  bill  is  a  part of a Justice Department strategy to
halt  all  musical  events  they  don't  like, such as raves. For more
information  on  this  bill,  go  to  http://thomas.loc.gov/ and under
"bill number" search for S2633.

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

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

"Ideology, not evidence, drives the tough-on-crime movement.  But for 
those  who  prefer fact to dogma, the case is clear: We cannot simply 
punish our way to a better society."  -- The Ottawa Citizen, 06/28/2002 

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

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CREDITS:

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selection  and  analysis  by  Philippe  Lucas  (phil@drugsense.org),
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We  wish  to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter
writing  activists.  Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See
http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm  for  info  on  contributing clippings.

===

NOTICE:

In  accordance  with  Title  17  U.S.C.  Section 107, this material is
distributed  without  profit  to  those  who  have  expressed  a prior
interest  in  receiving  the  included  information  for  research and
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===

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------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #125
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