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Restore-Digest Friday, September
13 2002 Volume 2002 : Number 191
Today's Restore Hemp News Our
new Newspaper and Videos are Online; Medical Cannabis Clinics too
Italy: Swiss Pot Is Hot Export CA: City Leaders To Pass Out Pot To Sick CA: County, City Condemn DEA Marijuana Raid Afghan Farmers to Harvest Marijuana CA: Santa Cruz council to allow marijuana in City Hall CA: WAMM/Bam -- Thanks, Uncle Sam! MI: US Drug Czar Raps Legal Pot Canada's pot policy under fire from U.S. DrugSense Weekly, Sept. 13, 2002, #267 Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:05:24 -0700 Subject:Our new Newspaper and Videos are Online; Medical Cannabis Clinics too Up TOC Dear Activists: Our new Hemp News newspaper is available online, and 30,000 copies are being printed for distribution in Oregon and SW Washington in the coming weeks. Please take a look online, using the Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0, at: http://www.thc-foundation.org/hempnews/ We have added a number of new videos to our website, and many of our old videos have been upgraded with new, higher resolution web video streaming files. The new videos are almost up to commercial television quality (right-click and zoom for a full screen video). Check out all the updates in our video directories from: http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/ Our TV show, Cannabis Common Sense, will be live on Portland-area cable TV channel 11 each Friday night at 8 pm through the end of year. Tune in to watch and try to call-in and ask Dr. Phillip Leveque or Paul Stanford. Cannabis Common Sense is the most popular cable access TV show in the greater Portland area. You can watch it on our website, on demand, at: http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/video_ccs.html We also post many of our videos to Pot-tv.net and Highlife.nl , the websites of Cannabis Culture magazine in Canada and Highlife magazine in the Netherlands. Almost every day I compile the latest stories on hemp and cannabis for our 1,300 email subscribers and countless others on the web. Our host, Drugsense.org, auto-updates the daily "restore" digest to a web directory, where each article is not hyper-linked. A couple of times each week we update our website with the latest "restore" digest and we hyperlink each article so you can click at the top and get right to the article YOU want to read. Our manually hyperlinked "restore" digest is available at: http://www.thc-foundation.org/restore/ Drugsense's auto-updated archive of "restore" digests, which isn't hyperlinked, is available at: http://www.drugsense.org/lists/restore/ Our nonprofit organization, The Hemp & Cannabis Foundation, has opened a new office in Portland's Hollywood District for our medical clinics. We have several Nurse Practioners who help Dr. Leveque qualify dozens of medical marijuana patients for Oregon's state licenses each week. Our new office is at 4259 NE Broadway. Call us at 503-235-4606 for an appointment. Thank you for your support! Yours truly, Paul Stanford ** web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:06:31 -0700 Subject:Italy: Swiss Pot Is Hot Export Up TOC Newshawk: The War on Drugs IS Terrorism Pubdate: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Contact: letters@freepress.com Copyright: 2002 Detroit Free Press Website: http://www.freep.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125 Author: Christian Plumb, Reuters SWISS POT IS HOT EXPORT Drug Tourism New Fight For Italian Tax Police MILAN, Italy -- On a sunny Saturday on a highway surrounded by the lakes and mountains between Italy and Switzerland, a young man watched Italian tax police inspect his sleek motor scooter. His cross-border jaunt into Europe's newest drug paradise came to an end when police discovered the first of five small pouches of top-grade marijuana. "Any more than that, then he could be going to prison," said Loredano, a plainclothes border tax policeman. "Our dogs would have been all over him with that amount." The border guard's German shepherds kept busy elsewhere, sniffing the trunk of a nearby car, though that search proves fruitless. Police search up to 1,000 vehicles a day at the crossing into Italy from Switzerland's Ticino province, a mecca for Italian marijuana users since it legalized cannabis in 1997. "Fundamentally, Italians prefer the Swiss product because it's high-quality and cultivated with care," said Loredano, who would not give his last name, adding that marijuana grown in the area recently won a prize at an Amsterdam tasting. "It seems the Swiss aren't only good at making watches," he said. Italian appetite has brought about a boom in the area's canapai, the equivalent of Amsterdam's coffee shops. They have increased to 15 from just two 18 months ago in Chiasso, a short stroll from the Italian lakeside border town of Como. Police say there are 60 such stores throughout Ticino. Typical of the new cottage industry is Biosfera, a store tucked away on a quiet residential street in the lakeside town of Lugano, Switzerland. It sells books, seeds, clothing and cosmetics, but most visitors are struck by the herbal aroma wafting from a large stockroom in the back. The stores' best sellers are called perfumed pouches. The name suggests they are scented sachets for lingerie drawers, but the contents are most commonly smoked. For the Italian tax police, who once concentrated on smugglers sneaking gold, furs, jewelry, watches and cigarettes across the border from Switzerland, where tax rates used to be much lower than in Italy, the boom in drug tourism has added a complicated wrinkle to life. Adding to the cat-and-mouse quality of the hunt are numerous holes in the chain-link fence that divides the 9-mile stretch of the border with Switzerland that Loredano and his colleagues patrol. A climb up one forest path marked with bright orange arrows painted on trees and rocks, shows the way to one of those gaps, where border police say Italians pick up their stash after ordering it through the Web from a Swiss courier. "For them, it's the industry of the future," said Antonello Reni, commander of the Como tax police. "We only manage to get a trifle of all they produce." Last year, that trifle was 154 pounds of marijuana, up from 55 pounds in 1999 and 37 pounds in 1998, he said. The number of people caught with marijuana tripled last year to 2,173 from about 700 in 1998. Few do prison time, though, as overworked magistrates in the area let many go free, and let others off with a warning, sometimes with a requirement they attend an antidrug course. The lure of dealing has proved to be a powerful attraction for some northern Italians, given the potential demand for their wares in nearby wealthy cities such as Milan, Turin and Bergamo. One 18-year-old banker's son was caught at the highway border crossing with a list of customers and how much they had paid, neatly tabulated, Reni said. "I understand that there's an entrepreneurial spirit here, but they've chosen the wrong business," 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: Doc-Hawk ** web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:07:24 -0700 Subject:CA: City Leaders To Pass Out Pot To Sick Up TOC Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org Pubdate: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 Source: Tacoma News Tribune (WA) Webpage: http://www.tribnet.com/news/nation_world/story/1764497p-1880727c.html Copyright: 2002 Tacoma News Inc. Contact: letters@tribnet.com Website: http://www.tribnet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/442 Author: Associated Press CITY LEADERS TO PASS OUT POT TO SICK SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - City leaders plan to join medical marijuana users at a pot giveaway at City Hall next week, hoping to send a message to federal authorities that, in this town, medical marijuana is welcome. The invitation comes one week after agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency arrested the high-profile owners of a pot farm and confiscated 130 plants that had been grown for use as medicine. "It's just absolutely loathsome to me that federal money, energy and staff time would be used to harass people like this," said vice mayor Emily Reilly, who with several City Council colleagues plans to pass out medical marijuana to sick people from the garden-like courtyard at City Hall on Tuesday. Though the council passed a resolution denouncing the DEA raid, there is no official city sponsorship of the giveaway - council members and medical marijuana advocates are simply acting on their own in a public space, said City Attorney John Barisone. DEA spokesman Richard Meyer was surprised at the plan. "Are you serious? That's illegal. It's like they're flouting federal law," he said. "I'm shocked that city leaders would promote the use of marijuana that way. What is that saying to our youth?" State law in California, as well as Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, allows marijuana to be grown and distributed to people with a doctor's prescription. Federal law prohibits marijuana use under any circumstances. In recent months, federal agents have been busting pot clubs and farms in Northern California, including a small farm last week about 55 miles south of San Francisco, arresting owners Valerie and Michael Corral. They were not indicted, and their attorney said federal authorities do not plan to prosecute. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D ** web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:07:52 -0700 Subject:CA: County, City Condemn DEA Marijuana Raid Up TOC Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org Pubdate: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA) Copyright: 2002 Santa Cruz Sentinel Contact: editorial@santa-cruz.com Website: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394 COUNTY, CITY CONDEMN DEA MARIJUANA RAID Sentinel staff report SANTA CRUZ - County supervisors unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday condemning the federal government's raid of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana garden last week. The Santa Cruz City Council passed a similar measure. Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt, who sponsored the county resolution, said she was "appalled" by the raid. "This type of federal action seems to me completely unwarranted," she said. "Most of us know the Wo/Men's Alliance to be exemplary in its practice." Wormhoudt said the raid is forcing WAMM members to buy marijuana on the open market, which is both risky and costly. And, ironically, the raid is supporting international drug cartels that sell marijuana and other dangerous drugs, she said. WAMM director Valerie Corral and her husband, Michael, spoke of how they were thrown face-down on the floor with guns pointed at their heads on Thursday. "This is a tragedy on so many levels, it is beyond me to comprehend," Michael Corral said. "In the last few months we have buried five of our friends, and we will probably bury more because of this." Alliance member Suzanne Pfeil, who suffers post-polio syndrome and uses a wheelchair, also spoke Tuesday. Pfeil said she is in constant pain without marijuana, one of the few drugs her body can tolerate. "The guns of the nation are now pointed at the sick, the disabled and the dying," she said. "I have a hard time believing I am the enemy." __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D ** web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:09:33 -0700 Subject:Afghan Farmers to Harvest Marijuana Up TOC Afghan Farmers to Harvest Marijuana By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA .c The Associated Press KHANA ABAD, Afghanistan (AP) - Obeying a Taliban edict, many marijuana cultivators in Afghanistan stopped growing their crops when the hardline Islamic militia was in power. Now some of those farmers are back in business. They're so open about it that fields of sturdy marijuana plants, some nearly seven feet tall, line part of the main road leading west from Mazar-e-Sharif, the biggest city in northern Afghanistan. Resin from the plant, also known as cannabis, is concentrated to make hashish. With the main harvest expected in one to two months, growers in the roadside village of Khana Abad, 20 miles from Mazar-e-Sharif, say they'll ignore government warnings to tear up their crops. ``Maybe it isn't good for our people, but we have to do it because of our economic problems,'' said Rouzudin, a farmer who said he heard the warnings broadcast on the radio only after investing a large sum in his plot. Rouzudin might just be able to harvest his leafy, dark green crop without state intervention. Since the Taliban were ousted in a U.S.-led war last year, Afghanistan's new government and the United Nations have focused anti-drug efforts on eradicating opium-bearing poppies, which are used to make heroin. Afghanistan was once the source of 70 percent of the world's opium, much of it originating in the south of the country. The Taliban successfully banned poppies in 2000, but farmers quickly planted them again after their ouster. During the harvest earlier this year, the government offered compensation money to farmers who abandoned opium, but many reaped their harvest anyway. Marijuana plants are less of a priority, even though Afghanistan, especially the northern part, is a major producer. Consumption of hashish, the plant's concentrated resin, is widespread in the country, and smugglers ferry it through Iran and to markets in the Persian Gulf, Europe and beyond. The United Nations has conducted surveys of poppy crops, but has not done so for marijuana plants. The focus on poppies possibly reflects the view of i nternational donors that highly addictive heroin is the more urgent problem. Marijuana plants are widely grown in at least three of the 16 districts in Balkh province, which is home to Mazar-e-Sharif. Local authorities have sent letters to villages urging farmers to stop growing the illegal crop, but they have yet to decide how and when they will crack down. ``The farmers have planted this stuff like smugglers,'' said Saheed Azizullah Hashmi, head of the province's agriculture department. ``We don't know how much there is out there.'' He said many people associated with the hashish trade were linked to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. But marijuana plants thrived well before they held sway over much of Afghanistan, and local commanders with large land holdings reportedly benefit from its cultivation. Rouzudin and his fellow farmers made no effort to hide their plants, which loom over nearby cotton bushes. The two crops are interspersed along the road leading to Shibergan, the headquarters of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek commander and powerful political figure in the north. Farmer Majid Gul said he can get 5 million Afghanis, or about $100, for 2.2 pounds of hashish, 200 times more than he could earn for the same amount of cotton. ``When we're ready to sell, people in big cars will come from the bazaar in town,'' he said. ``We don't know who they are, we just want the money.'' ** web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:10:26 -0700 Subject:CA: Santa Cruz council to allow marijuana in City Hall Up TOC from Dale Gieringer: Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 3:07:21 AM MST Santa Cruz council to allow marijuana in City Hall By Josh Richman STAFF WRITER, ANG (Oakland Tribune) Santa Cruz City Council members will stage their own Boston Tea Party next week by letting patients receive medical marijuana in a City Hall courtyard. It is an act of defiance toward the federal government and its Drug Enforcement Administration, which one week ago raided the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), just north of Santa Cruz and about 60 miles south of San Francisco. Riot-gear-clad agents toting assault rifles seized 167 marijuana plants and took WAMM co-founders Val and Mike Corral -- who helped write California's medical marijuana law -- into custody, but released them later the same day after federal prosecutors declined to file charges. The federal government still deems all marijuana growth, possession or use illegal, even though California voters approved medical use in 1996. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington have similar laws. The Corrals will dispense free marijuana to some of WAMM's 250 physician-screened patients at 3 p.m. Tuesday outside Santa Cruz's City Hall; council members will stand with them in solidarity. "I'm shocked that the City Council would allow that to happen on their steps," Special Agent Richard Meyer, spokesman for the DEA's San Francisco office, said Wednesday. "I wonder what kind of message they want to send to our youth. Are they trying to tell youths and the rest of the U.S. that in Santa Cruz, you only have to obey the laws you like?" Santa Cruz Mayor Christopher Krohn scoffed. "Do they really think that medical marijuana is about the youth of America? I'm a teacher, and in my mind, it certainly isn't," he said. It's about California voters' will that seriously ill patients have access to medicine that alleviates their symptoms and keeps them alive, Krohn said. That's why the City Council voted 6-0 for a resolution supporting WAMM this week, he said. Meyer insisted the DEA will keep enforcing federal law. Asked whether it will act on Tuesday's event, he replied, "I won't be able to answer that question." U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, wants to amend the Justice Department's funding bill to bar the DEA from conducting raids against medical marijuana facilities operating under state laws' protection. U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Santa Cruz, and House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, have indicated their support. And U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, on Monday became the 38th co-sponsor of a bill to move marijuana off the federal government's list of most-restricted drugs. Of the Bay Area's representatives, only Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, and Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, have not become co-sponsors. [Note: Anna Eshoo hasn't either - DG] - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attachment: http://www.drugsense.org/temp/part2023.html ** web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:54:55 -0700 Subject:CA: WAMM/Bam -- Thanks, Uncle Sam! Up TOC Newshawk: Krissy www.mpp.org Pubdate: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 Source: Metro Santa Cruz (CA) Copyright: 2002, Metro Publishing Inc. Contact: msc@metcruz.com Website: http://www.metroactive.com/cruz/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2346 Cited: Wo/Man's Alliance of Medical Marijuana ( www.wamm.org ) Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org ) Cited: Drug Enforcement Administration ( www.dea.gov ) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) WAMM BAM--THANKS, UNCLE SAM! Call the office of the Wo/Men's Alliance of Medical Marijuana, these days, and the following message, recorded by WAMM founder Valerie Corral, kicks in: "Yes, we still survive the DEA's raid and American injustice. We were raided Sept. 5 at 6:50am. However, that's just a minor interference by the federal government into the lives of sick and dying people. No injustice will keep us from our work, no injustice will stop the truth." During the Sept. 5 raid, 20 gun-toting DEA agents, led by Patrick Kelly, stormed the WAMM property, arresting a pajama-clad Corral and husband Michael before razing 130 marijuana plants to the ground with chain saws. DEA agents destroyed WAMM's 2002 crop, thus depriving the cooperative's 238 members of the medicine they use to treat AIDS, cancer, epilepsy and other fatal and highly painful disorders. "This is an act of violence under guise of the law," said WAMM supporter Joe Wouk, as the DEA drove away in SUV vans and U-Haul trucks stuffed with massacred pot plants. After the raid, WAMM members surveyed the carnage. Framed by a "Love Grows Here" sign, the once flourishing plot had been reduced to stumps and tangled wire on which the occasional tattered marijuana leaf fluttered, a sight that spurred some to action and others to tears. "This was such a beautiful place. what can you say but 'fuck'?" said Sheri Paris, as she salvaged crushed leaves. 'I sincerely believe some of our members are going to be suicidal. They won't be able to get the medicine they need." A sobbing Diana Dodson wanted to know why the DEA is terrorizing sick people. "We've lost 40 members this year, and that number will increase because of this raid," said Dodson, noting that ashes of three deceased WAMM members have been scattered in the now-ravaged plot. Also grieving in the garden were Harry Boyle, 24, and his caregiver and fiancee, Courtney Connolly. Connolly said Boyle's experience has changed her perspective on marijuana. "'I used to be anti-drugs and I don't smoke at all, but I see how much it helps him and all the people here. They can eat, sleep function, and be in a good mood." Boyle, who has a brain tumor, said smoking pot helps his headaches, chemotherapy and loss of appetite. "Before I smoked pot I was unable to even keep down the anti-nausea pills," he says. By Friday, condemnations for the DEA's action against WAMM were flying. "Truly outrageous" is how Congressmember Sam Farr (D-Carmel) described it. "The alliance is known for helping sick people ease their pain. It does not sell marijuana to the public. It only grows marijuana for members, and they must have a doctor's prescription." Farr is a co-sponsor of H.R. 2592, the States' Right to Medical Marijuana Act, which would give patients legal protection under federal law and permit states that wish to establish medical marijuana distribution systems the legal authority to do so. Arrested twice for cultivation in 1992, Valerie and Michael Coral defended themselves with their right to grow marijuana for medicinal use, with Valerie using it to alleviate epileptic seizures since a 1974 car accident. Corral was also instrumental in drafting California's Prop. 215, which allows patients and their caregivers to grow pot for medicinal purposes, but though seven other states have implemented similar laws, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says they all violate federal drug laws. But county Supe Mardi Wormhoudt, who has placed a letter and resolution on the board's Sept. 10 agenda, condemning the DEA's actions, says indicting the Corrals or confiscating their property would be a miscarriage of justice. "Valerie Corral is the DEA's worse enemy. She's been scrupulous about keeping records and never taking money for her work. She's brave, resolute and savvy. But she'd rather be effective than a martyr." City Councilmember Mark Primack says the council is also making a Sept. 10 motion protesting the DEA's action. "When the city asked Sheriff Mark Tracy and SCPD Chief Steve Belcher to do more much-needed heroin stings, it was told there are no DEA grants available, because funds had been siphoned into Homeland Security," Primack said. "Are the feds saying it's time to marginalize California and stop treating us like a role model?" Medical Marijuana Policy Project communications director Bruce Mirken notes that 56 percent of all people using illegal drugs are using marijuana. "Legalizing marijuana would create a chink in the DEA's armor, a lot of budgets would go south. That's why they don't care how many sick people are hurt by this." And Valerie Corral charged that the feds' action was robbing WAMM of a fair trial. "The DEA can indict us and forfeit our land--I call it steal it--for up to five years. If we had a jury trial, it would be all over for them. If they had cause to send 20 DEA agents, then they have cause to stand up in court. Give us a day to prove ourselves. We have voluminous science," said Corral, adding that so far Rep. Mike Honda's office would only say that the congressmember was "sympathetic." "Keep your sympathy if you do not support H.R. 2592: the States' Right to Medical Marijuana Act." Corral said. Hmm, well, Congressmember Anna Eshoo and Sen. Barbara Boxer--both reputed to also be sympathetic--were unavailable for comment at presstime. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WAMM will provide marijuana to the group's longtime patients in front of City Council chambers, 809 Center St., Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 3pm. Mayor Chris Krohn, Vice Mayor Emily Reilly, Councilmember Tim Fitzmaurice and county Supe Mardi Wormhoudt and other public officials will assist. __________________________________________________________________________ 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, 13 Sep 2002 08:06:01 -0700 Subject:MI: US Drug Czar Raps Legal Pot Up TOC Newshawk: CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap) Pubdate: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB) Copyright: 2002 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: editor@wpgsun.com Website: http://www.fyiwinnipeg.com/winsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503 U.S. DRUG CZAR RAPS LEGAL POT DETROIT (AP) -- The U.S. drug-enforcement czar yesterday criticized a movement to legalize marijuana use in Canada, saying it would force officials to tighten border security even more. "In my view, you don't make a major decision involving a dangerous drug without telling people what the dangers are," said John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Walters was scheduled to tour the U.S.-Canadian border today and meet local law enforcement and drug-prevention officials. Tightening security Walters' trip to Detroit came the same week that Prime Minister Jean Chretien and U.S. President George W. Bush visited the city to report progress in tightening security at U.S.-Canadian crossings while keeping goods flowing between the world's largest trading partners. The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest crossing point between the U.S. and Canada. Walters' comments came a week after a Canadian Senate committee called for legalizing marijuana use among adults, increasing pressure on the United States to shift drug laws away from zero-tolerance policies. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D 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/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 08:03:58 -0700 Subject: Canada's pot policy under fire from U.S. Pubdate: Friday, September 13, 2002 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Page: A7 Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca Author: Graeme Smith Canada's pot policy under fire from U.S. By GRAEME SMITH DETROIT -- Canada's marijuana policy is flawed by a lack of information and outright lies, according to the highest-ranking drug official in the United States. John Walters, director of U.S. national drug-control policy, sharply criticized Ottawa yesterday for allowing ill people to smoke pot and for considering relaxed antimarijuana laws. Mr. Walters said at a Detroit news conference that Canada has done insufficient research, so it cannot justify liberalizing its cannabis policy. "I asked the ministers in Canada when I was there: What do you estimate to be the level of use in Canada, and what are the trends? What do you estimate to be the level of dependency and the need for treatment and the trends? "The answer is that they don't know. They don't have surveys. They do not have the data," Mr. Walters said. "In our view of working policy, you don't make a major step that involves these kinds of dangers without first telling the people what the danger is, what the trends are and what the problems are." Mr. Walters suggested that policymakers in Canada are naive to be persuaded of marijuana's medical benefits. "The claim that medical marijuana is an efficacious medicine is a lie. "It is used by people who want to legalize marijuana, cynically." He acknowledged that the United States is considering tighter border security -- recently strengthened to handle terrorist threats -- if Canada relaxes its antimarijuana laws. "What happens in Canada as a sovereign nation -- as long as it stays in Canada -- is Canada's business," Mr. Walters said. "The problem today is that Canadian production of high-potency marijuana in British Columbia is a major source of marijuana [in the United States] . . . and it's spreading. Just like cocaine, shipped up from Mexico." Mr. Walters repeatedly said that the U.S. prohibition on marijuana is based on scientific evidence, and he attacked studies that suggest cannabis can relieve symptoms of some illnesses. He emphasized that U.S. scientists have done more research into the effects of the drug than have their colleagues in Canada. "We have the most powerful, successful and sophisticated medical institutions in the history of humankind." The news conference was Mr. Walters's only public appearance as he meets with law-enforcement officials, government leaders and drug-prevention and treatment advocates from both sides of the border. 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/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 12:19:41 -0700 From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense) Subject: DrugSense Weekly, Sept. 13, 2002, #267 ********************************************************************** DRUGSENSE WEEKLY ********************************************************************** DrugSense Weekly, Sept. 13, 2002 #267 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) The Crack-House Rave (2) Officials In California City To Pass Out Medicinal Pot (3) Afghan Farmers To Harvest Marijuana (4) Advocates For Addicts Receive Rights Award * Weekly News in Review Drug Policy- (5) Report Criticizes Drug Spray Mix (6) Coca Spraying Poses No Risk To Colombians, U.S. Declares (7) Hi-Tech Plane Patrols Border (8) Drug Laws Won't Be On The Fall Ballot, But Tobacco Money Will (9) Study Finds 18.8% Of Young Adults Use Drugs Law Enforcement & Prisons- (10) State Inquiry May Not Help Those Jailed In Tulia Sting (11) False Drug Convictions May Linger (12) Sepulveda OKs Plea Agreement (13) Critics Protest Anti-Drug Tactics Cannabis & Hemp- (14) Pot Club Raid Signals New Push (15) 30,000 Californians Using Medicinal Marijuana Legally (16) Liberalize Laws On Pot: Cauchon (17) Call To Legalize Marijuana Stirs Debate In Canada (18) The DEA In Chains International News- (19) Two Dead As 'Highly Lethal' Heroin Hits Streets (20) Ravers Beware: Trail Mix Could Kill (21) Neighbours Trash Known Drug House (22) Colombian Out To Prove Innocence To U.S. (23) Colombian Paramilitary Groups Vow To Reform (24) U.S. Releases $42 Million For Colombian Military (25) Tulkarm Mills Joint Police Work With Israelis (26) Women Take Over Mexican Drug Cartels * Hot Off The 'Net Genesis Compassion Club Raided! Cultural Baggage Features Talk On Canadian Report Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement Launch TV Ads Making Friends Into Felons Letters to Canadian Editors Needed MDMA Literature Site Now On-Line * Letter Of The Week No More Drug Nonsense / By Jo-D Harrison * Letter Writer Of The Month - August Stan White * Feature Article A Medical Cannabis Club Called CHAMP / By Derek Rea * Quote of the Week Unidentified, Disgusted Santa Cruz Police Officer *********************************************************************** THIS JUST IN ======================================================================= (1) THE CRACK-HOUSE RAVE Some 600 Ravers gathered on the lawn outside the Federal Building in Westwood last Friday to protest proposed federal legislation that could force raves underground. "It upsets me that this culture will die," said 18-year-old USC student Sydney Katz, as she passed out Arrowhead water to the throng of mostly teenagers at "Freedom To Dance," the five-hour DJ-driven demonstration. "The culture thrives on the ability to be live. You have this DJ above you that creates an energy and vibe. If promoters don't throw events, DJs won't be able to make the music they want to." The RAVE (Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy) Act would modify a 16-year-old law that makes it a federal crime to knowingly house or rent residences to drug dealers. It would expand the definition of a crack house to include raves and other music events and make it easier to fine venue owners and promoters up to $250,000 or imprison them up to 20 years if they fail to stop the sales or use of drugs at events. In June, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill, introduced by Sen. Joseph R. Biden (D-Del.). A vote by the full Congress is expected in the next few weeks. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 Source: LA Weekly (CA) Copyright: 2002, L.A. Weekly Media, Inc. Website: http://www.laweekly.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/228 Author: Christine Pelisek Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raves.htm (Raves) Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1716.a01.html === (2) OFFICIALS IN CALIFORNIA CITY TO PASS OUT MEDICINAL POT SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -(AP)- City officials plan to join medical marijuana users at a pot giveaway at City Hall next week, hoping to send a message to federal authorities that, in this city, medical marijuana is welcome. The invitation comes a week after Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested the owners of a pot farm and confiscated 130 plants that had been grown for medicinal use. "It's just absolutely loathsome to me that federal money, energy and staff time would be used to harass people like this," said Vice Mayor Emily Reilly. Along with several City Council colleagues, she plans to distribute marijuana to people with prescriptions at the City Hall courtyard Tuesday. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Copyright: 2002 Detroit Free Press Website: http://www.freep.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125 Author: Martha Mendoza, Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1716.a02.html === (3) AFGHAN FARMERS TO HARVEST MARIJUANA KHANA ABAD, Afghanistan - Obeying a Taliban edict, many marijuana cultivators in Afghanistan stopped growing their crops when the hardline Islamic militia was in power. Now some of those farmers are back in business. They're so open about it that fields of sturdy marijuana plants, some nearly seven feet tall, line part of the main road leading west from Mazar-e-Sharif, the biggest city in northern Afghanistan. Resin from the plant, also known as cannabis, is concentrated to make hashish. With the main harvest expected in one to two months, growers in the roadside village of Khana Abad, 20 miles from Mazar-e-Sharif, say they'll ignore government warnings to tear up their crops. ``Maybe it isn't good for our people, but we have to do it because of our economic problems,'' said Rouzudin, a farmer who said he heard the warnings broadcast on the radio only after investing a large sum in his plot. [snip] The United Nations has conducted surveys of poppy crops, but has not done so for marijuana plants. The focus on poppies possibly reflects the view of international donors that highly addictive heroin is the more urgent problem. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 Source: Associated Press (Wire) Copyright: 2002 Associated Press Author: Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1716.a04.html === (4) ADVOCATES FOR ADDICTS RECEIVE RIGHTS AWARD City Group Works To Combat HIV, Hepatitis C A Vancouver group that advocates for illegal-drug users has received a national human-rights award. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch, which is giving a Canadian award for the first time, said that the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users is receiving the award for its "ground-breaking efforts to halt an explosion of HIV and hepatitis C" and its "unparallelled success at introducing innovative harm reduction measures." VANDU was founded in 1998 with the aim of improving the lives of drug addicts through peer support and education. It has broken new ground in the city and the country by allowing drug addicts to speak for themselves and advocate for better treatment. Typically, politicians, police, social workers or health workers speak for or about addicts. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 The Vancouver Sun Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun; with files from Associated Press Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1716.a11.html *********************************************************************** WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW ======================================================================= Domestic News- Policy - ---------------------------------- COMMENT: (5-9) Is mass-spraying herbicide over populated areas good or bad? It depends on which newspaper you read. The St. Petersburg Times and the New York Times both reported the story, but with markedly different emphasis. Florida readers saw the headline "Report Criticizes Drug Spray Mix," while the newspaper of record went with "Coca Spraying Poses No Risk To Colombians, U.S. Declares." The U.S. hasn't endorsed the use of aerial herbicide in Canada yet, but unmanned spy planes will patrol the border. The planes are supposed to increase security, but the test run succeeded only in stopping a shipment of "B.C. bud." A reform initiative in Michigan appears to be off the ballot for now, due to a technicality. Finally, results from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse were released last week. The survey showed some significant increases in drug use in certain categories - maybe tying drugs with terrorism isn't working after all. === (5) REPORT CRITICIZES DRUG SPRAY MIX WASHINGTON -- A chemical mix supplied by the United States to wipe out drug crops in Colombia is potentially harmful to humans and the environment, according to a government report released Thursday. After previously defending its use of the chemicals, the State Department now says it plans to switch to a less toxic formulation. The report by the Environmental Protection Agency was requested by Congress as part of an effort to determine the safety of the U.S.- financed crop eradication program. [snip] In its report, the EPA warned that it was concerned about one of the chemicals being used that carried the risk of causing "acute eye toxicity." The EPA suggested that the State Department should "consider using an alternate glyphosate product" with lower toxicity. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 06 Sep 2002 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 2002 St. Petersburg Times Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419 Authors: David Adams and Paul de la Garza === (6) COCA SPRAYING POSES NO RISK TO COLOMBIANS, U.S. DECLARES WASHINGTON, - The American-financed aerial destruction of coca crops in Colombia meets United States regulatory standards and does not endanger people or the environment, the State Department said today in a report to Congress. The department's antinarcotics bureau, which oversees the program, concluded that the herbicides used and the manner in which they are applied "do not pose unreasonable risks or adverse effects to humans or the environment." That determination, which was immediately deplored by some environmental groups, could free money from Congress for an aggressive advance in the effort to eradicate coca at its source. The department has set a goal of killing up to 300,000 acres of coca this year, 30 percent more than last year. [snip] In a review forwarded by Stephen L. Johnson, the assistant administrator, the agency said the main ingredient in the herbicide used in Colombia, glyphosate, known by the trade name Roundup, is widely used in the United States with "no unreasonable adverse effects." But the E.P.A. noted that an additive in glyphosate could cause acute eye irritation. In the United States, the agency said, the herbicide is typically sprayed from low-flying helicopters, not planes, and steps should be taken to avoid having it drift away from the target areas. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 06 Sep 2002 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Christopher Marquis Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1677/a07.html === (7) HI-TECH PLANE PATROLS BORDER The U.S. is gearing up to launch hi-tech military reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, called drones, to patrol its northern border at night. The unmanned UAVs, which contain sophisticated infrared photographic equipment, are similar to those used by the U.S. Air Force to hunt terrorists in Afghanistan. "It is quite probable a UAV will be used along the northern border," U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Mario Villarreal said yesterday from Washington, D.C. "It could be used at some point." Villarreal said the RCMP was involved in a UAV test along the Idaho-British Columbia border last month, when arrests were made and 50 kilos of B.C. bud marijuana intercepted while being smuggled into the U.S. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 07 Sep 2002 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2002, Canoe Limited Partnership. Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457 Author: Tom Godfrey Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1689/a12.html === (8) DRUG LAWS WON'T BE ON THE FALL BALLOT, BUT TOBACCO MONEY WILL A carefully planned and well-financed campaign to overhaul Michigan's drug laws crashed Tuesday, as the state Supreme Court declined to place the issue before voters in November. Without comment, the court upheld decisions issued last week by the Court of Appeals and a state elections panel to keep the drug question off the ballot. [snip] The proposal would have softened Michigan's mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, and required that drug offenders receive treatment instead of jail for low-level offenses. It also would have allowed inmates in prison for drug crimes to seek new sentences. But a technical error in drafting the language for the proposal proved fatal. The campaign's amendment called for the creation of a new Section 24 to Article 1 of the state Constitution. The state Constitution already has a Section 24, adopted by voters in 1988 to protect crime victims' rights. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Copyright: 2002 Detroit Free Press Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125 Author: Dawson Bell, Free Press Staff Writer Cited: Cited: Michigan Drug Reform Initiative http://www.drugreform.org/michigan/ Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1705/a12.html === (9) STUDY FINDS 18.8% OF YOUNG ADULTS USE DRUGS WASHINGTON -- America has almost 16 million illegal drug users, including one in five young adults, according to a government survey that suggests use of marijuana and cocaine may be on the rise after leveling off in recent years. Among ages 12 to 17, the youngest people surveyed, 10.8 percent were described as current drug users in 2001, up from about 9.7 percent the year before, according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Young adults ages 18 to 25 were more likely to be users, increasing to 18.8 percent from 15.9 percent in 2000. The rate of drug use among adults 26 and older stayed about the same, at 4.5 percent. Current users are those who reported using a drug within the past month. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 07 Sep 2002 Source: South Bend Tribune (IN) Copyright: 2002 South Bend Tribune Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/621 Author: The Associated Press Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1690/a05.html ======================================================================= Law Enforcement & Prisons - ------------------------- COMMENT: (10-13) This week's prison news offered many reminders that there is no justice in the war on drugs. In Texas, a state inquiry into a drug sting in Tulia is finally getting underway. The sting left a high percentage of Tulia's black population in jail . But regardless of the results of the inquiry, it is unlikely to free those who have been imprisoned. Elsewhere in the Lone Star State, some innocent people who were framed with fake drugs in Dallas may still be in prison. The state has not sought out all prisoners who had been targeted by police who are now tainted by the fake drugs scandal. In California, the father of a boy slain in a drug raid pleaded guilty to a marijuana charge, even though no drugs were recovered in the bust. His lawyer said Moises Sepulveda probably wouldn't be subject to prison time due to the plea agreement. The lawyer said he could have won an acquittal, but the 10-year term if he lost was too big of a risk. And in Delaware, "jump out raids" continue. Some civil libertarians are questioning the practice of police photographing bystanders and taking information from them without arresting them. === (10) STATE INQUIRY MAY NOT HELP THOSE JAILED IN TULIA STING HARLINGEN, Texas - A state review of a controversial drug bust in Tulia, Texas, will move as quickly as possible but may have limited ability to help those imprisoned in the sting, a legislative panel was told Friday. Three prosecutors and two investigators from the attorney general's office are investigating the 1999 West Texas drug cases, and they began meeting Thursday with local authorities, First Assistant Attorney General Howard Baldwin told members of the House Judicial Affairs Committee. But committee Chairwoman Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, said the attorney general's efforts may do little to help those convicted because their cases are under the jurisdiction of the appellate courts. Without the discovery of significant evidence never made available to their attorneys, she added, it will be difficult to persuade courts to grant new trials. "It's not going to make a lot of difference what anyone goes out and investigates at all," she said. "If the courts don't do anything to turn it around, then we're just whistling in the wind. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 7 Sep 2002 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Webpage: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/090702dntextulia.bec52.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Author: Lee Hancock === (11) FALSE DRUG CONVICTIONS MAY LINGER Thomas Wayne Williams was sitting in prison for the rest of his life early in 2000, alone in his belief that two Dallas police officers had framed him on drug charges because he couldn't pay them $5,000 in a street shakedown. Then, in April of that year, the same Dallas County district attorney's office that put him in prison won convictions for the two police officers - Quentis Roper and Daniel Maples - on charges that they ripped off more than $125,000 from drug dealers and undocumented immigrants, often falsifying reports in the process. Mr. Williams and at least two others imprisoned on long sentences on the strength of the officers' testimony later won commutations from the governor. Another 20 people had cases dismissed, many because their testimony against the two officers was needed. The district attorney's office didn't seek out all who had been convicted, citing a lack of staff and saying it was up to the prisoners to act on their own cases. Two former prosecutors, Clark Birdsall and Heath Harris, said other prisoners might still be in jail because the district attorney's office didn't investigate whether other cases made by the officers should have been thrown out. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Webpage: http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/090802dnmetdrugbusts.a79b.html Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Author: Todd Bensman === (12) SEPULVEDA OKS PLEA AGREEMENT FRESNO -- The father of a boy killed by police nearly two years ago in a drug raid at his Modesto home pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony marijuana charge. The plea means that Moises Sepulveda Sr. will not stand trial as scheduled Sept. 17 in U.S. District Court in Fresno and is likely to avoid a prison sentence. Sepulveda, whose wife and two children accompanied him to the federal courthouse, declined to com-ment after the proceeding. Attorney Arturo Gonzalez, who also represented the family in two civil lawsuits, said he advised Moises Sepulveda to accept the plea offer. "I could have gone to trial, put on a show and won an acquittal," Gonzalez said. "But if something went wrong, he's looking at 10 years. I advised him to take the deal." [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 Source: Modesto Bee, The (CA) Webpage: http://www.modbee.com/local/story/4257780p-5279909c.html Copyright: 2002 The Modesto Bee Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/271 Author: Michael G. Mooney Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids) === (13) CRITICS PROTEST ANTI-DRUG TACTICS In drug-plagued neighborhoods of Wilmington, Del., it's become a nighttime routine: Police "jump out" squads descend on a street corner, round up a few suspected dealers and cart them off to jail. But then the cops go a step further: They detain others in the area for up to two hours, take digital photographs of them, get their names and other details, and then put the information in a database to use in future investigations. The new database is part of an increasingly aggressive anti-crime effort in Wilmington that has drawn criticism from civil liberties groups. It also has thrust the city of 73,000 to the forefront of a national debate over whether law enforcement's use of such technology violates citizens' privacy. [snip] Critics say spying on residents and keeping a database of "potential criminals" invades privacy and tramples the presumption of innocence. "The 'jump out' squads are the tactic of rounding up the usual suspects," says Barry Steinhardt, director of the technology and liberty program for the national American Civil Liberties Union in New York City. "They are stopping, searching and putting into a database photographs of people whose only crime is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's bad law enforcement, and it's bad for civil liberties." [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 Source: USA Today (US) Webpage: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020905/4420139s.htm Copyright: 2002 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466 Author: Donna Leinwand ======================================================================= Cannabis & Hemp- - --------------------------- COMMENT: (14-18) In this first anniversary of the despicable events of 9/11 and the drawn out military action that followed, two major events have affected cannabis prohibition in North America. Last week, the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs recommended the legalization and licensed distribution of cannabis. On the same day that the 650-page report was released, the DEA raided the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, one of the U.S.'s most respected medicinal cannabis dispensaries. Our first story looks at the raid on WAMM and many other DEA actions against legal Californian users. There is little doubt that the federal government has targeted Californian clubs; the question is, what can be done to stop the prosecution of California's sickest citizens and those who try to help them? According to our next story, a new study by California NORML shows that there are approximately 30,000 Californians currently using cannabis with legal permission from their doctors. The study, which shows that California has the highest rate of medicinal cannabis use in the U.S., is to be published by the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. On the heels of the remarkable Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs report, Canadian Justice Minister Cauchon has expressed his tentative support for decriminalization of cannabis, stating that Canada's membership in international treaties would prohibit the federal government from actually legalizing it. The report has, of course, stirred much heated debate over the issues surrounding cannabis prohibition. Our next article examines the discussion surrounding the report and examines upcoming legal challenges that could radically alter Canada's current drug policy. And lastly, a detailed account of the shameful and callous raid on WAMM written by Dan Forbes. This is a sad story about the brave members of WAMM, many of whom risked their health and freedom to try to prevent the DEA from taking the medicine from their mouths. A must read for those who need further convincing of this incredibly unjust use of government time and resources. Finally, let us hope that the wisdom that comes forth from the mouths of Canadian Senators, or from the lips of California's sick and dying, does not fall on deaf political ears. === (14) POT CLUB RAID SIGNALS NEW PUSH By raiding a nationally known medicinal marijuana farm in Santa Cruz this week, federal law enforcement officials served notice that they are escalating their legal assault in the Bay Area, the cradle of California's medical pot movement. While the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has launched similar raids throughout the state during the past year, including one in San Francisco in February, the Santa Cruz operation marked the most aggressive crackdown on a major Bay Area medical marijuana outfit to date. The raid appeared to cement a policy change for the region's federal law enforcement officials, who for the most part have relied on civil court orders to weed out medical pot distributors since California enacted Proposition 215 six years ago. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 07 Sep 2002 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390 Author: Howard Mintz, Mercury News Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1684.a07.html === (15) 30,000 CALIFORNIANS USING MEDICINAL MARIJUANA LEGALLY An estimated 30,000 California patients possess physician's recommendations to use pot medicinally, according to the results of a study to be published in The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. [snip] According to the survey's findings, California has the highest concentration of medical pot patients in the country at 89 patients per 100,000. In other states, medical marijuana users comprise much smaller percentages of the population, ranging from 79 patients per 100,000 in Oregon to a low of three patients per 100,000 in Colorado. A total of 5,000 medical pot patients are estimated to be using medicinal marijuana legally outside of California. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 Source: Haleakala Times (HI) Copyright: 2002 Haleakala Times Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2283 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1681.a01.html === (16) LIBERALIZE LAWS ON POT: CAUCHON OTTAWA -- Canada's pot laws make no sense and should be liberalized, says Justice Minister Martin Cauchon. And Cauchon suggested yesterday he wants to decriminalize marijuana use next year, although he dismissed a Senate committee recommendation that marijuana be made legally available like alcohol. "The legislation ... actually is a sort of disconnect with Canadian reality," he said before a meeting. [snip] Cauchon told reporters that first he wants to see the November report of a special Commons committee on the non-medical use of drugs. After that, he will move ahead quickly with a new policy, probably at the beginning of next year. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 06 Sep 2002 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 The Toronto Star Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Author: Les Whittington, Ottawa Bureau Related: What's Up In Canada, Eh? / by Matthew Elrod http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2002/ds02.n266.html#sec5 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1674.a10.html === (17) CALL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA STIRS DEBATE IN CANADA TORONTO - For the first time since the early 20th century, a panel of Canadian senators has recommended legalizing possession and use of marijuana for anyone over age 16. The report, officially issued last week by the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, estimated that 1.5 million Canadians routinely smoke marijuana and 600,000 have criminal records because of it. The Senate has also recommended the federal government pardon those currently jailed on possession charges. Canada's judges, including its Supreme Court, will start to shape the future of marijuana as they take up contradictions in the country's approach to the substance. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 08 Sep 2002 Source: Buffalo News (NY) Copyright: 2002 The Buffalo News Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/61 Author: Barry Brown, News Toronto Bureau Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1691.a11.html === (18) THE DEA IN CHAINS BOUND BY A PATIENT IN A CHAIR, THE FEDS CALL LOCAL COPS FOR HELP The Drug Enforcement Administration believes in starting at the top. By shutting down two of the most aboveboard and righteous of California's medical marijuana operations, the feds can perhaps instill such fear that they free themselves from chasing the shaky and the small-fry. Last October they shuttered the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, so respected that the city of West Hollywood co-signed its mortgage and so open that it allowed Congress's General Accounting Office in for a look. And yesterday, some two dozen DEA agents descended, chainsaws in hand, upon the medical marijuana cooperative, the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), located near Davenport, some sixty miles south of San Francisco. California NORML director Dale Gieringer said, "The DEA is making a statement by going after the gold standard of dispensaries." Pubdate: Fri, 06 Sep 2002 Source: DrugWar (US Web) Copyright: 2002 Kalyx com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2410 Author: Daniel Forbes, Special to DrugWar com Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/forbes.htm (Forbes, Daniel) Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1684.a03.html Note: This web only report includes many links at it's source webpage. We recommend reading it at http://www.drugwar.com/pforbeswammraid.shtm ======================================================================= International News - --------------------------- COMMENT: (19-25) A batch of exceptionally strong heroin is killing users in Kingston, Ontario. Police disclosed that the "highly lethal" opiate was believed to be responsible for two deaths in the past 10 days. In Vancouver, police are warning users to beware of "trail mix," which police claim is a salad of amphetamines, MDMA, ketamine, and Viagra. Drug users and landlords alike in BC should look out for house-wrecking vigilantes. Last week, vigilantes wrecked an alleged "drug house" there even after tenants had been evicted and removed. Carlos Castano, the head of the largest of Colombia's right-wing paramilitary groups last week announced he would surrender to the U.S. to prove he's innocent of drug running. The group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), had split over drug trafficking charges earlier this year. In a communique, the paramilitaries vowed to "abolish the practice of drug trafficking which served as a source of finance for our organisation." Meanwhile, the Bush administration cheerfully threw another $42 million at the Colombian military this week after claiming to see "improvement" in the Colombian regime's human-rights record. Israel and Palestine may not agree on much, but they sing in harmony when it comes to punishing "drug" (marijuana) offenses. Last week, Palestinian police vowed to "join hands" with Israeli police to hunt down a "drug trafficker" (a man who grew marijuana plants) who had escaped to Israel. And finally this week, reports from Mexico indicate that women are running the largest Mexican drug cartels. The Tijuana and Colima cartels reportedly run by the Arellano Felix and Contreras families, have been turned over to female family members after the male bosses were jailed or killed, according to police. === (19) TWO DEAD AS 'HIGHLY LETHAL' HEROIN HITS STREETS Local News - Kingston Police say there is some "highly lethal" heroin being sold on city streets that is suspected to have caused two deaths in the past 10 days. Members of Project Round Up - a joint-forces drug enforcement squad - - and the Kingston Police are investigating the deaths and trying to locate the source and distributor of what they say is "pure grade" heroin. "Ideally, we'd like to get the supplier, but right now we just want to get it off the streets so we don't have any more deaths," said Staff Sgt. Chris Scott. Though police are still waiting for toxicology reports, the heroin is thought to have nearly twice the potency of what drug users are accustomed to, Scott said. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 The Kingston Whig-Standard Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224 Author: Amy O'Brian Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1698/a08.html === (20) RAVERS BEWARE: TRAIL MIX COULD KILL Police are warning ravers and nightclubbers about a potentially deadly chemical cocktail called trail mix. The pills, according to RCMP Cpl. Scott Rintoul, are a blend of ingredients including methamphetamine, ecstacy or MDMA, ketamine -- also known as special K -- and the male sex-aid drug Viagra. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 The Province Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1703/a06.html === (21) NEIGHBOURS TRASH KNOWN DRUG HOUSE The interior of a Whalley drug house was smashed up Sunday night by residents fed up with the trouble it has brought to their neighbourhood for the past year. A soggy mound of belongings covered the front lawn of the rental house at 9892-130th St. yesterday morning, two days after police removed the last of a group of squatters from the place. [snip] "Later that night, sometime after 11 p.m., a group of male neighbours broke in and trashed the interior of the house." [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 Source: Surrey Now (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc., A Canwest Company Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1462 Author: Ted Colley Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1705/a02.html === (22) COLOMBIAN OUT TO PROVE INNOCENCE TO U.S. Chief Of Group Called Terrorist By Washington Says He'd Surrender To Address Drug Charges BOGOTA, Colombia - The chief of Colombia's brutal paramilitary groups, Carlos Castano, said that if the United States seeks his extradition for drug trafficking, he will surrender to prove his innocence, according to an interview published Sunday. The right-wing militias have agreed to re-create their national umbrella organization, with Mr. Castano leading it again, during a clandestine meeting in the mountains of northern Colombia, according to a letter posted on the group's Web site. The organization, known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, splintered in July after Mr. Castano said some of the militias were engaged in drug trafficking and kidnapping, instead of focusing on their primary task of fighting leftist rebels. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Author: The Associated Press Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1695/a04.html === (23) COLOMBIAN PARAMILITARY GROUPS VOW TO REFORM Colombia's Right-Wing Paramilitaries Are To Give Up Drug Trafficking And Massacring Opponents, They Claimed Yesterday. Carlos Castano, the warlord who founded the United Self Defence Forces of Colombia ( AUC ), dissolved the group a month ago after widespread abuses by its members. Since then paramilitary organisations have operated independently, but have taken a battering from Marxist guerrillas and the state. Leaders of 18 paramilitary groups met last week at a ranch in Uraba in north Colombia and voted to reform and re-invent themselves. "We have decided to abolish the practice of drug trafficking which served as a source of finance for our organisation - and we have made a commitment to comply with and respect human rights," said a letter signed by the leaders of the group. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 Source: Daily Telegraph (UK) Copyright: 2002 Telegraph Group Limited Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114 Author: Jeremy McDermott, in Medellin Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1694/a08.html === (24) U.S. RELEASES $42 MILLION FOR COLOMBIAN MILITARY The Bush administration released about $42 million in aid to the Colombian military Monday after determining that there was enough improvement in its human-rights record to meet congressional requirements for such aid. Release of the funds was contingent upon a finding that the Colombian military had suspended personnel guilty of grave human-rights violations, cooperated with prosecutors in rights cases and was severing ties with paramilitary groups. Pubdate: Tue, 10 sep 2002 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1700/a08.html === (25) TULKARM MULLS JOINT POLICE WORK WITH ISRAELIS Palestinian Authority police in Tulkarm took advantage of a curfew break to announce the impounding of a large number of marijuana plants. Many residents saw the statement Thursday as a sign the civil police are trying to resume normal operations, despite the destruction of their offices and the arrest of many of their men by the IDF. Tulkarm police chief Col. Bilal Abu Zeid's men discovered more than a thousand plants in the home of a local drug trafficker. The suspect escaped to Israel. Abu Zeid said he has informed Israeli authorities that the suspect is hiding in Israel. "Israeli and Palestinian criminals are cooperating in distributing the drugs, and we must join hands in the battle against them," he said. The statement is the first time since Operation Defensive Shield that the Palestinians have talked about resuming cooperation with the Israeli police in combating crime. [snip] Confiscation of the marijuana plants has revived hopes that police are finally resuming their work. Residents have been forced to ask militiamen to resolve disputes and punish criminals. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 5 Sep 2002 Source: Jerusalem Post (Israel) Copyright: 2002, The Jerusalem Post Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/516 Author: Khaled Abu Toameh Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1700/a03.html === (26) WOMEN TAKE OVER MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS MEXICO CITY -- Women are now in charge of two of Mexico's biggest drug cartels, a high-ranking police commander was quoted Wednesday as saying. In an interview published in La Jornada daily, the head of the attorney general's organized crime unit (UEDO), Joe Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, said control of the Tijuana and Colima cartels, run by the Arellano Felix and Amezcua Contreras families, respectively, has been turned over to the sisters of the former leaders who have either been imprisoned or killed. [snip] The Arellano Felix organization had been led by brothers Ramon and Benjamin until Ramon was shot to death by police in February and his brother was arrested a month later. Their sister Enedina has since taken over. The sisters of Colima cartel leaders Luis Ignacio, Jesus and Adan Amezcua Contreras have taken over for their brothers, who are in prison, Vasconcelos explained. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 Source: Japan Today (Japan) Copyright: 2002, Japan Today Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2264 Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1707/a06.html *********************************************************************** HOT OFF THE 'NET - ------------------------------- Genesis Compassion Club Raided! Americans for Safe Access is calling for a series of protests on Monday. The Genesis medical cannabis dispensary in Petaluma was raided, and Robert Schmidt, the owner, was arrested by the DEA today. They also raided a garden in Sebastopol in connection with Genesis. We will post the details as we get them, but it's time to kick our response into gear. Please, call your lists, your friends, local, state, and FEDERAL officials...and come out in force on Monday! http://www.safeaccessnow.org/ === Cultural Baggage Features Talk On Canadian Report Canadians Senator Claude Nolin and Eugene Oscapella will guest this Friday at midnight till 1 AM CDT Saturday on the Cultural Baggage radio show on Pacifica, Houston, 90.1 FM and live, online at: http://www.kpft.org/ This show will be stored permanently at http://www.cultural-baggage.com/kpft.htm along with shows featuring Kevin Zeese, Judge Gray and many others. === Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement Launch TV Ads This morning, we took our opponents by surprise by launching the first wave of TV ads in Nevada. Please see http://www.NRLE.org to view the two ads and to make a donation so that we can afford to continue running them. The first ad features the state government's official explanation of what our initiative would do. It then concludes with the tag line: "In the privacy of a home, or under the care of a doctor, vote YES on Question 9." Submitted by Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement === Making Friends Into Felons >From the New Jersey Law Journal Close associates of drug-death victims are the most frequent targets of a 1987 law that was aimed at punishing dealers http://www.law.com/jsp/pubarticleNJ.jsp?id=1030821182965 === Letters to Canadian Editors Needed Now! A DrugSense Focus Alert http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0250.html === MDMA LITERATURE UPDATE SITE NOW ON-LINE We are happy to announce the completion of the MDMA Literature Update web site, a new feature of the MAPS website containing overviews and summaries of most of the latest papers on MDMA or ecstasy published in English-language peer-reviewed journals. The site is now on-line at this http://www.maps.org/research/mdma/litupdates *********************************************************************** LETTER OF THE WEEK - ------------------------------------ No More Drug Nonsense By Jo-D Harrison The article Oral Drugs and SLO County Kids (New Times, 08/22/02) "reported" a discrepancy between the reality of SLO County's teen drug use and our perception of it. The "reality" this article talks about is from surveys. So-called anonymous surveys that rely on the self-reporting of drug use are virtually worthless in this age of zero tolerance. The kicker, though, was the closing quote alleging that marijuana today is 10 times stronger than marijuana in the 60's and 70's. This new myth is intended to scare adults who understand that reefer madness claims are untrue. Anyone who uses a bit of logic knows that cannabis is an ancient plant which has not suddenly developed into turbo psycho weed. Government potency testing of cannabis did not begin until the early 1970's and no private testing is currently allowed. Strike the 60's comparison. In 1972, the first year of official government testing for the THC level, a small sample of marijuana of unknown origin, but probably Mexican, averaged only 0.18% THC. This is below the level of industrial hemp, but this number is often used as the base for comparison to justify the high multiples. Jo-D Harrison, DrugSense, Santa Maria Date: 09/05/2002 Source: New Times (CA) Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1277 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1567/a10.html *********************************************************************** LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - August - ---------------------------------------------------------------- During August Stan White of Dillon, Colorado had six Letters to the Editor published, bringing his total so far to 62 that are archived and may be reviewed at: http://www.mapinc.org/writer/White+Stan *********************************************************************** FEATURE ARTICLE - ------------------------------- A Medical Cannabis Club Called CHAMP By Derek Rea My journey began at the NORML 2002 conference in San Francisco during April. How or why I found myself there is not really important. But my life changed after I met a "Harm Reduction Specialist" who worked at a medical cannabis club called CHAMP. (Californians Helping Alleviate Medical Problems) Mike Barbitta was his name and he was a walking, talking encyclopedia. When he asked me if I'd be interested in a tour of CHAMP, I knew this would be a once in a lifetime chance and I quickly took him up on it. After a trip on BART we suddenly emerge in front of a building with CHAMP, Service, Hope and Compassion spray painted on the wall. As we walk through the wrought iron front door Mike is into a amazing nonstop dialog about the requirements of membership to CHAMP, valid CA State ID Card or CA Drivers license, valid Medical Cannabis User ID Card with the physician's statement presented to receive the cannabis card. Mike's on a roll as we climb the stairs, "Champ is member funded, member run, not for profit community wellness center we are dedicated to the physical and mental medical cannabis user, we believe medical necessity dictates that patients have safe access to mold and mildew free and pesticide free cannabis if it alleviates symptoms and improves their quality of life". We reach the top landing, and like he's recited it a million times Mike points out the bulletin board and starts explaining "Medicine provided by CHAMP is for medical use only and NOT for re-sale". A few introductions to the staff and we walk to the end of the counter. I try not to stare and be too obvious or maybe it was just me, but I felt the most peaceful feelings I've ever experienced. Comfortable chairs and couches, coffee tables with bowls filled with pretzels and popcorn. There are people of all color, age and backgrounds sitting around enjoying one another's company. Then I remembered that this is a medical club, what are they talking about? Chemo therapy, the death of a friend. A moment of sadness sets in and up pops Mike again, "want a drink" he asks? I looked at the can of Ensure in his hand and politely turn it down, he toss's it to a guy sitting on the couch and he's teaching me again. Mike describes to me the different types of medicine offered and explains that some people have never used cannabis before, so explaining to them all their options is vital. I ask about the rules for purchase? One ounce per person per day. Some come and make their purchase and leave, some stay because of the safe surroundings. How long can they hang out? One hour per day. I ask Mike what if someone is all alone, broke and bedridden with no one to help them. Mike looks dead in my eyes and says, "we have them, I get on my bike and deliver it to them free of charge". The words spray- painted out front - Service, Hope and Compassion come to mind. As we start walking out Mike starts explaining all the other services CHAMP provides, "Wellness Groups", "Women's Groups", "One on One Consultation", "HIV Support Groups", "Harm Reduction Groups", "Phoenix Group" (over 45), "Movies" and other assorted social dinners and gatherings. I take one last look around, thank the staff for their hospitality and down the stairs we go, back out on the street, spell broken, reality. Damn, all the questions I wanted to make sure to ask start coming back. How long was I there? I look at my watch and figure right about an hour (rules are rules). I fly home and have a hard time describing my visit to CHAMP's. I can't describe the care and compassion enough. Yeah, people were sitting around smoking pot and yeah you could buy it right there, but that's not what it was really all about. I guess it doesn't really make a difference anyway. CHAMP was forced to close it doors by Federal Government pressure, the month after I visited. Derek Rea is a longtime editor with MAPNews and the voluntary archivist of MAP's Published Letter collection. *********************************************************************** QUOTE OF THE WEEK - ------------------------------------ "What a bunch of babies these DEA guys are. They're up there with all these agents, but they see a bunch of pot-smoking sick people on the road, and they have to call us for help." - - Unidentified, disgusted Santa Cruz police officer after local police were asked to assist DEA agents as they raided the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. For more details, see http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/09/06/MN212302.DTL *********************************************************************** DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you. TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm CREDITS: Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (maxharm@maximizingharm.com), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (phil@drugsense.org), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (doug@drugsense.org), Layout by Matt Elrod (webmaster@drugsense.org) We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. === NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. === MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm - -OR- Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to: The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. D/B/a DrugSense PO Box 651 Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 MGreer@mapinc.org ------------------------------ End of Restore-Digest V2002 #191 ******************************** Restore Hemp News Today Visit our sister site crrh.org
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