Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 09:02:43 -0700

Subject:CO: Case Dismissed Against Medical Marijuana User Up TOC

Newshawk: The GCW
Pubdate: Tue, 14 May 2002
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact: letters@rockymountainnews.com
Website: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371

CASE DISMISSED AGAINST MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER

DENVER- Prosecutors have dropped drug charges against a state-approved
medical-marijuana user, saying they couldn't prove guilt at trial.

Police had claimed that James Scruggs had 20 plants in his house and about
28 ounces of usable marijuana. Under the state's medical-marijuana law,
patients are limited to 2 ounces of usable marijuana and six plants.

Scruggs maintained he had four marijuana plants and 16 off-shoots that he
was cultivating. He said he uses marijuana to calm Crohn's disease, a
chronic inflammation of the bowel.

Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorneys' office, said
problems arose in preparing the case because the plants had died and police
photographs didn't clearly show how many plants were found.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth

 
 


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

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 09:03:45 -0700

Subject:CA:  News In Brief From California's North Coast Up TOC

Newshawk: The GCW
Pubdate: Thu, 16 May 2002
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact: letters@rockymountainnews.com
Website: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Author: Associated Press

NEWS IN BRIEF FROM CALIFORNIA'S NORTH COAST

KNEELAND, Calif.- Two people who claimed to be returning from hauling
supplies to Humboldt County tree sitters were arrested on drug charges.

The pair was arrested after officers responding to reports of a suspicious
vehicle found them with hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana, sheriff's
deputies said.

David Wolman, 22, of New Jersey was booked for investigation of possession
and transportation of mushrooms. Amy Arcuri, 23, Eureka, was booked for
investigation of possession and transportation of marijuana for sale.

One of the tree sitters, who used the name Remedy, told The Times-Standard
of Eureka by cell phone Wednesday that people were bringing supplies to
them Tuesday night.

She said she didn't recognize either name because people involved in the
tree sitting often use fictitious names.

"I think that they (the sheriff's department) should worry about the recent
burglaries in the area and not about nonviolent drug use," Remedy 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: Beth

 
 


**




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

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 09:08:06 -0700

Subject:UK: MPs Back Softer Line On Cannabis Up TOC

Newshawk: alun
Pubdate: Sun, 19 May 2002
Source: Sunday Times (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd.
Contact: letters@sunday-times.co.uk
Website: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/439
Author: Tom Robbins

MPs BACK SOFTER LINE ON CANNABIS

A report from the cross-party home affairs select committee, due on
Wednesday, is widely expected to say cannabis should be downgraded from a
class B to a class C drug. This would mean it remained illegal but
possession of it would attract a caution or a fine rather than arrest.

The committee is also likely to suggest that ministers consider setting up
"shooting galleries" where addicts can inject drugs under medical
supervision in a safe, clean room.

Most controversial will be the report's verdict on ecstasy, the drug taken
by an estimated 500,000 young people in nightclubs each weekend. An early
draft suggested that it, too, should be downgraded from class A to class B,
but some members of the committee are thought to have objected. Last week a
coroner described taking the drug as "like playing Russian roulette" after
hearing the case of Kirsty Mendy, 17, a student who died after taking two
ecstasy tablets.

The MPs will strongly endorse the Lambeth experiment where possession of
small amounts of cannabis is no longer an arrestable offence. David
Blunkett, the home secretary, has already proposed the reclassification of
cannabis and with the MPs' backing a change in the law is likely.

However, the MPs have rejected calls for Dutch-style coffee shops where
cannabis can be smoked freely.

The committee is also expected to recommend convicted addicts be offered
treatment programmes rather than go to prison and that there be a new legal
definition of "social supply", so young people who buy a few ecstasy
tablets to share are not prosecuted as drug dealers.
__________________________________________________________________________
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

 
 


**




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

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 09:09:23 -0700

Subject:NY: 124 Arrested In Paraphernalia Selling Sting Up TOC

Newshawk: Alex
Pubdate: Sat, 18 May 2002
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2002 Newsday Inc.
Contact: letters@newsday.com
Website: http://www.newsday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: Sean Gardiner

124 ARRESTED IN PARAPHERNALIA SELLING STING

A citywide undercover initiative that lasted several weeks and involved
hundreds of police officers netted 124 arrests, allegedly for peddling of
drug paraphernalia, and could result in the closing of 58 newspaper stands,
bodegas and other businesses snared in the sting, police said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, surrounded Friday by dozens of bags of
seized drug paraphernalia at a news conference, said officers used 58
search warrants during a four-hour period Thursday morning as "part of our
renewed assault on quality-of-life crimes in all five boroughs."

The initiative was called "Operation CROP," which stands for Coordinated
Response to Outlaw Paraphernalia.

"Over the last few weeks, undercover officers bought drug paraphernalia
from dealers across the city," Kelly said. "They bought it from newspaper
stands, from cigarette shops, from Lotto vendors, every place that sells
illegal drug paraphernalia under the counter.

"Then, in a single day, the Narcotics Division swept in and executed search
warrants in all five boroughs," he said. "They seized crack pipes, crack
stems, bongs, scales, filters, Ziploc bags, heat sealers and rubber stamps
- - all items used in the narcotics trade."

Officers also seized $99,000 in cash, Kelly said.

In a borough-by-borough breakdown, Kelly said officers executed 22 search
warrants in Brooklyn, with 49 arrests; 19 search warrants in Manhattan,
with 38 arrests; nine search warrants in Queens, with 19 arrests; six
search warrants in the Bronx, with 13 arrests; and two search warrants in
Staten Island, with five arrests.

All of those arrested were charged with the misdemeanor crime of selling
drug paraphernalia. The next step of the initiative, Kelly said, would be
to begin civil proceedings in an attempt to close the newsstands, bodegas
and other places where the paraphernalia was sold.
__________________________________________________________________________
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

 
 


**




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

------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 12:15:58 -0700
From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense)
Subject:DrugSense Weekly, May 24, 2002, #251 Up TOC

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

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY

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

DrugSense Weekly,            May 24, 2002                         #251

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) Wonks Vs. The Real World: The Native Brain On Drugs
     (2) US: Group Shoulders New War On Drugs
     (3) UK: Senior Law Lord Wants 'pot' To Be Legal
     (4) Canada: Patients Take Pot Fight To Court

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

     (5) High Court Upholds Life Terms Of 5 In Drug Dealing
     (6) Supreme Court Overturns Drug Conviction Because Of Illegal Search
     (7) OPED: 'Random' Testing - Ultimate Hypocrisy
     (8) Onslow County In Drug Money War
     (9) Student Drug Offender Law Knocked
     (10) Painkiller's Sales Far Exceeded Levels Anticipated By Maker

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

     (11) Davis Under Fire For Guards Contract
     (12) 2 Jail Guards Charged In Killing
     (13) For Some, It's Too Late To Overturn Convictions
     (14) Ex-Snitch Accuses Task Force
     (15) Murder Charge In Drug-Pregnancy Case Is Dismissed

Cannabis & Hemp-

     (16) Pressure Smokes Out California Pot Clubs
     (17) California Researchers - Marijuana Quality Poor
     (18) Potency Of Canadian Government Marijuana Questioned
     (19) Medical Cannabis On The NHS Moves A Step Closer
     (20) Holland's Harry Potter Aims To Magic Away Drug Cafes

International News-

     (21) MPs Signal New Era In Drugs War
     (22) Vancouver Moves Closer To Safe Injection Sites
     (23) House Votes $1.3 Billion In Aid For Afghanistan
     (24) 3 Drug Gang Members Caught In Mexico
     (25) Manila Jail Overcrowding Blamed For Sick Inmates

* Hot Off The 'Net

     Reform of UN Drug Conventions on the Agenda
     Report on Drugs by Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons 
     Straight Talk: Drug War Casualties
     Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach
     U.S.  Bombing  of  Afghanistan  Restores  Trade  in  Narcotics  
     Local  Contacts  Organizing  Americans  For  Safe  Access Actions
     Steve Kubby interview on the Peter Warren Radio Show

* Letter Of The Week

     Jeb Bush / By Stephen Heath

* Feature Article

     Interview With Neal Peirce / By Stephen Young

* Quote of the Week

     Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002)

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

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

(1) WONKS VS. THE REAL WORLD: THE NATIVE BRAIN ON DRUGS

Thursday  afternoon  near  downtown,  at  the  Robert  Sundance Family
Wellness  Center, an intertribal gathering place on Temple Street that
provides health and human services for local Native Americans, four men
play the drums and quietly sing as 60-plus people take seats on folding
chairs  to  hear  John Walters, head of the White House Office of Drug
Control  Policy,  a.k.a.  President  Bush's  drug  czar. Dave Rambeau,
executive director of United American Indian Involvement, Inc., stands
at  the head of the room, which is usually reserved for adult day care
and A.A. meetings. On display are new anti-drug posters featuring kids
and  elders  communing amid amber waves of grain, and copy that reads,
"Grandmother,  when  you  talk,  I will listen. When you teach, I will
learn."

 [snip]

"It's  the  first  time  we've  specifically reached out to the Native
community,"  says  Walters,  reading from a prepared text. "We believe
it's  important we craft it effectively so that it reaches both youths
and adults effectively."

Walters  signals  a  PR person to roll tape: a 30-second ad starring a
bare-chested, loin-clothed Native youth running past mesas,
fancy-dancing  in  full  regalia,  riding  a  horse  and working on an
oil-painting of a warrior, while his narration explains over the warble
of flute music, "It's about not doing drugs."

"This ad will run tonight on ABC, and also on BET, MTV, Nickelodeon and
the Sci-Fi Channel," says Walters, adding that print ads will appear in
hundreds  of  newspapers and magazines on and around reservations. "We
worked  with  the  attitudes and beliefs of American Indian adults and
youth to develop powerful, effective ads."

Everyone  in  the room wants to be hopeful -- it's good to see Natives
represented in the media -- but the almost laughable irony of this last
comment  appears  to leave many attendees suspect: What Native peoples
did  Walters  work  with?  And  why  would  Natives  trust the federal
government  to  fix  the appalling alcoholism and drug-use rates among
Natives?

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 24 May 2002
Source: LA Weekly (CA)
Contact: letters@laweekly.com
Website: http://www.laweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/228
Author: Nancy Rommelmann
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.n971.a01.html

===

(2) US: GROUP SHOULDERS NEW WAR ON DRUGS

Lt.  Gov.  Mary  Fallin  joined  national legislative leaders and drug
enforcement  officials  Thursday in Washington at an event to kick off
the  nation's  latest  war  on  drugs.  About  an hour later, Oklahoma
senators  and representatives met at the state Capitol to pledge their
support for the idea.

The  program,  called  "Shoulder  to  Shoulder,"  links the U.S. Drug 
Enforcement  Agency  with  women  in  state legislatures to fight the 
spread  of  "club drugs" such as Ecstasy and educate the public about 
the use of drugs to fund terrorism.

"Too  many  people  realize  too  late  that  drug  use  can  lead to 
overwhelming loss," Fallin said.

"This  effort  will  bring  together parents, educators, business and 
faith-based organizations."

Sen.  Carol  Martin,  R-  Comanche,  who is heading up the effort for 
Oklahoma  women  in  the Legislature, said the nation has tried "Just 
Say  No"  and  sending users to jail, but it is time to try something 
new.

"We  need  to get rid of demand and the only way to get rid of demand 
is to have some kind of treatment," Martin said.

Martin  and Sen. Nancy Riley, R-Tulsa, said women need to be involved 
because drug use is tearing apart families.

 [end]

Pubdate: Fri, 24 May 2002
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Website: http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Diane Plumberg Clay

===

(3) UK: SENIOR LAW LORD WANTS 'POT' TO BE LEGAL

The judge in Britain's highest court called yesterday for cannabis to 
be  legalised,  putting  himself  in  direct conflict with government 
policy.

Lord  Bingham,  the senior law lord, said he would legalise the drug, 
adding: "It is stupid having a law which isn't doing what it is there 
for."

In  an  interview in the Spectator, he described the English criminal 
justice  system, which ministers want to make tougher, as already one 
of the most punitive in the world.

He  told  the magazine's editor, Boris Johnson: "Everybody thinks our 
system  is  becoming soft and wimpish. In point of fact, it is one of 
the  most  punitive systems in the world - perhaps not as much as the 
American.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 24 May 2002
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Clare Dyer, legal correspondent
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n973.a10.html

===

(4) CANADA: PATIENTS TAKE POT FIGHT TO COURT

Federal Access Regulations Dubbed 'A Cruel Hoax'

Seven  Canadians  who  use or distribute medical marijuana are asking 
the  courts  to  strike  down  federal access regulations that are "a 
cruel  hoax"  and  to  order  Ottawa to provide them with hundreds of 
kilograms of pot grown in an abandoned Manitoba mine.

The  regulations,  set up to provide sick people with legal access to 
marijuana,  are  unduly  restrictive and have made obtaining the drug 
difficult  because  the  government is demanding medical declarations 
that  few  doctors  will sign, the group of seven told a Queen's Park 
news conference yesterday.

 [snip]

"Seriously  ill Canadians are going on safari looking for drug dealers
in a black market to provide them with medicine," said Osgoode Hall law
school  professor  Alan  Young,  one  of four lawyers representing the
group.

The  government  "will do nothing without a court breathing down their
neck," so "we've decided to strike back," Young said.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 24 May 2002
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002 The Toronto Star
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Tracey Tyler
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n974.a05.html

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

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

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

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

COMMENT: (5-10)

 In  legal  news  this  week the U.S. Supreme Court supported drug war
 excess,  while  the  Nevada  Supreme  Court  ruled  against  drug war
 excess.  In  the  federal  case, the court ruled that drug defendants
 don't  have  to be indicted for a crime to be punished for it. In the
 state  case,  the court said that suspects should not be coerced into
 consenting to a search.

 Amid  a  week  of drug-related sports controversies, one sportswriter
 showed  that  pro  athletes  are given ample opportunities to prepare
 for drug tests.

 In  education  news,  police and a school board in North Carolina are
 wrestling  over $850,000 in seized drug money. Money is also at issue
 as  more  federal  legislators and educators line up against the drug
 conviction provisions of the Higher Education Act.

 Money's  not  a problem for Purdue Pharma, the maker of the demonized
 prescription  drug  OxyContin.  A  report  by the Wall Street Journal
 showed  that  the  drug  was  only  expected  to  generate about $350
 million  for  the company in its first five years; OxyContin actually
 brought in $2 billion for the company.

===

(5) HIGH COURT UPHOLDS LIFE TERMS OF 5 IN DRUG DEALING

Justices, By 9-0, Overturn Appeals Panel On City Men

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday that the life
sentences  of  five  convicted  Baltimore  drug  dealers should not be
reduced  because  of  errors  in  their  indictments.  Chief  Justice
William  H.  Rehnquist  wrote  the  9-0 opinion, explaining that there
was enough evidence against the five men to uphold the 1998
sentences,  despite  an  omission  in  their federal indictments about
the quantity of drugs they were dealing.

"The  error  did  not  seriously  affect  the  fairness, integrity, or
public  reputation  of  judicial  proceedings,"  Rehnquist  wrote,
overturning  a  decision  last  year  of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Richmond, Va.

Yesterday's  ruling  stemmed  from  the  case of Stanley "Boonie" Hall
Jr.,  who  worked  with his brothers, parents and grandfather to build
what  authorities  described as a million-dollar crack cocaine ring in
East Baltimore.

When  investigators  arrested  Hall  -- who had his own "Batman" brand
and  logo  for  his  drugs  -- they seized a $47,000 Acura, $60,000 in
men's jewelry and more than 380 grams of crack.

A  jury  convicted  Hall,  then  26, and eight others of conspiring to
distribute  a  "detectable  amount" of cocaine, which is punishable by
up  to  20  years  in  prison. But a federal judge in Baltimore handed
down  life  sentences to Hall and four co-defendants after determining
that  they  were  eligible  for  stiffer  penalties  because  they had
trafficked more then 50 grams of cocaine.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 21 May 2002
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2002 The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror Newspaper.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Allison Klein
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n953/a11.html

===

(6) SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS DRUG CONVICTION BECAUSE OF ILLEGAL SEARCH

The  Nevada  Supreme Court on Friday overturned a marijuana conviction
saying  state  narcotics  agents  had  no  right  to  coerce Ruth Anne
McMorran into allowing a search of her motel room.

She  was  convicted  of  aiding  and  abetting  in the possession of a
controlled  substance  for  purposes of sale. Her lawyer sought to bar
the  evidence  saying  Nevada  Division  of  Investigation  officers
conducted  an  unreasonable search. But White Pine County Judge Merlyn
Hoyt refused and allowed the evidence.

"Acquiescence  that  is  the  product  of  official  intimidation  or
harassment  is  not consent," the high court opinion stated. They said
the  officers  had  no  grounds  for  suspecting  McMorran  of a crime
except for an anonymous phone call.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sat, 18 May 2002
Source: Nevada Appeal (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Nevada Appeal
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/896
Author: Geoff Dornan
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n948/a01.html

===

(7) OPED: 'RANDOM' TESTING - ULTIMATE HYPOCRISY

Our athletes are on drugs. Read all about it.

Jose  Canseco  threatens  to write a between-the-sheets book about all
things evil in baseball, particularly steroid use.

Damon  Stoudamire  pleads not guilty to possessing marijuana, hoping a
technicality  erases  the  police  claim  that  his  home  furnishings
included a pound of pot.

The  trainer  for  the  New  York  Giants estimates 75 percent of last
year's  team  used the now-banned ephedra, a substance that can bounce
energy levels like golf balls hitting concrete.

And all this was just in Wednesday's papers.

 [snip]

Management  and  the  various  players  unions  are working closely to
ensure  images  aren't  tarnished,  even  if  the  protection  must be
colored in a shade of blatant hypocrisy.

You  see,  many of these random drug tests are no more random than the
arrival  of  your  monthly  telephone  bill.  Just last week, Dolphins
officials  informed  their  players of an upcoming test, being sure to
provide ample time for, well, preparation.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 19 May 2002
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Oklahoma Publishing Co
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Jeff Miller (The Miami Herald)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n954/a09.html

===

(8) ONSLOW COUNTY IN DRUG MONEY WAR

Onslow  County  school  leaders are questioning if money seized during
a  drug  bust  last  weekend in Maysville should be turned over to law
enforcement agencies.

Police  plan  to  use  much of the nearly $850,000 recovered to combat
drug  dealing,  but  Onslow  County Board of Education members, citing
state  law,  believe  the  public school system may be entitled to the
money.

"This  is  a  very unusual situation," said Don Horne, finance officer
for  Onslow  County Schools. "That (money)_would be very beneficial to
the schools if those dollars were made available to us."

Horne  said  basic  fines  and  forfeitures  collected in a county are
routinely remitted to the public schools in that county.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 19 May 2002
Source: Jacksonville Daily News (NC)
Copyright: 2002 Jacksonville Daily News
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/216
Author: Alex Mcallister
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n957/a02.html

===

(9) STUDENT DRUG OFFENDER LAW KNOCKED

WASHINGTON  -  Caton  Volk,  22,  looked at the financial-aid form and
knew  he  would  not be spending another semester at the University of
Illinois.  Convicted  of  possessing and distributing marijuana at age
18,  Volk  says  he  was touched in a large and personal way by a tiny
provision  in  federal  law  that disqualifies college students with a
drug  offense  from  receiving  government  grants or federally backed
loans.

 [snip]

Representative  Barney  Frank,  Democrat  of Newton, says the law is a
"hysterical  overreaction"  because "it doesn't cover any other crime,
so  possession  of  marijuana  must  be  worse  than  armed assault or
rape."

More  than  60  members  of  the  U.S.  House  of  Representatives are
cosponsoring Frank's bill to repeal the antidrug provision.

Yesterday,  Volk  and  members  of  student groups that have organized
against  the  law  on 200 campuses joined Frank and representatives of
civil  rights  groups  at  a  news  conference  on  Capitol Hill. They
contend  the  law  discriminates  against minorities, who they say are
disproportionately  represented  in  both  the  financial  aid  and
drug-conviction pool.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2002
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Section: Page A3
Copyright: 2002 Globe Newspaper Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Mary Leonard
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n964/a04.html

===

(10) PAINKILLER'S SALES FAR EXCEEDED LEVELS ANTICIPATED BY MAKER

The  maker  of  OxyContin had so underestimated the sales potential of
the  widely  abused painkiller that in 2000 the drug generated revenue
that  was  eight times more than projected, internal company documents
show.

Over  the  first  five  years  of  marketing,  OxyContin sales totaled
nearly  $2  billion,  sharply  higher  than  the  company's  initial
forecast  of  about  $350  million.  The drug's popularity sent Purdue
Pharma  LP  scrambling  to  expand production, marketing and its sales
force.  At  the  same  time, other drug prospects for the closely held
firm  fell  through,  elevating  OxyContin's  importance  to  Purdue's
future.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 16 May 2002
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Chris Adams, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n928/a05.html

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

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

COMMENT: (11-15)

 In  California, the ties between huge pay raises for the state prison
 unions,  and  huge  donations  to  the  campaign coffers of Gov. Gray
 Davis  seem ever clearer, even if the governor won't admit it. Prison
 guards  in  Illinois  apparently don't have such a great pay plan, as
 two  of  them  are  accused  of  taking  money  from a drug dealer in
 exchange for a contract killing.

 Crooked  cops  are  no  reason to overturn a questionable conviction,
 according  to  a  California  judge. Crookedness also appears to be a
 way  of  life  in  another  drug task force in Texas, at least that's
 what  a  snitch  who  worked  with  the  force  is  saying  in court.

 And,  in  Georgia,  murder  charges  were  finally  dropped against a
 drug-using  mother  whose  child  died  during birth three years ago.

===

(11) DAVIS UNDER FIRE FOR GUARDS CONTRACT

Big Financial Backer Gets Hefty Pay Raise

As  the  contracts  signed  by  the  administration of Gov. Gray Davis
come  under  scrutiny  in the wake of the Oracle deal, one deal stands
out  for  the  unusually  generous  benefits  it bestows on one of the
governor's biggest financial backers.

The  state's  new  contract  with  the  California  Correctional Peace
Officers  Association,  which  has  given Davis more than $2.6 million
since  1998  --  including  $251,000 in a single March contribution --
provides  the  state's prison guards with a more than 30 percent raise
by  2006  and  some  perks critics say are unparalleled in other state
labor contracts, the Mercury News has found.

For  example,  veteran  guards  can now get at least $130 a pay period
in "physical fitness incentive pay."

 [snip]

...Davis  signed  the legislation that will give the guards at least a
30.2  percent  pay  increase  through 2006, bringing their salaries on
par  with  the  California  Highway  Patrol and police in Los Angeles,
San  Francisco  and  Oakland.  By the end of the contract, guards will
be  paid  an  average  $65,000  a  year,  before  overtime  and  other
incentives.

Many  other  state  employees  are  receiving  shorter  contracts with
raises ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 percent annually.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 16 May 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Michelle Guido
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n939/a09.html

===

(12) 2 JAIL GUARDS CHARGED IN KILLING

Two  Cook  County  Jail  guards  were charged with first-degree murder
and  a  third  guard with misconduct Friday in the shooting death of a
West Side man.

The  sheriff's  office  said the guards were hired by two alleged drug
dealers to collect a $70,000 debt.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sat, 18 May 2002
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2002 Chicago Tribune Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Shia Kapos
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n953/a08.html

===

(13) FOR SOME, IT'S TOO LATE TO OVERTURN CONVICTIONS

Law: Judges Are Refusing to Review Cases Involving Tainted Officers
If Inmate is No Longer in Custody.

When  Jorge  Armando  Torres  was arrested four years ago on suspicion
of  selling  $10  of  rock cocaine, he told his attorney that the LAPD
officers  were  lying.  But  facing  a  trial  where his word would be
pitted  against  that of two Rampart Division officers, he agreed to a
plea bargain.

Since  Torres  finished  serving  nine  months  in county jail, judges
have  overturned  nearly  150  convictions  in  cases  that  relied on
evidence  from  allegedly  corrupt  Rampart  cops. In almost all these
cases,  the  convicts  were released from prison, parole or probation.

Torres  thought  that  he,  too,  had  a  chance  to  have  his record
cleared.  After  all,  one  of the officers who arrested him was later
charged  with  cocaine  trafficking  and  was  under  investigation in
connection with a murder. And both officers were accused of
misconduct  by  disgraced  former  Rampart  Officer  Rafael  Perez.
However,  Torres'  request  was rejected in February by Judge Larry P.
Fidler,  who  said that convicts already out of jail and off probation
are  not  legally  entitled  to  have  their  convictions  reviewed in
court.  The  judge  suggested that Torres, 23, should instead apply to
the governor for a pardon.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 19 May 2002
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Webpage: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000035348may19.story
Copyright: 2002 Los Angeles Times
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rampart.htm (L.A. Rampart Scandal)

===

(14) EX-SNITCH ACCUSES TASK FORCE

KERRVILLE  -  A  former  confidential  informant  has  charged that at
least  one  case  was  fabricated, evidence was mishandled and reports
were  falsified  by  officers  during  her brief undercover stint last
year for a drug task force.

But  beyond  the specific allegations, Tamarah "Lexi" Barton's account
of  working  as  a  snitch  offers  an unflattering glimpse inside the
shadowy  world  of  undercover  operations  that target low-level drug
dealers.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 14 May 2002
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Copyright: 2002 San Antonio Express-News
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384
Author: Zeke MacCormack

===

(15) MURDER CHARGE IN DRUG-PREGNANCY CASE IS DISMISSED

Acknowledging  they  had  a  problematic  case,  prosecutors this week
dropped  a  3-year-old  murder charge against a Canon woman accused of
causing  her  baby's  death  by  using  drugs  during  her  pregnancy.

Northern  Circuit  District Attorney Bob Lavender dismissed the murder
charge Wednesday against Shannon Moss, 23.

Moss  pleaded  guilty  in Franklin County Superior Court to possession
of  cocaine  and  possession  of  methamphetamine and was sentenced to
five years of probation.

The  unique  case  was  believed  to  be  the first in Georgia where a
murder  charge  was brought as the result of a woman's drug use during
pregnancy.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 17 May 2002
Source: Athens Banner-Herald (GA)
Webpage: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/051702/new_20020517062.shtml
Copyright: 2002 Athens Newspapers Inc
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1535
Author: Stephen Gurr
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n940/a06.html

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

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

COMMENT: (16-20)

 So  it  looks  like  John Walters and Asa Hutchinson have somehow won
 this  round. After DEA raids last fall shut down 4 California medical
 cannabis  compassion  clubs,  a  handful  more have felt compelled to
 recently  close  their  doors,  citing  fears  of further arrests and
 reported  infighting  within the community. To make matters worse for
 medical  marijuana  users,  the  first  government-funded  widespread
 study  of  smoked  cannabis  and  HIV/AIDS, taking place in San Mateo
 County, has been derailed due to a lack of participation.
 Apparently,  both  volunteers  and  researchers are dissatisfied with
 the  quality  of  the  government-grown cannabis, which they claim is
 weak  and  full  of stems and seeds. The unfortunate losers in all of
 this: the sick and suffering.

 In  Canada, the situation is different but certainly not much better.
 Last  week  Health  Minister  McLellan  announced that the government
 supply  of  medicinal  cannabis - grown by Prairie Plant Systems in a
 mineshaft  in  Flin  Flon,  Manitoba  -  was  unsatisfactory to begin
 distribution  to  legal  users  and  researchers  because  of massive
 strain  variance  and  unpredictable  THC levels. This week, however,
 she  was  criticized by senior government officials claiming that the
 pot  was  actually too strong to meet the stipulations of the federal
 government  contract.  With  the  risk  of  repeating  myself:  the
 unfortunate  losers  in  all of this mess continue to be the sick and
 suffering.

 In  the UK, the march towards logical drug policy continued this week
 with  the  announcement  that  medical  cannabis  medicines should be
 available  on  the National Health plan by 2004. In contrast, Holland
 looks  set for a more conservative swing in social policy. The recent
 elections  have  shifted  power  to  an expected alliance between the
 conservative  Christian  Democrats  and  the  radical  right-wing Pim
 Fortuyn  List.  The  Christian Dems have vowed to close down cannabis
 cafes  throughout  Holland,  blaming  them  for  the rise in drug use
 amongst the young.

===

(16) PRESSURE SMOKES OUT CALIFORNIA POT CLUBS

Suspicion  and  infighting  are  raging  through  groups  that run the
City's  pot  dispensaries,  after  the  recent  closure  of  two local
marijuana  clubs  and  reports that one man arrested in a February DEA
pot raid is talking to the feds.

CHAMP  --  Californians  Helping  Alleviate Medical Problems -- closed
its  doors  at  194  Church  St.  earlier  this  month, and the Sunset
Medical  Resource  Center  recently  announced  it  would  no  longer
provide marijuana to sick patients.

Fellow  pot  club  proprietors  say the clubs got out of the marijuana
business  because  of  increased pressure from the federal government.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 14 May 2002
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Examiner
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389
Author: Dan Evans
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n922.a06.html

===

(17) CALIFORNIA RESEARCHERS - MARIJUANA QUALITY POOR

In  the  world  of  high-grade  marijuana, sticks, seeds and stems are
not welcome ingredients.

Medical  marijuana  researchers  said  they  found such cannabis chaff
among  pot  from  a  government  farm,  and say their patients deserve
kinder buds.

The  government-grown  marijuana is being provided to San Mateo County
for  the  first  publicly  funded analysis of HIV patients smoking the
drug at home.

But  some  of  the  patients and medical marijuana advocacy groups say
the Mississippi-grown weed is weak.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 15 May 2002
Source: Citizen Tribune, The (TN)
Copyright: Citizen Tribune 2002
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1856
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n939.a02.html

===

(18) POTENCY OF CANADIAN GOVERNMENT MARIJUANA QUESTIONED

A  high-level  dust-up  about  the  quality of government-grown pot is
creating a buzz in the capital.

 [snip]

Senior  government  sources  said  yesterday  they  believed  Health
Minister  Anne  McLellan  was deliberately misrepresenting the quality
of  the  weed  being  grown  in  northern  Manitoba  because  she  has
developed  cold  feet  and  does  not  want  to  follow  through  on a
government  plan  to  provide  marijuana  to Canadians who need it for
medicinal purposes.

They  also  have  the  backing of Prairie Plant Systems Inc. president
Brent  Zettl,  who  wrote  to  McLellan,  defending the quality of the
marijuana he is growing for the government.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 16 May 2002
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002 The Toronto Star
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Tim Harper
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n934.a02.html

===

(19) MEDICAL CANNABIS ON THE NHS MOVES A STEP CLOSER

The  use  of  cannabis-based  drugs  to  treat  multiple sclerosis and
terminal  cancer  moved  a  step closer yesterday when ministers asked
for  an  investigation  by the panel which vets medicines for the NHS.

Cannabis  derivatives  are  undergoing  clinical trials to see if they
relieve  the  symptoms  of MS and alleviate the pain endured by cancer
patients as well as those with spinal-cord damage.

The  trials  will  run  for  at  least  another year and if they prove
successful  the  earliest envisaged date by which a manufacturer could
obtain a licence to market the drugs would be 2004.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 21 May 2002
Source: Independent (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Lorna Duckworth
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n952.a05.html

===

(20) HOLLAND'S HARRY POTTER AIMS TO MAGIC AWAY DRUG CAFES

THE  coffee  shops  of  Amsterdam, where cannabis and other soft drugs
are  sold  openly,  are  under  threat after the swing to the right in
last Wednesday's general election.

The  Christian  Democrats, likely to form a coalition with the radical
anti-immigration  Pim  Fortuyn  List,  have  vowed to close such cafes
across  the  Netherlands,  blaming them for the growing drug use among
the young.

The  party  leader,  Jan  Peter  Balkenende, a devout Christian who is
expected to be prime minister, promised to end tolerance of
cannabis.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Sun, 19 May 2002
Source: Sunday Times (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/439
Author: Justin Sparks, Peter Conradi
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n947.a04.html

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

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

COMMENT: (21-25)

 The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee released its report
 on drug policy this week. In it, MPs urged that the British government
 should  embark  on  an  expansion of the heroin prescription program,
 establish  government  safe-injecting  rooms,  and  downgrade  the
 classifications of cannabis and MDMA.

 Harm reduction arguments also won the day in Vancouver, Canada. There,
 the  city  council  voted  unanimously  last  week to support a pilot
 safe-injection room project.

 The U.S. House of Representatives this week voted to give $1.3 billion
 in aid to Afghanistan. The bill, sold as a way to fight narcotics and
 reconstruct Afghanistan, was passed by a wide majority.

 In  Matamoros, Mexico last week, officials arrested three men accused
 of  being  major players in a drug smuggling organization. Later, the
 Mexican  navy denied it had ever protected cocaine shipments for drug
 lords.

 And  in  the  Philippines, as elsewhere the drug war is executed with
 great  zeal,  it was revealed last week that jails are so overcrowded
 that  disease  is  rife.  In the Manilla jail, designed to hold 1,000
 inmates  (but  now  packed  with  3,000),  inmates are suffering from
 outbreaks of "chicken pox, measles, asthma and tuberculosis." The news
 came  to  light  when  jail  officials  asked  for  more  government
 assistance.

===

(21) MPS SIGNAL NEW ERA IN DRUGS WAR

Tolerance Is Watchword As Legalisation Is Rejected

Ecstasy,  the  dance  drug  used by thousands every weekend, should be
downgraded  from  the  class  A  status  it  shares  with  heroin  and
cocaine,  according  to  the  results  of a year-long official inquiry
into Britain's drug laws published today.

 [snip]

The  MPs  also  call for a radical extension of NHS heroin prescribing
in  Britain  that  would  undercut the illegal market in class A drugs
and drug-related crime, and for the immediate provision of
European-style  "shooting  galleries"  -  safe-injecting  rooms - that
would take the most chronic addicts off the street.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2002
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Alan Travis
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n960/a01.html

===

(22) VANCOUVER MOVES CLOSER TO SAFE INJECTION SITES

On  Thursday,  May  2, the Vancouver City Council unanimously endorsed
a  national  pilot  project designed to take a harm reduction approach
to  drug  addiction.  The  primary purpose of the project is to create
supervised  drug  injection  and  consumption  sites  where scientific
research  and  trials  will  be  conducted. After the test period, the
city  and  the  community  will then evaluate the efficiency of a harm
reduction  approach  in  reaching  the  twin  goals of improved public
health and a lessening of street disorder.

The  philosophy  behind  safe  injection  rooms  is  a  convergence of
several  factors.  These  are  the  rising  risk  and  occurrence  of
overdose  as  the  price  of drugs decreases and purity increases, the
persistent  high  rate  of  HIV  and  hepatitis  C  infection,  public
injection  and  consumption  in  the  Downtown  Eastside, and the high
cost of medical intervention and response.

"The  overriding  goal  of  harm reduction," according to the National
Action  Plan  from  which  Vancouver takes its policy, "is to minimise
risk  to  the  individual,  the  community,  and  society  as  a whole
through  providing  care and support to our most vulnerable citizens."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 13 May 2002
Source: Peak, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 Peak Publications Society
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/775
Author: Rachel Forbes
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n946/a09.html

===

(23) HOUSE VOTES $1.3 BILLION IN AID FOR AFGHANISTAN

WASHINGTON,  May  21  -  The House of Representatives voted tonight to
provide  $1.3  billion  in  economic  and  military aid to Afghanistan
after  demanding  that  President  Bush devise a strategy to establish
law and order there.

Lawmakers  of  both  parties said they feared that the United States's
military  success  could  be  undermined  if  lawlessness persisted in
Afghanistan.

The  bill,  to  rebuild  Afghanistan  and  combat  the  production  of
narcotics, was passed by a vote of 390 to 22.

The  money,  to  be  made  available over four years, would be used to
create  jobs,  clear  land  mines,  pay for education and health care,
vaccinate children and revive the nation's agriculture.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Robert Pear
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n960/a05.html

===

(24) 3 DRUG GANG MEMBERS CAUGHT IN MEXICO

MEXICO  CITY  --  Officials  have  arrested  three members of the Gulf
drug  organization,  the  latest  blow  to  Mexico's major drug gangs.

Mexicans  Cesar  Cuauhtemoc  Sanchez  and  Sergio Amadeo Benavides, as
well  as  Colombian  Ruben Villa Garcia were arrested Sunday during an
army  operation  in  Matamoros,  across  the  border from Brownsville,
Texas, officials said.

 [snip]

On  Sunday,  Mexico's  navy  denied that it helped protect the Pacific
coast  cocaine-shipping  routes  of  the  Tijuana  drug  organization.

In  a  statement, the navy denied the accusations, saying it has acted
in  a  "normal  manner  and  according to naval regulations and laws."

Reforma  newspaper  reported  on  Sunday that operatives of the cartel
paid  officers  $250,000  for  each shipment of Colombian cocaine they
received, then shipped to the United States.

Pubdate: Mon, 20 May 2002
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2002 Newsday Inc.
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: Associated Press
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n955/a07.html

===

(25) MANILA JAIL OVERCROWDING BLAMED FOR SICK INMATES

Officials  of  the  Manila  City  Jail  (  MCJ  ) yesterday sought the
assistance  of  the  health  and  interior  departments  to  solve the
overcrowding  at  the  MCJ,  one of the causes of the outbreak of skin
diseases.

Senior  Supt.  Norvel Mingoa, MCJ warden, said he personally asked the
assistance  of  the  Department  of  Health  to  provide medicines for
inmates suffering from chicken pox, measles, asthma and
tuberculosis.

Mingo  blamed  overcrowding  as one of the causes of the skin problems
afflicting the prisoners.

He  said  the  MCJ  population  has  tripled  in  the  last two years.

 [snip]

Jail  officials  said  the  MCJ  can  only  hold  a  maximum  of 1,000
inmates, but its population at present is 3,000.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 21 May 2002
Source: Manila Times (Philippines)
Copyright: The Manila Times 2000
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/921
Author: Jonathan Vicente and Eric Estrada
Continues:http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n955/a04.html

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

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

Reform of UN Drug Conventions on the Agenda

Transnational  Institute  Press  Release  -  Amsterdam,  May  23, 2002

On  May  22, the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee in the
United  Kingdom has released its report The Government's Drugs Policy:
Is  It  Working?.  In  the report the Home Affairs Committee concluded
"...we  believe the time has come for the international treaties to be
reconsidered  and  recommended  that  ...  the  Government initiates a
discussion within the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of alternative ways  
- - including the possibility of legalisation and regulation -  to tackle
the  global  drugs  dilemma.  These  conclusions are an important step
forward  in  the debate on international drug control and the upcoming
mid-term  review  of  the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special
Session  on  Drugs  (UNGASS)  due  to  take  place  in  April  2003.  

Pubdate: May 23, 2002
Source: Transnational Institute
Website: http://www.tni.org/drugs/ungass/unpolicy.htm
Continues: http://www.tni.org/drugs/briefing/pr230502.pdf
Cited: Report on Drugs by Home Affairs Committee of the British 
House of Commons

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmhaff/318/31802.htm

===

Straight  Talk:  Drug  War  Casualties  /  By  Radley  Balko, Fox News

Samantha Monroe was 12 years old in 1981 when her parents enrolled her
in  the  Sarasota,  Fla.,  branch of Straight Inc., an aggressive drug
rehab center for teens.

Barely  a  teen,  Samantha  also had no history of drug abuse. But she
spent the next two years of her life surviving Straight.

Source: Fox News Network (US) 
Copyright: 2002 Fox News Network, Inc.
Website: http://www.foxnews.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 23 May 2002 
Continues: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,53470,00.html

===

Safety  First:  A  Reality-Based  Approach  to  Teens, Drugs, and Drug
Education / the Drug Policy Alliance

http://www.safety1st.org/

===

US  Bombing  of  Afghanistan  Restores Trade in Narcotics / by Michel 
Chossudovsky, Centre for Research on Globalisation

http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO205B.html

===

Local Contacts Organizing Americans For Safe Access Actions

These  people  are  coordinating  local  sites for the national day of
action on June 6 sponsored by Americans for Safe Access -
www.safeaccessnow.org

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=73

===

Steve Kubby interview on the Peter Warren Radio Show

11 AM PDT this Saturday!

Listen live on the internet at http://www.cknw.com/

The  program will also be archived in the audio vault on that website 
for a week after it airs.  

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

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

JEB BUSH

By Stephen Heath

Re: "Governor Cries at Drug Summit" [May 1, page B5].

Gov.  Bush  weeps  alligator  tears  when  discussing  his  daughter's
drug-abuse  problems  in  front  of  a large crowd of potential voters
and  supporters.  Those  of  us  not  in attendance can empathize, but
remain  curious  if  his  tears  extend  to  the  tens of thousands of
Floridians  arrested  each  year  on  nonviolent  drug charges who are
jammed  into  county  jails  and  state  prisons. Bush has claimed for
three  years  that  treatment  funding  is  smarter  than  continued
incarceration,  but  his actions as governor reveal his true attitudes
toward those Floridians not named Noelle.

Does  his  pain  extend to the more than 50,000 inmates in the Florida
Department  of  Corrections  who  need drug treatment but will have to
wait  at  least  a  full year because of his eliminating all in-prison
treatment  funding?  Was  he weeping while waging a vigorous, 12-month
campaign  against  a  proposed  ballot  initiative  that  would  allow
Floridians the right to drug treatment for first and second
nonviolent-drug-possession  offenses?  This  while  his  daughter  is
whisked  from  the  Tallahassee jail into a posh facility within hours
of her arrest.

Jeb  Bush  apologized  for  his  tears,  saying that it was a "genetic
trait  I  inherited  from  my  father." It seems that another trait he
inherited  from  "read  my  lips" Daddy Bush is his ability to say one
thing  from  his  mouth and do the exact opposite with a stroke of his
governor's  pen.  Please excuse those of us who won't be fooled again.

Stephen Heath,

Drug Policy Forum of Florida,

Clearwater

Date: 05/15/2002
Source: Ledger, The (FL)
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/795

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

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

INTERVIEW WITH NEAL PEIRCE

By Stephen Young

Neal  Peirce  has written several books about public policy and he has
reported  on  state  and local government since 1975 in his syndicated
newspaper column. In recent years, some of Peirce's columns
(http://www.citistates.com/np_columns.html) have been focused on
drug policy.

In  November  he  penned  a  column proposing the reallocation of drug
war resources to the terror war
- -http://www.napawash.org/pc_local_state/peirce_11_4_01.html

DrugSense Weekly spoke with Pierce by phone recently.

 DSW:  You've  written  columns critical of the drug war. Have you had
 that  perspective  for  a  long  time, or did something in particular
 happen to bring you to that perspective?

Neal  Peirce:  The  90s  was a time of immense increased incarceration
based  on  drug  use,  and  I found it to be utter folly and nonsense.
The  amount  of  time  and effort that people were putting into it was
counterproductive - it just criminalized a lot of people.

 DSW:  One  column  I liked came out in November, the one in which you
 advocated  shifting drug war resources to the war on terror. Have you
 seen that happen anywhere?

NP: I can't say. I haven't been following it recently.

 DSW:  In  some ways the Bush administration has actually been pushing
 the  idea  that  the war on drugs is important for the war on terror,
 particularly  through  advertising.  Are  you  surprised  to see such
 arguments made?

NP: I was shocked. It was totally illogical.

 DSW:  It  seems clear, if you look at the facts, that the drug war is
 bad  public policy. Why do you think more politicians don't speak out
 against the drug war?

NP:  Because  there's  a simple rhetoric - drugs cause some bad things
and  bad  behavior  and  people  are scared of drugs, therefore we are
against them.

 DSW:  It  seems  like  the terror war was an opportunity to draw some
 resources  away  from  the  drug war, and maybe that hasn't happened.
 But  now  with all the budget problems that states and municipalities
 are  having,  it  seems  like  another opportunity for legislators to
 quietly  draw  back.  Do  you  think  anything  like that may happen?

NP:  Well,  I  hope so, but I haven't been able to track it this year.
It  will  be interesting to see at the end of this year if there's any
conclusions we can make about that.

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

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

"It  is beyond my comprehension that any humane person would withhold 
such  a  beneficial  substance  from people in such great need simply 
because others use it for different purposes." 

- -- Stephen Jay Gould, (1941-2002)

Marijuana  Helped  to  Save  My  Life,  Prominent Harvard Scholar Says
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98/n653/a09.html

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

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End of Restore-Digest V2002 #100
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