Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2002 09:28:57 -0700
Subject:US: Time For A Change? Up TOC?

Pubdate: Wed, 31 Jul 2002
Source: ABC News (US Web)
Contact: http://www.abcnews.go.com/service/help/abccontact.html
Copyright: 2002 ABC News
Website: http://www.www.abcnews.go.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2105
Author: Justin Gest
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

TIME FOR A CHANGE?

Those Resisting the Drug War Take Their Cause to Congress

Don't let the forest green carpeting or the college dorm room motif fool
you.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law -- NORML, the
people behind the effort to legalize marijuana -- have traded in their
tie-dye, Birkenstocks and braids for neckties, wingtips and a haircut. (Most
of them, anyway.)

And they currently are in the midst of a mellow campaign to get their issue
on the nation's radar screen -- in part by taking it off the nation's radar
screen.

Image Is Everything

Keith Stroup, NORML's executive director, is spearheading a local-level
campaign that some skeptics believe is a cover for his organization's
ultimate goal of legalization. Stroup, however, insists that his is a
genuine grass-roots effort pinpointing specific constituencies interested in
protecting the individual rights of smokers and the availability of medical
marijuana.

What stands in his way is the association many voters instinctively make
between marijuana and what Stroup calls "flag-burning hippies from the
'60s"-- the cultural nemesis of many members of Congress from that
generation.

Consequently, a politician's stance on the legislation of marijuana is
typically not derived from any particular conviction, but from image
concerns, Stroup and supportive members of Congress say.

Last year the Pew Research Center found that 73 percent of the American
people want to allow doctors "to prescribe marijuana." A USA
Today/CNN/Gallup poll also found that 34 percent of Americans favor
legalizing pot. There is only a small amount of support in Congress,
however.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is sponsoring a bill to legalize medicinal
marijuana in the nine states that have individually approved its use, refers
to the negative pot associations as a "cultural lag =85 [that] the public=
 has
gotten past."

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a Republican co-sponsor of the bill, said "it's
quite natural for Congress to be 20 years behind."

"In this case, the voters are ahead of the members," said Peter Kovar,
Frank's chief of staff.

Hazy Progress

While proponents believe that the House bill will require a Democratic
majority before it passes, NORML and its supporters have not appealed to the
Democrat-controlled Senate because members will simply not stick their necks
out on a proposal the House won't pass.

Proponents said they have the private support of several senators for
measures that legalize medicinal marijuana or decriminalize small amounts of
cannabis. However, without the political leverage, it will take more than
personal conviction to pull senators out of their caves.

House members have proven to be more responsive, say supporters.

Many of them have a personal reason to support the bill. Paul is a licensed
physician. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., was motivated by the suffering
of his ill mother. Even Lyn Nofziger, the former Reagan White House aide,
called on the current administration "that claims to be compassionate and
conservative [to] be compassionate and conservative," after marijuana
alleviated the pain of his daughter, who died of cancer.

Ultimately, Stroup and other marijuana activists do not expect to see much
progress with the bill till next year, at the earliest.

So NORML has appealed directly to voters to overcome the congressional
gridlock. Via the initiative and referendum process, nine states have
approved the legalization of medicinal marijuana and 12 states have passed
laws that decriminalize the responsible possession and consumption of pot --
turning what was previously an arrestable offense into a ticketable
misdemeanor.

States passing medicinal exceptions include California and Arizona in 1996,
Alaska, Washington and Oregon in 1998, Maine in 1999, Colorado and Nevada in
2000, and Hawaii in the last legislative year.

The 12 decriminalized states are California, Arizona, Alaska, Minnesota, New
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Maine, Nevada, Nebraska, Colorado and
Mississippi, with bills in the works in Vermont and New Hampshire.

A New Push

A Nevada initiative would not just decriminalize but legalize pot use and
possession of an amount under three ounces. If passed, Nevada would be the
first state to legalize any usage of marijuana that is not for medicinal
purposes.

NORML says Justice Department statistics show that 743,000 Americans are
arrested each year for marijuana charges, 88 percent of whom are detained
for simple possession charges. Currently, the group contends, 40,000 to
50,000 people are in jail on analogous drug charges, and $10 billion is
spent each year on prosecution of such cases.

Representatives from the Office of National Drug Control Policy did not
return calls seeking comment.

"There is a perception that [drug reform] is the third rail of American
politics," Stroup says. "The further away we get from grass roots, the more
taboo it is."

Frank made sure to keep his bill simple and clear.

"The broader issues are not implicated by this bill," he said at a news
conference, an apparent allusion to full legalization of marijuana. "The
practice of medicine through our history has been a state matter. [The
federal government] is not a board of medicine."

Yes, There's Resistance

Legalization advocates have their fair share of opponents.

In a recent appearance on MSNBC, Stroup was challenged by former
presidential candidate and populist Pat Buchanan. "Isn't this really an
attempt to get the camel's nose under the tent?" Buchanan asked. "You folks
are about more than medical use."

Other critics say they are concerned about the message sent to the public,
especially children.

Many conservatives bypass the medicinal marijuana issue and accuse reformers
of exploiting cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and glaucoma patients to
achieve their ultimate goal of legalization -- an issue on which
right-wingers have the support of the people -- despite Stroup and others'
contention that the issues are "separate and independent."

One of the leading defenses of current drug policy is the classification of
pot as a "gateway drug" -- one that leads users to other harder substances
like heroin or Ecstasy.

In response, advocates say that a government report defies that theory,
finding that "most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before
marijuana -- usually before they are of legal age."

High Courts

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that distributors of pot cannot
legally use a "medical necessity defense" if they are prosecuted for selling
the drug. In a related manner, the California Supreme Court decided last
week that it is legal for people to possess and cultivate marijuana if a
physician recommends it for medical purposes.

Frank's bill, H.R. 2592, would end conflict of state medical marijuana laws
with federal regulation, because state and federal courts operate according
to different rules within the same jurisdictions.

The Nevada initiative appears to also be headed to court, if it is approved.
An additional part of the proposal orders the Legislature to provide "a
system of regulation =85 for the cultivation, taxation, sale, and=
 distribution
of marijuana to persons authorized" -- essentially establishing a legal
market.

Stroup fears that clause bites off more than advocates can chew.

"If it was my call, I would not have [included it]," he said



=



**




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

------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2002 12:00:55 -0700
From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense)
Subject:DrugSense Weekly, Aug. 2, 2002, #261 Up TOC

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

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY

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

DrugSense Weekly,             Aug. 2, 2002                        #261

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) Rave On At Club Senate
    (2) Colombian Terrorism Unreported
    (3) US PA: Study: Marijuana Eases Traumatic Memories
    (4) Brits And Drugs

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

     (5) FBI Shifts From Drug War To Terror
     (6) Ashcroft Describes 'Drugs-Terrorism Nexus'
     (7) Pols Ease Rap For Pot, Sex - Judges May Get OK To Issue Civil Fines
     (8) Drug Dogs Sniff Even 6-Year-Olds; Parents Sue
     (9) Military Sees Drug Use Rise Despite Tests And Warnings

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

     (10) 15,000 Acres Of Dry Brush Continue To Burn
     (11) Indicted Judge Ordered To Testify In Trial
     (12) Predicting Jail Needs Often Tough To Do
     (13) No Charges To Be Filed In Death Of Inmate
     (14) Seeking Data On The Drug War's Child Casualties

Cannabis & Hemp-

     (15) Backers Again Seek Medicinal Marijuana
     (16) Federal Official Urges Nevada Police Officers To Oppose Marijuana Plan
     (17) Pot Prop Catches On With SF Voters
     (18) State Anti-Pot Efforts Boost Ice Use In Hawaii
     (19) U.S. Pot Users Seem Unlikely To Get Asylum

International News-

     (20) Mexico Asks Perry For Clemency
     (21) Vigilante Group Formed
     (22) Shabu 'Recycled'
     (23) Drug Abuse At Workplace Getting Worse
     (24) Russian Border Guards Report Increasing Drug Flow From Afghanistan
     (25) Ecstasy As Cheap As A Bar Of Chocolate For Children

* Hot Off The 'Net

     Reform News Specials Now Online 
     Please Counter the Attack on Stossel's 'War on Drugs: A War on Ourselves' 
     First anti-Bob Barr commercial being run by the Carole Ann Rand Campaign
     Cultural  Baggage-  The  Unvarnished  Truth  About  the  Drug War
     Medical Use of Marijuana: Policy and Regulatory Issues
     Winchester Decision Now Available Online

* Letter Of The Week

     Pissing Away Our Rights / By John Masterson

* Feature Article

     One Morning On The Meth Tour With Asa Hutchinson / By Stephen Young

* Quote of the Week

     Joycelyn Elders

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

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

(1) RAVE ON AT CLUB SENATE

The  RAVE  Act Seeks To Shut Down Dance Events And Prosecute Everyone 
Involved

The  poor  American  rave scene. Even those not attracted to all-night
dance fests, drum and bass thumping or bright, baggy pants have got to
sympathize with the ravers, the DJs, the promoters and the club owners
subjected  to  such  constant heat. Not since the advent of the hippie
movement  has law enforcement taken such a disliking to a music scene,
capitalizing  on Ecstasy use as the greatest evil the drug culture has
yet  seen  and  casting  everything  associated  with raves--from glow
sticks, to pacifiers, bottled water to blow pops--in a sinister light.

Having  failed in the past to effectively land any promoters or owners
behind  bars,  the  Drug  Enforcement  Agency  has  found  a  few avid
supporters in Congress to make their rave arrests stick.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 01 Aug 2002
Source: New Haven Advocate (CT)
Copyright: 2002 New Mass Media, Inc.
Website: http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/291
Author: Brita Brundage
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raves.htm (Raves)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1428.a01.html

===

(2) COLOMBIAN TERRORISM UNREPORTED

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In a terrorist attack last Tuesday, one congressman
and  one  civilian  were killed and several local councilmen and radio
journalists were injured in a bombing in an upscale cafe. If this story
does not sound familiar, it is because it was barely covered at all in
the news media. Considering how "terrorist aware" the news has become,
why  did  this  story not merit coverage? It is because this terrorist
bombing  took  place,  not  in  the  Middle  East,  but  in  Colombia.

I  found  this  story  while  on  the  CNN  Web site. I watch the news
regularly,  so  I  was  surprised  that  a  terrorist attack killing a
government  official  was  not reported. The story on the Web site was
only  four short paragraphs, giving virtually no information as to why
such an act would be committed or who is responsible.

A  similar story happening in the Middle East would have been repeated
at  the  top  of  every  hour.  So why are terrorists in Colombia less
important  than  terrorists  in  the Middle East? I realize the United
States  has  not  been  directly  impacted  on  home soil by Colombian
terrorists  to  the same degree the United States has been impacted by
Middle Eastern terrorists. However, the United States still suffers the
effects  of  such attacks as Colombia is the third highest receiver of
U.S. aid, behind only Israel and Egypt.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 01 Aug 2002
Source: Independent  Florida Alligator, The (FL Edu)
Copyright: 2002 Campus Communications, Inc
Website: http://www.alligator.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/760
Author: Alicia Crall
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1433.a06.html

===

(3) US PA: STUDY: MARIJUANA EASES TRAUMATIC MEMORIES

PHILADELPHIA  -  Scientists  have known for years that the brain makes
substances almost identical to the active ingredient in marijuana, but
the  function of these "cannabinoids" remained mysterious. Researchers
now say they help to extinguish traumatic memories.

"In  certain  situations,  being  able to forget is very important for
emotional  survival,"  said  George  Kunos,  a  neurobiologist  at the
National Institutes of Health.

The  research,  published  today  in  the  journal  Nature,  is not an
endorsement for pot smoking, scientists said. Instead, the findings may
help scientists develop new drugs to treat anxiety,
post-traumatic-stress disorder and phobias.

"This  paper  is  not saying you should go ahead and smoke marijuana,"
said Pankaj Sah, a neuroscientist at the Australian National University
in  Canberra who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. "It's
saying  that it's worth thinking about these specific actions of these
compounds."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 01 Aug 2002
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2002 The Seattle Times Company
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Faye Flam, Knight Ridder Newspapers
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1429.a09.html
Cited: http://www.nature.com/nature/links/020801/020801-3.html

===

(4) BRITS AND DRUGS

Feature Story - Special Report

"Tell  me  about the hash bars." "OK, what do you want to know?" "It's
legal  there,  right?"  "It's  legal, but it ain't 100 percent legal."

John  Travolta's  Pulp Fiction character made this confusing statement
about the Netherlands, but lately he could have been talking about any
of  a  handful  of  other  European  countries that have significantly
relaxed  their  drug  laws. While marijuana is not "100 percent legal"
anywhere,  Portugal,  Spain, Italy and Luxembourg have all effectively
decriminalized possession in recent years.

And  on  July  10, Great Britain became the newest member of the club,
downgrading  marijuana  possession  to  essentially  a  nonarrestable
offense.

Until about a year ago, the UK seemed like the one European nation the
United  States  could  count  on to hold the line against tolerance, a
faithful ally in the war on drugs.

 [snip]

The parliamentary select committee that recommended the
declassification  to  Blunkett  wrote,  "whether  or not cannabis is a
gateway  drug,  we  do  not  believe there is anything to be gained by
exaggerating its harmfulness. On the contrary, exaggeration undermines
the credibility of messages that we wish to send regarding more harmful
drugs."

 [snip]

The  committee  report  went  further  than Blunkett's announcement on
several fronts.

He rejected its recommendations to move ecstasy from Class A to Class B
and  to  open  safe injecting rooms for heroin users. But perhaps most
remarkable  is  the  seriousness  with  which  the  committee took the
possibility  of  full  legalization.  "Finally,  many  sensible  and
thoughtful  people  have  argued  that we should go a step further and
embrace  legalisation  and regulation of all or most presently illegal
drugs.

We acknowledge there are some attractive arguments. However, those who
urge  this  course  upon  us  are  inviting us to take a step into the
unknown.

To tread where no other society has yet trod... It may well be that in
years  to  come  a  future generation will take a different view. Drug
policy should not be set in stone.

It will evolve like any other."

Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jul 2002
Source: Nation, The (US)
Copyright: 2002 The Nation Company
Website: http://www.thenation.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/285
Author: Stacey Butterfield
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1427.a03.html

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

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
=======================================================================

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

COMMENT: (5-9)

 The  winds  of  the  drug  war seem to be shifting in Washington, but
 it's  difficult  to  tell  whether  that  change  will be positive or
 negative  from  a  reformer's  viewpoint.  FBI  head  Robert  Mueller
 further  distanced  his  agency  from the drug last week, making it a
 lower  priority  than  terrorism.  But,  the  same day, U.S. Attorney
 General  John  Ashcroft said he wanted to tie drug investigations and
 terror  investigations  closer  together.  He  did  not  mention  the
 obvious  -  that reasonable regulation of drugs would take the profit
 out of terrorist hands.

 Much  more  sensibly,  Massachusetts  legislators  may take marijuana
 possession  and other minor crimes out of the hands of prosecutors in
 order  to  save money; prohibitionists are aghast at the prospect. In
 South  Dakota,  drug-sniffing  dogs  allegedly terrorized students as
 young  as  6  during  a  search at an elementary school; parents have
 filed  a  lawsuit.  Finally, in another sign that getting tough isn't
 necessarily  a deterrent to drug use, military records show more and
 more U.S. soldiers are being discharged for drug offenses.

===

(5) FBI SHIFTS FROM DRUG WAR TO TERROR

WASHINGTON  --  FBI  director Robert Mueller said Tuesday that the war
on  terrorism  demands  that  the  FBI pull agents away from narcotics
task  forces  and  no  longer  make  drug  enforcement a top priority.

The  comments,  which came at the 20th anniversary celebration for the
Organized  Crime  and Drug Enforcement Task Force, followed statements
by  Attorney  General  John  Ashcroft  reaffirming  that  the drug war
would be reorganized but not abandoned.

Ashcroft  said  law  enforcement  agencies have created a "most wanted
list"  of  54 drug organizations that must be toppled here and abroad.
The  list  will  allow  crime  fighters  to  focus  their  resources,
Ashcroft said.

But  the  FBI will be less involved in the effort because of the shift
toward  preventing  terror attacks and gathering information on terror
groups in the United States, Mueller said Tuesday.

"We  ought  to  defer to the Drug Enforcement Agency on cartel cases,"
Mueller  said.  "We  will  still participate but with fewer resources.
Where  there  were  10  (FBI agents) on a drug task force in the past,
now there will be five."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jul 2002
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Webpage: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22322-2002Jul30.html
Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Christopher Newton, Associated Press Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ashcroft.htm (Ashcroft, John)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?194 (Hutchinson, Asa)
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1420/a09.html

===

(6) ASHCROFT DESCRIBES 'DRUGS-TERRORISM NEXUS'

WASHINGTON  --  The  United States has determined that about one-third
of  foreign  terrorist  organizations  traffic in narcotics on a large
scale,  providing  authorities  "shocking" insight into how two of the
nation's  most  serious  threats  are connected, U.S. Attorney General
John Ashcroft said Tuesday.

"Law  enforcement  has  been  aware  for  some  time  of  significant
linkages  between  terrorism and drug trafficking. But we have not had
the  tools  to quantify the drugs-terrorism nexus until now," Ashcroft
said  in  a speech before the annual conference of the Organized Crime
and Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Earlier  this  year,  Ashcroft  said, he asked federal law enforcement
agencies to draw up such a list, quantifying all the major
trafficking groups responsible for the U.S. drug supply.

"Following  extraordinary  collaboration  and  information-sharing
between  agencies,  this  list has been developed, and what it reveals
is  shocking,"  Ashcroft  said. "Nearly one-third of the organizations
on  the  State  Department's  list  of foreign terrorist organizations
appear also on our list of targeted U.S. drug suppliers."

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 31 Jul 2002
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright: 2002 The Salt Lake Tribune
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383
Author: Los Angeles Times
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1427/a02.html

===

(7) POLS EASE RAP FOR POT, SEX - JUDGES MAY GET OK TO ISSUE CIVIL FINES

Prostitutes  and  pot  smokers  could  get the equivalent of a traffic
ticket  slap  on  the  wrist  under a little-noticed budget rider that
lawmakers  hail  as a money-saver and prosecutors slam as the backdoor
to decriminalization.

Tucked  deep  in  the  massive  state budget, the provision would yank
district  attorneys'  discretion  over  whether  to  prosecute certain
low- level misdemeanors as civil or criminal infractions.

Instead,  judges  could  choose  to  try  crimes ranging from indecent
exposure  to  possession  of  marijuana  or  heroin  as civil matters.
Defendants  wouldn't  need  lawyers,  wouldn't  face jail and wouldn't
even get a criminal record.

 [snip]

House  leaders,  who  pushed  the  provision,  defended it as a way to
save  millions  of  dollars  in  public  lawyer  fees,  as  the  state
grapples with a $2.5 billion deficit.

House  Ways  and  Means  Chairman  John H. Rogers (D-Norwood) said the
provision  could  save  about $1 million a year, since the state isn't
required to provide a lawyer in civil cases.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 25 Jul 2002
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2002 The Boston Herald, Inc
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Author: Elisabeth J. Beardsley
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1390/a11.html

===

(8) DRUG DOGS SNIFF EVEN 6-YEAR-OLDS; PARENTS SUE

The  parents  of  17  students,  some  as  young as 6, filed a lawsuit
yesterday  against  a  South Dakota school board and police department
for  taking  a  drug-sniffing  dog  into a school to check children in
every classroom, from kindergarten through high school.

The  suit,  filed  in federal court in Sioux Falls, says the principal
of the school, the Wagner Community School, announced in a
first-period  class  in  early  May  that the school was in a lockdown
and  that  students  could  not  leave their classrooms. Wagner police
and  federal  officers  then  took  the  dog  into  classes,  the suit
contends,  frightening  some  students so badly that they cried and at
least one urinated involuntarily.

Kenneth  Cotton,  the  school  district's  lawyer,  said  he could not
comment  on  the case because he had not talked to the school board or
administrators.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jul 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Tamar Lewin
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1411/a07.html

===

(9) MILITARY SEES DRUG USE RISE DESPITE TESTS AND WARNINGS

The  Pentagon's  battle  to keep illicit drugs out of the barracks and
off warships has faltered during the past few years as more
servicemen  and  women  have  failed  drug  tests and been discharged.

Drug  use  has  increased  after  a 20-year decline, and 17,000 people
have  been  kicked  out  of the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps
since  1999,  according  to  statistics  compiled  by  The  San  Diego
Union-Tribune.

Some  critics  worry  that  a  higher incidence of substance abuse may
weaken  preparedness  in  a  military at war. The Pentagon argues that
its  drug  problem  remains  small  compared  with the civilian world.

Yet  military  authorities  acknowledge  that  repeated warnings about
the  penalties  for  drug  use  -  and  frequent  random testing - are
failing to deter some troops.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Mon, 29 Jul 2002
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Webpage: www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20020729-9999_1n29mildrug.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Author: James W. Crawley, Union-Tribune Staff Writer

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

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

COMMENT: (10-14)

 Last  week's  edition  of  this  newsletter  noted  that  a marijuana
 eradication  program led to the deaths of police officers. This week,
 similar  eradication  efforts  probably  led  to  a  huge wildfire in
 California.  But  if it saves one kid from the demon weed, it must be
 worth it...

 The  case  of  a Louisiana judge indicted for allegedly conspiring to
 plant  drugs on an enemy gets curiouser and curiouser. The same judge
 appears  to  have  been  a  confidential informant in a separate drug
 case.  Hmmm, a sitting judge acting as snitch? Aren't drug informants
 generally tied to the trade themselves?

 Grim  news  came from prisons around the country last week. In Maine,
 state  prison  officials  are  having  a  difficult  time  predicting
 growth,  in  part because the numbers of drug convicts could continue
 to explode. In Philadelphia, no one will be punished for the death of
 a  diabetic  heroin  addict  in  prison  -  even  though  he received
 absolutely  no  medical aid. And, a human rights group is attempting
 to  determine  just how many children are impacted by jailed parents.
 The estimates are shockingly high.

===

(10) 15,000 ACRES OF DRY BRUSH CONTINUE TO BURN

JULIAN  --  A  wildfire that may have been sparked by a National Guard
helicopter  continued  to  burn  Wednesday  across 15,000 acres of dry
brush  and  trees  in  rural eastern San Diego County. The fire, which
has  destroyed  five homes and killed four wolves at a wildlife center
near  Julian,  was  about 10 percent contained Wednesday morning, said
Martie  Perkins,  a  spokeswoman  for  the  California  Department  of
Forestry.

 [snip]

California  National  Guard  officials  said Tuesday that one of their
helicopter  pilots  may have set off the fire by clipping a power line
while on an anti-drug reconnaissance flight.

National  Guard  spokesman  Lt.  Col.  Terry  Knight  said the service
would  do  whatever  it could to help anyone displaced by the fire and
will  pay  damages  if  found at fault. "We'll do everything we can to
make things right," he told reporters.

 [snip]

Pubdate: Wed, 31 Jul 2002
Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Copyright: 2002 Associated Press
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1426/a01.html

===

(11) INDICTED JUDGE ORDERED TO TESTIFY IN TRIAL

Suspended  Jefferson  Parish  Judge  Ronald  Bodenheimer,  battling
federal  drug  conspiracy  charges,  has been subpoenaed to testify in
state  court  next  week  in  the  trial  of  a  Metairie man facing a
marijuana  charge,  after  the  defense  learned  Bodenheimer  was  a
confidential informant in the case.

Attorney  Jim  Williams,  representing  Joe  Danny  Perez, said Friday
that  he  was  informed  by  the  Jefferson Parish district attorney's
office  that  Bodenheimer  had  tipped  off  the Sheriff's Office that
Perez  allegedly  had  marijuana at a Metairie automobile detail shop,
Grand Prix Motors, at Lime and Sanford streets.

"I'm  still  investigating,  trying  to  find  ou