Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:41:50 -0700
Subject:Canada: Rock Planned To Release Pot, Letter Says Up TOC

Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Brian Laghi

ROCK PLANNED TO RELEASE POT, LETTER SAYS

By Halting Plan, Ottawa Acted In Bad Faith, Advocates For Medical Marijuana
Tell Court

OTTAWA -- Court documents show that Allan Rock was poised to distribute
medicinal marijuana just as he was replaced by Anne McLellan as Health
Minister, say lawyers who are suing the government for acting in bad faith.
The suggestion is included in a draft letter written for Mr. Rock by
assistant deputy minister of health Dann Michols in November and filed with
the Ontario Superior Court in connection with the suit. The letter, which
was not sent, was to be distributed to hundreds of ill people who are
qualified to possess the drug for medicinal purposes. "Initial supplies are
expected to be available for distribution early in 2002," says the letter,
which is included in the court records. "Although final distribution plans
are not yet available, you may be assured that Health Canada is currently
working to develop the distribution mechanisms that would permit you to
receive this marijuana." A group of advocates for medicinal marijuana is
suing the government, saying it changed plans for wide distribution in
midstream by making the marijuana available only to those participating in
clinical trials.

The group argues that the government has acted in bad faith, and it wants a
federal crop of marijuana released for use by patients who are exempt from
prosecution for using the drug. The advocates want the court to order the
government to reverse its decision not to distribute the marijuana. Alan
Young, a lawyer representing the group, said the delay in distributing the
drug runs counter to Mr. Rock's pledge of expeditious delivery, and the
letter from the department proves it. "We have, on record, a draft letter
that he was going to send to authorized Canadians indicating that once the
mechanisms of distribution were established, they would be receiving
medicine in short order," Mr. Young said. The two sides are in court
tomorrow and Friday. The court case underlines how Ms. McLellan and Mr.
Rock differ on their interpretation of the program's goals.

Mr. Rock maintains that he had always intended to distribute the cannabis
to people who are exempt from criminal sanction while conducting clinical
trials.

Ms. McLellan has said the government has agreed only to conduct clinical
trials. The draft letter was written after police charged a man with
trafficking in marijuana, despite his arguments that he was providing it to
ill people.

In an accompanying memo, Mr. Michols states that the draft letter would
assure exempt Canadians that marijuana would be made available, provided
those who receive it agree to provide information for monitoring and
research purposes. In an affidavit filed by the government, a Health Canada
official said the marijuana produced by Prairie Plant Systems was intended
for research purposes only. Cindy Cripps-Prawak also said in her June 27
statement that the cannabis did not meet regulatory standards and providing
itto people outside clinical trials could expose them to health risks, she
said. In a subsequent cross-examination on her affidavit by Mr. Young, Ms.
Cripps-Prawak said the government never considered distribution of
marijuana outside of clinical trials. " . . . I don't believe it has ever
been the intent of this particular department or this initiative to make
marijuana freely available to those exempted Canadians without the context
of some sort of monitoring and research context," Ms. Prawak says in a
transcript of the proceeding.
__________________________________________________________________________
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

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:45:07 -0700
Subject:CA: Pot Advocates Face Up To 40 Years Up TOC

Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Webpage: http://www.latimes.com/editions/ventura/la-me-osburn18sep18.story
Copyright: 2002 Los Angeles Times
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Holly J. Wolcott, Times Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

POT ADVOCATES FACE UP TO 40 YEARS

Courts: Federal Charges Are Filed against Lockwood Valley Couple Who Admit
Growing and Using Marijuana for Medicinal Purposes. Trial Set for Oct. 22.

VENTURA COUNTY -- Lockwood Valley residents Lynn and Judy Osburn, medical
marijuana advocates repeatedly targeted by authorities for growing pot,
have been charged in federal court in a case that could land them in prison
for up to 40 years.

A federal prosecutor said Tuesday he is preparing his case against the
couple following their most recent arrest, in which U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration agents seized 32 marijuana plants at the Osburns' northern
Ventura County ranch.

Los Angeles-based Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald declined to
comment on the case other than to say that growing and possessing pot is a
federal crime despite a medical marijuana initiative approved by California
voters in 1996.

Marijuana activists, who are following the case closely, say they are
concerned about the couple's fate.

"They're up against an awful serious disaster here, and it's going to be
very difficult for them to make an argument," said Scott Imler, former
president of the now-closed Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Cooperative, for
which the Osburns have admitted they supplied marijuana.

According to a federal grand jury indictment returned Aug. 28, the couple
were charged with growing marijuana, conspiracy and maintaining a drug
house. Lynn Osburn was also charged with being a felon in possession of a
firearm.

Because of strict federal guidelines in narcotics cases, Lynn Osburn, 52,
is being held without bail in a federal jail in Los Angeles. His wife, 49,
was allowed to post a $150,000 bond in late August.

Their trial is scheduled for Oct. 22. If convicted, the Osburns each face a
minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years.

The case is the culmination of a two-year effort by federal narcotics
agents and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

The agencies have worked together to seize marijuana plants from the couple
on several occasions without filing charges against them.

Since the passage in 1996 of the state's Proposition 215, which allows
seriously ill people to smoke pot with a doctor's recommendation, local
authorities have been reluctant to prosecute such cases.

County law enforcement officials in June officially adopted a set of
guidelines that allow a legitimate medicinal user to possess six plants of
any size or 1 pound of dried pot.

In July, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that residents who grow
marijuana for personal medical use are protected from state prosecution if
they have their doctor's approval.

Under federal law, however, marijuana possession is illegal. In a U.S.
Supreme Court case last year, justices rejected a medical necessity
argument made by an Oakland marijuana cooperative.

Eric Nishimoto, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, declined to
explain how the county's case against the Osburns became a federal case.
Attorneys for the Osburns were not available for comment.

The case against the Osburns, who are well-known activists and authors of
"Green Gold: the Tree of Life," a history of pot use in major religions,
was built on evidence gathered in three raids at the 60-acre farm where
they have lived for 25 years.

In the largest seizure, county sheriff's deputies confiscated 342 marijuana
plants on Aug. 4, 2000. The couple and two colleagues were arrested but
later released. Charges were never filed.

During the raid, authorities also seized two pistols, two revolvers, a
shotgun and a rifle owned by Lynn Osburn. Federal authorities contend he is
not allowed to possess such weapons after being convicted in 1989 of
growing pot and possessing a machine gun.

On Aug. 10, 2001, federal authorities joined local deputies in the seizure
of 273 pot plants at the ranch as the couple stood by and watched. No
charges were filed, but local authorities announced that the case would be
forwarded to federal officials for review.

At the time of the second bust, the Osburns told authorities they were
growing the pot for the Los Angeles cannabis club's 900 medicinal patients.
In October 2001, federal agents raided the cannabis club and seized
everything inside, effectively shuttering the operation for good, Imler said.

The couple allegedly replanted after the 2001 raid and on Aug. 13, federal
and local authorities returned and seized what the Osburns' supporters
contend was the couple's personal supply of 35 plants.

Lynn Osburn uses marijuana to ease severe back pain from a swimming
accident several years ago, and his wife smokes to relieve constant muscle
spasms in her lower back. Both claim to be legitimate patients.

"I'm surprised they replanted. It was a risk," said Imler, who emphasized
his strong support for the couple. "At a certain point, you've got to take
'no' for an answer and live to fight another battle and see another day."
__________________________________________________________________________
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

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:49:19 -0700
Subject:CA: Detectives seize marijuana plants Up TOC

from Judy Osburn

- ----- Original Message -----
From: OCPDNSG Cannabis Co-op
To: Lisa Schwarz ; Mike Saugar ; Lynn & Judy Osburn ; Steve McWilliams ; 
Ellen Komp ; Jodi James ; Lisa Furr ; Fat Freddy ; Sam H. Clauder II ; Hal 
Chirpin ; Laura Carden ; Elaine Camasho ; Hilary Black
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 7:26 AM
Subject: Fw: Detectives seize marijuana plants

In O.C.Register 9-19-02 Local- Detectives seize marijuana plants

Laguna Beach narcotics detectives late Tuesday seized 12 marijuana plants 
growing at Haygan Place, an apartment house for people with HIV/AIDS and 
disabilities. Ross Embry, 53, a resident of the Third Street building, was 
arrested on cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale, police Sgt. 
Jason Kravetz said. Embry implied that the plants were being grown for 
medicinal purposes, Kravetz said, but "there is no evidence to support 
that." The plants ranged from 4 feet to 8 feet in height and were growing 
in a pathway where other residents had access. Detectives also recovered a 
pound of manicured marijuana estimated to have a street value of $2,500. 
"The plants could have generated between 5 to 10 additional pounds," 
Kravetz said.

- - Erika I. Ritchie

(949) 454-7307


------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:50:20 -0700
Subject:Gov. Davis Vetoes CA Hemp Bill! Up TOC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Missy Johnson
Wednesday, September 18, 2002 (916) 319-2001

GOVERNOR NIPS HEMP STUDY BILL IN THE BUD
Strom-Martin disappointed by decision

SACRAMENTO - Over the weekend, Governor Gray Davis vetoed Assembly Bill 388 
by Assemblymember
Virginia Strom-Martin (D-Duncans Mills) which asked the University of 
California to conduct an
economic feasibility study of alternative fibrous crops including 
industrial hemp, kenaf and flax.

"I'm very disappointed that the Governor did not support an exploration of 
the industrial hemp
market in California," Strom-Martin said.  "When the bill was sent to the 
Governor, it had the
support of the agriculture and hemp industry and had no opposition.  I 
don't understand why the
bill was vetoed because it doesn't permit the planting of industrial 
hemp.  The bill simply asked
the UC Agricultural Extension Center to produce a study on the economic 
opportunities for hemp in
California based on extrapolated data from other states and countries."

Governor Davis returned to the bill to the Assembly without his signature 
because the Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA) applies the same strict controls to industrial 
hemp as it does to
marijuana.  The federal government fails to distinguish hemp from marijuana 
even though it
contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive 
ingredient in marijuana.
The small amount of THC in hemp is so minute that if one were to smoke 
industrial hemp, chances
are that individual would die of lung failure before ever attaining any 
sort of high.

The production of industrial hemp is currently legal in more than 25 
countries including Canada,
France, Germany, and China.  In recent years, 17 other states have passed 
or are considering
pro-hemp legislation based upon the premise that hemp cultivation is an 
agricultural issue and as
such, is a states' rights issue.  In 2000, the National Conference of State 
Legislatures wrote a
letter to President Clinton urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Drug 
Enforcement Agency and
Congress to revise policies regarding hemp and to allow states to establish 
regulatory programs.

Vote Hemp, a national pro-hemp advocacy group, has been actively lobbying 
members of Congress and
has been successful in securing support for this cause at the federal level.
Senator Kent Conrad (D- North Dakota) has announced plans to introduce an 
amendment to
Agricultural Appropriations Bill that would distinguish industrial hemp 
from marijuana and allow
farmers to grow it under a system regulated by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture.

California's agriculture industry is considered the most diversified in the 
world, producing over
350 crops and commodities.  California is also a major contributor to the 
United States' balance
of trade.  Approximately 20% of all the state's agricultural products are 
shipped overseas.  Given
those facts, California is in a prime position to capitalize on the 
exploding international hemp
market.  In 1999, worldwide sales of hemp and hemp-based products totaled 
$250 million and since
then, the market has grown substantially with corporate entities entering 
the market.

"Industrial hemp could be of immense benefit to the economy and the 
environment of the North Coast
and rural California in general," Strom-Martin said.   "This bill requested 
the study of the
potential California industrial hemp market so that when the federal 
prohibition on growing hemp
is lifted and I believe it will be, our farmers and businesses will have 
the option of entering
and profiting from that market.  It is my hope that one day California, as 
a leader in
agricultural innovation and food production, will also one day become a 
leader in the fight to
legalize industrial hemp."


------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 16:49:57 -0700
Subject:CA: Pot Giveaway Proceeds Up TOC

Newshawk: Beth2
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Examiner
Contact: letters@sfexaminer.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389
Author: Martha Mendoza, Associated Press

POT GIVEAWAY PROCEEDS

SANTA CRUZ -- Calling Santa Cruz a "sanctuary" from federal authorities,
medical marijuana advocates -- joined by city leaders -- passed out pot to
about a dozen sick and dying people Tuesday at City Hall.

"Santa Cruz is a special place, and today we're letting the world know how
compassionate we can be," said Mayor Christopher Krohn. "We're taking a stand."

More than 1,000 community members jammed into the garden-like courtyard for
a supportive demonstration during the giveaway.

Several people in the crowd lit marijuana cigarettes, but it was mostly an
alcohol- and drug-free gathering, which was what organizers requested.

"Please do not confuse our message. Our message is not about defiance, our
message is about peaceful assembly," said Valerie Corral.

The enthusiastic crowd included many pet dogs, a pet snake, dancers,
drummers, and protesters holding signs including: "DEA Go Away" and "U.S.
Out Of Santa Cruz."

No law enforcement was present, except for a helicopter without clear
markings that hovered above the event for almost an hour. Local officials
did not know who was inside the helicopter.

Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Richard Meyer said he would not
confirm nor deny that it was an agency helicopter.

Meyer did say he was appalled by the event, and feared that the community
was sending a dangerous message to its children.

"Marijuana is an illegal drug in this country," he said.

But Mike Corral, who helped distribute the marijuana, said the only message
sent Tuesday was that "marijuana is medicine."

Marijuana is illegal as a medicine or as a recreational drug under federal
law. But state law, and county and city ordinances, say it's legal if
recommended by a doctor.

In Santa Cruz and many California communities, local law enforcement works
closely with growers and distributors who help sick people obtain
marijuana. Krohn and his colleagues didn't handle the marijuana, but stood
in solidarity with the clinic workers and users.

The City Hall pot distribution comes less than two weeks after DEA agents
arrested the owners of a local pot farm and confiscated 130 plants that had
been grown for use as medicine at the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Steve Belcher said his officers work closely with
WAMM, and that they did not plan to arrest registered, legitimate members
picking up their medicine.

However, he said, "This is not going to be a smoke-out at City Hall."

People who show up to smoke pot for fun, without a doctor's recommendation,
could face arrest, Belcher said.

There was no official city sponsorship of the event. Council members and
medical marijuana advocates simply acted on their own in a public space,
said City Attorney John Barisone.

Hal Margolin, who said he suffers chronic back pain, said he was relieved
to receive his weekly marijuana dose. He said he smokes between 18 and 22
puffs a week in lieu of painkillers.

"We don't buy it, we don't sell it, we don't ship it in interstate commerce
and we don't give it to children," he said.

Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington also allow
marijuana to be grown and distributed to people with a doctor's
prescription. But the DEA has focused its raids on medical marijuana
growers and distributors in California.

Community members in this liberal community repeatedly have supported
medical marijuana. In 1992, 77 percent of Santa Cruz voters approved a
measure ending the prohibition of medical marijuana. Four years later,
state voters approved Proposition 215, allowing marijuana for medicinal
purposes. And in 2000, the city council approved an ordinance allowing
medical marijuana to be grown and used without a prescription.
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 16:52:18 -0700
Subject:Canada: Legalize All Drugs, U.S. Governor Tells Vancouver Up TOC

Newshawk: Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy (http://www.cfdp.ca/)
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Sep 2002
Source: National Post (Canada)
Webpage:
http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=FB431A58-89F6-4B90-8CC1-9C558C42EA62
Copyright: 2002 Southam Inc.
Contact: letters@nationalpost.com
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Mark Hume, National Post
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/johnson.htm (Johnson, Gary)

LEGALIZE ALL DRUGS, U.S. GOVERNOR TELLS VANCOUVER

VANCOUVER - Before he addressed a conference on this city's staggering drug
problem, Gary Johnson, the Governor of New Mexico, went for a walk through
the Downtown Eastside, where addicts openly smoke crack cocaine and shoot
up heroin.

"Those people, if they were in the United States, would be in jail," Mr.
Johnson would say later.

But what he saw in Vancouver's streets, where illicit drugs are openly sold
and consumed, didn't convince him to soften his message. Mr. Johnson is an
advocate of legalizing all drugs.

"The war on drugs is an absolute, miserable failure," he said. "It's
reached a level of insanity that needs reforming."

Mr. Johnson was a popular speaker at the conference, where presenters
repeatedly made the point that Canada's approach to drug abuse isn't working.

Mr. Johnson saw that for himself in the streets nearby, where he was
exposed to what is probably the biggest, open drug bazaar in North America.

No one would dispute the problem is huge. But the solutions advocated by
many of those at the conference -- calling for legalized drugs, safe
injection sites and government-supplied heroin, under a strategy known as
"harm reduction" -- remain controversial.

Indeed, while almost everyone agrees that change is needed, many experts
fear a shift to harm reduction will not work if it means an abandonment of
enforcement.

The debate, which has been going on for years among health, drug and law
enforcement experts, is increasingly moving into the public domain with
conferences like the one held this week at Simon Fraser University's
downtown campus, organized by AIDS Vancouver, and at a May conference,
sponsored by the International Drug Education and Awareness Society, where
a harder enforcement approach was advocated.

Mr. Johnson said the war on drugs should be abandoned and "the strategy
should be to reduce death, disease and crime."

It was a popular view at the conference, but the Canadian Police
Association just last year warned against any strategy that did not include
continued enforcement of drug laws.

"Canada must resist the seductive temptations being advanced by a
sophisticated drug lobby," stated the CPA in a policy paper. "While far
from perfect, current strategies have been effective in controlling the
scope of illicit drug use in Canada."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 16:54:04 -0700
Subject:SF Chron Ed:  DEA Fighting Wrong War Up TOC

via Dale Gieringer

San Francisco Chronicle

EDITORIAL
DEA fighting the wrong war

Thursday, September 19, 2002
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE SANTA CRUZ rally for medical marijuana shows how strongly Californians
feel about using cannabis products to relieve human suffering.

Hundreds came to Tuesday's City Hall pot giveaway -- even the mayor, council
members and a county supervisor. As did most of the participants, the public
officials came to support the dozen or so gravely ill residents who rely on
marijuana to ease the effects of chemotherapy, cancer and other diseases.

But the rally went beyond a mere demonstration of compassion. It was an act
of defiance in the biggest skirmish yet between California voters and the
federal government over medical marijuana. Two weeks ago, the Drug
Enforcement Agency raided Santa Cruz's Wo/Mens Alliance for Medical
Marijuana, which opened in 1996 after voters overwhelming passed Proposition
215, the medical marijuana initiative. The raid curtailed pot distribution
to the cooperative's 230 members.

But the alliance is precisely what voters had in mind =8A a tightly=
 regulated
program that mandates identification before giving away organically grown
pot. It's a program for very sick people with a doctor's prescription. The
DEA should wisely direct its drug war efforts elsewhere.

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



=



**




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

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 16:55:59 -0700
Subject:NV: Pot Provokes Paranoia Up TOC

Newshawk: Vote Yes on Question 9: www.nrle.org
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Sep 2002
Source: Reno News & Review (NV)
Webpage: http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/2002-09-19/guest.asp
Contact: renoletters@newsreview.com
Copyright: 2002, Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Website: http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2524
Author: J. R. Reynolds
Cited: Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement ( www.nrle.org )
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?162 (Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?163 (Question 9 (NV))
Note: J.R. Reynolds lives in Reno.

POT PROVOKES PARANOIA

One thing is for sure, Question 9, the marijuana initiative, is contentious.

If I had any doubts about how black and white this issue was before my
public debate with District Attorney Dick Gammick, they were quickly
dispelled by the time we'd finished a two-hour show on KBDB-AM, which was
broadcast live about a week ago.

I swear, there were moments I felt as though I might be an alien trying
vainly to communicate with earthlings. There is so much fear-mongering and
misinformation thrown around by the "anti" forces that I get the feeling we
are still living in the Stone Age. In this "age of reason," I find it hard
to understand how any intelligent person would continue to believe that
marijuana is anything but medicinal.

We frequently hear government propagandists like Donna Shalala say that the
"latest research" proves that marijuana "isn't harmless" like everyone has
been saying. This would lead one to believe that it is indeed harmful to
anyone who would partake of the "evil weed." As I tried in vain to point out
to Mr. Gammick, there is no such thing as "harmless." Children die from
swallowing a harmless toy or gumball or whatever. These are tragic
occurrences, but are they preventable? Only if you put the kid in a bubble
and keep him in there for life perhaps.

Drinking pure water is surely harmless, and yet, a few people die every year
from drinking too much water. (The body's electrolytic balance is upset, and
the heart stops beating.) In this context, compared to other substances,
marijuana is clearly not dangerous, but does not mean that it is absolutely
"harmless".

The unasked question: is being arrested "harmless?" Actually, it can be
quite "dangerous." What is the latest research on that?

In a perfect world, "we the people" might write legislation without all the
legal verbiage that would simply say: "The people revoke, repeal and rescind
all laws, statutes and regulations regarding the prohibition of marijuana
and associated paraphernalia, order released all previous non-violent
offenders convicted under these laws, and apologize for our stupidity."

We have the opportunity here in Nevada to send a message to the rest of the
country, that we are taking a big step toward restoring individual liberty
and personal responsibility. Vote your conscience in November. But most
importantly, vote!

I highly (pardon the pun) recommend a book by Dr. Mitchell Earlywine,
associate professor of psychology, University of Southern California, who
wrote Understanding Marijuana. If you'd like to cut through the witch-hunt
rhetoric and learn something about this very useful plant, do some research
on your own. Do not rely on baseless information tossed about by the
establishment. Make up your own mind on facts you have gathered through your
own research. You'll be a better (and more informed) person for it.
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 16:57:30 -0700
Subject: DPA reaches similar conclusions Re: new anti-cannabis campaign Up TOC

"... a Sensationalist Anti-Marijuana Campaign Just Months Before Arizona 
and Nevada Residents Are Set to Vote on Marijuana Ballot Initiatives. 
...Appeals Directly to Their Voting Parents."

Copied from:

DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE
http://www.drugpolicy.org
...on the web

           eNewsletter: Thursday, September 5, 2002

DRUG CZAR MISUSES RESULTS OF GOVERNMENT COERCION TO CREATE MJ
ADDICTION MYTH

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) recently
unveiled a sensationalist anti-marijuana campaign just months
before Arizona and Nevada residents are set to vote on
marijuana ballot initiatives.  Earlier this year the czar
admitted to the Wall Street Journal that a $929 million anti-
drug campaign had failed to reduce adolescent drug use.  The
drug czar's latest nationwide anti-marijuana campaign skips
adolescents entirely and   Two recurring themes of the ads are marijuana
potency and marijuana addiction.

Walters warns parents who may remember marijuana as being a
relatively harmless good time that today's marijuana is
allegedly much stronger.  Critics contend that both weak and
strong marijuana will yield the desired result, only the potent
marijuana requires significantly less smoke inhalation -- it's
actually less harmful.  Drug education experts note that
misleading claims are great for scaring baby boomer parents
into supporting a punitive drug war, but they can cause
teenagers to question the credibility of anti-drug messages.

According to John Walters more teens are in treatment for
marijuana than alcohol and all illegal drugs combined.  Record
numbers of Americans arrested for minor marijuana offenses have
been forced into treatment by the criminal justice system.
The resulting distortion of treatment statistics is then used
by the drug czar to make the claim that marijuana is
"addictive."  Zero tolerance drug laws do not distinguish
between occasional use and chronic abuse.  Statisticians claim
the coercion of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis
into taxpayer-funded treatment centers says a lot about
government priorities, but absolutely nothing about the
relative harms of marijuana.

To learn about the truth about teens in treatment for marijuana
please visit:
http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/2k2/YouthMJtx/YouthMJtx.pdf

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

Below is not a part of the DPA post, but is the contact websites, and 
contact information, for those who signed above, where available:

American Academy of Family Physicians http://www.aafp.org/ fp@aafp.org

American Academy of Pediatrics http://www.aap.org/ 
http://www.aap.org/visit/contact.htm

American College of Emergency Physicians http://www.acep.org/ 
http://www.acep.org/1,160,0.html

American Medical Association http://www.ama-assn.org/ 
http://www.ama-assn.org/cgi-bin/feedtool.pl

American Society of Addiction Medicine http://www.asam.org/ email@asam.org

Child Welfare League of America http://www.cwla.org/ jjohnson@cwla.org

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America http://www.cadca.org/ info@cadca.org

Drug-Free Kids Campaign http://www.drug-freekids.org/ info@drug-freekids.org

National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse 
http://www.napafasa.org/ http://www.napafasa.org/EXECBD.HTM

National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors 
http://www.nasadad.org/ http://www.nasadad.org/Connections/staff1.htm

National Crime Prevention Council http://www.ncpc.org/ 
http://www.ncpc.org/contacts.htm

National Families in Action http://www.nationalfamilies.org/ 
nfia@nationalfamilies.org

National Family Partnership http://www.nfp.org/ mosendorf@informedfamilies.org

National PTA http://www.pta.org/ info@pta.org

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia 
University http://www.casacolumbia.org/ 
http://www.casacolumbia.org/feedback1461/feedback.htm


------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 17:02:44 -0700
Subject: CA: Marijuana Given Out At City Hall Up TOC

Newshawk: Jane Marcus
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Source: Register-Pajaronian (CA)
Contact: jchown@register-pajaronian.com
Copyright: 2002, Register-Pajaronian
Website: http://www.register-pajaronian.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2525
Author: Kathryn Gillick
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

MARIJUANA GIVEN OUT AT CITY HALL

The crowd at the medical marijuana giveaway outside city hall in Santa Cruz
Tuesday was light-hearted, but the message given by the speakers was not.
They spoke of pain, muscle spasms, severe weight loss and the trauma of
having the federal government raid the farm where they grow the one medicine
they say takes care of all of those symptoms without the side affects of
conventional drugs - marijuana.

"I was in a surfing accident about two years ago," said 23-year-old
quadriplegic Levi Castro, who is a member of the Wo/men's Alliance for
Medical Marijuana, which was raided Sept. 5 north of Santa Cruz. "I have
involuntary muscle spasms, I lost about 50 pounds when I was in the hospital
and I have a lot of nerve pain. It helps with all that."

WAMM provides medical marijuana, grown by members on a farm owned by Michael
and Valerie Corral, to about 280 patients with recommendations from their
doctors. The collective operates under a law approved by California voters
in 1996. Although growing and distributing medical marijuana is legal under
state law, the Supreme Court ruled last year that collectives like WAMM are
not free from prosecution under federal law.

The Drug Enforcement Agency has already raided marijuana clubs in San
Francisco, Oakland, Sebastapol and West Hollywood.

"I'm in pain all the time," said Tim Chambers, who has had colon cancer
three times since 1988. "I don't use it (marijuana) recreationally. It is my
medicine. If the DEA will take away my cancer, I'll never smoke pot again."

Doctor Arnie Leff, a general family practitioner who serves many local
HIV/AIDS patients, has written many recommendations for medical marijuana
for his patients. He only writes recommendations for existing patients who
either suffer from extreme weight loss, an inability to eat or a terminal
illness.

"We're here because City Hall is a sanctuary to us because some federal
agencies have taken a harassment position against us," he said. Often, many
of his patients use Marinol, a concentrated form of THC, the active chemical
in marijuana, before turning to the plant itself.

"For some reason, Marinol, which I can prescribe, doesn't always work," he
said. "There are chemicals in the plant that aren't in Marinol."

One patient, who identified himself only by the name Van, said, "Medical
marijuana has enabled me to stop taking medications that affected my heart."
The 83-year-old glaucoma and epilepsy patient added, "It's helped me for
almost seven years."

The Corrals have been in hiding since DEA agents raided the farm at their
Davenport home. The raid netted 167 nearly mature plants.

"We are not the enemy," Valerie Corral told the crowd. "We are the hungry,
we are the infirm, we are the dying ... and when we speak to the federal
government, they have no ears for us."

Onlookers chanted slogans, played guitars, and after the distribution of the
marijuana to WAMM patients, members of the street performance group Art and
Revolution re-enacted the raid of the farm with a military-looking man
harassing a female doctor and a blue-haired patient in a wheelchair.

Plainclothes officers could be seen wandering among the crowd of more than
1,000 city and county officials, including Mayor Christopher Krohn and much
of the Santa Cruz City Council, members of the press, onlookers and
patients, however no arrests were made and the rally went smoothly.

A green helicopter with unreadable markings circled over City Hall during
the rally, pausing directly overhead when the 13 members chosen by pulling
names from a hat went up one by one to collect their weekly ration of the
drug, which was baked into muffins and brownies and other products.

"We monitored the situation carefully and we take all violations of the law
seriously, but we decided not to confirm or deny our presence at the rally,"
DEA spokesman Richard Meyer said when asked about the helicopter.

He would not say whether any arrests would be made, but implied that some
action would be taken.

"We're still very concerned about the drug problem in Santa Cruz and we're
willing to work with local law enforcement," he said. "It is regrettable
that the mayor and the city took part in this action ... the mayor is not
above the law."

When asked if any more raids were planned, Meyer said, "Anybody that is
distributing marijuana, that is trafficking marijuana, should be worried
about the DEA."

Suzanne Pheil, a post-polio patient who was woken up by DEA agents at the
farm during the raid, said WAMM was not trafficking marijuana - its members
grow marijuana for their collective use and does not charge any of its
members.

"We are not the victims of drug traffickers - we are victims of the DEA,"
she said. "With a gun to my head the DEA stole the medicine that over 250
sick and dying people worked to grow."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 17:49:39 -0700
Subject: Canada: Medical marijuana advocates want pot from Ottawa Up TOC 

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Thursday, September 19, 2002
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Canada Web)
Website: http://www.cbc.ca/
Contact: letters@cbc.ca
Webpage: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/09/19/medical_pot020919

AUDIO LINK: http://www.cbc.ca/clips/ram-audio/stoffel_w6020919.ram
Derek Stoffel reports for CBC Radio (Runs 1:24)

Medical marijuana advocates want pot from Ottawa

TORONTO - A group of seven people who smoke pot for medical reasons have
gone to court to force Ottawa to provide them with marijuana to treat their
illnesses.

They say their constitutional rights have been violated because, while they
and about 300 other Canadians can legally smoke pot to relieve nausea and
pain, they can't purchase it legally.

That means they have to buy it on the street, which exposes them to
criminals, said Alan Young, lawyer for the seven.

"The government gave me a prescription that I have to go to the streets to
fill. That is outrageous," " said Alison Myrden as some of the group =AD who
suffer from ailments like AIDS, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis =AD lit up
outside the courthouse during a break.

They also say the regulations that govern access to marijuana, which are
supposed to reflect previous court decisions permitting seriously ill people
to use the weed, are so onerous that they prevent access to the drug.

The regulations require a doctor to sign a form permitting the patient to
use marijuana, but few doctors are willing to do so, given the legal
consequences, Young said.

Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan has said she doesn't want the
government to distribute marijuana until clinical trails are finished.

CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like=20
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore=
=20
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: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 17:47:52 -0700
Subject: Canada: Pot advocates taking fight to court Up TOC

Online SoundOff
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/FCC03BA6-3E6B-4898-A767-779CEFE394B3

Pot advocates taking fight to court

JAMES MCCARTEN
Canadian Press

Thursday, September 19, 2002

TORONTO (CP) - A motley band of seriously ill people crowded into court
Thursday to do battle with Ottawa over a scheme to permit the use of medical
marijuana they say violates their constitutional rights.

The group, with conditions ranging from AIDS and hepatitis C to epilepsy and
multiple sclerosis, wants to strike down federal rules governing medicinal
pot, as well as the law that makes possession a criminal offence. "This is
about the right to make fundamental personal decisions," Toronto lawyer and
longtime cannabis crusader Alan Young told Superior Court Justice Sidney
Lederman.

"The right to make personal decisions has been called fundamentally
deserving of the highest protection."

Canada's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations, or MMARs, were supposed to
honour previous court decisions by allowing those with serious illnesses to
choose marijuana as a means to treat their symptoms.

Instead, they're laden with obstacles and red tape that prevents more
deserving people from exemption than it permits, Young said.

The regulations demand medical declarations that few doctors are willing to
provide given the legal consequences, he argued. And they make it impossible
for a doctor to recommend a dosage, since the drug remains unregulated in
Canada.

Even those who do win a legal exemption - more than 300 people in Canada are
currently permitted by Ottawa to smoke pot for medical reasons - are forced
to break the law, resorting to black-market weed because the government is
dragging its heels on efforts to cultivate a pure supply for clinical trial.

"They're exposed to the criminal sub-culture; they're exposed to rip-offs,"
Young said of his clients. "They're exposed to an unknown substance called
marijuana, which can contain contaminants and adulterants."

There are seven marijuana consumers included in Young's group of applicants,
along with a caregiver, the Toronto Compassion Centre. Three other
applicants are also participating in the hearings.

If they can't get the regulations thrown out, the group is willing to settle
for access to the federal government's stash: pot grown in a Manitoba
mineshaft under a $5.7-million contract for clinical trials.

Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan has so far refused to allow the
marijuana to be distributed because she says it simply isn't pure enough.

The whiff of weed was unmistakable during a mid-morning break in the
proceedings, as several of the applicants took advantage of the 15-minute
recess to light up a joint on the courthouse steps.

"It's very difficult for us to get permits, since doctors won't sign the
necessary forms," said Marco Renda, a 42-year-old Ontario man who uses pot
to combat the symptoms of hepatitis C.

"The government should honour what the court has decided and make it easier
for medical patients to receive medical marijuana."

Renda said he doesn't worry about the quality of his marijuana because he
grows his own. Those who are forced to buy from a dealer aren't so lucky,
applicant Alison Murden complained.

"It's nothing but sticks and stems and seeds one day, and it's a whole bag
of bud the next," said Murden, who suffers from a host of medical ailments,
including multiple sclerosis.

"This is absolutely outrageous, what they're doing to these Canadian people.
These are sick and dying people."

For those suffering from serious illnesses, marijuana is invaluable as an
anti-inflammatory and a mild painkiller, as well as battling nausea and
stimulating appetite, said Young.

"AIDS patients and cancer patients who basically can't eat because of their
medication can smoke a joint, and then they are able to eat," he said.

"I think marijuana is primarily responsible for keeping most AIDS patients
from wasting, which is the only reason they die these days, because the
anti-viral medications keep them alive and kicking."

Young, who noted in his arguments that former health minister Allan Rock was
poised to release Ottawa's marijuana to those exempted from the law, said he
thinks Ottawa is under pressure from U.S. authorities not to proceed with
its plan.

=A9 Copyright  2002 The Canadian Press

CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like=20
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore=
=20
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: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 17:37:29 -0700
Subject: NJ: A Federal Case - 'Weedman' Seeks Relief From Higher Up TOC

Newshawk: Jane Marcus
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Sep 2002
Source: Trenton Times, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2002 The Times
Contact: letters@njtimes.com
Website: http://www.njo.com/times/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/458
Author: Jeff Edelstein, staff writer

A FEDERAL CASE: 'WEEDMAN' SEEKS RELIEF FROM HIGHER COURT

The Case Of Ed "Njweedman" Forchion Is Headed To Federal Court.

Believing that he is being held in jail unconstitutionally, Forchion
petitioned the federal district court in Camden for a "writ of habeas
corpus" -- lawyer-speak for a federal judge to determine whether an inmate
is being imprisoned lawfully.

Judge Joseph Irenas accepted Forchion's petition, and now the state has
until Oct. 28 to explain to the judge why Forchion is sitting in the clink

"The judge clearly saw something legitimate," said John Furlong, a local
lawyer and expert in these matters. "He [Forchion] made it through the
door, which puts him head and shoulders above everyone else."

Furlong explained that the federal courts are deluged with writs of habeas
corpus, and very few get accepted.

"He's moving in the right direction," Furlong said. "He's got a leg up."

Forchion has been stewing the Burlington County Jail for a month.

He was arrested Aug. 18 after filming three commercials that the state
claims advocated the use of marijuana.

The commercials, as seen by The Trentonian, dealt with First Amendment
issues and the war on drugs, and did not explicitly advocate the use of
marijuana.

But that's what members of the Intensive Supervisory Program said he did.

ISP is a heightened state of parole Forchion was put into it after 17
months in prison for transporting 25 pounds of pot into the state.

As part of Forchion's deal, ISP allegedly forbade him from advocating the
use of marijuana, though Forchion claims no paperwork on such a restriction
exists. Tom Bartlett, the South Jersey head of the ISP, said it would be
"inappropriate" to discuss any matter regarding Forchion when asked the
details of Forchion's ISP deal.

On Tuesday, Forchion was supposed to appear before a three-judge panel in
Hunterdon County Court.

The hearing was meant to determine if Forchion did in fact break the terms
of the ISP deal.

Witnesses were in court, Forchion's lawyer was ready to go, and the judges
said they would hold the hearing for last, supposedly so they could get a
firmer handle on the case.

The only problem with the hearing was that it never took place -- the state
failed to arrange transportation for Forchion from Burlington to Flemington.

"It was an honest mix-up," Bartlett told the judges. "The writ was never
sent to the Burlington County Jail. We tried to make arrangements to get
him here, but it's physically impossible."

No new date for the ISP hearing was announced.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 16:44:36 -0700
Subject: US Drug Czar Must Abdicate Up TOC

Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Source: Reason Online (US)
Copyright: 2002 The Reason Foundation
Contact: letters@reason.com
Website: http://www.reason.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/359
Author: Jacob Sullum
Note: Jacob Sullum is a Reason senior editor. He is the author of a book on
the morality of drug use, forthcoming in June from Tarcher/Putnam.

Editors' Links

THE DRUG CZAR MUST ABDICATE

According to survey data released this month, past-month use of illegal
drugs increased from 6.3 percent in 2001 to 7.1 percent last year. These
numbers can mean only one thing: It's payback time.

"Drug use has gone up significantly during the first full year of the Bush
Administration," crows Bob Weiner, spokesman for the Office of National
Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for most of the Clinton years. The headline
over the press release reads, "Survey: Bush Reversing Drug Use Reductions."

Weiner says "the new administration needs to quit laying blame and start
supporting successful Clinton era bipartisan drug programs such as the
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign." He bravely insists that a
"comprehensive strategy" of "education, prevention, treatment, law
enforcement, and foreign policy initiatives must continue to be funded in
full."

Weiner can be faulted for the lameness of his proposals: more money for
anti-drug ads that demonstrably don't work, along with everything else the
government is already doing to stop people from ingesting politically
incorrect substances. But in his eagerness to blame George W. Bush for an
upward blip in drug use that almost certainly had nothing to do with the
president's policies, Weiner is simply aping the behavior of Republicans
who accused Clinton of being soft on drugs.

One of the earliest and most persistent critics of Clinton's alleged
surrender in the war on drugs-marked, oddly enough, by record levels of
spending and arrests-was John P. Walters, the ONDCP's current director.
Walters, who was the office's acting director when Clinton took over in
1993, left in a huff that February, after the president decided to cut his
staff, and immediately began attacking the new administration in op-ed
pieces and interviews.

In a series of op-ed pieces published by The Washington Times in 1995,
Walters and his former boss, Bush I drug czar William J. Bennett, accused
Clinton of abandoning the crusade for a drug-free America. "President
Clinton has shown little concern about the carnage drugs cause," they
wrote. "There is no visible effort by the Clinton Administration to prevent
the complete disintegration of foreign supply control....The Clinton
Administration has made [the ONDCP] largely irrelevant."

Walters and Bennett claimed "the results of the administration's
indifference are now in. And they are not good." Specifically, they cited
an increase in drug use by teenagers between 1993 and 1994, which they
described as "the dangerous resurgence of drugs that has occurred during
President Clinton's watch"

The latest survey results indicate that drug use by teenagers has risen by
12 percent during President Bush's watch. Isn't it time for John Walters to
resign in disgust?
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 20:47:31 -0700
Subject: Canada: Series: The Debate Over Legalization, Part Two Up TOC

Newshawk: Canadian Media Awareness Project (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/)
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Source: Nelson Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 Nelson Daily News
Contact: news@nelsondailynews.com
Website: http://www.nelsondailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/288
Author: Darren Davidson
Note: Part One, http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1742/a04.html

PART TWO - THE DEBATE OVER LEGALIZATION

Nelson planters, police and politicians sound off on the Senate's call to
decriminalize pot possession

You can smell it in the air, either on the local streets or hillsides - and
people in Parliament and the rest of the country are buzzing about it.

Today, in the second part of a three part series on the pot industry in
B.C., Darren Davidson listens to what locals are saying about the Senate's
groundbreaking recommendation that possession of the drug be legalized.

All throughout Nelson there were cheers, ceremonial chuffs and concerns
over potential challenges following last week's announcement that a Senate
committee had recommended legalization of marijuana.

Pot proponents, police and politicians are trying to figure out how the
surprising drug law reform suggestion would affect both business and pleasure.

"We're closer to legalization or decriminalization than we've ever been.
We're moving towards a marijuana economy with decreased risk and increased
profit," says two-time Marijuana Party candidate Dan Loehndorf.

"But that doesn't mean we should stop pushing for relaxed drug laws. In the
past the government has lead us to think they're going to decriminalize,
and they haven't."

Loehndorf says the Senate recommendations have prompted "huge concern on
the part of growers as to what's going to happen to their economy under
legalization."

The 35-year-old, also a writer for Canada's internationally distributed
Cannabis Culture magazine, notes that under slacker pot laws, growers might
still be charged for cultivation.

"We need to have a very clear idea of how we're going to protect our
current economy."

Loehndorf says the marijuana economy in B.C. has an estimated worth of
between four and 10 billion annually.

"And the bulk of money doesn't go to drug barons," he adds, "It goes to
feed, clothe and provide homes for families throughout many communities in
B.C., some devastated by the lagging economy."

Admitting "a little surprise" at the Senate call, local MP Jim Gouk says
Parliament could see new legislation brought forward next year.

"But just because legislation comes out, doesn't mean anything's going to
take place. But it starts debate on it."

Gouk says revised marijuana laws are going to garner a lot of public
consultation.

"This is not something you ram down people's throats."

Gouk, who found favorable response in a door-to-door survey he did on the
legalization of medicinal marijuana three years ago, says he hasn't heard
much debate from constituents regarding the latest pot issue. He suggests
the Senate is simply trying to see what people are thinking about the
issue. Gouk says he has "a lot of mixed thoughts" on legalization but has
said publicly that if law enforcement agencies can find a way to test for
pot in the same way they can test for alcohol, he "sees no more reason for
it to be illegal than alcohol."

"I think we have to do something," he adds, "The reality is it's been
illegal for 80 years and people still use it."

Gouk says processing the average pot possession charge can cost taxpayers
$30,000.

"We're spending an awful lot of money on something we're not preventing, on
something we're not even slowing down."

Nelson City Police share some of Gouk's concerns, admitting that "drug
possession really isn't treated that significantly by the courts,"
according to Inspector Henry Paivarinta.

In B.C., Paivarinta says "you get no more time even if you've got nine
previous [possession] convictions. So what's the point in bringing them in
for a tenth, eleventh and twelfth."

In the past four years the NCP "no-action" case-load - where drugs are
seized and destroyed, but no charges are laid - has increased from seven
per cent to 23 per cent.

But Paivarinta is concerned about the effects legalization will have on
teens, especially those who have dabbled with soft drugs and want to move
on to more harmful narcotics.

"If you legalize it, a lot more kids will experiment with it when they
realize there's no penalty for using it."

Paivarinta has been a cop for 20 years, some of that time he spent on
Vancouver's southeast side, an area where soft drug use was common amongst
kids.

"My experience has been you start at one level, then move on to the next.
With drug use, it takes additional quantities to achieve the same highs,
because your body builds up an immunity to it."

Paivarinta says legalization will only pass some of law enforcement's pot
problems on to the school system.

Philip McMillan doesn't buy the NCP argument.

The 27-year-old is the facility director of the Nelson Cannabis Compassion
Club, a non-profit organization that sells pot to 160 clients who use the
drug to curb suffering from illness and disease.

"Anybody who has smoked marijuana knows the truth," says McMillan.

"Marijuana is a benign drug. This generation of politicians knows the truth
too."

However, while the club's clientele is mostly in their 50s and 60s,
McMillan admits marijuana is "a drug of youth."

Nevertheless, he doesn't think teen drug abuse will get any worse if
marijuana possession is legalized.

"I really don't see it as an issue - like guns in school," he says. "I'd
trade a kid a joint for a gun any day."
__________________________________________________________________________
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/

------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #197
********************************